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Colin has taken delivery of a big leather sofa, a coffee table and a cowhide rug. That means there’s enough seating for all of us, so we are invited to his flat for dinner. It’s dinner with a view too.

Yahtzee. It’s a serious business.

This morning I went down to Interlaken while Val did her German class. At lunchtime a large parcel arrived. There are lots of foreigners in Switzerland, and an industry aiming to provide them with things that are normally unobtainable here has sprung up. The British are well catered for, with lots of online shops selling familiar brands. We’ve never been tempted in the past, preferring to use local alternatives, but sometimes only the real thing will do. Here’s what we got in our parcel.

Bisto, in particular, is hard currency in Wengen (current exchange rate: 1 bisto = 2 beers last time we exchanged one with Shelly in the Crystal bar). Sarson’s vinegar is another thing that’s a real treat if you’re tucking into some chips – Angela keeps a bottle behind the bar in Rocks.

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It snowed again last night, and it’s cold – minus 8 at breakfast time. We had an afternoon shopping, and very unusually we went to the Migros supermarket at Interlaken west. Migros is a really good supermarket; better quality than the Co-op and with correspondingly higher prices. The real reason that we don’t go very often though, is that they don’t sell alcohol.

Back here in the village, everyone is talking about this newspaper article.

A wolf has been seen at Männlichen. Wolves are rare in Switzerland, but they are nevertheless a problem as they kill livestock – hence they make the news when they’re spotted. At this time of year there are no livestock out in the open, so it’s possible that the wolf was interested in the herd of wild gemschi (small deer) that live under the cable car.

Colin recently had a delivery of furniture, so now he has enough seating for everyone, he’s cooking at his place tonight.

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It got a lot colder overnight, and we had some snow.

Val doesn’t have work today, and this is exactly the sort of morning when we’d normally make another cup of coffee and stay indoors. Not today though, as we have an appointment at the council office in Interlaken. Fortunately, the weather’s a bit nicer down there, and the flowers in the English garden are lovely despite a dusting of snow.

The council want some biometrics from us, namely our fingerprints, a photograph and a signature. These will be stored on a chip in our residence permits. Having gone my whole life without ever needing to submit my fingerprints, it seems a bit over the top. The incentive however, is that the new style permits allow visa-free travel throughout Europe, without having to worry about time limits. For us, that makes it well worth the trouble. The whole thing took less than 10 minutes.

We called in at the Co-op on the way back to the station. Easter is over, and all the chocolate eggs, bunnies etc are half price.

We bought as much as we could carry and headed home.

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We had a lovely dinner last night – a leg of lamb with all the trimmings. Asparagus is in season and it was delicious with hollandaise sauce. Colin carves the joint.

Ali made a fantastic pudding with treacle, pears and caramel sauce. Look at Emily’s face!

We couldn’t finish the pudding, so Emily phoned Julie, who lives just down the path. Julie came and collected the leftovers and took them home for her family’s desert.

After a late night, Val was off to work again this morning – in fact so was everyone else except me. Very quiet up at Scheidegg, despite nice weather and a bank holiday.

Just a few kids tobogganing, and a smattering of skiers.

I guess the season’s coming to an end.

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It’s Easter Sunday, and the sun’s out. Val went up to work before sunrise – Wengen at dawn.

Despite the lovely weather it wasn’t busy, just a few skiers on Wixi.

Wengernalp, the Hotel Jungfrau, and the Eiger.

The hotel is situated just below Kleine Scheidegg at an altitude of 1900 metres. When it opened in 1865 the only way to get there was on foot, or, if you were lucky, on a mule. The railway didn’t open until 1893.

Easter Sunday deserves a feast. I got a leg of lamb from the butcher and I’ve smothered it with some green mush that I made from rosemary, mustard, lemon juice and garlic.

I spent the afternoon peeling potatoes, chopping carrots and trimming asparagus. Just across the meadow at Chalet Rose, Ali is making a chocolate desert and Yorkshire puddings. This should be good.

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Val was off to work early this morning – there are lots of tourists here this weekend. Meanwhile, I’m off down to Interlaken to buy all the stuff we need for our Easter dinner tomorrow. It’s much colder than yesterday, but still nice enough down here.

Up at Scheidegg it’s foggy, and Val couldn’t see much.

My train broke down, which cost me half an hour, and things went from bad to worse when I discovered that Otto’s had run out of my favourite beer. Things don’t always go to plan.

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It’s another lovely day, and the bus takes us to Stechelberg at the end of the valley.

Lots of people hiking and biking.

Every spring we wait for the frogs to arrive in the ponds by the little hydro station. They’re here, and the pond is full of spawn.

From here it’s a couple of hours walk back to Lauterbrunnen. The combination of nice weather and a bank holiday means it’s busy, but it’s nice to get some exercise.