Switzerland - Appenzell

1 September

It was pouring rain in the morning, but luckily we were mostly on trains.  We took a train from Zürich to Gossau, and then switched to an older train that would take us the rest of the way to Appanzell. The scenery was what I would call “classic Switzerland” with rolling green hills, red roofed houses, little onion dome churches in every little dorf, and cows grazing in every pasture. We even passed a Swiss cattle drive, where I jumped up to get a photo and it ended up out of focus. They were even wearing the traditional outfits! By the time we got to Appenzell it was 12:15.  We had read there was a bus that would take us to Stein, which was where the cheese demonstration factory was located.  However, when I asked about it in the train station, the lady told me that wasn’t possible but we could take a public car through Die Post. So, she booked us on a 12:45 shuttle and a return 2 hours later (we didn’t know how long it would take). We had a little bit of time to wander around the sleepy town of Appenzell, which was even more sleepy due to the fact that everything but the cafes close down from 12-13:30.  It was still neat to look around and see all the buildings and signs.

The Postal car was just for us, and was 5 Francs each with our discount with the Eurail pass. It was about a 10 minute drive through very scenic countryside.  When we got to the Appenzell cheese demonstration factory, there was a tour in progress with people milling around everywhere. I tried to get the attention of the people in the info booth but they ignored me.  As such, we decided lunch would be the first order of business. We ordered two beers from Appenzell (not liters, but pretty large nonetheless).  We ordered toast with tomato and pear with cheese melted over the whole thing, and a sampler platter of 5 of their cheeses (aged differently, organic, etc.).  It was really good, and felt very Swiss. We got a little confused about how the tours worked (seems they needed to be booked in advance) so we didn't get on one but did get to explore some exhibits and got so look down on the curd development and first press. We also saw all of the cheese aging in the cellar, and were fascinated by the machine that would pull out three cheese wheels at a time, flip them into the brine bath, then reload the slot and proceed down the column. Just like they’ve done for hundreds of years, I’m sure. We had booked a return car for 2 hours later so that limited the amount of time to explore the cheese factory.

We were the only ones in the first class section of the train back to St. Gallen and it was really hot and stuffy before we realized that we could open the window. Good thing we did because we heard the cow bells as we rode though the hillside! It was a very picturesque train ride, but the heat and afternoon made us a bit sleepy. We switched trains in St. Gallen, where we had a brief layover. Back in Zürich, we got a little confused and got on the train to Affoltern am Amp instead of just plain “Affoltern”, which is the one we needed to get back to Cathy and Martin’s, but in the end we figured out our error quickly and recovered. We had purchased a SIM card for the unlocked 3G iPhone that morning. It hadn't been able to get on the Internet all day, so Ryan went into an Orange (a local mobile phone carrier) store, got up the confidence to ask "sprechen Sie English?" and turned out to have gotten a lady with a very thick Scottish accent! It took a bit of time and several reboots but it did eventually start working. 10 CHF for the SIM card and 2 CHF per day for the internet isn't bad.  We stopped off at the store to pick up some food to have at Cathy and Martin’s (and see the grocery store). We only got a little lost trying to get back to their apartment from there... They made a very delicious dinner of pork tenderloin, polenta, and a mâché (apparently called Nussli (?) in Switzerland) salad (I was very happy to have the vegetables!) and we had good wine and prosecco. We also threw in some laundry so we would be ready for our trip over the weekend to Geneva.

I was having a hard time understanding people in Switzerland, we we happy to hear that is because Swiss German is very different than hoch Deutsch or even anything in Southern Germany due to the influence of French and to a lesser extent, Italian.  So it’s not just that I have very poor German skills that I’ve forgotten over the last 10 years, but more that I speak very formal, prissy German!

Austria - Innsbruck

31 August

We arose early to catch the train to Innsbruck. Ryan wanted to go through Austria and it just so happens that the timing worked out for a short stopover. We grabbed cappuccinos and chocolate croissants for the ride in the train station.  The train ride was a little stuffy but really pretty scenery with the stereotypical alpine houses (a squatty a frames with gorgeous flower boxes in every window). It took about 2 hours to get to Innsbruck. We walked around town and were a bit horrified to find that a stadtplan (map) cost 3€ and the bathroom cost 0,50 € in the train station. We bought a street map at the info center for 1€. It seemed that everything pointed towards the Goldenes Dachl (Golden Roof), but when we finally found it it was a bit disappointing. It was fun, however, to wander the town with old painted buildings, decorative architecture, street cafes and cobblestone streets. 

