We spent the first afternoon wandering around the town; one lap took about an hour. The clouds had lifted and the views were spectacular. The little Coop grocery across from out hotel supplied dinner. I was most impressed: the prices here in the middle of nowhere were the were the same as in the big city.
Friday morning was perfectly clear and sunny. We rode the cable car to the summit of the Schilthorn (famous for its part in the Bond movie "On Her Majesty's Secret Service"). Kari found a spot in the sun on the terrace at Birg, one stop down from the top, and I spent the day skiing in the shadow of the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau. There hadn't been snow in several weeks so the slopes were a bit icy. But I have never skied in a more spectacular setting. I think I spent as long gawking and taking pictures as I did skiing. This place would be as perfect as anywhere with about 10cm fresh snow. Then a sunny day.
We spent Saturday morning trying sledging (sledding to us 'Mericans), which is almost as popular as skiing around here. By the second run we kind of had it down, No steering on the sledges we had so it was pure drag turning. By the time we figured it out the Saturday crowd had invaded the slopes, and sharing the bob-run with beginner skiers and bundled rugrats became too much. We parked the sledges and hiked down to Gimmelwald, and even smaller hamlet where I'd spend a night on our world tour in 2009. The Mountain Hostel in Gimmelwald is a great place to base for summer hikes.
On Sunday Kari was kind enough to let me spend the whole day skiing. She hiked down along the Bergbahn Lauterbrunnen-Mürren railway. I beat myself senseless on the slopes.
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