Monstein

I have been so impressed with the plumbers here in this little Swiss village. Every house we have ever lived in has had a leak at some stage, and usually the source of the leak is never found and the problem is just patched up. Yesterday the plumbers arrived on time and very neatly cut through the brick wall from the bedroom that backs onto the bathroom to get to the pipes to look for the leak - they went for this approach to save taking the bathroom tiles off the walls as we would never find a match for them now, and they are particularly nice white marble ones installed by the previous owners. They found the leak in one of the pipes, and are replacing it. They are also cutting small holes in the two adjoining bedroom cupboards to insert a special type of drier to dry out the damp underground where the pipes run, to dry it up and prevent mould. The insurance assessor also came this morning, and this problem will be dealt with by the building's insurers. There is no mess, no dust, just perfect Swiss efficiency. We will leave here knowing they will do a good job and when we return in a few months time it will all look as good as new. The leak was only discovered when the flat below us was put up for sale and a leak patch in their ceiling was noticed - it was unoccupied for a very long time as the owner was in a frail care home, and then sadly died so the flat is now being sold. We were unaware of the leak so it was a good thing it was discovered now before it got into our walls and flooring.


The TV repair man also arrived promptly at 8am as arranged, to replace the Swisscom box (this allows us to watch British TV channels) which for some reason was no longer working - probably due to lightning. We have known him for 17 years now and he is always efficient and does an excellent job. I wish I could say the same about the TV repair man back home!

Today was another scorcher, so we decided on a hike in a cooler area. After breakfast we drove around the mountain to Davos and beyond, as we were starting our hike on a different mountain today, on Rinerhorn. We decided to walk to Monstein which is a pretty Walser village known for it's brewery, it is the highest brewery in Switzerland.  This was a much easier and shorter hike than yesterday, nearly 9km with a steady descent to the village. When we reached Monstein it was lunch time so we had a light lunch of salads at this restaurant seen here, sitting on the terrace outside, and then got the bus back to the start of the walk further down the valley where our car was parked. It was so hot in the bus, I think it got to about 29C today. 

Tonight we have friends coming around for drinks before supper, so I had better get the drinks and snacks ready. We have been coming here for so many years now that we have a few friends in the village, both permanent residents and people from the UK who also holiday here.