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Last night we popped across the valley to Mürren to see our friends the Zwicky family. Mürren is a bit of a hike, and can only be reached by cable car, but the view back across the valley under a full moon makes the journey well worthwhile.

Mürren is much smaller than Wengen, but it does have something that we don’t, namely a lovely Chinese restaurant. We have a table booked. The meal was lovely, but the highlight of the evening for the children is opening their Christmas presents.

Eventually we have to dash for the cable car which takes us back towards Wengen. More amazing moonlit views as we get closer to home.

Today it was sunny and mild. The school holidays are in full swing, and everyone who can ski is up the mountain. Those who haven’t learned yet are practicing on the nursery slopes in the village.

Colin is playing his first gig of the season at the Alpine Hotel this evening.

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As is the custom here, we celebrated Christmas yesterday on the 24th. As usual, it was a big team effort with the food. Emily and Ali made a whole table full of starters.

And Colin produced a lovely joint of beef.

I spent the day preparing all the vegetables. We had a lovely dinner, and afterwards it was time for Secret Santa. Everyone gets a gift, but you don’t know who bought it. I got a lovely bottle of Scotch.

Ali unwrapped socks, a book, and a coffee cup full of chocolates.

Emily was pleased with her t-shirt.

Colin got a big parcel containing beer, potatoes, crisps and Jägermeister (a herb based liquor).

Val got lots of socks. These are something of a novelty, as they’re not sold in matching pairs – every sock is different.

Tradition demands that we play Yahtzee after dinner. Ali was triumphant. All in all, a lovely evening. This morning we had a bit of a lie in, and a wander around the village. Wengen is looking splendid in the sunshine.

A Merry Christmas to everyone.

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The rain that we’ve suffered over the past week or so has gone, and the sun has come out. The mild temperatures have melted the snow in the valley.

We have a new train called the Wengen Shuttle. This will alleviate the overcrowding on the services up from the valley. Trains now run every 15 minutes from Lauterbrunnen at peak times.

Tonight the village officially opens for the winter season. The shops and businesses along the main street have stalls offering drinks and snacks.

We went round to Anne-Marie and Paul’s place for a delicious supper, before wandering home.

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The weather’s been pretty dreadful over the past few days, so we haven’t done a lot. In a rare dry spell we had a wander up to Andy and Jana’s place yesterday. We had coffee and cake, and gave Oskar his Christmas present. At home we’ve had lots of gifts to wrap, and we’ll soon be ready for the big day.

There’s a lot of wildlife in the forests around Wengen, but most of the animals stay under cover until after dark. It was a nice surprise to see these deer on the meadow beside Ali’s house this afternoon.

We’re promised some better weather tomorrow, so hopefully we’ll be able to get out and about.

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Val had an appointment in Bern today. It’s Switzerland’s capital city, and it has some lovely architecture, having been untouched by war through the centuries. A few pictures.

The Christmas markets were in full swing, but it was cold and foggy, so Val was happy to escape to a cafe for coffee and a croissant. I stayed back here in the mountains, and busied myself with recycling and shopping, including a very successful beer run down to Lidl in the valley.

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The weather is fine and dry, and in Wengen we get a few hours of sunshine every day, despite the lateness of the year. The same cannot be said for the villages down in the valley where, for the most part, it remains dark and cold all day. We were in Lauterbrunnen at lunchtime, and we were lucky enough to see the few minutes of sunshine that will reach the valley floor today. It’s certainly spectacular.

The temperature down here is much lower than it is up in Wengen. At Kleine Scheidegg, which is higher still, it is even warmer. This phenomenon is known as a temperature inversion – it’s a day when it’s colder at the bottom of the mountain than it is at the top. We had a nice lunch at Airtime Cafe, and headed back up to sunny Wengen.

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Every year the children from the local school put on a nativity play in the church. We make a point of going as we know some of the kids and most of the parents.

The play tells the traditional story of Mary, Joseph and the baby. It is, however entirely secular – there is no mention of God, Jesus or any other deity. It was very enjoyable, and the children did very well to learn so much material. Afterwards we called in at Mira’s steakhouse, which has opened for the season today. If you like red meat you’re in for a treat here.

The poor weather that we’ve endured over the past week or so is behind us, and this morning we awoke to a glorious day. The village is looking perfect, just in time for the holidays.