A lovely dinner of tapas at the Pickel last night.
Saturdays are always busy with arrivals and departures, and today might be the busiest of the winter.
We head down to the lake to find some peace and quiet. It’s mild and bright.
The kayak school that some of Val’s colleagues work for in summer is so popular it now runs all year round.
Every time I take a photo, someone at Google grabs a copy and stores it ‘in the cloud’. Every so often they send a photo back with some ‘improvements’. Today the computer spotted 2 photos that it could stitch together into a panorama.
Very clever I’m sure, but the machine failed to spot that this would include 2 pictures of Val skiing down the hill.
It’s been a nice day today, perfect for a walk in the valley.
Valentine’s chocs.
We’re eating out tonight, then it’ll be the Valentine’s party at the Caprice with Uptown Lights.
A good night out at the Caprice yesterday. Another rubbish selfie, but you get the drift.
Emily can carry Ibe, so she did.
The mild and windy weather has melted most of the snow in the village, so it’s time to hose the streets.
Val has had a cold and her ears are a bit blocked. They need to pop. A change of altitude will usually fix this. There’s a storm on the Lauberhorn so we daren’t go up, so we jump on the train down to Lauterbrunnen. No luck. The cable car to Grütschalp is really fast, maybe that’ll fix it.
Still no improvement. Ah well, it was worth a try. Music in Rocks later.
Every February we have a big curling competition called the Dolly cup. It takes place over four weeks, with games every Tuesday night. Emily, Mandi, Gavin and Tim have entered a team.
The standard of play is high – for auslander teams it is an achievement just to avoid losing every game.
It’s another poor day for going up the mountain, but at least some of the ski lifts are operating today. We decide to leave the slopes to the holidaymakers and go for a walk. These lovely old chalets are in the area that used to be the village centre before the railway came.
If you want to build a new house here you have 2 choices. You can buy a plot of land and try to get permission to build on it – almost impossible, or you can buy an existing building and knock it down before building your new house in its place. That’s what has happened here.
A little further along we pass Chalet Iltis that we viewed the other day. It looks a bit sad all shuttered-up, and we hope to change that soon. We’re waiting for the owners to send us a contract.
It’s grey, mild but still very windy. The railway will take you up the mountain, but there won’t be any ski lifts open when you get there. Nevertheless some holidaymakers optimistically wait for the train; I guess they have little alternative, particularly if they have kids.
It’s just the sort of day for a really good warming meal, so I’ve spent the afternoon peeling potatoes which we’ll have with some lovely braised beef.
In the UK it’s called Ciara. The Norwegians call it Elsa. Here in Switzerland it’s been christened Sabine. Whatever you call it though, it’s bad news.
No trains or lifts today, and that leaves an awful lot of people with nothing to do. You can’t even go for a hike, as we’ve been advised to stay away from the forest in the high winds.
The guys who run the cable car get a chance to do some maintenance.
Temperatures are high. The football pitch is doing its best to become a lake again.
Another hard day doing nothing.
What on earth is an iltis? I gather it’s some sort of animal, but I’d never heard of it. It turns out that iltis is a German word for the European Bobcat.
They’re fairly common in Switzerland, but they’re protected as they’re sensitive to habitat loss. Why do you need to know this? Well, the property we’re viewing today is called Chalet Iltis. It is one of a group of three chalets situated alongside the railway line just below the station.
Usually in Wengen, chalets and houses are large, and are subdivided into apartments. This one is different; it’s small and self contained – you get the whole chalet. Period 1970s decor and furnishings.
It has been empty for five years, but you’d never know it – it’s like stepping back in time. Everything is old, but it still looks like new. Look at those curtains.
Amazing views. We’re only five minutes below the village here, but it feels like we’re out in the countryside.
And a real fireplace.
Upstairs is nice, and there are balconies on both floors.
The exterior window shutters are electric, which must have been quite a luxury when it was built. In the basement is a sort of granny flat that we probably wouldn’t use, along with a laundry and cellar.
With some less garish soft furnishings, this could be a brilliant place. We absolutely love it.
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