Happy Cows

We stopped in Appenzell, Switzerland on Sunday night.  It was on our way to the Black Forest in Germany so we thought it would be nice to see.   

We drove from Anna’s through Austria and stopped an Innsbruck for lunch.  

We loved Innsbruck.  So far on the trip I think I could have spent a night in Salzburg and Innsbruck and been happy.  I guess I should have allotted for more Austria in the trip!  We split up from my mom & Tom and walked the town.  Louis found a playground and we also tried some strudel.  

Sculpture in Innsbruck

The remaining drive was very pretty and Louis loved the many tunnels we drove through.  We stayed in the countryside of Switzerland.  Monday we hiked through the Alps.


I loved the cows!
  

We stopped at a town and had a nice lunch with a local.  She was very friendly and chatted with us while we ate.  I should mention the Appenzeller cheese...It pretty much smells like feet.  We were so excited for the cheese and then it was too strong for us to eat.  Tom was the only one who didn’t notice the smell.  But at our stop the only lunch they had was an Appenzeller quiche.  I was so nervous that I wouldn't be able to eat it.  I didn't want to be rude!  It turns out it is pretty good as long as it is cooked and mixed with other eggs, veggies, etc.  

Our hike was BEAUTIFUL!!!

Barefoot Walk

We took a train to a gondola and rode to the top.  Mom and Tom were nervous wrecks the whole time but we Kirchner’s were fine. 

We got to the top of the mountain and hiked down the ridge to our hotel.  My mom left us all behind b/c there was thunder in the distance and one of her biggest fears is lightning! 

It slowly became more difficult as going down with Louis was harder for me.  About half way my knee started to go out so Joe took over with Louis. 

Check out the snails we found all over the hike...

We went in to the town of Appenzell that night for a nice dinner & shopped the next morning before heading onto the Black Forest.

I’ll blog about the Black Forest next!  This is officially Joe’s ancestral stomping ground so you can imagine how excited he is about everything here!