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Our neighbours Jana and Andy are moving to an apartment up by the Park Hotel. It’s the usual ritual of filling boxes and crates with possessions, carrying everything downstairs, worrying about the cat etc etc.

In the UK we would then wait for a big van to come and carry everything to the new house. Not here.

The boxes, crates and everything else are stacked on a net in the garden.

Then we wait, eyes skyward.

Our ‘van’ appears over the house.

Our house is surrounded by obstacles like trees and hotels, so the line from the helicopter is 200 metres long. 

As the pilot applies full power to lift the net the noise is deafening and a whirlwind hits the garden. 

And off it goes. The new apartment is only about 400 metres away, and the entire operation took about 5 minutes.

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Wengen is really quiet now, with all the hotels closed. Not a soul around when we went out this morning. 

Up at Scheidegg the snow is still good, and we pretty much have it to ourselves. 

Apparently it’s still possible to ski to Brandegg, which is very unusual in the middle of April so we decide to give it a go.

A nice run down and even nicer lunch when we got there. Full marks to the Brandegg restaurant for still being open too.

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Good night in Rocks yesterday evening, Danny serving evil shots whether you ordered them or not.

Colin has to go to Interlaken today for his MRI scan. There’s no skiing again owing to high winds but the weather’s lovely down in the valley so we had a wander around before meeting him for lunch. Did you know that Interlaken is actually the three communes of Matten, Interlaken and Unterseen? Here’s Val sat on one of the borders.

After lunch at the Barrel we got the bus to the Three Tells at Matten and had a couple there, then the train back to Wengen for a little more in Rocks. Nice day out in the sunshine. 

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We went for our last curry of the season last night. Jungfrau still bathed in sunshine as we left Rocks.

It was sunny this morning so we popped up to Scheidegg and had a ski.

While we were having coffee it got really windy, and suddenly the slopes were deserted. Lifts began to close, so we high-tailed it back to the village.

The station is being improved. Apparently there’ll be better access for disabled passengers and a bigger roof so we won’t get wet waiting for the train. 

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Yesterday was Colin’s last day at work, and we had arranged to go to Ali’s for a raclette. Colin was very late, and when he did eventually arrive he was on crutches. He’d had an accident at work and ruptured his Achilles tendon. The village doctor has plastered his leg and foot.

After some restorative alcohol we sat down to eat. The raclette machine has a grill for melting pieces of cheese, and on top is a hot stone for cooking meat. A big bowl of boiled potatoes and some salad finishes things off.

It’s delicious and we sat there for hours. Ali lives at the bottom of a big hill so it took us a while to get back up to the village, but we eventually dropped Colin off at home around midnight.

Today was bright but very windy, so the few chairlifts that are still operating were all closed.

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The last of the Easter holidaymakers left yesterday, and the village is quiet. Lots of construction and renovations will start now as there are only two short periods a year when this is permitted. We had a walk out to a spot called Staubachbankli which is a viewpoint just beyond Innerwengen. The flowers are beginning to cover the meadows. 

Now that the snow is beginning to retreat the animals can get some fresh air.

And the ice on this little duck pond has finally melted.

Tonight we’re off to Ali’s for a traditional Swiss Raclette.

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Ali (Ally – I’ve been spelling it wrong) has some complimentary tickets for the Trümmelbach Falls, so we can have a day out down in the valley. We start with lunch at the Airtime cafe, then catch the bus to Stechelberg. The waterfalls are in spate.

The Trümmelbach Falls are inside the valley wall. It’s wet and cold in the caves.

You need a good head for heights.

Afterwards we take the riverside path that meanders it’s way back towards Lauterbrunnen. 

Ice creams while we waited for the train. Rocks is closed tonight for their staff dinner, but Colin has persuaded Angela to let us have the keys so we can watch the golf on telly. What could possibly go wrong?