Our renovations are due to start tomorrow, so we thought we’d better move out today before the contractors descend on us. A nice simple plan. Or at least it was, until a trio of workers arrived this morning and started dismantling the terrace.
They soon moved on to the rest of the house, so while we were packing, having showers etc, the building was gradually being taken to pieces around us.
We weren’t planning to leave until late afternoon, but we soon got fed up with the noise. We’re staying at Emily’s place in Interlaken tonight, so we’ll no doubt take the opportunity to have a night out.
It’s the last Sunday in April, and that means it’s the last day of the ski season up at Kleine Scheidegg. Unfortunately a storm is raging, so to begin with there were no ski lifts open at all. Eventually one lift opened. Wil got this dramatic picture of the storm rolling over the mountains.
The ski lift was soon closed again as the winds were simply too high for it to operate safely. So that’s that for another winter. There are still no bars open in Wengen, but there are a handful of restaurants, so tonight we’ll have a walk up to the village and see what we can find.
High above Lake Thun is a small hotel called Leugebrüggli.
We’ve often thought about paying this place a visit, as the views must be absolutely spectacular. Yesterday we decided to go for lunch. A bus took us up the hill and dropped us off outside. We didn’t have a reservation, but we were lucky enough to get one of the best tables in the restaurant.
Before we get to the views, let’s deal with the food. It was gorgeous. Val had Salmon Trout, which is the house speciality, and my lunch was a huge pork schnitzel. The service was nice too, with an old-school maitre-de and waitresses in traditional costumes.
On the journey up the hill from Interlaken we were accompanied by quite a few paraglider pilots and their equipment. They take off in a field just above the hotel. One of their favourite things seems to be flying close to the restaurant windows and waving at the diners.
As expected, the views from here are simply stunning. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. The marina at Neuhaus, with a departing steamer, and the nearby golf course.
The high alps in the distance.
Waiting for the bus to take us back down to Interlaken.
I’d highly recommend a visit to the Hotel Leugebrüggli. It’s just ten minutes on the bus from Interlaken West station.
We had a good meal and a few beers at the Brasserie last night, and with no bars open in Wengen we thought we’d make a night of it in Interlaken and get the last train back. It’s Thursday, and Thursday night is karaoke night at Frankie’s bar. It’s very popular.
Different genders seem to have different approaches to karaoke. The girls sing in groups of two or three, whereas men prefer to go solo. Frankie’s is a brilliant venue for this stuff.
Here’s a view that we haven’t seen for about 10 days. The valley, and the peaks beyond.
It was snowing when we got up this morning, but since then the weather has greatly improved. The warm sunshine is very pleasant and most welcome, particularly as our house is covered with a foot of snow at the moment. All this needs to melt before the contractors can start work on our super new solar roof next week, so hopefully the sun is here to stay. We have an evening out to look forward to tonight; half a dozen of us are off down to the Brasserie for dinner.
It’s another cold, snowy day in Wengen. We need to get out though, as Val has an appointment at the eye clinic in Interlaken. The village is looking particularly wintry.
As the train took us down the valley the scenery changed from midwinter into late spring. Trees are in leaf and there are lots of tourists rushing around trying not to miss anything. We had lunch at the Co-op and got some much needed shopping.
We’re planning to return to the U.K. next week when our renovations are due to start. We learned this afternoon that owing to the weather the work is going to start a week late, so we could stay here a little longer if we wanted to. It’s a bit late for that unfortunately, as our flights are booked and paid for, and we have a busy schedule once we get back.
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