Touching the Sky
Yesterday was our 16th wedding anniversary, September 29, 2017, and Brock said it was one of the happiest days of his life!
When we woke up in Appenzell, it was overcast, and in short order it was raining hard. In the hotel dining room, we enjoyed breakfast which included 3 Appenzeller cheeses, of course! They were delicious! I spent some time working on the computer to create yesterday's blog. By the time we were ready to leave Appenzell, it had stopped raining. Our little convertible was all loaded up with the top up. We began driving through the Switzerland countryside past bright green hillsides dotted with chalets and an occasional grouping of soft-eyed cows, bells ringing from their necks. The fall colors are out. It is so beautiful and bucolic you can't imagine. Before long, we reach one of our destinations, Schwagalp, where we will catch a tram to the top of Mount Santis. It is overcast but no longer raining here either.
The tram ride to the top of Mount Santis took about 10 minutes. It stopped at a mid-station to let out two hikers. We couldn't figure out how anyone could hike on this rugged terrain.
The tram took us to an elevation of 2502 meters, roughly 8000 feet. It was quite cold at the top, I would guess in the high 40 degree range. We spent some time soaking in the panoramic vista. Here are some images from the top:
Believe it or not, there was a restaurant (the Berggasthaus) operating from a separate building at the top! It was being run by a very kind family. We had some barley soup, some of the best soup I've ever had! Of course Brock enjoyed some coffee too! The Berggasthaus is in several of these photos. You can see that we negotiated lots of steep steps to get around the top.
We probably spent an hour and a half up on top of Mount Santis before we went back down on the tram.
At the base, by the hotel, there was a horse-drawn carriage ready to go with some tourists.
We hit the road again, driving to our next destination, Bad Ragaz, Switzerland. At one point the scenery was so beautiful that Brock wanted the top down. So we stopped to rearrange the luggage so we could put the top down, and away we went! We looked like the Beverly Hillbillies with all our luggage sticking out of the back seat!
On the way we drove through the principality of Liechtenstein. It was very densely populated and urban. You could tell the moment we entered Liechtenstein, and then the moment we left, back to the more pastoral landscapes of Switzerland.
Bad Ragaz is a town of hot springs. We are fortunate to be staying at the Grand Resort Bad Ragaz, a five star hotel and quite a huge complex. There is a golf course, casino, two hotels, and seven restaurants. Our room was lovely, air conditioned (yea!), quiet, perfect. We enjoyed the guest pools of warm hot springs water. What a life! We had a fantastic dinner at their French restaurant, "Bel-Air". To acknowledge our anniversary, the waiters had scattered hearts and jewels to decorate our table. When we returned to our room, the maids had arranged the comforter on our bed in the shape of a heart, with two fragrant long-stem roses on top! It has been an amazing anniversary!
Here is the view from our balcony. The hot springs pools are sub-terrain, under the "windows" in the yard.
We wish we could stay here for a week! Unfortunately, the budget will not allow. I think we are doing well to stay here one night. Perhaps we can return! Brock said he could live here, too!
This trip has been a special way to celebrate our anniversary!
Our next stop is St. Moritz!