The weather’s been awful this week. We’ve had fog, rain and now snow. It’s a shame, as Adrian and Helen are here for a few days. Anyhow, we can still enjoy ourselves in the evening, and last night Colin and Nev put on a good show at the Braunbaer.
Mike C brought a special guest along. Meet Millie.
Tonight we have to decide whether to venture out in the snow. It’s not a particularly tempting prospect at the moment.
Yesterday’s storm has gone, and today it’s a bit cloudy but bright, with some spells of sunshine. For the next few weeks Wengen will be overrun by schoolchildren on holiday, and they’ll all need skiing lessons. The village nursery slopes are in perfect condition, and Val’s diary is rapidly filling up with lessons.
We had our usual Sunday stroll around the village this afternoon. Most of the paths are free of snow and ice now, and it feels like spring is on its way. Beves and Ibe, aka Uptown Lights, will be playing at the Braunbaer tonight.
The bad weather that was due to arrive yesterday has finally put in an appearance. It’s quite bright in the village, but the big cloud above Kleine Scheidegg is a sure sign that things are a bit wild up there.
All the ski lifts at Scheidegg were closed, but we weren’t particularly bothered as we’re off to Interlaken. Every so often we visit a supermarket called Migros. Compared to the Co-op it is distinctly upmarket, and we can get things there that the Co-op doesn’t stock. Their chocolate selection is particularly good. On the way back to Wengen the trains were packed – the German school holidays have started and thousands of families are heading for the mountains.
The weather forecast for today wasn’t looking good, with lots of cloud and wind predicted by Swiss Meteo. We decided to go up the hill anyway, on the basis that we could always come straight back down if the weather was awful. In the event it turned out to be a perfectly nice day, and we had a good ski. The grand old hotel ‘Bellevue Des Alpes’ dominates Kleine Scheidegg, with the Eiger lurking in the background.
Slopes, trains and restaurants were all quiet too. I guess if you were contemplating a day out from the lowlands the forecast would have been off putting. We treated ourselves to a late lunch of sausage rolls from the bakery – yum!
There’s still renovation work going on at the Braunbaer hotel, but I think it must be almost finished. There are some nice features like this wall of books in reception.
Colin and Nev had a guest singer last night, a girl called Zoe. She sings like an angel.
This morning the valley was full of fog, which is a shame, as I needed to go down to Interlaken while Val did her German class.
It’s always cold when it’s foggy, so I wrapped up warmly and headed down to Lidl with the shopping trolley. I bought 30 cans of my favourite beer, as well as nuts, chocolate and some nice looking fish for dinner. The whole lot cost 27 francs. That’s about a third of what I would have paid in the Co-op, so the journey was well worthwhile.
Val was teaching again this morning, and I went up for a ski before meeting her for lunch. The weather’s absolutely beautiful, and the slopes were busy.
For the first time in ages I had to queue for the lift at Arven. It looks like the busy period might have started already. We had a nice lunch at Allmend before we returned to the village. Temperatures this afternoon were very high. It’s more like April than February.
Uptown Lights put on their usual great show at the Braunbaer last night.
Val was up early for work this morning. In the village a banner hangs over the street.
The Downhill Only Club is 100 years old this week. We’ve been members for a mere 34 years (more than half our lives!), and during that time we’ve done lots of good stuff like racing on the Lauberhorn with the club. Val has her name on several of these trophies for racing.
I’ve done a few things for the club over the years, and when I retired from work they very generously gave me honorary membership for life. Our racing days are over, but there’s still no escape from the DHO!
Our buddy Michael gave Val a super jigsaw puzzle for Christmas which she finished this afternoon. It’s a scene of Heidelberg where Michael lives. Heidelberg is our favourite German city, and the completed puzzle looks splendid.
More live music tonight, with Colin and Nev at the Anonym bar.
There was a good crowd, all locals and no tourists at all as the school holidays haven’t started yet. The kids will soon be here though, and it feels like the calm before the storm.
Follow