We went for our last curry of the season last night. Jungfrau still bathed in sunshine as we left Rocks.
It was sunny this morning so we popped up to Scheidegg and had a ski.
While we were having coffee it got really windy, and suddenly the slopes were deserted. Lifts began to close, so we high-tailed it back to the village.
The station is being improved. Apparently there’ll be better access for disabled passengers and a bigger roof so we won’t get wet waiting for the train.
Yesterday was Colin’s last day at work, and we had arranged to go to Ali’s for a raclette. Colin was very late, and when he did eventually arrive he was on crutches. He’d had an accident at work and ruptured his Achilles tendon. The village doctor has plastered his leg and foot.
After some restorative alcohol we sat down to eat. The raclette machine has a grill for melting pieces of cheese, and on top is a hot stone for cooking meat. A big bowl of boiled potatoes and some salad finishes things off.
It’s delicious and we sat there for hours. Ali lives at the bottom of a big hill so it took us a while to get back up to the village, but we eventually dropped Colin off at home around midnight.
Today was bright but very windy, so the few chairlifts that are still operating were all closed.
The last of the Easter holidaymakers left yesterday, and the village is quiet. Lots of construction and renovations will start now as there are only two short periods a year when this is permitted. We had a walk out to a spot called Staubachbankli which is a viewpoint just beyond Innerwengen. The flowers are beginning to cover the meadows.
Now that the snow is beginning to retreat the animals can get some fresh air.
And the ice on this little duck pond has finally melted.
Tonight we’re off to Ali’s for a traditional Swiss Raclette.
Ali (Ally – I’ve been spelling it wrong) has some complimentary tickets for the Trümmelbach Falls, so we can have a day out down in the valley. We start with lunch at the Airtime cafe, then catch the bus to Stechelberg. The waterfalls are in spate.
The Trümmelbach Falls are inside the valley wall. It’s wet and cold in the caves.
You need a good head for heights.
Afterwards we take the riverside path that meanders it’s way back towards Lauterbrunnen.
Ice creams while we waited for the train. Rocks is closed tonight for their staff dinner, but Colin has persuaded Angela to let us have the keys so we can watch the golf on telly. What could possibly go wrong?
Last night we went down to Interlaken for Val’s ski school dinner. Lovely Italian restaurant – I had squid and Val tried spaghetti with giant prawns. It got predictably silly later on and we got back to Wengen around 1am.
This morning it’s sunny again, and even warmer than yesterday. The concert is on at Scheidegg and 9,500 people will be going up on the train. It seems a good idea to go in the opposite direction, so we head down to the lake at Bönigen.
Lauterbrunnen in the sun.
Looking back towards the yacht club on lake Brienz.
The steamers have started their summer operations. We enjoyed ice creams at the quay in the sunshine.
It’s 22 degrees on our balcony at dinner time. Time to blow the dust off the barbecue I think.
At this time of year when the weather is nice it pays to be up early, so we’ve arranged to meet Ally in time for the 8.54 up to Scheidegg. For the first few runs the snow is still frozen solid from last night – it’s a rough ride but at least it’s fast. Then, at around 10am, the sun works its magic and the pistes begin to soften. The skis zing through the snow and very enjoyable it is too. We ran into Nick from Grindelwald up on Wixi.
The sun continues to soften the snow until it begins to get slushy. The run down to Brandegg has a lot of shady bits and was really nice.
We got the train back up to Scheidegg and surfed through the slush back to the village. The temperature was +19C when we arrived. It’s more like summer than spring.
We had a jolly evening out at Rocks last night, with Akim providing the music. Things started to get out of hand when Alice decided to restyle Mike’s hair.
Never one to be left out, Mary-Anne had a go at doing Steve’s hair while he was trying to eat his dinner.
Despite all this, Val and Alice managed to get the 8.24 train up to Scheidegg this morning for work. Lots of musical stuff is arriving for tomorrow’s concert.
It’s been a much colder day today, but apparently the weekend should be warm and sunny.
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