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It was raining when we got up this morning, but the forecast was ok so we set off for Stechelberg. Here is the valley station of the new cable car to Mürren.

The cliff rises vertically from the valley floor, and it’s 430 metres high. The new cabins ascend at an angle of 57.9 degrees, making this the steepest cableway in the world.

We walked back towards Lauterbrunnen. There are still lots of cattle in the meadows.

Lauterbrunnen in the sunshine.

A nice walk, on another warm day.

Ali got a shot of the helicopter swooping down to collect more scaffolding this afternoon. Chalet Iltis is beginning to look very smart!

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The scaffolders were here early this morning, as they need to remove all the ironwork from the house. A helicopter is coming to take away all the scrap wood and the rest of the stuff that the carpenters and the roofers have left behind. Here it comes.

The aircraft lands in the meadow below the house, and the crew jump out.

Frantic activity in the garden while the (very expensive) helicopter lurks in the background.

At last we can begin.

And bit by bit, the helicopter removed everything and took it down to the valley. By the time all that was finished the scaffolders had removed the remaining scaffolding, and Chalet Iltis is beginning to look more like a house and less like a construction site. Happy days.

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It’s another very warm day, so we’re starting our walk at Wengernalp, high above the village.

The views up here must be some of the best in the Alps.

The Silberhorn, and the Jungfrau glacier.

A pause at a bench.

This place is called Mettlenalp.

Views across the valley to Mürren, where we looked at the construction site yesterday.

And high above Mürren on the Schilthorn, we can see the cranes that are being used to build the upper cable car stations.

Wengen, in the warm afternoon sunshine.

At Allmend a row of snow cannons stands ready for winter. It certainly doesn’t feel very wintry today.

Eventually we arrive back at the village.

A good walk on a lovely day. Last night saw the Crystal bar close its doors for the end of the summer season, so Wengen now has no evening bars open at all.

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It rained all day yesterday, so today we were determined to get out of the house for some fresh air. We met Ali and popped over to Mürren. The new trains are very nice.

The system of cable cars that get us up to the Schilthorn above the village is being completely rebuilt. The new cabins are already being tested on the section that comes up from Stechelberg in the valley.

Here is the departure point for the middle section that goes up to Birg. The old cable car station (right of picture) are is still in use at the moment.

Despite the cold weather and the fog, it was a nice day out. Three cows have appeared in the little meadow by our house.

They’ll only be here until they’ve eaten all the grass.

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Val had her German class this morning, so I popped down to Interlaken for shopping. We planned to go up to Männlichen for the walk around to Scheidegg after lunch, though the weather looked a bit dodgy. We went up anyway. Views down to Grindelwald from the top.

Sure enough, not long after we started our hike, the rain arrived. It takes about an hour to complete the walk, and we were grateful to arrive at Scheidegg for some shelter.

Luckily we had timed our arrival just right to catch the train back down to Wengen. Colin arrived today, so there will doubtless be a few drinks later on.

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It’s a pleasant day in Wengen, and over the mountains the clouds are gathering from the south. This usually means mild weather.

We headed for the lake at Bönigen. The steamers are still running, at least for a few more days.

Another boat, and some ducks.

Cattle enjoying the afternoon sunshine.

Another steamer at Interlaken West. We enjoyed an ice cream on the quayside as we watched it depart.

It’s been a lovely warm afternoon, and later we headed for the Brasserie where we met Wil for ribs and chicken. Super day.

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It was raining this morning, but we wanted to get out to escape the racket that the builders were making. The scaffolding people are coming to remove it all tomorrow, so if the roof isn’t finished by close of play today there’ll be problems. We headed down to Lauterbrunnen, and called in at the Gemeinde (local council) where we had some paperwork to deal with. We had a stroll along the valley. The overcast sky makes the waterfall look quite dramatic.

We had lunch at home while the builders had their break, and wandered up to the village. The sun came out, and it was suddenly quite warm. A train was standing at the station so we hopped aboard and headed up to Allmend above the village. By now it was warm enough to sit outside.

Great views of Wengen (if you ignore all the construction) from the restaurant. (Remember you can click the pics to make them full screen).

We decided to walk back down. It’s mushroom season, and fungi of all descriptions grows in abundance under the trees.

Eventually we got home, and look at this; the builders have finished the roof!

Tomorrow’s going to be even noisier than today, as the scaffolding people will be aiming to remove all the metalwork as fast as possible. We need to get out early again.