Saturday, July 16th ~ Mount Santis (near Appenzell)
The view from on top of Mt Santis
The highlight of our stay in Appenzell was a 1/2 day excursion to take a Gondola ride to the top of Mt. Santis.
Located just 10km from Appenzell, it made for an easy trip. To get there, we took a morning train to Urnasch and then transferred to a local bus to Santis-Schwebebahn. The transportation to get to the foot of the mountain was all covered by our Swiss Travel Pass. When we got to the gondola, we got a 50% discount for our round trip ticket by presenting the train pass. That saved us $45 for the two of us.
On the train ride between Appenzell and Umasch
Santis is 2,502 m (8,209 ft) above sea level. The gondola runs about every 30 minutes.
“The panorama from the summit is spectacular. Six countries can be seen if the weather allows: Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, France, and Italy.” ~ Wikipedia
I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story:
This is where the gondola ride begins
Gondola on the way up the mountain
The view looking down as we pass another car
Made it to the top
There was no snow up here in June, but now enough to make a snowman
Time out for a hot beverage on the patio overlooking breathtaking scenery
Me huffing and puffing the rest of the way to the very top of the mountain
Brilliantly colored moss and liken on rocks peaking out through the snow
Tiny flowers survive even way up here in the cold
This is where we had our hot drinks. We climbed quite a bit higher.
It is a long way down. Can you see the lake at the bottom?
Instruments at the very top.
Ice clinging to the fence line
The viewing platforms from the main upper station
And just a sample of the shots taken from the top as well as the main viewing platforms:
OMG, these people were hiking all the way to the top instead of taking the gondola
Back at the bottom now. Yep, this is our “Grand Tour” of Switzerland!
This curious little kid wanted some attention while we were waiting for our train back to Appenzell
Overnight: Appenzell
NEXT STOP: Lucerne:
GRATITUDE MOMENT: Today I am grateful for one very patient woman at the Appenzell train station. Somehow I skipped one of the cities where we were supposed to overnight on the intended journey. With all of the hotels already booked, non-refundable, and not able to be changed I was literally “up a creek”. What was especially frustrating about my goof up, was that on those two days we had intended on taking two of the most scenic and special panoramic routes. After discussing the situation with her, she went to work trying to help us.
It seemed that combining two days worth of train travel into one day was the best option. That would mean a long day with several transfers. In the midst of working on a solution, her computer stopped responding.
She did manage to come up with a viable option. Not as good as originally intended, but at least we will not miss much, can still use our pre-booked hotels, and most importantly will get us to Basel in time to take our river cruise.
But I’m even more grateful to my wonderful hubby who never once complained about my big snafu and was as kind as ever, simply stating that we would figure it out and come up with a plan B. Love this man!!!
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A Note From Abroad 
Stunning! And thankful for helpful people!
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We have been so fortunate over the years to find the majority of people will go out of their way to be kind if given 1/2 a chance.
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Wonderful hubby! Now I understand why there is always a smile on your face!
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He is the best. Plan on keeping him around a while longer!!!
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Amazing how the climate and landscape changes from the bottom to the top. At the bottom of Grouse Mountain once, it was raining. Half way up, it was snowing.
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Pretty big change in elevation from the valley floor to the top of the mountain. We were so pleased to have the weather clear up for us. It had been raining the day before.
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Takes the saying ‘build your house on the rock’ to a new level 🙂 Breathtaking!!
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Yep, breathtaking certainly fits…
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I love gondolas & try to go up them wherever I visit, as you get some great scenery from the top – this is amazing!!
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We too really enjoy taking them. They seem to take you to places where the view is stunning.
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Wow! Mount Santis is amazing!! Beautiful pictures of Swiss. Wonderful. Enjoy Swiss guys!!! 🙂 🙂
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Mt. Santis was amazing indeed!
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Beautiful, Joanne. It reminds me of taking the gondola up to the top of Squaw Valley near Lake Tahoe and then hiking the rest of the way up to the pass. Or, a wee bit tougher :), hiking up to the top of Mt. Whitney and looking out at the world. Thanks. –Curt
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On the toughness scale of getting to the top, this would probably only rate a 2, but the views were pretty darn impressive. 😃
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Same is true of Squaw Valley.
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These photos are spectacular!!! I can’t even find words to describe what I feel when I see them. Thanks again for who you are and what you life and stand for.
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Brenda, I just now tried to recapture what I was feeling when standing on the platform on top of the mountain looking out at all this magnificence. I promise you that I did NOT feel like yodeling 🙂
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Wonderful photos and such a great experience. The mountains of Switzerland are magnificent. We have been in the Interlaken area and this post makes me want to go back and explore more of the country. Have fun.
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Terry, it is so challenging to try to capture just how magnificent and powerful the Alps are. I’m so glad that you have experienced them for yourself!
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The landscape almost doesn’t look real. It looks like a painting or CGI or something… 🙂
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It was impossible to do it justice. Simply overwhelming and magnificent and views everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime.
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Indeed. I have seen it myself and would love to go back. Thanks for taking me there with you.
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