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My Mum and Dad (Marylinn & Dennis), Leila's Mum (Gudrun) and Christoph and Anneli spend Christmas with us in Riederalp, a small car-free village high in the Swiss alps. It was a fantastic week and everyone had a wonderful time.
December 22
We fill two cars with enough provisions and snowboards for a week in the big hills and then drive via Thun to Kandersteig. There we put the cars on a train which brought us under the mountains and into the Rhône Valley just south of Brig. We drive through Brig and park the cars at Mörel, taking gondolas gets us up to Riederalp (1950 m). I barely singe some thick filets of magnificent argentine beef for dinner.
The next day was brilliant. I woke up early so I could photograph the first light striking the Matterhorn (which was easily discernable on the horizon). After breakfast I had a look at Mum's shoulder and the x-rays a dutch surgeon had made, ouch. Leaving the two Mum's to guard the chalet, the rest of us walked to the neighbouring village of Bettmeralp, rode a gondola up to 2643 m to look at the Aletsch glacier from Bettmerhorn and then hiked back to Riederalp. Perfect weather all day. That night Christoph cooked a fantastic sauerbraten dinner.
 
 
Christmas day was sunny and glorious. Leila and I went snowboarding, Anneli and Christoph went hiking and everybody else just flopped around the chalet. Although I think Mum and Dad went out for lunch. For dinner we had a traditional swiss fondue.
While Leila takes Gudrun back to Zurich, and Mum continues recuperating in the chalet, Dad headed a snowshoe expedition along the ridge above Riederalp. The day was overcast and pretty cold.
The next day Christoph and Anneli went home to Bensheim. Mum, Dad and I visited the local doctor so he could look at Mum's shoulder. Leila returned from Zurich that afternoon. Mum and Dad took a ride in a horse-drawn sleigh in the early evening. The next day we returned to Zurich.
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