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We met an American couple in the Tanne bar on Saturday evening. Their names are Boyd and Aimee and they’re on a tour of Switzerland to celebrate their wedding anniversary. We told them about the Monday night sing-along with Duo Centrale at the Sunstar and sure enough they turned up.

It transpired that they are professional musicians. Steve and Colin got some help therefore.

Today it’s really hot, and hot means thunderstorms in the afternoon. We confine our walking to a stroll through the forest above the village. A pause at John’s bench in the bird garden.

Sure enough we got a huge storm. Hailstones on our balcony. 

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Last night we had one of those sunsets when the mountains turn orange.

This morning we set off for Mürren to walk a path called the north face trail. Great views back to the village from Schiltgrat.

The path takes us high above the village before turning back on itself and returning us to the railway station. 

There’s a parapente school here. Our teenage neighbour Kaspar is having lessons, much to his mum’s dismay.

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Our friends Jack and Erin are in Wengen for one night only. Impromptu party in the Tanne bar last night.

This morning we caught the train up to Scheidegg and set off down into the next valley. 

After a long trek we emerge from the forest and see a wonderful vista of Grindelwald. 

We stop off at Aspen for drinks and ice cream, before walking the last half hour down to the hamlet of Schwendi where we can catch a train.

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Good party in Rocks last night. It’s Ali’s birthday and Jon’s last day working in Wengen. 

Bubbles are a thing now, apparently. 

Today we have the craziest race of the summer. The Eiger Ultra Trail is a 101 kilometre route around all the local peaks. Runners start at 4.30am and hope to finish before dark. Many won’t. Passing through Wengen. 

Up Männlichen next!

Finish area in Grindelwald. It’s a huge event with several thousand runners from all over the world.

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Caught the train up to Scheidegg, but it was cold and gloomy up there. Good views of the glaciers though.

So we jumped on the Grindelwald train and got off at Alpiglen where it was a bit warmer. There’s a nice walk down to Grindelwald from here. The path is like a switch back. 

The railway is never far away.

We pass the little restaurant at Brandegg, one of our winter favourites. 

From Brandegg it’s a steep descent down to Grund, from where we get the train back home.

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The weather forecast is good, but a glance out of the window informs us that it might not be such a good day for a mega-hike high in the mountains. Instead we plan a circular route around the village. 

The path crosses the world cup slalom course. It’s ridiculously steep.

A little further along we cross the downhill course, just above the finish line. This is the Swiss equivalent of walking on the pitch at Wembley. 

We arrive at the little hamlet of Innerwengen. It’s straight off a chocolate box.

The path continues to Wengwald. It crosses all the streams that tumble into the valley. 

There’s a railway halt at Wengwald, but you have to press a button to signal the driver to stop. We were 200 yards from the station when the train came up the hill, but luckily the conductress spotted us running and paused to let us get on for a ride back up to Wengen. 

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This morning we caught the bus to Stechelberg at the top of the valley. The road ends there, but we can continue on foot. It’s a stiff climb up to the little hamlet of Trachsellauenen. Great views up to the Breithorn.

The glaciers feed meltwater into the river.

Stechelberg view on the way back down.

We had a late lunch in the village, then it’s a pleasant walk back to Lauterbrunnen along the river.