We headed down valley past cute small villages and scattered farms until our valley hit a T junction with another valley. We made a right turn there at Frutigen and headed on to Bern. At Speiz we hit the Thunersee, near Interlaken.
Bern to Zurich. Zurich to Gossau. Gossau to Appenzell.
At Gossau we got on a little special regional train. These trains integrate into the SB system but are run independently, with lifts and cog railways as well.
This area is NOT in the Alps. The highest peak in the area is Mt. Säntis, about 8200 feet (2502 meters) in elevation, at the end of a long, grey ridge.
One mountain.
It is, however, a quiet, gentle, cow-farm area of rolling green hills and little villages. What the Appenzeller region lacks in huge dramatic peaks it makes up for in local pride, friendliness and cuteness. Those vibrant green hills of grass, with patches of pine trees, neat and tidy farms scattered about, and small towns huddled along the river… it is just peaceful here.
Appenzell is the largest town here in the Appenzeller District, the center of the hills. You have to exit out to St. Gallen to get to a city of any size.
The village of Appenzell is one of the cutest places we have been. Almost on the overdone side, sort of like Ferndale, in Northern California, or Solvang in SoCal. There are one-and-a-half main streets, lined with old houses that are three to five stories tall, painted in bright colors with flowers on the shutters, or perhaps local scenes, or the old fallback, the Berner Bear. It is a town of little details, so fun to photograph.
The river runs right through town, and there is a short walking trail along it. They have great cheese (but it does smell a little) and a wonderful local beer brewery. The regional foods are famous, and one of my favorites is called Rösti, which is basically hash-browns on steroids. I like mine with käse und speck (cheese and bacon) though you can get it plain, with eggs, and so on. Talk about a great, simple meal in the mountains…
Past that, there is not all that much to actually do right here. But, there are things do do around the town. So here are some things we did, and how we did them, often on the cheap.
We are staying in Appenzell for three days, and then up on the mountain for one day. This is important. If you stay in Appenzell for three days, you get a free Appenzeller Card, which pretty much offsets one day of your stay. So there are two ways to think about this.
First way: we are at the end of an eight week trip, and so we are pretty relaxed at this point, and don’t mind a day of sitting in cafés and wandering around. So we are staying Appenzell, Ebenalp, Appenzell, Appenzell. I will go into this more in a minute. But this is sort of the slow way, spending maybe a day too long here.
The second option is to just get your room in Appenzell for three days, but spend the middle night up on Ebanalp. So in effect you would have a room in Appenzell that you do not use for one night, but you would have two days in Appenzell.
The third option is to skip this region all together. To me, it would be a pretty expensive one-day trip.
Here is how it works.
The Appenzell card, which you get free with a three night stay, gives you free train rides all through the valley. Free local bus rides as well. You can go up the three main lifts, one round trip each, free. The luge (a tobaggan on a rail, at one ski area) gives you free ride. Free beer tasting at the local brewery, free bicycle rental for one day, one free fanny pack, and some other assorted free things.
- In this next section, all prices are in Swiss Francs, which are at a 1-1 ratio with the US dollar right now. Prices are for one person; we are two people so I will double it at the end.
During the course of our stay we took the train to Jakobsbad (CHF5) and rode the luge (9) then took the Kroneberg lift up and down for the view (34). We took the train home from another town (3). When we went to stay up on Ebanalp, we took the train (5) to the lift (20) and stayed. We were going to walk down, but it was pouring so we took the lift again (20). On the third day we took the train (5) to the Hoher Kasten lift up and down to look around (42) and also did the beer tasting (9). We got our free fanny packs (maybe 5? How much is a murse worth?) but never did rent the bike, get the day rental of hiking boots or pack… And, on the day we left, we got free train fare to Gossau (15) so we only had to buy a ticket to Zurich.
As you can see, adding it up, we got a total value of 172 x 2 = 344CHF from the card, by staying the third night, and our room cost was CHF190 a night.
So, theoretically, you could stay cheaper, find a room for say CHF130 a night, then leave your stuff in the empty room one night if you went up on Ebanalp, and if you do any of the other activities you break even or are money ahead.
Something to consider.
We are staying at a wonderful place, the Hotel Adler. It has been in the same family since the 1800s. Talk about nice people… and the room is wonderful. It is huge, looking over the church and cafe, with three sets of windows, a separate little alcove for the desk and chair, and a good cafe with tasty local food. We ate our first lunch there, a selection of local meats and cheeses paired with the local wine and beer. As I said, they have a lot of local pride, and the owner was very pleased with our selection. It all tasted wonderful, as well. We were both surprised by how great the cheese was, considering its reputation as being “smelly.”
On another cold day, sitting outside under the umbrella in the rain, I had a great Rösti at our café. Rösti with a weizenbier… yum! Gail had the local barley soup, which really hit the spot.
We got along so well with the owner that he invited us down for drinks the second afternoon, and we had a nice time talking with him about the US and Europe. We started with travels. He has been in California several times (He has a friend in El Dorado Hills - so ironic. Everybody has a friend in El Dorado hills, I swear.) and we invited him to stay next time he is over.
