Most of my classmates arrived last night in St. Gallen. To acclimitize us with the weather and help with jetlag, our hosts had arranged for a hike in the beautiful Appenzall mountains. After a power breakfast, we set out by bus #5 to the trainstation, and it was then to Trojen, a town only accessible by narrow gauge trains. Murali and Priya were also able to join us on the hike, which made it even more enjoyable. It was almost 40 of us, including our university hosts. Travelling in a big group helped for conversations with anyone walking at your pace.....
The train climbed the hills dotted with small villages, with houses lining the tracks, offering vistas of Lake Constance in the far horizon, with the green countryside in the foreground. At Trojen, we set off on our hour long hike (two for huffing & puffing me..) to Gabris, through more of the rolling countryside dotted with cows, farms, and a single observatory! The reward at the top of the trailhead was lunch at a German restaurant, "Gasthaus", which served us macaroni with local Appenzeller cheese. Priya loved it!
The Appenzall region is quite different from the Alps we saw at Adelboden, or Murren or Gimmelwald. This is mostly rolling hill country, with none of the jagged peaks in the immediate vicinity. But it was lush, and peaceful.
The hike down was to a different town, Gais, and back by train / bus to St. Gallen.
Since Murali and Priya will be here for only one more day, we drove the short 15 mins into Austria, to have dinner at Cafe Konditorei, in the border town of Hochst. We have now been to four countries! The leek quiche (Lauch Quiche) was fantastic, and the locally produced Boutelle Weiss white wine was a good complement to the dinner.
Seeing a couple taking pictures of each other, Priya walked up to them and offered to take a picture of both of them. They were thrilled! We chatted a bit with them, and learnt about ways to explore the Lake Constance shoreline. People are very helpful, and take their time to explain their answers in great detail. It is a welcome treat!
The train climbed the hills dotted with small villages, with houses lining the tracks, offering vistas of Lake Constance in the far horizon, with the green countryside in the foreground. At Trojen, we set off on our hour long hike (two for huffing & puffing me..) to Gabris, through more of the rolling countryside dotted with cows, farms, and a single observatory! The reward at the top of the trailhead was lunch at a German restaurant, "Gasthaus", which served us macaroni with local Appenzeller cheese. Priya loved it!
The Appenzall region is quite different from the Alps we saw at Adelboden, or Murren or Gimmelwald. This is mostly rolling hill country, with none of the jagged peaks in the immediate vicinity. But it was lush, and peaceful.
The hike down was to a different town, Gais, and back by train / bus to St. Gallen.
Since Murali and Priya will be here for only one more day, we drove the short 15 mins into Austria, to have dinner at Cafe Konditorei, in the border town of Hochst. We have now been to four countries! The leek quiche (Lauch Quiche) was fantastic, and the locally produced Boutelle Weiss white wine was a good complement to the dinner.
Seeing a couple taking pictures of each other, Priya walked up to them and offered to take a picture of both of them. They were thrilled! We chatted a bit with them, and learnt about ways to explore the Lake Constance shoreline. People are very helpful, and take their time to explain their answers in great detail. It is a welcome treat!
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