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Last night we met Beanie, Sandro and Aliena for a beer. 5 months since Aliena appeared on this blog, and she’s growing!

Folklore evening at the ice rink. Bell ringers, dancers, yodelling and alphorns.

This morning we set off for a place called Spatenalp, high above the village. Great views on the way.

There’s a farm at Spatenalp, where we get a coffee before we start our descent into the next valley.

The path quickly becomes very steep, with many exposed sections protected by fixed ropes.

Occasionally we get a glimpse of our destination, 1000 metres below in the valley.

After about 4 and a half hours, we finally arrive at Burglauenen, where a train is waiting to take us up to Grindelwald.

From Grindelwald we get the train up to Scheidegg, from where we walk back to Wengen. Lovely old houses at the top of the village.

Our track from this morning:

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The Eiger trail begins up at Eigergletscher, at 2320 metres. It follows the base of the north face down in the direction of Grindelwald.

The path stays very close to the face, which means that most of the walk is in shadow.

Incredible views down to Kleine Scheidegg and across to the Lauberhorn.

The north face is limestone, and is disintegrating. Vast scree slopes to cross.

There’s a lot of water on the Eiger.

Some fixed ropes towards the bottom, providing help on the more exposed stretches.

We arrive at Alpiglen, at 1616 metres, the end of our walk, and just in time to avoid the rain.

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A trip on a steamer today, on Lake Brienz.

We stop at a village called Iseltwald for lunch, then return to Interlaken. A couple of beers on the terrace of Cafe Schuh, watching the parapentes landing on the Hohematte.

Back at the Sunstar, the Lauberhorn Trio (temporarily a duo) are playing. Mum gets a bell to play.

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Mum has never had a cocktail. This sorry state of affairs was fixed last night.

Started at Grutschalp this morning and headed off into the mountains.

Pretty steep in parts, with fixed ropes.

But eventually we reach the tiny hamlet of Sulwald.

Incredible view of Interlaken, 1000 metres below.

Tiny cable car to take us back to the valley. It can carry 8 people, or 1 cow.

Lovely pub at the bottom.

Our track for today, 17km.

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Val, Jennifer & I head up to Mannlichen for a walk to Scheidegg. It’s a lovely day.

Not too many people about today.

Our track:

We meet Mum &Jane at Scheidegg and have lunch in the Eigernordwand.

Time to set off for Wengen. We hit the rat-run. It normally takes about 15 minutes on skis, it’s 12km.

The Jungfraubahn are building a new chairlift to replace the existing Wixi lift. Lots of work to do as it has to cross the railway line.

Pit stop at Wengernalp.

Walking down Bumps piste.

At Allmend, the sky turns black and we get an afternoon thunderstorm. We have a beer at the restaurant and jump on the train for the last mile.

Our track:

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Arrived about 4 this afternoon. Checked into the Sunstar and headed for Sina’s. Ribs & chicken yum yum.

At the Sunstar, Oliver the manager has some new toys. He’s trying to make money doing Segway tours of the village and even reckons he can get up into the hills with them. He demonstrates by riding one around the residents lounge, which must be a first for the Sunstar.

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Dodgy strip, but good skills.