Day 7: Switzerland- Winterthur, Fruaenfeld, Appenzell, Säntis (July 15)

20:30  15 Jul, 2012
Jen got sick last night and so did Audrey. Evie was better by morning, so hopefully if we do catch this bug, it'll only take us out 1 day. I'm hoping even more we don't get it!

We went to church late. We hadn't planned on going, but Jared was late getting his lesson ready so we went to hear him teach, and then to hear Jen called as the seminary co-teacher, and see thier new niece (Jared's little sister had a baby) be blessed, and see Nathaniel (Nanu) pass the sacrament. It was all in high German (as opposed to Swiss German). So, Travis could understanding it. I couldn't, but he translated some of it for me.

Travis and I sat in the back of the chapel and enjoyed the breeze through the open windows, the different countries represented in this High Germany-speaking ward (Russia, Italy, Germany, Switzerland to name a few), and the friends we were able to sit with.

I added this picture just because I don't have many pictures of Nanu. Evie had grabbed my camera and then rode home with her mom (Travis and I rode home with Jared). She took lots of pictures on the way home.

See? Can't  you tell she's feeling better?
You can probably also tell that her brothers (behind her) are not feeling so great.

This is the Klaumünzner's house (on the right with the crane in front) and the big pit between the houses. This pit will turn into 2 garages that share a wall. This is the addition that they are adding so they can turn their current garage into a master bedroom with its own bath (yay!) and have a food storage space, and more rooms for kids.

Jared and Travis setting up a marble puzzle game for the boys.
Poor Ian was feeling so terrible, he didn't last until the game was set up before he went to bed.

Kaeley was playing Uno with Travis. I think Evie was jumping between the two to help the game along.

Eve and me after lunch.
Oh, yes, she was definitely feeling more like herself!

Evie and Travis after lunch.
Not the best picture of him, but it shows how relaxed he really was, something I hadn't seen in about 6 months.

We had leftovers for lunch. The boys were tired (maybe getting sick?) so Jared, Travis, Kaeley and Evie and I packed into the van and drove up to Appenzell. As per our routine, when we arrived there were a few remaining drops of rain and then the sun came out and we wandered along the main (?) street.

This was the route Jared took to get us to Appenzell (A) and Säntis (B).

The bear is the symbol of the state of Appenzell. This is a fire station? community center?

Yup, we had jackets, umbrellas, cool-rain-weather gear.

A fountain in one of the many "platz" places around this tiny town.

Jared loved taking pictures of the buildings. We managed to make it into this shot.

See that? Sunshine already!
Kaeley and I became pretty good friends.

Adding some greens to my diet. I hope I don't get in trouble for drinking some "green tea".
I also love Travis in the background looking at the paintings on the building behind me.

Mmm, tasty!

Facade of the building Travis was looking at.

A TINY church. This was barely a one-room chapel in squished in the middle of these tall homes.

Kaeley found the water and probably would've played in it more if it'd been warmer outside. It was really cold water.

NO ROAD is straight in Swizerland or Germany. They all have something of a curve in them.
It's disorienting and charming at the same time.

Travis and Jared were looking at tourist things: a carved and inlaid wooden music box that was gorgeous, but definitely out of our price range, and some ceramics, etc.

I loved this house! The colors were interesting but, to me, inviting. The bottom level was s hop, and I'm sure the upper floors were living spaces. The best part, to me, though, were the paintings on the shutters. I just imagined closing those in a storm and still having some of nature with me.

Travis and I are still in the picture.

There was a ledge right behind me that Travis was able to step down on.

Close-up of the side of the building. Love the shutters, love the window box of pots.

The signs above businesses were all guilt and intricate, hanging into the street. And many of the buildings were painted- my favorite had the tiny disk-like shingles on the siding and the window shutters had beautiful painting of flowers (like horticulture studies of flowers).

Sign for "Three Kings" inn that was across the street from my favorite house.
You may not be able to tell exactly, but there is a lot of gold on the iron sign.

In a Sweets shop I saw thses adorable little meringue shapes. It gave me some new ideas for birthday treats.

Evie played with my camera and took lots of pictures. She and I ducked into a candy shop that had meringue treats made into fun shapes (flowers, butterflies, caterpillars, etc). They were closeing the shtores as we walked along. Jared saw a cheese shop and bought lots. The ones I remember are: Appenzell and Säntis- because those were the two places we went today. Jared also gut us (more!) chocolate.

Travis with me holding Kaeley on the post-card picture street. The red building behind me with all the flowers painted on it is a medicine shop.

See all those awesome street signs?!?

Ladyboxes!
(In case you didn't know, I collect ladybugs; I didn't buy these, tho).

