When we woke up this morning in Thun, it wasn't raining!! Phil went up on the roof to get some photos. Still can't see the mountains.
I had a look at the live webcams in Mürren and decided there was no hurry to get there. We went for a walk heading for Scholss Schadau on the Thunersee. We found a Dampfbahn - a miniature steam railway! Of course, we had to have a ride!
Back to the B&B to grab our bags and catch the 11.54 train. Trouble was, it didn't go to Interlaken. It did go to Spiez, however, which was halfway to Interlaken. Change no. 1 - at Spiez. Change no. 2 - at Interlaken. Change no. 3 - at Lauterbrunnen. Except there we changed to a gondola to ride up the cliff.
About halfway up, we went into a cloud and everything around us disappeared. Change no. 4 - at Grütschalp - back to a train.
The sign on the train says "Don't lean out the window". Good advice - there's a 700 metre drop! Not that you can see it. We got off at Mürren at around 1.25pm. Not bad - five separate trains/gondolas all connecting beautifully in a one and a half hour journey! This shot was taken outside the station.
We wandered slowly towards our apartment here. It was difficult to get any bearings due to the cloud. When we arrived, there was a note on the door welcoming us (and letting us know which apartment was ours). It's a lovely little place. Two bedrooms, kitchen/dining/living room, separate bathroom.
Notice the views when we arrived. Yep. White rabbit in a snowstorm.
A little later, the cloud cleared (temporarily).
The triangular things are avalanche protectors. They are also protecting young trees which are growing as a more long-term and cost-effective method of avalanche protection.
Phil and I went looking for the supermarket. It's Sunday, isn't it? The one and only supermarket in this little town is closed on Sundays. We managed to get milk as well as bread at the bakery, which meant we could make cups of tea. Yay! Have a look at the next two photos. Taken from the same spot about 10 minutes apart (before and after the bakery):
The cloud kept coming and going all afternoon. We managed to see bits of mountains when it lifted a little. I'm wearing my new jacket, which we bought this arvo. Needed it, too. Single digit temperatures, here. (And, yes - Phil found Mürren's fire station!)
Late afternoon, we decided to walk to Gimmelwald, the next village, and catch the gondola back. It's about a half hour walk with an altitude drop of around 300 metres. The cloud came back with a vengeance. Notice the gondola disappearing into thin air in the final shot.
We ended up eating in Gimmelwald where they had cheap meals for backpackers. They also had a bird table just outside the window, and I was kept occupied with Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Coal Tit and GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER!! Some nice photos of Gimmelwald after tea.
We left Gimmelwald, in the middle of a cloud, at 8pm, and arrived in Mürren five minutes later. Mürren was relatively clear, hence these shots.
Later in the evening, our host, Albert, got out his Alphorn and started playing on the lower balcony. We all raced down to have a look.
The final shot for tonight - the Eiger lit up by the evening sun (taken from the same balcony).
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