Aescher to Diepoldsau

Does it get any better?

Friday afternoon I arrived by train to the foot of the mountains is Appenzell. I walked to the first Berghotel I wanted to stay at, Aescher, in my serious rain gear. I got there and there were no spaces, as it was the Swiss National holidaz (august 1). But the family that worked there found a space for me anyway, in a loft with just a mattress and a fluffy down blanket, and I went to the bustling dining room to find people to talk to. I sat down next to two men, which led to me meeting one of their wives, who spoke English. They were all from nearby, Diepoldsau, right next to Austria. I learned that they were a group of 8, about parental age, on a mountain biking trip over the long holiday. I sat with Claudia and her friends for dinner and dessert and struggled to learn their game of cards, with the special swiss cards (ober under konig etc). Megan, I should have paid better attention at Mount Rainier because I didnt quite get it. The evening was complete with red and white candles that looked like the Swiss flag and fireworks on the other side of the valley.

I had a rösti (pronounced rueshti) for dinner. Imagine a latke (potato pancake), mixed with hashbrowns- soft and buttery on the inside, crispy on the outside. It is a classic Swiss dish... my favorite is with 2 eggs on top.

In the morning I had Swiss breakfast, just bread and coffee, outside looking at the mountains as the goats and cows walked by down below, their bells clanging. Two women from Zug, Switzerland, Jolanda and Rena, sat down next to me, and after lots of good conversation, they invited me to walk with them to Meglisalp.

We walked for a good part of the day, stopping for coffee at little farms along the way. The walking paths all go through farmland, so we have to climb over fences or open gates to keep going. The paths are marked well, with signs with the time to each destination and every intersection, and red and white stripes painted onto rocks along the way to assure you that you are still on the path.

Meglisalp was much bigger than Aescher, with a big loft dorm above what smelled like a barn. We were greeted in our walk down from the valley (following a climb up holding onto cables hammered into the rock) by the low moaning of the alpine horn (imagine a pipe shape, but 3 meters long).

I said goodbye to Rena and Jolanda at Seealpsee and it felt like I was leaving old friends. I walked up past Aescher (where I had thankfully left my big pack, carrying only the essentials in a smaller bag) up to Shäfler, much higher up. All of these places are alps, or summer farms, not just mountain huts. The farmers bring their cows up for the summer and some of them happen to offer tourists a place to stay and a restaurant in addition to their farming duties.

Just past Shäfler, I sat relxing for a while, watching the clouds move past Meglisalp way across the valley. It was the first time that I have been alone and quiet, and it was nice. But that didn`t last so long. A girl about my age stopped to ask me a question about where to go. It turns out that she too, was walking alone up there. Clara from the Czech Republic was working as a waiter at the foot of the mountains and she spoke enough English to get along (although I did say the one phrase I know in Czech - prossim si pivo) (ok Mckenna). I asked if I could walk with her... it was only an hour or so that we were going down from Shäfler past Altenalp, but it was a fun random connection.

I went back to my bag to sleep at Aescher again and it felt like home. It was warm enough for dinner outside, a much quieter affair on a Sunday night. Aescher is built into the side of a cliff, so the back wall is actually rock. It is a rustic place, no showers, no hot water, but somehow that felt just right.

This morning I walked all the way down to Appenzell town. Down the mountain, then past farms on the hillsides, then through neighborhoods to reach the train station. I called up Claudia, who offered me a place to stay for the night, and took a train to Diepoldsau to meet her. Her daughter is just my age, but living in another city, so there is a nice little place for me. I am here in Diepolsau, only a minutes bike ride away from Austria (we just took a ride there for an Apfelshorle actually). I am clean finally, as are my clothes, and looking forward to an Italian dinner at home. Claudia is from St. Gallen, but her father is Italian, so she speaks Italian (and can cook like one) as well as Swiss German, German, English, and French. We speak both English and French together, which is fun--probably the first time I have used French outside of the classroom.

I will rest here for a day before moving on to meet Claire and her family for more mountain adventures.

Probably one of the most Watson-esque things about the past few days is what Rena told me at the end of our time together. She said that Friday night, when I was talking with all the bikers, one of them said to her that I was not at all like the loud American we expected. It has only been a few days, but here are all these new impressions I am leaving on people as an American. And here are all these Swiss people I am meeting, people who in the cities would not talk to me, but who along the trail open up and welcome me into their groups.