Wengen: Nebel steigen auf

On Sunday, with a break between concerts, we took the panoramic train to Interlaken Ost, transferring to Lauterbrunnen in the stunning valley of the same name, and on to Wengen, home of alpine skiing in the winter and amazing hiking opportunities in the summer. The quiet village was a welcome respite from the tour groups, traffic, and cigarette smoke to which we aren't accustomed, in Lucerne. Here were daypacks, walking poles, and clear air.

We stayed overnight at the Hotel Caprice, a wonderful small hotel managed by two of the very nicest people ever, Franz and Brigitte. We cannot recommend the hotel enough. Franz leads nordic walking tours in the summer season and unfortunately, for this trip, we were not equipped, we were both fighting colds I suspect were caught or compounded during the flights over, and the weather was not ideal in any event. We had by chance chosen the one night in which, instead of blooming meadows and creeks glinting with sunshine, we had heavy rain clouds moving in and some periodically heavy rain through the night and the next morning.

Props to the chef at the Caprice, whom we did not meet, but whose presence was delightful in our terrific dinner at the hotel dining room. A clear soup with julienned vegetables and sherry, and a perfectly executed lamb chop entree with tasty croquettes formed in the shape of pears (with pasta for a stem), stood out. To be able to walk it off the next day! I will need to save my pennies, hope the franc stops skyrocketing against the dollar, and find a way to return one day with more time for walking and fewer concert schedule constraints.


A brilliantly sunny trip to the Bernese Oberland area would have been great, but the shifting, rising and falling clouds and moody light upon the mountains had their own beauty. The sound of nothing but waterfalls echoing in the valley, and cowbells tinkling in the evening and again in the morning, shall remain burned into my brain for future comfort.