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Thank you Ma’am.

Philip came to me today
And said it was time to go
I looked at him and smiled
And I whispered that “I know”

I turned and looked behind me
And seen I was asleep
All my family were around me
I could hear them weep

I gently touched each shoulder
With Philip by my side
Then I turned away and walked
With my angel guide

Philip held my hand
As he led the way
To a world where Kings and Queens
Are monarchs everyday

I was given a crown to wear
Or a halo known by some
The difference is up here 
They are worn by everyone

I feel a sense of peace
My reign has reached it’s end
70 years I had served my country
As the peoples friend

Thank you for the years
For all your time and love
Now I am one of two again
In our palace up above

Anon.

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Lauterbrunnen had a street market today, and Val got a couple of photos on her way home from the gym. Lots of things made of wood.

This all looks delicious.

This evening Wil and Tanja came over from Grindelwald, so we had dinner from Santos and a few beers.

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It’s September, and that means it’s time for the cattle to start coming down from their summer pastures in the high Alps. The first herd to come down is usually the one from Pletschenalp above Lauterbrunnen. Here they come.

Hurry up Matilda!

As always, it’s a very popular event. The cattle aren’t in any hurry, and the cowherds have their work cut out trying to stop the cows wandering into shops or gardens.

Traffic, needless to say, is brought to a complete standstill while the cattle make their way to a field by the waterfall. Once there, their owners will take them back to their farms further down the valley.

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It’s another lovely day, so after lunch we decided to pop up to the Jungfraujoch. The ‘Joch’ is Switzerland’s most popular tourist attraction, and in pre-Covid times it got more than a million visitors per year. To get there we first need to catch the train to Kleine Scheidegg.

From Scheidegg another train takes us through a 7 kilometre long tunnel through the mountains. There’s a stop half way up so we can see the Challifirn glacier.

Eventually we arrive at the top.

The Jungfraujoch has lots of shops and restaurants, but our first priority is to get outside onto the snow.

There would normally be crowds of people here, but it’s late afternoon and most visitors have gone home. A few dozen people were out enjoying the snow.

The Jungfraujoch is home to the source of the Aletsch glacier. It’s the longest glacier in Europe, with a length of around 23 kilometres. Here it is, stretching off to the south of us.

Despite all this alpine magnificence however, our favourite part of a visit to the Jungfraujoch remains the Lindt chocolate shop. We filled a couple of bags from the pick ‘n mix before heading back to Wengen.

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After all the rain yesterday, it was nice to wake up to find the sun was out. We’ll have our usual visit to the Schilthornbahn station for lunch. Val caught the bus and had a little explore while she waited for me. Lots of paragliders as usual.

The Lauterbrunnen valley is one of the top venues in the world for BASE jumping. This is fundamentally different to paragliding. Whereas paragliders inflate their parachute before they leave the ground, Base Jumpers jump from the cliffs above the valley, enjoy a few seconds of free-fall, then deploy their parachutes. Obviously there is far more that can go wrong, and unfortunately it sometimes does. Here is a shrine to some of the Base jumpers who didn’t get down safely.

Eventually I came plodding along the river.

We enjoyed our usual schnitzel sandwich, and hiked back to Lauterbrunnen. Uptown Lights at the Sunstar tonight.

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Today has been very changeable, with sun, rain, thunder and gusty winds. Ali got a super picture while she was down in the valley this afternoon.

Kathleen got another.

And so did Manuela while she was at work at Männlichen.

It’s September, and that means it’s the hunting season. Shooting is very popular in Switzerland, and hunters are a common sight.

Hunting season means lots of lovely game in our local restaurants. We’ll be stocking up with rich venison stew for the winter.

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I was up early for my run this morning, and what a run it was. In dry and cool weather I ran all the way to the hydro station at Stechelberg and back again, a distance of just over 12 kilometres.

This afternoon we did a circuit of the village via Wengwald.

It’s beginning to feel quite autumnal, and the village is much quieter than it was last month. How long until the first snow?