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. ❤