We got up this morning in beautiful Stein am Rhein. After breakfast we walked around the village a little more, but didn't take too many more photos since it was a foggy start for the day. At 11:30 we caught the boat to Schaffhausen for a gentle sail down the Rhine River. Olen managed to relax and enjoy the cruise.
The sun came out while we were on the river, and the weather was warm, but not uncomfortable at all. At the point where we were on the river, it was about half as wide as the Tennessee River, with Swiss houses and woodlands on the shore. We made several stops along the way, an even sailed under a covered bridge at one point. We got off the boat at another interesting village, Schaffhausen.
From there we caught a regional train. A "regional" train is the code-word for a train that stops at every village along the way...not the fastest way to get anywhere. We have noticed that the Swiss people love their dogs, and most of the dogs are extremely well behaved. We have seen dogs in airports, restaurants, trains, and even one pooch was carried to worship services in a little basket. This man had two dogs in carriers ready to board a train.
We rode the stop-every-few-minutes train for quite a while. We got off at a fairly good-sized town called Saint Gallen. From there we took an even-more-regional train to the small village of Appenzell. Then still another train to a crossroads called Wasserauen, where we took a lift to the top of a mountain. We had taken such rural trains today, that they did not attempt to translate any of the stops into English. In fact, we had not heard any English all day until we stepped off the lift at the top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere. We could not believe the music they were playing..."Sweet Home Alabama...in English!
From the lift we hiked down a very steep path through a prehistoric cave, by a tiny chapel used by monks who wanted to get away from it all 400 years ago, and down more hiking paths. (Remember all of these "down" comments when I describe our trip out tomorrow!) Oh yes...remember that we are carrying backpacks full of everything we have with us on the trip...including my impulse-buy cow bell I bought at a Saturday market!
Anyway, we hiked to a 170-year-old guesthouse, called Berggasthaus Aescher, that is literally hung on the side of a mountain.
It is rustic, but we made reservations to stay the night bunk-bed/ dormitory style. We figured this woud at least be an unusual experience. When we arrived, they assigned us a "private" room, which means there will be no other guests sharing our room, which is a good thing. Also, the bathroom (singular) is right across the hall from our room. There are no showers and of course no internet. I am writing this on my fully-charged i-Pad so I will be ready to post once we get back to civilization tomorrow.
I told you that this hostel is built into the side of a cliff. Some of the walls are the natural rock, especially in the halls and the bathroom. Our room has three single-bed mattresses laid side by side on the floor. We have a colorful duvet, a pillow, one light by the door, and three hooks on the wall for our jackets and hiking poles. That is it, but we are enjoying being here. There is nothing like this in "Sweet Home Alabama"!
We had dinner (Rosti) on the deck overlooking the valley far below. The view was fantstic and the Rosti was some of the best we have eaten.
It gets dark early, and cold, here on the mountain. After dinner we walked a little around the area, took some photos and retired to our deluxe accommodations. Seriously, this is a great place, just not easy to get to, and you have to give up some creature-comforts for a night, but it is well-worth it for the experrience. Who knows...one of these days we might get old and not want to do unusual things like this!
So, from the side of a cliff pretty close to "Nowhere", good night to everyone. As the song says, "The sun has gone to bed and so must I..."
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