About Staubbachfall, Waterfalls, the Jungfrau and Swiss Things

Oh what a wonderful morning, bright blue sky so early however with the promise of later clouds from the weather underground that I was hoping would be wrong. Sounds of rushing water everywhere as more snow melts. Some canoeists arrive to put their craft into the White Lütchine for a speedy ride to Lake Thun. They  were eager to get going and rushed like the water to get in and keep pace with it. Unlike us watching from the balcony, we were not in a hurry and enjoyed seeing their bobbing helmet heads pass swiftly by and their dedicated driving ladies dove away to probably get a quick coffee before picking up their river men……….Sunday is an extra lovely quiet day, as we and neighbours sit on our balconies soaking in the sun and listening to the noisy waters and watching the world. Water from the tumbling Staubbach Falls, the White Lütchine and the little Lütchine Bächli that runs past the apartment. Nice that one can see little fish in the Bächli though too small for fishing so the youths fish from the larger White Lütchine with a rod and net for an hour, but no luck today. 
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So much to see from the balcony.  Our neighbour in the large house to the left has not planted her vegetable garden yet as she waits for the last Eisheiligen due to finish by 25. May. Day trippers wander into the field in front of the Sportanlage where there are tennis courts and mini-golf…..they get a similar magnificent  view of the Staubbach Falls and the Breithorn mountain to the left up the valley as from our our balcony and right now the field is blooming with white and yellow flowers and some purple colour  splashes too, all great for photos.

The birds are happy with the weather and sing about it, they must like all the extra leaves worn by the huge trees opposite the apartment. So many different greens and almost covering the church except for the clock and steeple. Spring is here.

Back from a leisurely stroll along the edge of the White Lütchine. We hopped over barbed wire to reach more amazing views of many waterfalls on the Wengen side opposite the Staubbach falls and Buchenbach Falls. It's 6pm and we are still in shorts and short sleeves and back on the balcony listening to the birds’ evening song and watch some dog-walkers along the White Lütchine path opposite as the Sunday evening bells chime ‘ time for supper’. The sonorous bells play again at 6:50 to announce an evening service there and close the day. We enjoyed the balcony until 9pm.

The Swiss are ingenious. Creating LSD, mustard in a tube - thanks Mr Thomi and Rivella, their iconic drink made since 1952 from whey, herbal extracts, fruit, water and some sugar - you either love it or not.
 
When I moved into our Lauterbrunnen apartment, unpacked some things, cooked, enjoyed the feeling of ‘here at last’ then decided some dish washing was needing to be done. I spent ages looking for the plug to wash up my first dishes in the kitchen sink. Not finding such that I was familiar with, the next day I went to the hardware store and quite an expedition to find one in a back alley. My beginner level German transitioned into creative mime sufficient enough for the patient shop manager to find exactly what I needed. On showing me the plastic tube, I quickly recognised that I had seen something like that under the sink! What looked like a part for the vacuum cleaner was the sink plug. Of course he saw my surprise and as I continued the mime of vacuuming we both laughed.
 
By putting this tube into the sink plug hole, you don’t ever overflow the sink and can pour liquids down it while you have a sink full of water and you don’t get your hands wet when you remove it, convenient if you have left dishwater in the sink to go cold and nasty. There is a longer one in the laundry tub as well – super – I’m sold on these.
 
After talking about the sink, there is the kitchen hob. It has three hotplates not four. This is actually very practical as one rarely needs to be stirring or even using 4 pots at one time. The fourth space I use for standing hot pots on or swapping pots on and off and so not having to put them on the bench.
 
Then there are the inside walls, covered with a textured concrete type surface called Putz. I didn’t think I would like it after having lived all my life with smooth walls yet it hides grubby hand marks well, doesn’t dint too easily and looks tidy and has been enduring.
 
Even the cows have straight and tidy horns! Thanks to these nifty horn braces! This young girl was happy to be outside, possibly for the first time as she looked about 5 months old. They don’t yet have their bells on and are probably getting used to the new sounds around them like the gushing water of Staubbach Falls.

The ingenious Tropenhaus in nearby Fruitigen is a tropical oasis with water of 18 degrees coming from the mountains!

Unique in the world. You can visit for 18CHF to see the growing of tropical fruit and a Sturgeon caviar farm producing caviar called Oona, derived from the Celtic language meaning "special".

Interested in sustainability?
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It is a must visit with many interesting workshops watch the film here.  https://www.tropenhaus-frutigen.ch/en/about-us/tropenhaus-film