At last, a full day of sunshine. Hardly a cloud in the sky and no rain, not even a drop. We’ve been in Switzerland nine days now and this is the first truly sunny day. What a difference it makes. The full vista of the snowcapped Jungfrau mountain range is now spread across the skyline above our hotel.

As regards the wedding, we're feeling better organised. Yesterday we had a somewhat heated but successful meeting with our wedding planner, and then last evening we had a wonderful tasting session organised by the hotel manager, head chef and the maître d’ to sample the individual dishes and accompanying wine proposed for our wedding menu on Thursday. The food was fabulous and the wine too, the hotel staff were so supportive and seem fully committed to ensuring we have a fabulous wedding, so we relaxed and had a great time. It really made us feel that the wedding is now well and truly on track, and we’re both getting very excited. 

And our spirits were further lifted by today’s sunshine and the opportunities a fine day provides for some good hiking experiences. Poor Sharon has come down with a heavy cold so opted to nurse that back at the hotel whilst I took Kim and Raquel on a somewhat adventurous journey across to the opposite side of the valley from Wengen to do one of my favourite hikes. Accessing the start of this hike is somewhat unique in that it involves a ride in a small, almost nostalgic cable car that carries a maximum of just 8 passengers all the way up over 500m to the village of Sulwald at 1,510 m.

From here we did some strenuous hiking from Sulwald up to Suls at 1910m, where Kim climbed quickly up to view the Sulsee, a picturesque lake just above Suls. Subsequently Kim carried on to the beautiful Saustal Valley, then down to Grutschalp where she caught the cable car back down to Lauterbrunnen. Raquel and I retraced our steps to the Sulwald tavern where we enjoyed a typical Swiss broth and cheese dumpling before returning via the cute little cable car, then a bus down to Lauterbrunnen. From there the three of us were on the same train up to Wengen. 

Today’s sunshine on the vivid green mountain pastures and on the snowcapped mountains provided numerous wonderful photo opportunities.

Whilst we were out hiking, Sharon's brother Toerien and sister-in-law Kerrie arrived from Zürich and a little later my cousin Malcolm from Canada arrived. It's great to have more of Sharon's family here, but I was particularly thrilled to welcome Malcolm who is the only representative of the Sadler family able to attend the wedding. With their arrival, our wedding compliment had now increased from five to eight, and to the final eleven with three more arrivals due tomorrow.