It’s a lovely summer’s day. Off to see the tadpoles. We grab a sausage roll from the bakery at Lauterbrunnen and hop on the bus to Stechelberg. The tadpoles are all still there in the ponds.
Val and Ali walked along the valley back to Lauterbrunnen, while I ran. It’s getting a bit warm down here now, might need to go a bit higher for the next one.
This afternoon we caught the train down to Lauterbrunnen and set off along the river down the valley. We pass the little hydro station, and its neighbour, the aptly named chalet Elektra.
About halfway along the path we come to the picturesque hamlet of Sandweidli. There’s no station here, and it isn’t mentioned on the timetable, but the train will stop here on request.
The water in the river is a sort of milky white, meaning it is melted glacier ice. This is bad news for the glaciers, as they shouldn’t really be melting so early in the year.
Eventually we arrive at Zweilütschinen, which literally means ‘two rivers’. The river in our valley and the one that runs down Grindelwald’s valley meet here.
Ever since the start of lockdown, we’ve been fantasising about having a proper night out in Interlaken. Now we can have one, so we’re off to Brasserie 17 for dinner.
This place is well known for its ribs and chicken wings. They’re absolutely delicious.
The chef is our old mate Michele who used to work at the Caprice in Wengen.
Snoozing on the way home.
Today the weather’s fine and we’re off down to Lauterbrunnen. It’s really busy. New ice cream chalet.
I have to pick my way through the tourists as I come to the end of my run.
It’s a much better day today, not exactly wall to wall sunshine, but at least we’re not shrouded in fog as we have been for the past few days.
We have a lap of the village before shopping at the Co-op. It’s looking lovely.
And now, something that I haven’t done for over two months. A visit to the cash machine.
I almost needed a refresher course on how to use it. We’re off to Interlaken later for a proper night out, so we’ll need cash, and plenty of it.
There’s an artisan food shop near Geneva that makes English pies, and they will send them by post. That’s impossible to resist, so a few days ago I ordered 4 pies. They arrived yesterday, so we wasted no time in putting them to the test. Here’s Emily’s steak and Guinness pie, served with real chips, gravy and brown sauce.
Needless to say they were absolutely delicious.
Today it was foggy again, and cold. Val got herself some new trainers in Interlaken, but apart from that we’ve no further news.
I’m due a run, and this morning it’s a long one. The weather is anything but inviting.
I set off for the railway halt at Wengwald, hoping, but not really expecting, that it might be a bit warmer down in the valley. I can hear the train approaching, but I can’t see it until it’s almost at the platform.
On the train I try to gather my thoughts, and banish the murmur of self-doubt that always seems to find its way into my head before a long run. I contemplate my 61 year old feet, and tell myself not to worry. It’s going to be awesome.
The train pulls into Lauterbrunnen, and I head for my favourite bench. Headphones on – beep! Radio 2 on the phone – this morning it’s Ken Bruce. On my left wrist is my Garmin running watch – another beep as it picks up the GPS signal. On my right wrist is a sweat band emblazoned with the Swiss flag. OK, everything’s ready. Coach Michael Johnson speaks words of encouragement and I set off up the hill to warm up. Time to start running.
Don’t go too fast.
Don’t get tired.
Garmin keeps spitting out the stats: 1km, 2km, 3km, 4km..
Pace – ok.
Heart rate – good.
Before I know it, I’m done. The mind games and the ritual of preparation have combined to give me the mental strength to overcome my self-doubt. Those feet didn’t fail me after all. That could be a good slogan for a running shirt. Oh wait…
James & Julie came for dinner last night, we had dim sum and a Thai curry. Judging by the amount of bottles in our shopping trolley this morning it must have been an entertaining evening.
Now that all the shops are open we can buy some of the household stuff we’ve been promising ourselves since we moved in. Off to Interlaken we go. The trains are back to their normal half-hourly schedule now, so we get twice as many trains for the same amount of passengers.
The trains weren’t exactly busy on the hourly schedule. Now you get a carriage to yourself.
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