Then the conversation moved to politics, as it usually does in Europe. Everyone we have met this eight weeks is in total disbelief about Donald Trump.
And to hear them speak so knowledgeably on world affairs, I am embarrassed at how ignorant and foolish the USA looks and behaves right now.
I know a lot of my friends don't want to hear or believe it, but the US is in a position of strength and respect right now, due in large part to Obama and his good, respectful relations with world leaders. He has repaired a lot of the damage from the Bush years. But now...
“I thought you Americans had more of an understanding of history.” is one thing we hear a lot.
"For such a progressive country to be unwilling to elect a woman leader..." is another.
I don’t know how to make excuses for the poorly educated, so I don’t.
I just answer with, “I have faith that common sense and education will prevail, and Trump will lose.”
In the middle of the Appenzell main square is a statue of a man with his hand raised. Here, in this Canton, the citizens meet together in this square to discuss and vote on issues.
How would the Trump supporters react if they had to be like the Swiss, meeting in a public square to discuss issues and actually have to listen to a reasoned debate, answering questions (rather than shouting insults), before voting by hand?
Would they still beat up protesters? Threaten to punch the people of the other party? Make lame excuses about a “liberal-biased” press? Just ignore it all and press onwards?
Perhaps that is why the Swiss and other European countries have survived so long: they live in the same communities, generation after generation, and so they know that in the long run they have to get along.
There is no place here for bullies.
To them, a person is more important than some esoteric "ideological" stand on an issue.
In all the stores, bakeries and restaurants, there is a local, handmade gingerbread thing, filled with almond paste. They are delicious with a coffee. The ones at our guesthouse are made by the uncle, and hand stamped with the Berner Bear. They come in all sizes and shapes, fancy and plain. Perhaps I can fit a few into the pack to bring home, and perhaps I will share one with you. With a cup of coffee, you can taste the region.
One day we took the train back to Jakobsbad to ride the luge. This is a lot of fun, though a bit pricey at CHF9 per run. It is like a sled ride, but in the sun, on a warm day. Then, just because we could, we took the Kroneberg Gondola up onto the mountain. The view was nice, but not spectacular like in the heart of the alps, and at CHF34 a trip, that was pretty pricey as well.
If you don't have the Appenzeller card, I would not recommend doing either of these things. In my opinion, the lift at Hoher Kasten is a better value, with more good hiking and a cool, revolving restaurant on top.
Then we did something rather curious: The Barfussweg. A bare foot hike.
The Barfussweg goes from Jakobsbad to Gontenbad, train station to train station. Easy on, easy off, so to speak. It is actually pretty famous as this web site, and this web site show. And the photos make it look Oh-So-Fun!
But we found it to be sort of, well, not exactly what we thought it would be. “A groomed trail… designed specially for walking barefoot…” Yea, that sounds right up my alley. It started out OK. We took off our flip-flops and started out along a trampled grass path. There were others on it, but almost all were wearing shoes.
Huh.
As we went on, the grass turned to gravel. OK. Not bad, but a little bit pokey for being barefoot. The gravel turned to cobbles and stones. We had to our flip-flops back on.
Back to grass. A nice place in a creek to wade… oh that was nice. Onto asphalt. Huh? Walking a paved path? Back to gravel, then stone.
This is the point where Gail gave up and put on her flip-flops for good.
It was kind of weird for a “groomed path” to have cow-patties on it, and big mud puddles where tractors had turned around in over-watered areas. Along the golf course were signs warning us to watch out for golf balls.
OK. The scenery was serene. The grassy parts felt good. There was a sort of mint smell in the air from the freshly mowed fields. But it was kind of weird to dodge mud holes, limp across rocks and hop on the hot asphalt.
I didn’t quite get it.
But now I can say, “Been there, done that.”
We spent a night in a mountain hut up on Ebenalp, part of the Mt. Säntis ridge. That is the next blog post, and it is worth doing.
One dinner was at Gasthaus Hof, where Gail had a so-so salad, but I had a great Fendant wine and Appenzeller fondue. The fondue was simple: cheese and wine, dip the brown bread.
It was funny, there were only two waitresses and they were going crazy trying to serve everyone. The owner would come by once in a while to check up, but he couldn’t be bothered to lift a finger to help. You ask him for water, he nods and says, "Of course, of course." and then goes and whispers it in the waitress' ear as she is taking someone's order while holding a tray full of plates.
So get this: I order the fondue made with the local cheese and wine. It was delicious. I am eating away, and run out of bread. Waitress 1 comes by, notices, and asks if I need more bread to finish the cheese? I smile.
So when I get the bread, I am eating along and of course, I finish the cheese, but now have a half-basket of bread left. So Waitress 2 notices and asks me if I need more cheese to finish the bread?
“Ein bitschen” I say, with a sad little smile. Next thing you know I have another full pot of cheese bubbling away in front of me.
Gail is laughing now, wondering what I will do when I once again run out of bread.
You know what is next.
