24. Jun, 2016

23. Jun, 2016

THURSDAY 23-06-16

We were up just after 07:00, intent on undertaking our planned hike from Kleine Scheidegg up in the mountains which we would reach by train, and which is the staging post for the final leg of the train journey up to Jungfraujoch, across the base of the north face of the Eiger, then down in to Grindelwald, then a train back, whilst it was reasonably cool.

We had decided to travel as light as possible, not even taking a lunch with us. Whilst The Chef was doing bits I got the job of going up to Reception to buy the tickets for our trip to Jungfraujoch tomorrow morning. Now I should never be sent shopping. I always come back with more than I should, the wrong thing, or something more expensive, as was the case with the tickets. I was sent with the cash to buy two tickets, straight up, then straight down, but for just an extra twenty Swiss Francs I secured a train ride back on a different route, basically a circular tour, still it will make a nice day out.

As we left the campsite The Chef questioned the wisdom of our planned hike, it would be long, with no shade, on what was being forecast to be a stinking hot day. I agreed and so instead I suggested we go in search of the waterfall she wanted to see at the bottom of the valley here. It was a long haul walking down towards the cable car station where we had taken the rides up to Murren days ago. We could feel the sun on the backs of our necks, it was all rather hard work. At the cable car station we rested before hiking beyond it in to what was for us, new territory. In the end we had to concede that it was too far to walk, and there was no alternative means of transport to reach it.

We made our way back down the track to the Postbus stop and caught the bus back in to Lauterbrunnen. The fare back down the valley cost us a staggering £4 each. We had travelled further in France for fifty cents, about forty pence. We decided that as we had come out with no lunch to save weight, we would treat ourselves, so in to the Co-op shop in the village and straight to the frozen food compartment. Out came a bag of frozen chips, a good buy at about £4. Back at the campsite the oven went on and The Chef cooked part baked baguettes and half the chips. So we ended up with a 'chip butty' with Tomato sauce. Oh what a treat. This afternoon has been spent hanging around soaking up a little bit of sun, and spending the rest of the time trying to keep out of it. I stuck the meat thermometer out in the sun for about thirty seconds and it registered 31°C. What made it so uncomfortable was there was just no air, no breeze at all.

Never mind, we survived it and enjoyed a barbecue this evening with the added bonus of more frozen chips. That's all of them gone now, back to healthyish eating tomorrow, or the day after.

Tomorrow we will be up at 05:00 in order to be at Lauterbrunnen railway station to catch the 07:00 train up to Kleine Scheidegg, then change trains and up to Jungfraujoch.

23. Jun, 2016

23. Jun, 2016

22. Jun, 2016

 WEDNESDAY 22-06-16

We awoke to a lovely bright, sunny morning. That was our motivator. I was out of bed and setting the electric oven on the table outside before 08:00 in order to bake some bread for our pack-up lunch, whilst The Chef took herself off to the shower block.

Breakfast was Weetabix, though I am now limiting myself to just one straw brick a day, as we're getting a bit low on supplies and it's The Chef's favourite. I'll probably buy some Corn Flakes or something when we get back in to France.

Armed with cameras, fleece jackets, just in case, lunch, sunscreen, alcohol soap, map and sunglasses we were ready to set out on today's 'mission'. I say mission because the heliport down the road, as well as taking lunatics up to the tops of mountains to jump off, also takes supplies in under-slung nets up in to the mountains, and the better the weather the more the flying, so it really does feel like holidaying in a war zone like Vietnam or Afghanistan.

So there we are at Lauterbrunnen railway station to buy our train tickets up to Wengen, where we would catch the cable car up to Männlichen then return. There was one long queue out of the Ticket Office door and three windows open to serve passengers. In front of us were a group of five Yanks, four adults and a lad of about 14. Now when we go in to buy tickets we know where we're going, when, and how. Not the stupid Yanks. They pontificated over which day of the week they should go up to Jungfraujoch, what time, how long they should stay up there etc without any sense of urgency at all. Whilst all this is going on a Swiss chap I assume, walks to one of the windows with a customer at it, and when its free buys a ticket. I said to Rosina "What happened there? He obviously wasn't going to join the queue like the rest of us". Within minutes an Indian tour guide (I knew that by the red flag on a stick he was carrying), says "Excuse me", brushes past and stands behind the customer at the middle window, when he'd been served the Indian guy starts to buy his tickets, not one or two, but forty, and not just forty tickets but 40 discount cards, and on top of that calls his mate in from the platform to join him to do his transactions as well. So out of three windows we had five Yanks who didn't have a clue what they wanted at window one, two Indians at window two with just window three dealing very slowly with the queue of customers.

When the Indian had finished his very long-winded ticket buying I thought this is it. He was the Chapatti Kid and it was High Noon. I said, nice and loudly "Excuse me, you might like to consider how long that transaction would have taken you if you'd joined the back of the queue like everybody else", pointing along the long line of patient customers. Soon after a German chap behind me supported me. I just kept telling the Indian that he was very rude, and how he should have joined the back of the queue like everybody else. That's the problem you see, back home in Mumbai or wherever, he would have climbed on to the top of the railway carriage along with hundreds of others and had a free ride, but today, just because he was getting to ride inside the carriage he thought he was the dogs nob. I did also make a very pointed remark to the chap behind the window that he shouldn't have served the Chapatti Kid because of queue jumping and instead should have sent him to the back.

Eventually that bit of fun was over and we boarded a train up to Wengen from where we caught the cable car up to Männlichen. The weather up there was glorious, with lovely views of the mountains including the north face of the Eiger.

Before coming down we treated ourselves to a small beer each. A mere £8, I don't know how they manage to do it so cheaply.

So that was it really, there was nobody else to upset, the weather had been very hot (28°C), and The Chef served up a lovely stir-fry for our evening meal.

Perhaps we'll have a curry tomorrow.