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Rain is forecast this afternoon, so we quickly make our sandwiches and head up to Männlichen. We take the path that leads to Alpiglen. Amazing colours in the alpine plants.

This clearing in the forest is called Arvengarten. It does look just like a garden.

The weather seems to be holding so we turn left at Arven and head off down the track that is the Tschuggen piste in winter. Looking down the ‘piste’ towards Grindelwald. 

We arrive at the bottom of the Tschuggen ski lift and have lunch. Ski lifts always look somewhat forlorn in summer.

The path continues as far as Holenstein where we get the gondola back up to Männlichen. The weather’s started to close-in and we’ll soon have rain.

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Harder Kulm is a viewpoint above Interlaken and we get there on a funicular. The views are pretty good.

We’ve devised a route to a village called Habkern which is up in the hills behind the lake. It’s quite steep to begin with. 

Spectacular autumn colours everywhere. 

It’s about 6 miles to Habkern. Their cows are coming home today.

We buy ice creams from the little shop and wait for the bus to take us back to Interlaken. It’s a very pretty village. 

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It’s bright and mild today so we head up to Scheidegg and get the train up to Eigergletcher. Here’s the Eiger glacier. 

Closer up from a bit further down.

Great views down to the reservoir at Fallboden with Scheidegg and the Lauberhorn in the background. 

The north face of the Eiger and the reservoir. 

The stones around the reservoir bear the names of those who have perished on the face. Toni Kurz is perhaps the most famous, Google will tell you all about him.

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There’s a mountain overlooking Interlaken called Schynige Platte, and naturally the enterprising Swiss decided to build a railway to the top. The line cost a staggering 3.5 million Swiss Francs and was opened in 1893. The rolling stock is all original, with the exception of the engines which were replaced in 1914 when the line was electrified. 

The line begins at Wilderswil and the little engines push the trains up the mountain. Progress is slow, but relentless. 

The station at the top is very quaint.

At the summit of the mountain is a huge bowl with a network of footpaths. 

Scary viewpoint down to lake Thun almost a mile below us.

And lake Brienz and Interlaken. 

View back towards Wengen from the station. The mountain in the foreground is Männlichen. 

As the crow flies we’re only a couple of miles from Wengen, but the journey back to the valley and up again will take 2 hours.

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It’s chilly and overcast this morning. We get the little post bus from Lauterbrunnen which takes us up to the hamlet of Isenfluh on the other side of the valley. Isenfluh is very old – it goes back at least until the early 14th century.

Lovely autumn colours on the path back towards Lauterbrunnen. Vehicles used to use it until a landslide made it impassable. The only other people we saw were a couple of cyclists. 

Sausbach waterfall.

Looking back up to Wengen.

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It’s a beautiful day, so we make some sandwiches and head to Grund, which is a railway halt just below Grindelwald. Even the cows are sunbathing. 

We found a bench with a view to sit and eat our lunch.

To begin with the valley floor is narrow. Road, rail, river and our walking path compete for space.

Half way down it opens up and we can almost see our destination. 

We’ve only ever seen this valley from the train so it’s nice to get a bit more familiar with it. Livestock everywhere. 

After about 3 hours we reach Zweilütcheinen where we catch the train towards home.

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It’s a big day here in Wengen. After the cows have come home from their summer pastures above the village, the serious business of dividing the cheese must take place. Here’s how it works.

Those herds of cattle that we see up in the mountains in summer do not belong to a single farmer. Rather, groups of farmers club together to form a co-operative for the summer months. The return they get depends on the number of cows that each farmer contributes to the herd.

Still with me? Ok here’s the detail. Each cow is notionally divided into eighths. The reason for this is that it allows fractions of a cow to be traded. If a farmer needs to raise some cash therefore he can sell shares in cows that he owns. In Wengen the price of one eighth of a cow is 150 Swiss Francs.

Why would you wish to buy an eighth of a cow? The reason is simple – you’ll get a share of the cheese, and this will amount to 7 or 8 kilos of the finest cheese you’ll ever taste. 150 francs suddenly looks a bargain. This sharing of the cheese is the purpose of today’s festival. People beginning to arrive this morning. 

And here is the cheese. The guy at the end of the table has a list of all the shareholders. 

Your 150 francs does not mean you own your share of the cow forever. Once the cheese has been distributed all the shares revert to the farmer – you need to pay another CHF150 if you want more cheese next year.

Anyhow, the whole thing is a great excuse for a huge knees-up, and this carries on all day. 

There are hundreds of people here, certainly more than actually live in the village, and they all need to eat. This rösti was delicious. 

Here are those bell ringers that we see on new year’s eve.