Mannlichen

So last night we went to an Italian steakhouse/ pizza place for dinner called Sina's. We kept Lauren entertained with several of those really long skinny hard breadsticks (Mom, remember when you used to buy those for us?) and then when our anti pasta plate arrived (ham, salami, cheese, pickles (they seem to love pickles here!) and really tasty) the waiter (I think he was the owner) looked right at her sitting in Jeff's lap, said "this is for you" and set it right in front of her...a split second later she had both hands smack in the middle of the plate. Pretty funny, wish I'd gotten a picture. Jeff had pizza for dinner, I had spaghetti alla carbonara (good, but not as good as yours, Mom). Lauren sat in our laps until our main course came and then sat pretty happily in her stroller next to me, as long as I kept putting pasta in her mouth! Dinner was really good, probably amplified by the fact it was only our second real meal of the trip and neither of us had lunch. The only downside was the restaurant was probably 85*! We will probably go back again this week. Back to the hotel about 830. The first few hours of the night are always roughest. Lauren finally slept well after about 2am.

I slept terribly and we got a late start and missed breakfast.  Was stuffy all night last night and am again tonight... allergies with all the trees out our windows? Or caught Lauren's cold? Got all ready for hiking and then stopped at a store in town. Picked up some fresh sandwiches (the store advertised sandwiches outside but inside just looked to sell cheese and groceries, then I spotted a couple sandwiches behind the counter and the woman said "I just made those, they are very fresh, I have 2 and you need 2, perfect!") and chips and headed over to the cable car to Mannlichen. The cables run right past our hotel. And our train passes worked here too. It was a quick ride to the top (Jeff kept pointing out how high we are and the fact the there were no support posts anywhere on the ride up... literally the cable connected at the top and bottom and that's it). 

Yesterday's view was beautiful, today's was simply stunning. With the sun out everything popped and you could clearly see the glaciers in the mountains. We went up about 3000 feet higher on the cable car, so approximately 7000 ft high. We sat right at the top to eat our sandwiches (salami, cheese, pickles (they love pickles! ), and tasted like homemade mayo, very eggy). Couldn't have picked a prettier spot for lunch! 

We then hiked to Kleine Scheidegg. Took a little over an hour (plus a stop halfway thru to give L a break from the pack)  and mostly downhill, we went down about 700ft over the course of the hike. Jeff had Lauren in the pack and I carried a backpack and my camera. Took most pictures during the hike on my big camera so I'll have to post those when we get back, but grabbed a few on our phones too. Most of the hike overlooked Grindlewald, the next valley over from Lauterbrunnen (Wengen is above this valley). Sunny sunny day, everything was beautiful. I was glad I had on a long sleeved shirt instead of anything warmer. Every once in a while the breeze was chilly, but mostly was quite comfortable.

Lauren did well in the pack. She is happy any time we're moving and especially if we're outside! So walking out of the hotel she was bouncing in the seat and kicking her feet and once we got outside she got a huge grin on her face. She fell asleep twice, the first time she was really hunched over so I tipped the pack bank a few inches so she was reclined a bit (sorry, Jeff, I know that was harder on your back! ) and the second time she tipped sideways onto the side padding which seemed slightly more comfortable. 

Klein Scheidegg was a pretty happening area. Small (one hotel, train station, bar/ restaurant) but looks like it'd be really busy during ski season and it's the transfer point to the train to Jungfraujoch mountain.  We sat and had a beer and then caught a train back to Wengen. I love our train passes because we never have to worry about tickets or how much a ride cost, we just jump on and go. 

Back to the hotel for a nap (all of us! ) and then we tried a new place for dinner. Right on the main street in Wengen called Bernerhof. Part of a hotel, but more casual than I think most of the hotel dining around here. We got cheese fondue for dinner. Lauren sat in a high chair for the first time at a restaurant and did well. Wasn't interested in eating, but stayed entertained playing with the beer menu and some napkins. Good thing dinner was pretty quick because she was pooped, even after a 2 hour nap this afternoon. 

Got back about 730 and she ate and went to bed. Jeff's watching a show on his tablet, I'll finish up this post and read for a bit. Tomorrow we might take the trains to a few towns and walk around a bit. We are already thinking of getting more sandwiches from the same lady again tomorrow!

Pictures are a little out of order but hard to move around on my phone. 

pizza crust at dinner at Sina's

view right outside our hotel

view from the top of Mannlichen 

lunch! 

 chips! 

 this one's for Amy ("you've got a baby... in a bar! ")

 halfway thru our hike. Eiger and Jungfrau mountains

the hotel staff put Lauren's toys in funny spots all over our room when they cleaned today :)

 sitting like a big girl, reading the beer menu

overlooking Grindlewald on our hike