We saw some buildings and a tram going high up the side of one of the alps, and decided at would be fun. 

We found it on the map and thought it didn't look too far away... so we started walking. I should point out here that both of us were wearing our "traveling shoes"-- that is, slip ons for comfort and easy airport screening. We walked across the river (it was very silty and gray) and then through a park. Then we started ascending... Then the sidewalk disappeared as we kept going up and up. It was pleasant out (70 deg) but we were both sweating with pained feet by the time we reached our destination. As we were paying for the funicular ticket it became obvious that we could have picked it up farther down the hill and we had gone way out of the way and unnecessarily up a long hill. At least we got our exercise! The funicular was 6,80€ round trip which we thought wasn't a bad deal. However when we reached the top and had to transfer to the tram we discovered it was  23€ to go all the way to the top of the mountain. We begrudgingly paid the additional fee and went all the way up to the very top of Nordkette, Hafelekar.  The views were spectacular! You could see in every direction from downtown Innsbruck to the small airport (got to watch some planes take off in the valley) to the craggy Alps in most of the other directions. There was a short path to the very top and we debated going given our pain levels, but eventually decided we would regret it if we didn't go. We hoofed it to the top to even more amazing views and we're glad we did. I made it up the last bit telling myself that if the Von Trapp family could do it so could I.The summit was 2338 m (7400 ft). 

We went back down to the first tram stop (called Seegrube) to have lunch on the patio while overlooking the town. I battled the surprisingly pushy older crowd to get us food. Feeling pretty confident that I was ordering Ryan a meat and cheese sandwich and myself spinach dumplings, I ordered in German and the guy had no problems understanding me (but he didn't understand the thickly accented German of a guy behind me). However, what came out was a "snack platter" with various cheese and cured sausage with what looked like uncooked shreds of bacon and shredded horseradish. Ryan didn’t mind. My spinach dumplings were good but heavy. I also got "almdudeln" to drink, which we found out later is an herbed soda (and it was pretty good, I thought). This mountain was clearly a destination for hikers and mountain bikers and a destination for "locals.”

We rode the tram and funicular back down and found ourselves MUCH closer to the city center than our long and steep route. We walked the streets for a bit longer, and got some gelato. Having had enough of an adventure for one afternoon, we headed back to the train station (getting only marginally lost....) where we got on some free wireless and checked our email again.

The train from Innsbruck to Bregenz where we had to switch trains for Zürich was really nice with geblinken lights everywhere and leather seats and power plugs. The section manager came by and gave us orange juice boxes and KitKats (they tasted different!) We charged equipment and listened to music to tune out the loud, and probably nearly deaf, pair of Swiss gentlemen in the seats in front of us. Just as we were coming into Bregenz they made an announcement about connecting trains, including something about the train to Zürich.  I knew they said something about a delay and/or change in the schedule, but as soon as the German announcement completed the guys in front of us erupted in a tizzy and were very incredulous, so we missed the English announcement.  Since we had about an hour in Bregenz, we stopped in the bahnhof cafe for a couple of kleine biers. We both liked it (less bitter than the other pilsner that we had had) and 30 ml seemed downright manageable.  When we returned to the tracks we heard more announcements in German about a delay and the other patrons were in disbelief. Turns out the train was running 20 minutes late which is unheard of in Switzerland! Despite our best efforts, the two loud gentleman again sat right in front of us once the train did arrive. Other than that it was nice to watch the scenery go by from the train.  Right at the Swiss border the ticket guy came around and checked passports.

Martin met us at the Zürich Hauptbahnhof (HB) and we took a series of trams and busses to get to their apartment.  It seemed like a long way back to their place, but in the following week we repeated the process almost daily and it got shorter and shorter.  We made sandwiches for dinner, and discussed what our plans for the next day should be given the weather forecast.  Initially we were going to take a boat on the Zürichsee, but it was supposed to be rainy so we thought the Appenzell cheese factory might be a better dreary day sort of adventure.

