This time we left Diane and David on the balcony of the hotel room. It is a magnificent balcony that looks out across the Grindelwald valley and up to the north face of the Eiger. You can keep an eye on three ski slopes and the sledging run. We made sure there was an adequate supply of red wine, beer and snacks. They also had the binoculars and the camera. Helen and I took the new, high speed, Eiger Express gondola and in just twenty minutes or so we were high in the mountains up on the ski slopes. Another trip to Wengen was followed by skiing all the way back to Grindelwald. We stopped at the top of the final run to wave to David and Diane. With unaided eyes we could just about make out the hotel but had no idea if they could see us. We just stood there for a few minutes waving like idiots. But they did see us. Diane even took some photos.
Next day we all went for a drive around Lake Thun (Thunersee). Down in the valley the weather was warm and sunny if a bit hazy. We stopped at several places along the far shore. Helen and David were particularly taken by the pollarded plane trees dotted along the shore. Here and in France, roadside trees are commonly heavily pruned to control how they grow. In particular they tend to develop knobbly lumps at the branch ends. Because of this they bore a striking resemblance to the Whomping Willow of Harry Potter fame. Cent was also quite interested but possibly for other reasons. For lunch we found a perfect hotel balcony. Here we were served beer and snacks while looking out over the lake and a small arboretum of Whomping Willows.
Back to the skiing. Using the Eiger Express we could get to Eiger Gletcher railway station. Above the station is an excellent small restaurant with seating on the balcony. From here, at 2,320m, you can look up at the slowly shrinking Eiger Glacier and down at the ski slopes. Once again, Diane and David had a full-service arrangement while Helen and I went to ski. At this altitude the sun can be intense. By the time we got back, Diane and David were possibly a little sun-bronzed but had managed to keep themselves hydrated by drinking beer judiciously.
Here are a couple of videos of Helen skiing. I took one of Helen skiing on her own. The other, filmed by Diane, shows Helen following me off the start of the run down from Eiger Gletcher.