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Val wants to go shopping, so we make some sandwiches and catch the train down to Interlaken. The English garden has been transformed this year – it’s still really impressive.

The Grand Hotel Victoria Jungfrau has some very nice cars for picking up VIP visitors. This one is the nicest of all. I wonder who the guest might be.

At least the hotel has some guests. Interlaken is very quiet – not a single table occupied at the popular restaurant Des Alpes at lunchtime today.

Val got a couple of tops at bargain prices – all the shops have sales at the moment, and we had an ice cream on the train on the way home.

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It’s very warm again, so we pop over to Mürren for a walk down the Sefinental (Sefinen valley). The path is mostly through the forest so it’ll be a bit cooler. Mürren was very quiet. We bought a huge ham sandwich from the bakery and set off.

From Mürren we walk to a hamlet called Gimmelwald. Gimmelwald is all about agriculture; there’s no tourist infrastructure here.

We descend towards the forest. This is a very popular walking area, and there are lots of different routes.

Lots of waterfalls to cross.

Eventually we reach Stechelberg. We resist the temptation to have a beer at the little hotel and jump on the bus back to Lauterbrunnen.

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We had a nice barbecue last night. It got a bit chilly later on, but the patio heaters kept us snug.

This morning we’re off up to the village as the cows are coming down from Wengernalp.

The cattle are all dressed up for the day. They’ll return to their farms and smallholdings in the valley for the winter.

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Our terrace is a wonderful thing. It has a sink, fold-up tables, lots of power points, awnings on all three sides, and even a retractable roof. It’s a great place for entertaining, but as it’s open to the elements it does tend to get a bit grotty thanks to the local birds and insects. So today was spent giving it a good clean ready for this evening’s barbecue.

Looks like we’re ready to go.

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It’s hotter than ever today, so we’re off out for our walk early. Val has a new hat.

We take the high path behind the village. Glimpses of Wengen.

Crossing the track above Cafe Oberland.

A nice walk of about 9 kilometres.

The farmer is hard at work in the field in front of our house. Yesterday he mowed the grass, and now it’s time to gather it all for winter feed. View from our bedroom balcony.

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We’re up early today as we need get over to Grindelwald to meet Nick for a walk that we’ve never done before. We start by getting the gondola up to a place called Bort, where we have coffee. The walk starts with a steep climb. Nick said there was an ice cream shop at the top, but he was pulling our legs.

We’re not very high here, so there are still lots of cattle.

Eventually the path meets the road that winds its way up to the pass at Grosse Scheidegg. Cars are not allowed, but there is a bus service.

There’s a bird sanctuary by the road. Sick and injured wild birds are cared for here. We often see these birds from a distance but it’s fascinating to see them up close.

Eventually we arrive at the Hotel Wetterhorn. We often ski down here for lunch in winter. It’s a lovely spot. It’s hunting season at the moment – we had venison and wild boar.

To get back to Wengen we catch the new gondola up to Männlichen. Lots of marmots live here – can you spot them on the concrete supports?

Great day out, and the biggest lunch of the summer.

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Today started nicely enough, with clear skies and sunshine. We have a string of jobs to do, most of them mundane, but I did manage to squeeze in a haircut. My plan for dinner was to peel our remaining potatoes and make calamari and chips, then Emily suggested going down to the lake for burgers and live music. There are some big clouds massing over the mountains, and it looks a bit like rain, so the spuds came out favourite.