Appenzell,in the land of cheese..


Today, I ventured out on my first solo expedition to the town of Appenzell, known foremost for its stinky Appenzellar cheese and also for its Alpenbitter, a sweet liqueur. I was a little nervous about the train ride, after T and I had a failed attempt yesterday to reach our destination, Mt Santis, the highest peak around this area. We had gotten a little confused about when and if we were to switch trains in the small town of Herisau before we caught a bus from another town and a tram up the mountainside. We assumed wrong, and when we hit the last stop on the train and started back the way we had come, passing all the same buildings and cows, I knew that we had made a wrong decision back in Herisau to stay on the train. By the time we had righted our wrong, we had missed our connections to train-bus-cable up the mountain. We decided that instead of waiting another 90 minutes in a town in the middle of nowhere, that we would head back to St. Gallen, for, you guessed it, another Olma Brat!
So, today was a new day, the train ride was direct and a mere 45 minutes. It couldn't have been easier than that!
The town was very sleepy when I arrived and everything was closed for the lunch hour. I wandered the streets which were pretty deserted, but it was a beautiful area and quite a beautiful day, so I was pretty happy. I finally found a Bakerei that was open and treated myself to a slice of Apfel Kuchen (in this case, the Kuchen was thinly sliced apples in a custard with a nice crisp crust) and a nice cup of coffee. When I emerged, all the stores had reopened and the town had such a different feel. It still was quiet, but there was a little more hustle and bustle. I wandered into a cheese shop and was overwhelmed by the stench of the Appenzeller cheese. so good! I opted not to buy any, since I still have some 'kraft-singles' like slices of it in our fridge...(which I am sure isnt quite the same, but it looked good at the time)
Now that I have one solo trip under my belt, I feel much more comfortable venturing out again on my own. There are many quaint towns within reach of St. Gallen, so it will make for some nice days!