On 23 December 2004 we boarded a Swiss Air flight at Heathrow bound for Zurich. Shortly after landing it became apparent that we had arrived in a fairytale clockwork factory. Johann still believes that if you look hard enough there must be a clockwork key that makes Switzerland run.
We proceeded to Grindelwald via Interlaken and checked into the Gletschergarten Hotel, a beautifully rustic old place that nevertheless operates as though the Great Swiss Watchmaker owned it. The proprietors of the hotel are a charming husband and wife team whose children and even grandchildren help to spin the cogs. Never before have we been treated to successive meals of such quality in any one place. Generally consisting of four courses the hotel treated us to dinner meals that would have done a king proud.
On our first day in Grindelwald we explored the town and its immediate surroundings on foot. That was a fairly slippery affair with Ange doing miniature versions of the Mexican Wave as she tried to maintain her balance and keep her bum from meeting terra firma --- or should that be, terra frigia? The town looked lovely with a layer of icing provided by earlier snowfalls but better was yet to come.
On our second day we set out to find people with whom Johann had boarded for six weeks when he was in Grindelwald as part of a cultural exchange programme seventeen years ago. Memory fades with time and that led to the two of us climbing many a hill and slipping down many a valley in search of landmarks that would jog a sense of recognition and direction in Johann's mind. Exhausted after our excursion we stumbled upon a coffee shop that was to become our regular hangout for the rest of our stay.
On Christmas Day we attended a service at the local Church, pretending to understand carols and preaching in Swiss. After that we braved the world's longest cableway; the Mannlichenbahn, a trip up to some of Switzerland's finest ski slopes. The view from above was simply awesome, to the extent that no photos could ever do it justice. From there we could see Grindelwald, Interlaken, Lauterbrunnen and all the major peaks of the Berner Overland. After lunch we struck on the notion of tobogganing down from the top of the Mannlichen to the halfway point of the cableway. The toboggan run was great fun with both of us struggling to temper our need for speed with a sense of caution dictated by drops of up to sixty feet on one side of the run. Johann's sense of caution let him down at a strategic point where, after passing me just like Michael Schumacher might have, he met the side of the mountain in a tumble that made even Mr Bean look positively composed in comparison. After attempting to regain his composure Johann had to rush to my side and offer assistance since I was laughing so much that I was having trouble breathing. ' Snort en Trane' doesn't always imply grief and sadness. With Angela on a high after out-tobogganing Johann we returned to Grindelwald, our coffee shop and a five course Christmas supper that we will not soon forget. While we were eating supper we were delighted to see it had started snowing. Johann immediately went completely crazy and started snapping away at the falling snow with our trusty little camera. | 
