Switzerland7-Northeastern Switzerland - John Covey - University of ...

exquisite chocolate in liquid and solid forms,
this half-timbered place opposite the cathedral
is surely the devil’s work. Try a smooth,
cocoa-rich hot or cold chocolate.
Trüffelschnüffler CAFE $
(Zeughausgasse 14; h1.30-6.30pm Wed-Fri, 10am-
5pm Sat) ‘Truffl e sniff er’ is the name of this
arty cafe-cum-craft-shop. Stop by for drinks
and handmade gifts, ranging from groovy
printed bags to wood-carved Swiss army
knives.
8 Information
Main post office (Bahnhofplatz 5; h7am-
7.30pm Mon-Wed & Fri, to 8pm Thu, to 4pm
Sat, 3-6pm Sun)
Tourist office (%071 227 37 37; www.st.gallen
-bodensee.ch; Bahnhofplatz 1a; h9am-6pm
Mon-Fri, 10am-4pm Sat) There’s another selfservice
information point, where you can pick
up brochures, in the Chocolaterie.
8 Getting There & Away
St Gallen is a short train or bus ride from Romanshorn
(Sfr9, 25 minutes). There are also regular
trains (only four of them direct) to Bregenz in
Austria (Sfr18, 35 to 50 minutes), Chur (Sfr33,
1½ hours) and Zürich (Sfr28, 65 minutes via
Winterthur).
By car, the main link is the A1 freeway, which
runs from Zürich and Winterthur to the Austrian
border.
Appenzell
POP 5700 / ELEV 785M
Appenzell is a feast for both the eyes and
the stomach. Behind the gaily decorative
pastel-coloured facades of its traditional
buildings lie cafes, confiseries (sweets and
cake shops), cheese shops, delicatessens,
butchers and restaurants off ering local
specialities. It’s absolutely perfect for a
long lunch and a lazy wander along the
crystal-clear Sitter river.
FUN FOR FREE
Stay in Appenzell for three nights or
more and you’ll receive the Appenzeller
Ferienkarte, which entitles you to free
use of public transport and most cable
cars, access to local museums and
pools, plus one day’s free bike hire and
entry to the Natur-Moorbad.
1 Sights & Activities
Countless hiking trails thread up into the
Alps from Appenzell; see www.appenzell
.info for inspiration. A great family walk is
the 5km Barfusspfad (barefoot trail), which
skips through meadows and over mountain
brooks to Gonten.
Trekking bikes and e-bikes can be rented
at the train station for Sfr25 and Sfr45 per
day respectively.
Opening hours are given for high season;
many sights have reduced hours from
November to March.
Altstadt NEIGHBOURHOOD
The centrepiece of the Old Town is photogenic
Landsgemeindeplatz, with elaborately
painted hotels and restaurants
around its edges. The open-air parliament
takes place on this square on the last Sunday
of April, with locals wearing traditional
dress and voting (in the case of the men, by
raising a short dagger).
The buildings along Hauptgasse are
also admirable. The village church has
gold and silver fi gures fl anking a baroque
altar.
FBrauerei Locher BREWERY
(Industriestrasse 12; beer tasting Sfr1.50; h10am-
12.15pm & 1-5pm, closed Mon Nov-Mar) Pure
local spring water goes into the refreshing
Appenzeller Bier brewed here. The hands-on
visitor centre whisks you through brewing
history and processes. At the front you can
taste three mini beers and buy beers like
hoppy Vollmond (full moon) and alcoholfree
Leermond (empty moon).
Appenzell Museum MUSEUM
(Hauptgasse 4; adult/child Sfr7/3; h10am-noon &
2-5pm Mon-Sun) Beside the tourist offi ce, this
museum fi lls you in on traditional customs
with its collection of 15th-century fl ags and
banners, embroidery, folk art and (more
grimly) historic torture instruments.
Museum Liner GALLERY
(www.museumliner.ch, in German; Unterrainstrasse
5; adult/child Sfr9/6; h10am-noon &
2-5pm Tue-Fri, 11am-5pm Sat & Sun) Appenzell’s
contemporary art gallery sits on the other
side of town from the train station. The
building (whose metallic sheen gives it the
appearance, in profi le, of a saw) is more interesting
than the collection, dedicated to
local artists Carl August Liner and his son
Carl Walter.
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ST NORTHEASTERN GALLEN & APPENZELL SWITZERLAND CANTONS 8APPENZELL
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