It’s Val’s birthday today, so last night we had a bit of a party in Rocks. I spent all afternoon in the kitchen cooking snacks, and Emily made a splendid cake. Colin provided the music.
Julie, Rosario and Nicoletta.
And here’s Val’s birthday breakfast.
This morning we popped up to the village and had coffee with Emily. The weather forecast is just rain, rain and more rain, so Val has started a new jigsaw puzzle.
Val was up very early this morning. We’re used to seeing the alpenglow over the mountains in the evening, but we got a nice one this morning too.
She’s off to Interlaken for her first eye operation. Lovely colours in the English Garden.
Pre-surgery selfie, and that’s the last time she’ll be needing those glasses.
Everything went well, and she’ll be back at the clinic even earlier tomorrow for her first check-up.
High jinks at the Sunstar last night while Beves and Ibe entertained us. Here’s Mary-Anne dancing with one of the younger hotel guests.
Today we had a lot to do. Firstly, Val was off to physio, and I went for another long run in the valley. Val caught the train down to Lauterbrunnen and we popped into the Gemeinde (municipal council) to collect our new residence permits. We got a very nice surprise. Up to now our permits have been issued annually, so we were absolutely delighted to find that our new ones are valid for the next 3 years.
This afternoon Val was off to the gym in Wilderswil, which gave me an opportunity to go and look for a gift for her upcoming birthday (I know she doesn’t read this).
After yesterday’s lovely afternoon by the lake, today the weather is changing. It’s clouding over and there’s a cool breeze. Val went for a walk around the meadows while I cleaned the barbecue. A nice view of the valley below us.
Back in May there were 100 lambs in these fields. They grow fast, and the flock mysteriously shrinks as the summer wears on. It’s no wonder the lamb you can order in the local restaurants is so delicious. This stream is called the Brunnibach. It starts from a spring up towards Männlichen, flowing through the meadow past our house (above in pic) and then onwards down the mountain to Lauterbrunnen where it joins the Lütschine.
I have some delicious looking sausage to barbecue for dinner. The question is, will the rain arrive before I can begin cooking?
There’s a series of bike races taking place over in Grindelwald today, so we’re off to take a look. I’ve never seen so many bikes.
Val’s colleague Wil (with one ‘l’) is taking part. He was 4th in his event.
We had a coffee after the racing and set off for Bönigen, where we met Ali. Lots happening on the lake today. Here come the white water rafters.
The Swiss seaplane club are here this weekend. Here are some model aircraft, all of which flew.
And of course there are real seaplanes.
There were about 8 seaplanes on the lake, and of course you can have a ride in one if you have 175 Swiss Francs to spare. This one is a flying boat, being inspected by a family of swans.
The seaplanes need a lot of space for taking off and landing, but there didn’t seem to be any special rules telling other people to keep clear of them. The steamers came and went as normal, as did all the paddle boards, speedboats and dinghies.
We had a lovely afternoon sitting by the lake watching all this, with ice creams to keep us cool. Great day out.
Every Wednesday during high season, the main street in Grindelwald is closed to traffic to make way for a street festival. We popped over to take a look. We bumped into Val’s colleague Will at the pump track – he’s been teaching the kids how to ride it safely.
The street festival features lots of music. Some is traditional Swiss.
And some is more modern.
There are also lots of stalls selling street food, and of course outdoor bars. It’s tremendously popular.
Beves and Ibe have a really good spot in the middle of the street. They sound completely different outside where they can really turn the volume up.
A very nice evening out. We caught the train back to Wengen and popped into Rocks for a nightcap on the way home.
Drinks in Rocks last night with Michael and Laurie.
Laurie is a yoga instructor, and she was unhappy with my body posture. This morning she sent me a shopping list, so some scary looking gym equipment is now on its way.
There’s a street festival in Grindelwald this evening, so we’ll pop over and take a look.
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