I do run out of bread, at which point Waitress 1 comes by and asks if I need more bread…
I could have done that all night long. As it was, I finished three breads and two full fondue pots. It must be an unwritten rule: all-you-can-eat fondue.
Or… it was just plain confusion.
Sunday night it just let loose with a thunder and lightning storm, and we pretty well holed up in our room until dinner. Matthew, the owner, invited us to an outdoor concert that evening, but we just could not see getting soaked and then trying to dry everything out, so we declined. We were glad we did, because we ended up very wet just walking the three blocks to dinner.
We ate at the Café-Hotel Appenzell which had a great selection of vegetarian dishes for Gail. So she chose...
The chicken breast.
I had it too. It was in a sherry-walnut-cream sauce and boy was that a great chicken. I was only so-so on the veggies, but the fries were good.
The real star of the evening, however, was the appetizer. It is called Summerhit.
"Tender rolls of (air dried, sliced thin) roast beef, filled with fresh berries (raspberries, blueberries and blackberries), roasted cashews and a herb sauce (thick, like cream cheese) with a colorful salad on the side in an exquisite black currant dressing."
I took several photos, and I want to try to make it at home.
Sunday morning, the call to mass. We were walking the street of Appenzell when the bells of the cathedral let loose. It was maybe 9:10 in the morning. It started with the highest bells first, then the next note down, and so on. The sounds just cascade, and it goes on and on, over fifteen minutes. Just as I thought they hit the lowest note, the largest, chest-crushing bell, it would go deeper still. Like thunder, but so beautiful. I just stood on the street and listened the entire time.
I love the bells in Europe.
Turns out that was a great decision.
From our room I can look across the bridge and see the lights of the bakery come on at 6:00. They are not quite open, but I walk over anyway, and sure enough, they let me in for a cup of coffee. The second day they are not so surprised; the third day they expect me and I am greeted with "Morga" and a smile.
Monday, 1 August, is Swiss National Day. Kind of like the Fourth of July, but more mellow. "Bonus Bells” from the cathedral at 9:50 for the special "Swiss Day" mass. Random fireworks going off all day. Speeches about the future of Switzerland followed by a raclette feed.
So, we decided to celebrate in style.
We picked up a special Swiss Day Roll at the bakery at our hotel. They make them once a year, and have a cross (like on the Swiss Flag) stamped on them. We carried it with us up the mountain.
Back to the bahnhof, caught the train to Weissbad, then the bus to Brülisau. It helps if you keep a photo of the train schedule on your iPhone, as the train runs every half hour (and the bus is RIGHT THERE to meet it). Frustrating if you miss the train by two minutes.
The bus dropped us right at the lift to Hoher Kasten.
Now this lift is worth the ticket price. Up on the summit is a revolving restaurant, a snack bar, and the Europe Loop Trail.
They say you can see into six countries from this point.
I think they mean like, “The tip of that mountain there is in Italy, those hills fading in the distance are Germany, and so on. And all the rest is Switzerland.”
Austria, Italy, France and Liechtenstein round it out.
But we went up and up into the clouds, so we gazed out on the clouds over six countries.
But fear not!
We took our Swiss Day celebration into the self serve snack bar, and then sat by the picture windows (looking out on the clouds over Germany and Liechtenstein) and had white wine with our Swiss Day Roll.
We discovered that the Swiss Roll is more of a buttermilk biscuit of sorts.
That was part one of our celebration.
Part Two: The Amazing Appenzeller Beer Tasting!
I have never been to a tasting like this. I’ll just be up front and tell you I am typing this up after tasting twelve beers. A full dozen. I must have downed a liter-and-a-half myself.
Nine of us polished off twenty-four plus total bottles under the guidance and tutelage of the beer master.
Appenzeller makes over thirty beers. I really liked their Weizenbier, and their famous flagship beer. They also make an interesting full moon beer that is brewed… guess when? Their bock beers are outstanding, and they make a “hemp based” beer (to be polite) that gives you a double whammy for the franc. All the beers are more malt based, less hoppy.
We staggered back to our room and read a little, rested a little, and took a walk before dinner.
Out past the big cathedral, we walked into the graveyard, where I was surprised to see about a dozen "tombstones" made of stained glass.
At 17:30 we got a bonus round of the bells, and again they went on and on for fifteen minutes. The bells echoing off buildings, sound swirling in and out of narrow streets; sounds coming from all directions until the one last, biggest, deepest rumbling bell tolls its last ring.
Our last night’s dinner was, fittingly enough, fondue, made with the local cheeses, right here at the cafe below our room. A traditional Appenzeller summer fondue for two. They use a nice fondue set. It is "the boy leading the cows, leading the goats, with dog following" motif. The forks have an animal on them, (I am the goat) the plates are black with the theme embossed in gold, the fondue cooker is black with a metal version attached.
This has been a very peaceful couple of days.
So, the trip is coming to a close. One more day in Zurich, and then we fly home.
It has been a cold, wet summer overall. I mean, here it is, the 1 of August, and I am in jeans and a fleece, in 55°F rainy weather.
But Switzerland is a beautiful country, and it does not disappoint.