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Went up to Männlichen this morning and had coffee, then skied round to Scheidegg to watch the training runs for the race. The racer pops out of the start hut at top speed, with his mate in hot pursuit carrying all his belongings.

This evening in the village the racers go on stage to get their bibs for tomorrow’s Super combination race. They do a downhill in the morning and a slalom in the afternoon.

We have our bibs of course.

Central Sport are hosting a party. Colin and Steve are playing and there are lots of skiers signing autographs.

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I cleared about 4 inches of fresh snow off our steps this morning. It’s cold! We headed across the valley to Winteregg where the skiing is not too high and the trees help the visibility. Quite gloomy at the top to begin with.

But things began to brighten up and we had some very good skiing.

We had a late lunch and caught the little train back to Grutschalp. The sun put in an appearance.

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The weather’s changing today, it feels very wintry and we’re getting frequent snow showers. We went to Interlaken to get some shopping. Ibex peeping at the train on the way down. We bought hair clippers – they cost less than a single haircut does in Wengen.

When we got back to Lauterbrunnen the Austrian ski team were unloading their vans.

Wengen is in full race mode now.

The race teams stay in the hotels around the village. Each hotel flies the flag of its guests. The Caprice is hosting the Norwegian team.

Snowing hard tonight.

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Weather was not great today, rain this morning and snow showers after lunch. But I didn’t care, because my piano arrived today!

Pleased to report that I can still play, even if those carols that I learned are going to have to wait for another 11 months!

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A much better day today. We got up early(ish) and walked up to the village. It was deserted – lots of people have gone home. We caught the 10.24 up to Scheidegg and had coffee. Headed down towards Brandegg and came across our neighbours Andrew and Nuala and Andrew’s parents.

Skied with them for a bit and had lunch. Headed back towards Wengen. The VIP area for the race is huge this year. This is at Wengernalp, about half way down the course.

Although it was cloudy and a bit murky today we were happy as we only saw snowflakes falling; no raindrops!

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Val’s dad departed this morning – hope you had a good trip home Jim. It was a good day to leave, as it rained almost all day in Wengen with snow higher up.
The forecast is for more rain and snow over the next few days, so we have our fingers crossed for slightly lower temperatures.
Preparations for the race next weekend are in full swing. A stage has been built along with 2 huge wooden chalets which I assume will be used as bars. Back at home we’ve restocked the fridge and done the laundry, and we’ve tempted fate by acquiring a big snow shovel for our steps. Here’s hoping it gets some use!

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Just down the valley is a village called Wilderswil. The train from Interlaken passes through it, and I’m sure most people don’t give it a second glance, particularly in winter. However, behind the station and invisible from the train is an absolute gem of an old Swiss town. It is not a tourist attraction – people have been living here for at least 1400 years, which makes it about the same age as our home village of Shifnal.

This is the old town square. The date on the house is 1509.

There’s a fine old church. There’s been a church on this site since 1196. (First pic is not mine).

A covered bridge connects the old village with the church and the neighbouring hamlet of Gsteig. It was built in 1738, and is still in use.

This coaching inn was built not long after the bridge was completed.