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It was sunny and very mild when I walked up to the village this morning, and after getting the shopping I had a very enjoyable coffee on the terrace at the Crystal bar. All the snow that fell at the beginning of the week has melted away. The village is looking quite spring-like.

These mild temperatures are very nice for the likes of me while I enjoy my morning coffee, but of course they’re not too good for the skiing. About 2 hours after I took my photo, Val got this one on her way down from Scheidegg. It’s the ski run from Allmend to Wengen, and it’s getting a bit thin.

You can also see that there’s rain coming up the valley, and that’s what we had all afternoon. It was nice to stay at home.

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Val got a phone call early this morning to tell her that the family she’s been teaching wouldn’t be skiing today. To be honest I don’t blame them – it’s very windy and wet. So Val finished her jigsaw instead. Here it is.

The picture is a scene from the 1962 recording of ‘Dinner for One’, a sketch featuring British comedians Freddie Frinton and May Warden. Although largely unknown in Britain, it is hugely popular in German-speaking Europe, as well as the Scandinavian countries. If you have fifteen minutes to spare, you can watch it here.

We met Ali and Emily for lunch, and tonight it’ll be an early dinner at the Caprice, followed by Steve and Colin playing at the Alpine.

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If we get a sunny day after a big snowfall, it is referred to as a bluebird day. Bluebird days are few and far between, but provide a combination of perfect snow and lovely weather. Today was such a day, and Val was lucky enough to be teaching.

The snowfall lasted well into yesterday evening, so the piste maintenance teams were still hard at work manicuring the ski runs this morning.

Alas, the skies clouded over after lunch, and the weather looks like it’ll be more unsettled for the next few days.

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It was cold on our way back from the Alpine hotel last night, and sure enough we had snow this morning. I had to venture up to the village for shopping. Very quiet, everyone who didn’t need to be out stayed at home.

Meanwhile, Val was working at Scheidegg. Keeping the railway working was a big challenge.

Heavy machinery needed to clear the tracks and platforms.

The snow should hopefully come to an end this evening. The council will have their work cut out to clear it all up tomorrow.

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Super birthday party at Julie’s last night, there must have been 40 people there. It was pouring with rain when I woke up, but up at Scheidegg Val had lots of fresh snow.

Uptown Lights at the Alpine tonight.

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31 years ago yesterday we made our way down to the council office at Lauterbrunnen and got married. We missed out on last year’s anniversary because Val was on crutches, so this year we’re determined to do it properly. We started with live music in Rocks, followed by a nice meal at Mira’s steakhouse.

We followed our meal with cocktails at the Tanne bar.

A lovely night out. The weather’s been wet and cold today, so we’ve stayed indoors. It’s Julie’s birthday party later, but fortunately she only lives 100 yards away.

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Val had her German class this morning, and afterwards we met Emily at the station and caught the train up to Allmend for lunch. One of the chefs is a Thai lady, and she made us delicious Thai soup and home made spring rolls.

The sunny weather has left us, but it’s still very mild. It’s still possible to ski back to Wengen from here, though you’d never believe it judging by the view from the restaurant.

We could have walked back down to the village but it started raining, so we ordered more drinks and waited for the train. The weather is definitely taking a turn for the worse. It’ll be interesting to see what the weekend brings.