Kaeley took a while, but finally acquiesced to sitting on Travis shoulders.

They both had a lot of fun together.

The cheese shop where Jared got lots of selections.
After about 30 minutes of waiting on him, Travis walked in and said, "Hey Jared, are you getting one of each?"

Clock tower

Same clock tower, same angle, just a different photographer.

A little gnome house, or toy store. They had some cuckoo clocks in the window, lots of gnomes on the table Evie, Travis and Kaeley are standing (sitting) in front of, and there was a bubble machine under the umbrella filling the plaza with bubbles.

Fountain in the same plaza as the bubbles. There is a bear on top of the fountain
(again, a reference to the state of Appenzell)

Aren't those windows awesome? This building was also covered in those tiny shingles.

This postcard shows the town of Appenzell, but also all the flags of all the states in the country of Switzerland.

Postcard with a closeup of the flowers (medicines) on the Apotheke or Medicine shop.

We then made our way back to the van and drove up/down the hills/mountains towards Säntis. The coulds cleared enough that we could see the face of the mountain.

We went around and up some very twisty roads and serious switchbacks. We saw cows on the hillside that seemed > 30-degree incline! Seriously steep. And, yes, some did have actual cow bells.

This is a postcard, not a photo we took.
The weather was not nearly as clear, and there weren't any flowers, but the mountains were still that beautiful.

Small town in the foothills. And, yes, there's another clock tower.
I also loved the clouds.

When we reached the summit at the base of Säntis and got out, you could hear a clammoring of cow bells from all the kine on the slopes. It was spectacular. The view with the sun popping in/out of clouds, teh green grass and trees on the "foothills" and the enormous sharp mountain behind and the sounds of the cattle.

Sunlight, Trees, Mountains
Reminds me of Utah- except for all the GREEN.

The sky was beautiful, and I loved the patterns of sunlight on the varied shades of green in the mountains.

The clouds seemed so low. You can't tell how tall the mountain is, but you can see the first tower from the gondola ride. We couldn't see where the gondola went soon after it hit that first tower.

Kaeley was super cold and so Travis lent her his overshirt so she could get a little warmer.
Evie was having fun "modeling" in the pictures.

You might just be able to make out the cattle up on the hillside.
You might also be able to hear them in the video below...

Flags of the state of Appenzell and the country of Switzerland

For some reason, this is reminiscent of "Senior Photos"
But, I don't know if I fit much of any definition of "Senior"
...at least not yet.

I only wish it had been warmer and that we'd had enough time to go for a hike... although we might've wished we'd hadn't hiked if we'd had to carry Kaeley.

I love Kaeley's little smirk in this picture!

Kaeley got really cold.
Seeing Travis holding her like this made me miss my girls so much!
This is how he'd carry Miranda or Veronica while waiting at the bus stop.

I was disappointed this cow didn't have a cowbell on... but still was glad to capture a photo of that bony animal that had free reign of the mountainside.

We didn't stay too long as the sun went behind a lot of clouds and a wind kicked up. I didn't like the look fo the clouds either. It was close to 11 C when we headed down the mountain and hit a wall of wind, lightening, rain and hail! The roads were slick and we hydroplaned a bit. It was a little scary, but terrifyingly beautiful, too. I was glad we didn't get caught outside in the storm!

Jen was only feeling a little better. Dinner was cheese adn bread and chocolate. Jen had made Sonntagszopf: Sunday bread on Saturday night, that was amazing. We had some for breakfast Sunday morning. We get to take some with us when we leave tomorrow.

Writing in my journal at the kitchen table. I tried to keep up with documenting everything- it wasn't easy because so much happened. I was glad I had pictures, too!

Nanu making "Cheese Flowers"
I can't remember the (French) name for them.
Anyone?

I know Nanu was wondering "why is she making me hold this up?"
But, it is really cool how the cheese swirls into this beautiful (and tasty!) flower.

Chillin', listening to music on the iPod (so that the kids can hear it), and just enjoying the moment.

It seems Ian also got sick and puked. I wonder who will fall next.

The older 3 are packign for their youth camp they leave for in the morning. With Jen taking the kids to get their ride to camp, and Jared going to work, I think we'll be leaving the house about 6am. Whew! Maybe we'll find some things to do in the towns we'll be stopping at on our way. Or maybe we'll just explore Neustadt an der Donau or Bad Gögging. Or maybe spend more time in Konstance?

The Klaumünzner's have been amazing. I'm so grateful for ALL they've done: all the places we we've gone, and all the fun. They've been amazing hosts, and I'm so sorry that so many of them got so sick! I hope they get better quickly, and I also hope we don't get sick!