It’s a nice morning, mild and bright. We’re off to Scheidegg for a ski. It was quite quiet when we arrived.
A few views from the ski runs.
This guy is skiing the old fashioned way. It’s called telemark skiing. Once upon a time, many years ago, everyone skied like this.
We bumped into Will and had a chat, and Alex was our conductor on the train, so more chatting on the way back to Wengen. This evening we’re off to a Thai restaurant down in the valley.
Yesterday afternoon we had a nice walk along the river in Interlaken.
Eventually we ended up in the old town at Unterseen. It’s very quaint.
We enjoyed a beer at the Brasserie, and a splendid curry at the Taj Palace. This morning our plan was to head up to Männlichen, but we were held up a bit by the arrival of Mirko the architect, who wanted to take some samples to see whether we have any asbestos in the walls. We did make it up the hill eventually.
It was a lovely day, with unbroken sunshine and mild temperatures. The ski area is busy. Uptown Lights at the Alpine Hotel this evening.
Yesterday afternoon and last night we had nine hours of heavy rain. Just before dawn the temperature dropped below zero and everything froze. We thought we’d have a trip down to the valley for a walk. An ibex munches the grass by the railway line.
Lauterbrunnen is covered by a layer of fog, but above this the waterfalls are spectacular.
Street level in Lauterbrunnen.
The frozen rain has left all the roofs covered in ice. As the sun hits the church spire, the ice is instantly vaporised.
We walked along the river. As we turned back towards Lauterbrunnen, rainbows appeared in the waterfall.
We headed back up to Wengen for a schnitzel sandwich at the Crystal bar for lunch. The ibex is still happily eating in the meadow just below our house. Views back down to Lauterbrunnen where we had our walk.
The weather looks lovely for the next few days.
Lots of fun at the Alpine Hotel last night. Colin’s mate Neville is here. Nev is one of those ridiculously talented people who can play just about any musical instrument. Last night he turned up with a violin, a harmonica and a mandolin. It was a really good night with a big crowd.
Val had her German class this morning, and this afternoon it’s sunny and mild, so we had a walk to Mary’s cafe at Innerwengen. A lone skier descends towards us, under the gaze of the Silberhorn.
It’s a lovely spot for a beer or a coffee. We lingered until the sun disappeared over the mountain.
It’s a pleasant morning, with a little hazy sunshine and mild temperatures. We caught the cable car up to Männlichen and skied across to the restaurant. Coffee at the Edelweiss bar.
Lots of kids skiing today, it a Swiss ‘sport week’, when the children have time off school to learn a sport. Skiing is a popular choice.
The weather was a bit gloomy, and it got increasingly windy, so we retreated to the village before long. The mild weather looks set to continue for a while.
Saturdays are busy, particularly if the weather’s good. Families come from far and wide to take advantage of the ‘kids ski free’ deal, and who can blame them on a day like today.
We had a nice walk around the village. In the sunshine it’s warm, but the shady bits remind us that it’s still January, and temperatures are actually very low. Just as we got home the sun disappeared behind the mountains and we were glad to be back.
It’s been a pretty awful week of weather. Lots of rain saturated the snow that fell last week, turning the village into a sea of slush. Last night however, just after dinner, temperatures plunged and the rain turned to snow. Val had an appointment in Interlaken this morning, so she was out early. I followed her down a couple of hours later, and we had a long, lazy lunch with Emily at the Cafe de Paris. The snow had even reached Interlaken, which is quite unusual. It was vaguely amusing to see office workers in their suits and smart shoes negotiating the piles of snow that the ploughs had left behind. Usually we feel like country bumpkins when we visit a town wearing our mountain gear, but today we were the ones appropriately dressed.
We dragged ourselves away from the warmth of the restaurant and headed back towards Wengen. Not long after we got off the train the sun came out, giving us a tantalising glimpse of the winter wonderland that we are lucky enough to call home.
The sunshine lasted for half an hour or so before the clouds returned to obscure the view, but it was very nice while it lasted. The forecast for the weekend is bright but extremely cold, so we won’t be going far.
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