Germany - München

August 28

 The first leg of our trip from Denver to Chicago was pretty uneventful.  In Chicago we had a several hour layover, and Ryan was keen on getting a true Chicago dog, so we found a place in the airport. I had the “Wisconsin Dog” which was a hot dog drenched in nacho cheese sauce.  Ryan did get his Chicago dog, but it was sadly lacking the fluorescent green pickles (he said it was good nonetheless). I asked Ryan if he had ever seen the lights at ORD, and he had no idea what I was talking about.  For a few minutes I looked crazy raving on and on about the cool light tunnel without any indication of where it was or how we could find it, but it turns out we were pretty close.  We rode the moving sidewalk through the neon light display, which was probably more nostalgic for me than the “totally awesome light display” I had made it out to be.  I also didn’t remember the pantone color mosaics on the wall.  Still, it was a way to pass the time.  I spent a little time sitting with 10 of my closest friends at a charging station so we could make sure we had enough juice to get through the 8 hour flight. We had specifically arranged our journey such that the trans-atlantic portion would be on a Boeing 777, as Ryan had never ridden on one before. It was a pretty nice plane and seemed new. The 2-5-2 arrangement might suck if you are in the middle section, but it was perfect for just the two of us, plus, we were in Economy Plus. :)

August 29

Dinner was... interesting.  I ordered the pasta, which was tortellini, but Ryan got the “meat” option, which was a very strange and mysterious mix of meat pieces in some sort of “gravy.” At least his mashed potatoes and mixed veggies were good.  We both ordered wine for the meal, and the flight attendant claimed their machine was broken, so it was free.  After that we decided to each get an after dinner drink (Bailey’s for me, scotch for Ryan). We tried to watch Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (I forgot how bad that movie is!  It’s amazing anyone ever watched the Last Crusade), but then decided if we wanted any appreciable amount of sleep we should get to it. I don’t think either of us slept particularly well, and we were listening to the Channel 9 ATC channel.  Ryan heard a discussion of a ELT (emergency locator transmitter) over eastern Canada. Although they can sometimes be triggered accidentally, this one seemed to possibly be associated with an actual plane going down as several planes reported hearing it over about a five minute period. I found the most interesting part was hearing the different accents, particularly as we passed over the Shannon, Ireland control area.

Breakfast on the plane wasn’t too bad: yogurt and banana bread. We got into Munich 30 minutes early and sat on the taxiway until a gate was available.  As we were landing, Ryan commented on how all of the roofs were red.  Everything looked so green, too.  We had no problems going through customs or getting our luggage, so before long we found ourselves on the S-bahn riding through what seemed like the countryside toward the city center. We stayed at the King’s Hotel Center, which was a cute little hotel that boasted 4 poster beds and “luxurious accommodations at an affordable price”. We were both so tired and jet lagged that despite our plans to immediately hit the town to combat jet lag, we took a two hour nap.

Our hotel was in a pretty convenient location, only a few blocks from the Hauptbahnhof and a 10 minute walk to Marienplatz.  We took in the Neues Rathaus, and as it was about 4 pm, I maintained that we should wait and watch the Glockenspiel at the top of the hour.  However, nothing happened as the clock passed 4 pm, and no one else seemed to take note. We read later that it goes off at noon and 5 pm.

Ryan had read about Augustiner beer before we came to Munich, as it is the only one of the “big 5” Munich beers that you can’t really get easily in the US. After much discussion about how to spend the afternoon, we found the “small” Augustiner beer garden (more like Cafe) out on the Neuhauserstraße, and we started in on the beer consumption. I had the weissbier with a tomato/mozzarella salad, while Ryan opted for the dunkel and onion sausage sauer "salad".

We were feeling pretty good at this point, and decided we were up for a full-on beer garden experience.  We made our way down to the famous Hofbrauhaus and settled in in the patio.  It was a very nice evening temperature wise, and of course the ambiance was jolly and relaxed.  We couldn’t believe the waitresses actually carried upwards of 5 liters of beer all at one time!  Their forearms were pretty beefy to say the least.  I had heard about the pretzels the size of one’s head, so I just had to get one.  We also had to have Kaiserschmarrn (“emperor's mess”) which is kind of like a scrambled up dutch baby.  MMMMMM. At one point our “table neighbors” kept “Prosting” (a toast like “cheers”) us, and we chatted with them for a while.  One couple was from Zürich and was visiting the other couple who lived in München.  It really added to our whole experience. I think by the end of the night, all told, Ryan had put back 3 liters of beer, and I had 2.5 (although one of them was a Radler, which is 1/2 dark beer and 1/2 “lemonade” (like a Sprite without lime).

