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It’s another lovely day, and Val was off to work again. The Eiger towers over her ‘office’.

I was off down to Interlaken. I need to buy beer, and a trip to Lidl can save me a fortune if I’m lucky enough to find what I want in stock. Lauterbrunnen was looking very picturesque on the trip down the hill.

I sprinted around Lidl and bought as much beer as I could squeeze into the shopping trolley, before heading back to catch my train. Unfortunately when I arrived back at Lauterbrunnen there were no trains running up to Wengen owing to a broken down train blocking the track. It was 2 hours before everything started running again, but I just about managed to get home in time to cook dinner.

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The school holidays are in full swing, and Wengen is packed. Fortunately the weather is nice, so the kids have plenty to do. Here’s a webcam shot of Männlichen at lunchtime. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many people up there.

Val started work today, so I fell into my usual domestic routine of shopping, recycling and other chores. The Co-op was a bit of a challenge, absolutely full of shoppers but very little produce left to buy. My plan to make a nice curry fell at the first hurdle when I found that there were no mushrooms left at all.

Of course the shopkeepers do very well at times like this. The bakery makes fresh doughnuts out on the street – here’s the resulting scrum as people queue to get one.

Dave and Lesley arrived late last night, so we’ll see them for a beer later.

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Last night we had a lovely meal at the Eiger, followed by cocktails at the Crystal bar.

This morning Val needs to go up to Scheidegg to collect her new uniform, as she’s starting work tomorrow. Lots of people having fun.

3 guys dressed as Santa Claus were waiting for the train.

And here is Val wearing her new Altitude Ski School uniform. She looks very smart indeed.

The fine, mild weather continues, so she should be able to have fun with the kids without getting soaking wet or frozen.

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It’s a lovely day up here in the mountains, but a completely different story down in the foggy valley, where it’s dark and cold.

The village nursery slope is very busy.

To make room for more kids, a piste machine is preparing the big meadow at the top of the village.

Colin is playing at the hotel Victoria Lauberhorn tonight, so I dare say we’ll pop up for a beer and a sing-along.

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Traditional Christmas dinner last night with Colin and Ali.

Our terrace has half a meter of snow covering it at the moment. A heating system slowly melts the snow from beneath, and the meltwater drains onto the path below. This results in a spectacular icicle.

After lunch today we popped across the valley to the little restaurant at Winteregg. We enjoyed a coffee and the spectacular views.

Tonight we’re off to an apero at Paul and Anne-Marie’s place.

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Colin played in Rocks last night; he started early to catch the apres ski crowd.

I popped out to the takeaway to get fish & chips for dinner. Anne-Marie has arrived in time for Christmas. I couldn’t resist trying her fur hat.

The snow finally stopped some time in the early hours of this morning. Wengen is looking good.

Today has been spent cleaning the house and preparing Christmas dinner, which is traditionally eaten on Christmas Eve hereabouts.

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This morning we headed up to the Co-op, wading through knee-deep snow. A couple of ski lifts were open at Scheidegg, but it wasn’t really a day for skiing. The hill back down to our house from the village.

This evening Colin is playing in Rocks, so we’ll have a few drinks and fish & chips. Everyone is thoroughly fed up with the snow now, even though it will mean a great start to the season once the avalanche danger has subsided.