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Appenzell, Storybook Town

August 17, 2003

Dear Friends and Families

So, we made it out of the "real Alps" and settled in for a few days in what our guidebook calls "moo-mellow and storybook-friendly Appenzell" in Switzerland's "cowbell country". The place was cute to an extreme. (Somehow that's different than simply "extremely cute".)

Appenzell is in a broad valley, above the elevation of Switzerland's famous lakes but below that of her even more famous mountains. Traditionally, this was a backwater where cows were king (queen?) and cheese was strong. Somewhere along the line, the locals started to cultivate tourists to supplement their meager dairy income.

In our judgment, they did a wonderful job and managed to blend the artificial that always comes with a tourism focus with the reality of the original farm community. Share our photos and hopefully you can see what we mean.

Our hotel and bakery and restaurant. This family-run establishment mixed perfect location, genuine friendliness, and homemade food. (The pink building next door was being held in the air while they refitted a modern foundation.)

Main street in Appenzell was filled with brightly painted stores and restaurants. Despite the tourist focus, it still felt comfortable.

We went to Saturday evening services in this church. The baroque interior was perfect in every detail. What else should we have expected?

Outside the church, the large graveyard was also perfectly maintained. Every grave was completely covered by well-tended flowers.

Outside town, the hills were a perfect green and postcard farms were scattered everywhere.

Even the annoying bees were perfect. They did make outdoor dining slightly less than perfect, but I suppose they've been trained by the Chamber of Commerce not to sting.

Cows are a focus in Appenzell, even for artwork. This piece of yard art shows how tableware is recycled when it tarnishes.

Another art piece. I wonder how they got the cow to pose?

Our host and hostess at the Hotel Cafe Adler. They were justly proud of every aspect of their operation: bakery, cafe, hotel. I don't think we've ever stayed at a nicer place nor with nicer people.

Here's Marianne at one of our normal travel tasks. She would work on her travel scrap book while I would work on the website. All of it is fun and we hope someday we can share both products with all our family and friends.

So, that's it, the end of our 2003 Road Trip. This was a good way to end and it leaves us looking for other places we can share with friends and families.

John and Marianne

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	Our hotel and bakery and restaurant. This family-run establishment mixed perfect location, genuine friendliness, and homemade food. (The pink building next door was being held in the air while they refitted a modern foundation.)		Main street in Appenzell was filled with brightly painted stores and restaurants. Despite the tourist focus, it still felt comfortable.
We went to Saturday evening services in this church. The baroque interior was perfect in every detail. What else should we have expected?		Outside the church, the large graveyard was also perfectly maintained. Every grave was completely covered by well-tended flowers.
	Outside town, the hills were a perfect green and postcard farms were scattered everywhere.		Even the annoying bees were perfect. They did make outdoor dining slightly less than perfect, but I suppose they've been trained by the Chamber of Commerce not to sting.
Cows are a focus in Appenzell, even for artwork. This piece of yard art shows how tableware is recycled when it tarnishes.		Another art piece. I wonder how they got the cow to pose?
	Our host and hostess at the Hotel Cafe Adler. They were justly proud of every aspect of their operation: bakery, cafe, hotel. I don't think we've ever stayed at a nicer place nor with nicer people.		Here's Marianne at one of our normal travel tasks. She would work on her travel scrap book while I would work on the website. All of it is fun and we hope someday we can share both products with all our family and friends.