As we headed out, Ryan confidently lead the way, proclaiming he knew exactly where our hotel was.  After walking for a bit and convincing Ryan that we had never seen these parts before, we looked at a map and discovered we had gone in about 180º in the wrong direction out of Hofbrauhaus to get back to our hotel.  At least our path home took us through Marienplatz at night and we could see the cool Rathaus and churches lit up. We actually made it back to the hotel by a respectable 11 pm.

30 August

Needless to say, we were moving pretty slow the next morning, so didn’t quite get up as early as we had imagined.  We opted for the 12 Euro buffet breakfast at the hotel over grabbing something as we toured around town.  It was expensive, but actually a pretty good breakfast with hot and cold options, as well as meat and cheese, croissants, etc. We took the train to the BMW Welt and Car Museum. I really enjoyed the BMW Welt part of it with the interactive displays about the cars, as well as little floor cleaning robots that wandered around displaying messages about keeping things clean while stopping and turning red if they encountered any dirt.  I also really liked watching the cars come up in the elevator to the delivery floor.  The car museum was very interesting as well, with lots of old cars and history about motors, cars and BMW. Even Ryan enjoyed it even though he thought he wouldn’t. Unfortunately I wasn’t feeling all that well (um, I don’t usually drink close to 3 liters of beer in a day!), so we were moving slow and I didn’t really linger in at different displays as long as I might have normally.  We grabbed some sandwiches / paninis at the M1 BMW cafe and regrouped.  We could see the Olympiapark and Olympic tower from the 1972 games as we were eating.  One interesting side note was that we were walking around in BMW Welt and Ryan heard a “Hallo!” only to find our friends from Hofbrauhaus the previous evening waving and smiling at us!

We took the U-Bahn to English Garden, but weren’t quite sure which stop to get off at. We popped up near the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, where we had a good view of the St. Ludwig church and it’s mosaic roof.  I was in need of some Tylenol at this point, so we stopped into a pharmacy, where I asked for Tylenol by name.  I got a blank stare back.  Ryan dredged up from the depths of his mind the name paracetemol (how does he know this stuff??), at which point the lady nodded and got me a box of the stuff. We also passed the Siegestor, which is a large monument with the inscription “dem sieg geweiht vom krieg zerstort zum frieden mahnend”, which loosely translated means “Dedicated to victory, destroyed by war, and a monument to peace”. We wandered through the English Gardens for a bit in search of the Chinesischer Turm and associated beer garden.  Ryan got himself a liter of beer while I had a mid-afternoon ice cream snack.

I really wanted to see the Glockenspiel back at the Rathaus, so we took U-Bahn back to Marienplatz about 4:30.  With some time to kill, we wandered into the Apple Store (which also just happens to have free Wi-fi....) for a bit. Then we watched the Glockenspiel play at 5 at the Neues Rathaus.  It was neat and everything I thought it would be based on my memories from German class.

We poked around the Viktuelnmarkt (kind of like a large farmer’s market) and went into St. Peters church where I got yelled (actually, sternly whispered) at for taking a photo. We ended the afternoon in Marienplatz with Frauskirche.

After dropping stuff off in our room, we went down to the little bar in our hotel for “happy hour”. I had a very fruity, but delicious drink with kiwi and other tropical fruits while Ryan experimented with a German margarita (German only in the sense that we were in Germany. It was actually pretty ‘normal’). We asked the bartender’s opinion on which beer garden we should hit up for the night, as both Augustiner and Löwenbrau were pretty close. She said she thought Augustiner because Löwenbrau was smaller and tended to be a bit more “rowdy” with more a more unsavory crowd.  We got lost trying to find the beer garden, even though it was only about 5 blocks from the hotel.  Upon actually finding it, we discovered that they only served liters of “helles” / original pilsner (not the weiss bier or dunkel), so we both got ein Maß. I didn’t really like mine so Ryan ended up having at least half. We had observed many people at Hofbrauhaus with a pork knuckle, so figured that might be a pretty traditional item to have while drinking copious amounts of beer, so that’s what I got for dinner.  Ryan ordered pork schnitzel as he wanted to have schnitzel.  He thought it was a lot like chicken fried steak.  My pork knuckle was good but kind of hard to eat.