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We had an entertaining evening in Rocks last night. It was Vivienne’s birthday, and Angela had booked a singer we’ve never even heard. He turned out to be an old-school crooner who sang to prerecorded backing tracks. It was a sort of one-man karaoke show. We all had a good time, but I don’t think he’ll be invited back.

Ever since her accident, Val has needed to use a taxi to get up to the village. Today however, was her first attempt to walk up. Despite our fears it went fine, and 20 minutes later we were up at Cafe Waldschluecht for coffee with Emily and Ali. Emily was travelling to the U.K, so the remaining 3 of us caught the train down to Interlaken. We had lunch at the Cafe de Paris. It was just like summer.

Later on we got some shopping at the Co-op and had a couple of drinks in Rocks. Our intention had been to get a taxi home, but Val was confident she could manage the walk. Another success. She’ll continue to use the taxi for doctors and physio appointments, but it’s nice to think we’re no longer dependant on it for going to the pub.

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After 4 days of rain and cold temperatures, the sun has returned at last. The rain fell as snow above the village, and the mountains provide a striking panoramic background.

I got that shot just after I collected Val from the doctors. We caught the train down to Interlaken and had a very nice lunch at the youth hostel.

In Switzerland, a formal garden with lawns, beds and borders is known as an ‘English garden’. Most towns and cities have one. Interlaken’s English garden is absolutely spectacular at the moment.

A nice day out. Val no longer has to wear her knee and ankle braces, so we should be able to have more of these.

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We had a super dinner round at Angela’s on Friday, accompanied by Colin and Rich.

Yesterday there was a big storm. It covered the balcony with debris, and even managed to blow the barbecue right across the terrace. It’s been raining all day today, so cleaning up the mess outside will have to wait.

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It’s been a busy couple of days. Yesterday morning an engineer arrived to install the superfast internet that we’ve been waiting for for what seems like years. It’s good. Although these words take only 5 minutes to type, it sometimes took me an hour to persuade them to upload to the internet so that you can read them.

In the village, we have another sign that the season is changing. The crazy golf is open.

We had a good night out in Rocks last night, with dinner from the takeaway. This morning I popped up to the village for shopping, and Val waited for a heating surveyor to arrive. Our central heating system is powered by oil, and it’s 50 years old. It’s time to replace it with something more modern, so to begin with we need a survey to estimate how much heat is lost through doors and windows. Our surveyor turns out to be the enigmatic Charlie, who is also our chimney sweep. He has turned his attention to surveying for modern central heating systems. ‘After all’, he says, ‘soon, there will be no more chimneys’.

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It’s a beautiful day, and we’re up early. The first rays of sunshine hit the Silberhorn.

Owing to the constraints of her crutches, Val hasn’t had a proper day out since her accident, so today we’re going to put that right. We catch the bus from Lauterbrunnen, and then a series of four cable cars takes us up to Piz Gloria, a restaurant on the summit of the Schilthorn at almost 10,000 feet. We take our seats in the revolving restaurant, and tuck into brunch. Just look at the view.

Piz Gloria offers a great value day out at this time of year. It’s free to get there with our ski passes, and you get a buffet brunch, with lots of hot and cold dishes and unlimited Prosecco, for just 25 Francs. The only constraint is that you have only 2 revolutions of the restaurant before you have to give up your table. 2 revolutions takes about 90 minutes, so this is fine. Here’s Piz Gloria from outside.

Piz Gloria was the setting for the 1969 James Bond film ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’. Bond is everywhere up here. You can order a James Bond burger, and we had a James Bond brunch.

After we’d eaten (and drunk) ourselves silly, we got the cable car back down to Mürren at the foot of the mountain. There are some spectacular views from here.

There’s a nice pub opposite the railway station.

We meander our way back to Wengen. Drinks at Cafe Waldschluecht with David.

And later on, an amble to Rocks, with sausage rolls from the bakery for dinner.

Emily flew to Santorini for a holiday yesterday. She sent some lovely photos.

A great day out.

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We enjoyed our lamb last night, and Terry popped round to join us. With the Australian travel ban he hasn’t been to Wengen for 2 years.

It’s another nice day, Val had a walk again. Big skies over the Jungfrau.

A nice quiet Easter Sunday.

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Val is getting pretty confident on her crutches now, she went out for a walk before lunch. Colourful garden at the back of Ali’s house.

Here in Switzerland Easter is celebrated in much the same way as Christmas, with a big meal. We’re not going to miss out. My lamb joint is going to spend all afternoon in the oven.

Lots more to do, it’s asparagus season. Must dash.