Switzerland | Blissfulbritt

My second day of hiking in Switzerland was a stark difference in weather than my first day. There wasn’t a rain cloud in sight, and the sun was shining so bright I was anticipating a sunburn. Thankfully my days of willingly scorching my skin are a thing of orange skinned past, and these days I lather myself with sunscreen, wear long sleeves, and hats.

Hi my name is Brittany, and I’ve become my father.

OK, so my head got hot and I took my hat off for a bit.

We were planning to leave Appenzell around 2 in the afternoon, which left a few hours for a smaller hike. We took a different trail than the previous day, but ended up back at Seealpsee, the magical alpine lake. I was happy to see the lake on a sunny day, and the trail we took to get there was absolutely mind blowing.

Each corner we walked around provided a different view, and each one was better than the last. We passed by a house about 40 minutes up the mountain selling fresh milk and butter. The house had goats, chickens, and a proud guard dog out front. The goats ended up running across the path to eat the grass and we stood with them for a good ten minutes watching them eat.

The trail to the lake also had cows galore, and we discovered how to walk through the electric fences without shocking ourselves. And by we, I mean me. Despite the fact that I don’t normally hike well in heat, I felt really good after about 30 minutes on this hike. I was purging toxins out of my sweat like it was my job, and I was full of energy. For someone that struggles with fatigue, whenever I feel great it’s almost worthy of tears.

Dramatic.

The cows, the hills, the mountains, and the solidarity of Appenzell had me lusting for a life in Switzerland. Near the lake there was a house, and as I walked by a man came out and waved to me. I imagined what it would be like to live on that piece of land with cows, my cat, and my transplanted Irish/or Scottish husband.

After we found our way to the lake, we walked the entire circumference before starting our descent back to the car. The reflection of the mountains on the water looked like something out of a Thomas Kinkade photo.

It’s been almost a month since my trip to Switzerland, and it still holds the top spot of any place I’ve been thus far. I will surely be back, and while I’d like to visit the bigger cities, I want to spend more time in the quiet mountain towns. What I love about hiking is that I can shut my brain off. It’s very meditative, and all my unrealistic thoughts fade away.

I’m realizing lately I no longer enjoy hiking alone as much. My parents are going to love reading that, but ultimately I am finding that sharing a hike with someone I enjoy spending time with makes the hike that much more enjoyable. I started hiking alone because I didn’t want to wait for others, or because I didn’t want to sit around just because no one wanted to go, but then I kept hiking alone because I liked going at my own pace.

I still very much need my solo hikes at times, and going at my own pace is unbeatable, but after hiking at my own pace, but WITH other people on this Switzerland trip I realized there are other options for an enjoyable time with others. Basically I’m turning soft and all my posts for the next while are going to be related to needing human interaction.

Whod’a thunk.

I guess I’m not so dead inside after all, I just need to find the right people to spend my time with. Life has a funny way of showing us things we need when we are ready to see them. Big thanks to my roommate for an amazing weekend getaway that I still daydream about, I can’t wait to see where we go next! Until then, enjoy this AWESOME short video my roommate made of part of our trip. (0:22-0:27 are from Liechtenstein.)

I don’t think I make a normal face once in this video. LOL.

Q: Do you prefer hiking alone, with others, or with others but at your own pace? Big fan of with others but at my own pace, although sometimes I can’t let go of feeling like I’m too slow. Alas, the right people won’t care. ❤

I’ve been living in Europe for five months now, and it took me five months to go on a trip that sparked a fire in my soul reminding me why I’m here. Don’t get me wrong, the opportunities and experiences I’ve had are amazing, but a lot of the travel I’ve done has felt rushed. I’ve been to Innsbruck, Venice, Prague, Salzburg, Luxembourg, Metz, and Krakow, but none of those trips felt quite like my most recent trip to Switzerland.

Maybe it was the last minute decision – leaving no time to think about anything other than where I was going to sleep, maybe it was the company I had showing me solo travel isn’t something I need as much anymore, maybe it was the rental car providing absolute freedom without stress of transportation, maybe it was the lack of activities – the only goal was to hike, or maybe it was the quiet/isolated mountain town with no tourists.

Whatever it was, this trip officially holds the top spot of my best trip since living abroad.

