Appenzell is WOW!

Last year for my birthday, John bought me a set of hiking poles. Since that time, I’ve been fortunate to hike with them in Idyllwild, CA; Creede, CO; the Nakasendo Way and Kii-Katsura in Japan; in the Black Forest in Germany; and now in perhaps the most stunning place of all, the Alps in Switzerland.

We started out the day with a hearty breakfast at our hotel in Appenzell, the capital of the canton of Appenzell. 

With its buildings all painted and decorated in Swiss Alpine style, Appenzell is considered quintessentially Swiss, which makes it a little touristy and a lot expensive, at least in the town itself, however, that does little to take away from its charm.

The real beauty of the Appenzell are the Alps themselves. Today’s excursion was to Ebenalp, the northernmost summit of the Appenzell Alps. To get there, we took a cable car from Wasserauen to the peak at 5380 feet, exactly the same elevation as Idyllwild.

The view from the summit is breathtaking…

But we didn’t linger long because there are so many places to go!

Cliff side trails

Wild kirchli caves

The path to Aescher Guesthouse, built into the cliff

Trails to the summit

Visits with Swiss cows (check out the cow bell)

Picturesque dairies and guesthouses

Alpine lakes (seealpsee)

Today was among the most challenging and fulfilling hiking I’ve ever done, and at the end of the day, we’d climbed the equivalent of 67 floors and covered 7.9 miles. Whew! Time for Pastry of the Day:

Landsgmend-chrempfli, a traditional Appenzell treat named for the plaza (the Landsgemeindeplatz) in Appenzell in which all the citizens meet once a year to vote on canton business. The votes are taken by a show of hands — truly a democracy in name and practice. The pastry is filled with a smooth filling made with ground hazelnuts. Appenzell is also known for philenbrot pastry, Appenzeller cheese (so yummy!), pear bread, alpenbitters, a type of gingerbread called biber, and so much more… A feast for the eyes and the taste-buds!