Carl works as a Technical Business Manager at the Zurich office. But he is not ‘from’ Zurich. He grew up in a small village in Appenzell Ausserhoden and the local mountains of Alpstein were his playground. A magical place to go hiking, climbing, paragliding, skiing… so we asked him to give us his best tips to help you plan your next weekend.
You can get there by using the public transport thanks to the famous “Appenzeller Bahn” or drive by car. It’s an approximate 3 and a half hours drive from Lausanne, 2 hours and 15 minutes from Basel and 1 hour and 20 minutes from Zurich.
The best time of year to go is in the summer months between May and August, by sunny weather.
A must see or do is to spend the night in one of the many cottages from the Swiss alpine club (SAC), swim in one of the three mountain lakes (Sämtisersee, Fählensee, Seealpsee) and try local cheese from the local alpine farms. Do not miss a visit of the village Appenzell on the way to Alpstein.
A must NOT see or do is going to Seealpsee and Äscher in case you do not like too touristy spots. They are worth a visit but very crowded and I personally prefer more remote locations.
A good place to eat is the restaurant Bollenwees next to Fählensee: they are famous for their Rösti.
My best tip is to take a long weekend and walk from one cottage to another. There are many two- or three-days tours.
You may run into me there on some weekends during the summertime.
You can find further info or book a stay at
https://www.appenzell.ch/de/alpstein.html
https://www.bergwelten.com/l/h/gmr/appenzeller-alpen
https://www.hundstein.ch/die-h%C3%BCtte/