My roommate was planning a trip to Appenzell for a few weeks to visit her friend from back in the states, and she extended the invite to my other roommate and I. My schedule doesn’t usually come out until a week in advance, so I didn’t know if I’d have the dates off until the week she was planning to go. The moment I saw I had the two days off, I booked a room in an Air B&B and mentally prepared for two days of hiking in the Swiss Alps.

Appenzell is only a three hour drive from where we live in Bavaria, so my roommate and I left after work on our Friday to maximize our time off. We arrived in the evening, settled into our places of rest (we stayed in different places), and met back up the next morning around 10. The weather was rough our first day, but we didn’t dare waste the opportunity.

It was raining and cold, but thankfully I’m used to cold and wet hikes.

Our plan for the first day was to summit the Ebenalp, 1644m into the clouds. Before starting our ascent we stopped to walk around the Seealpsee, an amazingly beautiful and moody alpine lake. The cloud cover provided a mystical feel, like a scene out of Lord of the Rings. The lake made a circular loop, but there were small electric fences around it to keep the cows in.

We didn’t learn how to pass through them until the second day, and when I tried to move one of the fences I shocked myself.

After waking up all my nerves we decided to walk halfway around the lake and turn around to start our ascent. Mostly because I didn’t dare touch another electric fence. The rain started to slow down as we turned around to start our ascent, which was perfect timing because I was starting to get really cold. I lost feeling in my fingers, which isn’t hard to do (holla Raynaud’s), so I was welcoming the incline to come for some blood flow.

The three of us ended up separating on the hike, moving at our own paces which was great. I settled into the middle and focused solely on putting one foot in front of the other. The hike wasn’t overly strenuous, but it was a decent climb. It was an easy path to follow, but there were still trail markers along the way that were fun to look for.

The first 3/4 or so of this hike is in a wooded forest area with tree covers blocking the views of the surrounding mountains. Once the canopy of trees opened up the clouds started to clear providing an expansive view of the valley below. We stopped for lunch at Aescher Gausthaus, a restaurant built into the wall of the mountains.

There are a few rooms in the restaurant people can sleep in, but most people stop here for the food.

Let me tell you all…the food was divine. I mean loose your mind divine. I had goulash for the first time and spent $24 on it, but it was worth every overpriced penny. Actually it was so good I wouldn’t say it was overpriced at all. It was hearty, flavorful, WARM, and fresh. Plus, I was on a mountain in Switzerland overlooking the alps so I could have been eating chalk and would have enjoyed it.

I am still dreaming about that goulash, and this is coming from someone that doesn’t eat red meat nor typically enjoys the flavor of red meat. We sat at the restaurant for a good hour enjoying our pitstop before the last 20 minutes to the top. The staff was incredibly friendly, and our server was accommodating to my food needs which always helps me feel less anxiety when eating out with food sensitivities.

The rain had completely stopped, but the weather was still ominous. Despite feeling like a soggy rat I was on cloud nine. Give me a good overcast and chilly day and I feel like I can hike Mount Everest. My body has become extremely sensitive to heat, and I thrive when it’s cold. We made our way the remaining distance to the top, where we spent an additional 30-45 minutes in awe of our surroundings.

Cross marks the summit.

I would have enjoyed a bit more visibility at the top, but I was thankful that it cleared as much as it did. I couldn’t help but sit and stare at the endless rolling hills and thank God for this amazing weekend getaway. I am thankful for my roommate, and her adventurous spirit, and for her invite to Switzerland.

After our hike we walked around the tiny town of Appenzell, before heading back to my roommate and her friends barn house Air B&B where we grilled over an open flame. I bought chicken, they bought brats, and we literally made a fire in a cave like rock pit where we cooked over hot coals. I’ve never made chicken that tasted so good.

A belly full of food, a heart full of joy, and a spirit full of adventure, I went to bed that night fully content. I learned on this trip that I am needing more human interaction than I thought I did, and after spending a majority of the last five years alone (by choice) I am seeing (and feeling) the value of being with others.

The key is finding people who provide a genuine connection, a friendship with substance rather than just an acquaintance.

Isolation is comfortable for me because it’s easy. It’s easy to avoid rejection from others when you don’t give them the opportunity to reject you, but humans are meant to be social. While I still plan to do things alone, I’m going to start emphasizing the importance of spending time with others. Thankfully I have a small handful of friends here (I can literally count on one hand) that I feel a connection with.

If all else fails, I can always spend more time with the locals.