We did our best to wake up with the alarm this morning, but did hit snooze a couple times. Our major high point for the day wasn’t coming until 10, so we had an opportunity to take our time. We both got ready and headed down to the breakfast area of the hotel, which had a wonderful spread of breads, cheeses, meats, yogurt, and cereals. Of course, there was Appenzeller cheese in all its varieties. We’ve had the silver variety, which is more mild, at Alina and Peter’s, so we each tried some of the sharper stuff. The breakfast buffet also had a couple different juices and some water, so we were well stocked for the start of our day!
We still had a little time to kill before our big 10am arrival, so we wandered the streets a little bit and found some stores that were open. I had hoped to find another small change purse specifically to carry my Swiss francs: a) because I am that person, and b) just so I wouldn’t mix up my coin-based francs and Euros. We found a store almost directly across from the hotel that sold a variety of items, from Swiss Army knives to cuckoo clocks, to bags. That is where I found my little leather change purse embroidered with the word Switzerland, as well as an edelweiss flower, Swiss flag, and another flower I am unsure of. I am very excited about it :) We headed back to the hotel for a bit to await our special guest for the day, and as 10am drew closer, I found myself getting a little nervous (for no reason). I think I was just anxious because it’s been a while. I didn’t have to wait long because shortly after 10, I caught sight of who we were waiting for: my high school German teacher, Frau Huss!! Fun fact: Frau Huss is originally from Appenzell, which is 90% of the reason we are visiting currently. She also just retired, and so I had reached out to her to see if she’d be visiting home at all over the summer, telling her a little bit about our plans. As is obvious by this post, she was, and so I was SO HAPPY to be able to see her again today, and in her hometown! Frau walked us to some parts of town that we had not yet explored, including showing us her childhood home, some of the local schools (including the Gymnasium she attended), and the Catholic Church, which we had briefly gone in during our morning stroll, but she took us down into the cemetery to show us where her dad is buried. We then got some lunch at a restaurant connected to one of the other hotels in town. She told us about rösti and spätzli, which are two traditional Swiss dishes. The first is a fried potato dish that is often topped with fried eggs and cheese. The latter are dough-y style noodles often cooked with Appenzeller cheese and comes with a side of apple sauce. Both were EXQUISITE! Throughout the time we spent with Frau today, we caught up about things in our lives since I graduated. I have always felt bad that I don’t keep in better touch with some of my teachers, but I always have done my best to keep tabs on them somehow, whether through social media, younger siblings of friends, or otherwise. I was so glad I was able to reconnect with Frau and we talked about working on getting together again more when Brandon and I return to the states, her being both retired and not far from where we live! We parted ways after lunch so she could go visit her mom and we went back to the hotel to regroup. We relaxed at the hotel for a couple hours, long enough to experience a nice storm roll through. There was hail and everything!! It was pretty intense! When we were ready to roll again, we went back to a couple shops we passed earlier in the day to take another look. We also bought some chocolate from a store that happened to also be across from the hotel :) Neither of us was hungry for a big dinner, so we popped into a bakery to get some rolls, and then found a cheese shop that also had some packages of sliced meat, so we bought some prosciutto-like ham and had a little picnic in the hotel room. It was quite fun! Appenzell has just been a dream to be in. I am so glad we got here, and that I got to see Frau Huss, and that Brandon got to meet her. I am quite sad to be heading out tomorrow, but I know we will be back here sometime. If anything, we need to come back for the yodel festival, which starts tomorrow (town got busier as the day passed today with people coming in for it)! It sounds like such a cool event and I’m sorry we’re going to miss it! That being said, as with each destination, I am excited about where we’re going tomorrow. But, as always, you’ll have to wait to find out why. Until then, enjoy these photos of the most charming person and place!
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