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International travel is going to get very difficult starting today, so yesterday we headed for Heathrow airport. Thousands of others had the same idea.

Usually we fly from small airports like Birmingham, and small airports mean small aeroplanes. Not here. This was the nicest plane I’ve ever travelled on.

You get lots of space, a touchscreen television and Val even had champagne. Five trains later we arrived in Wengen.

The weather is dry and quite mild, but the village is shrouded in fog. Most bars and cafes are closed at this time of year, so there are always a few folk socialising on the Eigerhübel.

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We’re off to the UK for a few weeks, so tune-in again in November for more Swiss goings on.

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There’s an exhibition of ‘light art’ in Grindelwald at the moment, so we decided to go and have a look. Absolutely freezing as we changed trains up at Scheidegg.

We went to the Memory bar and had a lovely dinner while we waited for darkness to fall. I got this snap of the first exhibit on the way there, with the Eiger in the background.

Stained glass window at the church. According to the notice it was supposed to ‘shatter’ if you clap your hands. We clapped and clapped, as did everyone else, but nothing happened.

Inside the church is a super moving light show.

Ali got this stunning shot of Val. I call it ‘beam me up, Scottie’.

This machine makes clouds. It was very effective.

Traffic cones, viewed through an eyepiece to give a sort of 3D effect.

The Hotel Regina.

Lastly, the bike shed next to the station.

It was freezing cold, so we popped into a bar and had some alcoholic coffee before we caught the train home.

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Val was out very early this morning for her final dentist appointment in Brienz. Here’s the path from our house down to the railway halt at Wengwald. It’s a bit further than walking up to Wengen, but it’s downhill all the way.

Sleepy Brienz in the early morning sun.

I was expecting to get a lie-in, but the gardener and his chainsaw ensured that I was awake not long after Val left. She was back in time for lunch, and later we’re off to Grindelwald with Ali and Emily.

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We have a wide selection of keys for this house. Some of them open all the doors, while others will only open our front door, or the door to the apartment in the basement, and a few will only open the door to our laundry and cellar. It’s confusing, as all the keys look the same, so we have to keep them carefully labelled. It’s doubtless all very clever, but on balance it would be much simpler if each door just had its own key. Today therefore, a locksmith paid us a visit and he’s going to sort it all out. Hooray!

It snowed overnight, just like it did last weekend. The alpine choughs that live up at Scheidegg can’t find any food when the weather’s like this, so they all come down to Wengen.

The weather’s getting properly cold now, so this afternoon’s job was to drain the outside taps and disconnect them for the winter. With cold water and even colder fingers, it’s not a fun job.

Quiz in Rocks later.

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Absolutely pouring almost all day today. Val wants to buy some German textbooks, so we head down to Interlaken. While we were there we popped into the pharmacy and got our flu jabs. Nothing more to report really.

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If you go to register at the council office in Lauterbrunnen, they want to know much more than your name and address. Have you ever been in trouble with the police? Do you have a dog? Both parents full names? Such is life when you’re an immigrant, and it’s probably just the same in the UK. Anyway, after half an hour of questions (and 50 francs) we came away with our paperwork, and another questionnaire to complete.

We go through this rigmarole for good reasons however. It’s a beautiful day, and look at the autumn colours.

Our old mate Heidelberg Mike is in town, so I expect we’ll be off to Rocks later.