Ebenalp and Appenzell

We headed down to a mountain south of where we live in the Appenzell area.  They make a cheese specific to the area, so the plan was to go up to the top of the mountain (Ebenalp) and then do a little cheese factory tour.  

We've gotten pretty good at packing our lunches.  There was a lot of "will someone else take a turn carrying this baguette?" during our hike (since baguettes are so heavy and all), but somehow they survived.

The gondola takes you close to the top of the mountain, and from there we hiked up to the top to have a look. We were able to get a good view of the lake we had intended on hiking down to, but had been told we couldn't since the trail was still closed because of snow.  My plans never quite go like I think they will.

An unexpected treat on this trip was that the top of this mountain is a favorite place for paragliders to jump off.  It's kind of surreal to watch people hook themselves onto a giant parachute and run off the side of a mountain.  But it was hard to not envy them.  

All of the little colored specks are paragliders.  I think we counted at least a dozen at one point.

After going to the top, we went in search of the other highlights of the mountain.  I knew there was a hermit cabin of some sort and a restaurant built into the side of the mountain.  There weren't any clear signs, but the map had indicated in was down the mountain, so we took the only trail that headed in that direction.


There was a sign that had gotten knocked over and was laying in the snow that seemed to indicate we were going in the right direction.  Then we came to a place in the trail that was covered by a couple of feet of snow.  There was a man working to clear the path, so I asked him in my best non-German if there was any chance we could get past.  Because I had already gotten denied the lake, and I wasn't going down without seeing a hermit cabin.


He said a couple of times "stay to the inside" and let us smash our way through the snow and pass.  

After we made it past the snow pack, we came to the mouth of a cave.  Since there didn't seem to be any other way to go, we headed in.  Except for Megan who was having serious reservations about the whole thing and opted to stay at the top.  About halfway down, Andrew decided he liked Megan's approach and headed up to join her. 


It turned out that the cave exited on the other side of the mountain, so we were able to talk them into making the journey through.

And I got to see the hermit cabin, complete with a fossilized bear skeleton that they had found in the cave.  

And then the path got even more interesting.

This little covering let us through to a pathway that dropped off to a pretty shear cliff.  It took a little convincing to get Andrew to walk on the wooden planks that connected one side of the mountain to the side around the corner, but once he could see that it wasn't a bridge like we'd made him go on by Neuschwanstein castle, he gave it and made the walk.

The path was about halfway up the side of the mountain.  It kind of blends into the mountain, so it's easier to see it in the next photo.

It was a long way down.  I really like having guard rails.

We went past the restaurant and down to a spot where we could break out our picnic lunch.

And then we had to do the hike back up, which was harder, but a little less stressful since we actually knew where we were going.

Although this looks like yoga, they're just cooling of their heads after the hike up. 

And the ride down was beautiful.  If the dandelion isn't the official flower of Switzerland, it should be. They're everywhere right now, and it makes for a pretty picture next to the green grass and blue sky.

We drove to Appenzell and got some frozen yogurt.  When I asked what flavors they had, they said "yogurt."  And they were right--it actually tasted like yogurt that had been frozen. Maybe that shouldn't surprise me, but I guess I haven't had a lot of frozen yogurt that tastes like yogurt.  You could then have them put chocolate syrup or "smarties" (M&M's) on it.  It wasn't bad, but I think I'll stick with the frozen yogurt that tastes more like ice cream.

One of my other goals was to buy a cowbell.  I'm a little obsessed.  We passed by one store that had them, and I decided I would have to think it over since buying a cowbell that had actually been worn buy a cow (that's what I wanted) seems to come at a premium.  At that cost, it should come with a picture and bio of the cow who had worn it.  Maybe just a hoof-print autograph?

I didn't find the cheese factory until we were in the car and headed home.  Since we were tired, I decided I would just park the car and run in myself to see if it would be something we'd want to come back to.  


All it took was opening the door to realize that we should stick with chocolate factories.  I guess I shouldn't be surprised that a factory built with the purpose of processing rotted milk might have a slight odor, but it was way stronger than I had expected.  When I got in the car, I told my niece to go stick her head in and see what she thought.  Her response was that there was no way she was going in.  My kids were right along with her since they were able to smell it inside the car since we had open and closed the doors.  According to the all-knowing wikipedia, Appenzell cheese is supposed to have a "fruity/nutty" taste, but I assure you that's not how it smells.  Mason's response to it all was, "Oh...no wonder they say 'who cut the cheese?'"


When we got home, Mason stopped to take a picture of "ninja cow".  Ninja cow is a black cow that is all by itself in the pastures that line the road we take too and from the car who got his name through a process that is too convoluted to explain. Mason commented on how the fence shocked him, so Katie went up and grabbed it with both hands just to make sure.  Which is pretty classic Katie.  She got a pretty good shock, and I think will keep her hands off fences in the future.