Once we were all collected we walked around the village in the dark while we were told about some features of the old houses and village - how big fires had started and that the clock tower had burnt down. Some of the old houses had very tiny windows that were just shuttered, apparently a body of a member of the house would be placed there after death and the window opened so that the spirit could escape. Also, some of the houses had these really tiny balconies, you couldn't really stand up on them, they were right under the eaves of the house. Apparently that would be where they would hang laundry to dry in the old days, or do other small work that needed to be outdoors that could be protected.
After the village tour we all put on snowshoes, Mic was carrying baby L in our new (used) baby bjorn carrier. We walked above the village in the moonlight (full moon) through the fields. There wasn't a whole lot of snow, it has been a rather warm winter, but we made it to the top of the fields and had a lovely view down the valley. Baby L slept the entire time which was the point as it was past her bedtime!
At the top while we rested, someone pulled out their alphorn and we listened to the music echo over the valley in the darkness - very cool. Our host for the evening also served everyone herbal tea made from stuff available in the region and homemade cookies. Afterwards we hiked down and made our way back home where we put baby L to bed.
The next evening we tried again with the snow walking and baby L, trying to make it up to Berghaus Erika with sleds. It was snowing heavily at that point and after an hour when baby L woke up she decided she didn't like the wet snow and we sledded down the mountain instead, Mic and I sharing a sled with Baby L between us. That was an adventure, the road was lit only by headlamp and the snow was falling heavily. However, with two people providing braking we had good control and a fun descent.
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