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Published: April 20th 2013
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Hello again and hello summer!
Actually scrap that…. WINTER has returned…!!
I started writing this blog a few days ago – I was sat on my beautiful balcony, the sun was shining and the snow had virtually disappeared, it really did seem as if spring has been completely by-passed here in Wengen… and that summer had arrived.
Temperatures went from about 4c one day to 24c the next… but yesterday we got snow… and not just a little bit – this morning we have over 14inches of the chilly white stuff – so the flip flops have gone back in the wardrobe and the snow boots are back out! I stepped out my front door this morning and disappeared up to my knees in snow… Even coming down the mountain the snow did not dissipate – they even have a few inches in Interlaken!
The result though of our brief summer interlude was massive snow melt causing thunderous avalanches (on average one every 15 minutes…) the noise ricochets round the surrounding mountains and valley which in turn sets more off
– amazing to watch, just from a very safe distance!
It’s not all been plain sailing though, oh no, this transition from winter to summer (and now back to winter) has had its downfalls… for instance…
I went out one morning, it was chilly granted, but the sun was shining, I had sensibly dressed for a spring day but to my horror when I came back up the mountain to Wengen that evening there was about 3 inches of snow on the ground… and so the prize for the most inappropriately dressed person in Swissyland goes to… drum roll please… ME! Little dainty ballet pumps just don’t cut it in sub-zero temperatures with fresh snow on the ground.
But summer is definitely nearly here… or at least it was – it seems to have back-tracked somewhat…
The ‘spring’ flowers are/were appearing in their thousands in the alpine meadows (they’re now covered in snow again…) and the waterfalls are in full flow cascading with tremendous force. The lakes and rivers are still swelling though and it was all looking like it should for summer – until the last 24hrs anyway.
This has got to be the best time to be in Switzerland, the transformation from winter to summer (and back again – all in one week), like I said no spring, is so rapid and so beautiful… every day from the little mountain train I take I see new and colourful sights.
Who needs television?
So since my last blog Wengen has become less like an episode of Dr Who, with techni-coloured Cyber Men of all shapes, sizes and is now more like a ghost town – I keep looking for the tumble weed to come rolling through the village but haven’t spotted any yet – with the amount of snow we now have again it’s more likely to be a holly wreath...
Just now is that in-between time where winter ends and summer begins – or rather tries to begin – the hotels are all closed for a ‘spring clean’ and I’m feeling a bit like the only rep in the village – oh that’s right I am the only rep in the village – never fear though the others will be back soon enough J
I’ve been whizzing around Switzerland a bit since my last blog. I took a little run down to Zermatt to see my buddy, Hazel – we ended up drinking red wine and watching Elf at some unearthly hour… We know how to rock n roll…
I also took a trip down to Montreaux and Villar, I love Montreaux, it’s in the French part of Switzerland and generally has better weather than up here in the mountains – it didn’t disappoint. Mid-April and I was sat sunning myself by Lac Leman (that’s Lake Geneva to most of us…) sipping a drink (albeit non-alcoholic) it was fab! I’ve also been to the usual places – Interlaken, Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen etc. And I really must get up to Bern to see my bears!
There’s been a few other things going on – the trains were off for a day and a half to repair the damage done by the rock-fall mentioned in the previous blog… that meant going up and over the mountain again and back down the other side, great views though so I’m not complaining. A friend ran the Paris marathon so big congratulations on completing it in less than 3.5 hours…And my heart was filled with sadness when news of the atrocities at the Boston marathon broke… I attended a party which a) I was sort of invited to and b) turned out to be a really good evening, it’s funny who you meet at these house parties… I bumped into my neighbour – from where I live in Wengen… not the UK… And Rocks Bar closed for its spring break L
Anyway, that’s about it for now, but before I go I’ll just tell you about a conversation I overheard a few days ago… A boy of about 7 or 8 asked his father ‘So dad who actually is in charge of NATO’? I was astounded, I would struggle to tell you what NATO stands for (I know now – thank you – I checked J<strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">😉 let alone what it does and who’s in charge – maybe I should have googled that too… I bet the father wishes he had! The kid went on to inform everyone within ear shot that it definitely wasn’t Barack Obama but probably some equally important, high ranking American…. Jeez someday that kid will be running Great Britain I’m sure of it…
And on that note – I wish you all well and happy travels, take it easy!
Love Tallulah x
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Kat
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Sshhh, don't tell anyone but we have sun today. Love the pics and I hope you are enjoying your time there, it certainly sounds like you are. Take care til next time. LUBNLT xox