Day 2 in Appenzell: The cows and goats were scheduled to be brought down from the high country today, so we needed to be in town in the afternoon.
Pleasant surprise: When we opened our door to head downstairs to breakfast, my suitcase was there.
There were more "mountains" to see in the area, so with our complimentary tickets, we headed to Jakobsbad and the cable car to Kronberg. At the top, we would have been able to see Lake Constance, but there was a cloud cover over that area. There were trails at the top we would have chosen to do, but our priority was to be in Appenzell for the cows and goats.
The animals came through town in 3 separate groups. We missed the first parade, but caught the other two, which passed right by our hotel. The goats were at the front, followed by the cows, some of which had special embroidered wreaths. At the end, a horse carried the milk cans. We were surprised to see young girls and boys dressed in regional attire in the parade. One little girl who looked to be about 5 years old was walking barefoot. I imagine Heidi would have looked like her.
That night, there was a free concert with 3 men playing "Appenzeller music," with violin, accordion, bass, and Appenzeller Echo. So far, Switzerland is meeting all my expectations!
Our Tour began in Zurich so we headed there, using our free train pass to the Zurich Airport.
Someone mentioned in another post about "Traveling with Smart Devices." Well, using our phones made things easier. We needed to go to the Stadelbahn stop in Zurich. So while on the train to the airport, hubby used the SBB App and purchased 2 tickets to the Stadelbahn. That saved us from going to the ticket machine one floor up from the trains.
Also, after a few days we realized that all of the credit card devices in Switzerland were wireless. To charge, we were taking our our credit card, inserting, and then signing. By using "wallet" on our Apple watches, we could "charge" without taking out our credit card; no signature required.
I won't include details of our tour, but mention things we chose to do during our independent time:
Zurich: I was surprised as to how much I liked the city. I think it's because it is a very walkable city, and there is a nice walking path adjacent to the lake with lots of green space. It helped that our days there were sunny and warm. Locals were taking advantage of the warm September day and were barbecuing using disposable grills, swimming, and just enjoying the green space along the lake.
Our hotel was a couple of blocks from Lake Zurich, so it was a pleasant walk along the lake to Bahnhofstrasse and back. We also walked to the Lindenhof bluff which overlooks the Limmat River and Zürich University. Of course, after that walk we rewarded ourselves with a snack at Sprüngli, Limoncello Spritz, which I have previously mentioned. So refreshing on a warm sunny afternoon.
While in Zurich, we took the train to Uetliberg, the "mountain" on the outskirts of Zurich. Once we disembarked from the train, it was just a short uphill walk to the top, where there is a 360 view of the surrounding area. Many people hiked or biked to the area.
Brig: We rode the Post Bus from Brig to Fiesch. Two cable cars later, we were at Eggishorn, where we had a view of the Aletsch Glacier (Europe's longest). Interestingly, from Eggishorn, you can see the backside of the Jungfraujoch, including the Sphinx station at the Top of Europe. It never ceases to amaze me that after riding so many cable cars, there is always a cafe or restaurant at the top. One never has to go hungry in Switzerland.