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It’s another very hot day. We’d like to have a walk, but the weather really isn’t helping. There was an article in the newspaper yesterday recommending walking in the forest when it’s hot, so we’ll give that a try. But first, we have coffee at Allmend above the village.

The scaffolding has been removed from the church steeple, so we can take photos of the village again.

Cattle are grazing in the meadow. Cows are noisy – press play!

We set off downhill towards the forest. Cows are placid animals but they do take an interest in passers-by.

Youngsters.

After a few minutes walk we reach the forest. The newspaper was correct. Apparently on a hot day the temperature will be about 5 degrees cooler under the foliage, and it certainly feels more comfortable. Every so often we get a glimpse of the village.

Some of the chalets in Wengen are looking really good now that the geraniums are flowering.

We treated ourselves to lunch at the Crystal bar. Colin’s playing in Rocks tonight, so it should be a good party.

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It’s another very warm day, so as usual when the weather’s like this we make some sandwiches and head up to Männlichen. It’s much fresher up here – just right for a walk. There’s still masses of snow in Tschuggen bowl.

Down in the valley most of the wildflowers have gone, but up here they’re everywhere. European Globeflowers.

Those globeflowers are a protected species in some countries, but there are masses of them up here. Val crosses a stream.

This vivid blue flower is a Gentian.

Rhododendrons. They’re just coming into flower.

We emerge from the forest and are confronted with the Eiger.

And to the west, the Jungfrau.

At this point our walk turns east and we head down the mountain in the direction of Grindelwald. These purple flowers are Wood Cranesbill. It’s a type of geranium.

Eventually we reach the end of our walk at a railway halt called Alpiglen, and a train takes us up to Kleine Scheidegg. We’d heard reports of a big crack in the glacier on the Silberhorn, and sure enough it’s almost the full width of the ice sheet just below the summit.

It was hot when we finally got off the train back in Wengen, and we were grateful for an ice cream when we got home.

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Too hot in the valley yesterday, so this morning we headed up to Mürren where it should be a bit fresher. Views back to Wengen through the trees.

I had a run to Grütschalp. Very nice through the meadows.

Temperatures are forecast to increase as the week progresses, so that’s probably my last run for a while. Dinner at Mira’s tonight.

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The heatwave that we’ve been enduring for a few days is behind us, and the weather forecast for today was drizzle and cool temperatures. Ideal for a run in the valley, or so I thought. Anyhow, we caught the bus to Schilthornbahn. Val got a nice shot of the world’s steepest cable car disappearing into the clouds above the waterfall.

Val had her usual walk along the valley, while I ran, and I had wrapped up a bit on account of the forecast. To my dismay, the weather turned out to be warm and sunny rather than the cool conditions that we’d been promised. Here I come, toiling up the hill.

I continued my run towards Lauterbrunnen, while Val turned off the path and headed down toward the river where it’s usually a bit cooler. There’s a nice old covered bridge down here which leads to the campsite on the other side of the river. True confessions: I have used Artificial Intelligence to remove some graffiti and an unsightly signpost.

The warm weather is forecast to return tomorrow, so that might be my last run in the valley for a while. Very enjoyable as always.

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Switzerland is enduring a heatwave at the moment, so if we want a walk it needs to be early in the day and as high as possible. We head for Männlichen. At 7290 feet above sea level it will hopefully be a little less hot.

There’s a nice walk from here which goes around the mountains to Kleine Scheidegg. Today, it opened for the first time this season. There’s still a lot of snow in places. Here we are at Gummi.

And this is the ski run called Barhag.

It’ll be another few weeks until it all melts, but in the meantime the snow provides a welcome opportunity to cool off a little. We were home in time for lunch.

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Just across the valley from Wengen is the tiny village of Isenfluh. We get there on a little bus from Lauterbrunnen.

It’s very pretty, and also very quiet.

For many years the only way to get here was via a steep mountain footpath. Then, in 1962 a road was built connecting the village with Lauterbrunnen. There’s also a small cable car which takes hikers up to the hamlet of Sulwald. It has capacity for 8 people, or 1 cow.

There’s very little else here. The village shop closed in 1969. In 1987 disaster struck. A landslide destroyed the road from Lauterbrunnen. The evidence can still be clearly seen today.

A temporary cable car was built providing access to the valley. A new road was commissioned, which eventually opened in 1992. It is said that the villagers held a three day long party to celebrate. However, despite the 10 million francs spent on the road, the population of Isenfluh remains alarmingly low. Historical census data paints a depressing picture.

• 1880 – population 176
• 1900 – 145
• 1920 – 118
• 1941 – 86
• 1972 – 42
• 1982 – 53
• 1995 – 70
• 2012 – 56
• 2024 – 69

In an attempt to make the village a more attractive proposition, the local council has made plots of building land available at attractive terms. There’s a big advert at the bus stop.

We can only wish the council the best of luck in their attempts to keep Isenfluh alive. We continue our walk down to Lauterbrunnen, passing the huge torrent known as the Sousbach.

Down in the valley, a hydro-electric plant is under construction to harness power from the Sousbach. A nice walk on a very warm day.

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It’s going to rain today, but before the first drops arrive we think we can squeeze in a walk. We start at Mürren across the valley. Here we are approaching the restaurant at Winteregg.

Cattle have started arriving in the summer pastures. The train drivers have to be careful to avoid them. Views back to Wengen in the background.

A long telephoto shot back towards Wengen. Our house is arrowed.

Eventually we reach Grütschalp. We stopped for lunch at the little self-service cafe and enjoyed the views of the high Alps.

We were lucky enough to get home before the rain arrived.