It’s been almost two years since that day we spent in the untouched, beautiful Appenzellerland of Switzerland. Our family agrees that it was one of the most memorable days of our Swiss trip! It was also a day we spent like a local, so you would agree if I tell you, it was also one of the most active days of our Switzerland itinerary!
While planning our fascinating Switzerland trip, I looked for an off-the-beaten place. A place in Switzerland where Indian Bollywood movies have not reached yet, and we haven’t seen them on the silver screen! There is a popular link between Indians and Switzerland, if you don’t know. We have seen our movie stars dancing around all over Switzerland in our Hindi movies, so it’s a norm for Indians to travel to Switzerland at least once in their lifetime. But I can’t stand that Indians love to travel to all those exact spots where our actors have danced or ran around trees! Sometimes I doubt which love is more significant for them is nature’s beauty or those Indian actors who bravely wear the weirdest clothes and move in the funniest way to entertain their fans!
But now you can understand why I was so badly looking for a place in Switzerland that is less commercialized and won’t have an Indian restaurant selling samosas! Virtually a place where no Indian has reached till now! 
So I came across Appenzell town; at that time, I could find few English articles as most of the reviews were in German about this place and found only one family with kids experience in English on Mom tots Zurich (read here). So I decided to add a day trip to Appenzellerland to our itinerary. Thankfully the infrastructure and systems in Switzerland are so good that it was not very difficult to find out how to reach there from Zurich.
HOW TO REACH APPENZELL
After an early breakfast in our hotel apartment in Zurich, we reached Zurich Train Depot and made our way into Zurich HB, the central train station. Of course, you can use Google Maps, which gives you exact information, including the platform numbers of each station and time of arrival and departure. But I preferred to discuss quickly at the information booth at Zurich HB before boarding the train towards St. Gallon.
Zurich to Wasserauen by train: 1hr 52 min
Zurich HB – Gossau SG – Wasserauen
CABLE CAR TO EBENALP
Once you reach Wasserauen train station, you can walk up to Ebenalp Cabel Car station in a few minutes of walk. Trails from Wasserauen are the favorite activities of local people. Still, if you go there on weekdays, it won’t be much crowded you can enjoy beautiful views of the valley, fields and surrounding mountains from the cable car.
We bought return tickets for this cable car as we decided to make the Seealpsee trail from the base instead of going from Ebenalp. We also kept our stroller at the cable car station, where people generally leave the strollers as Wildkirchli Trail (trail leading to cliff restaurant) is not stroller friendly. Once you reach the top, there is a scenic viewing gallery to sit and enjoy the beautiful views. You can also borrow walking sticks from here. From here, you can start your short trail to Wildkirchli.
FAMILY TRAIL ON EBENALP TO WILDKIRCHLI
Just outside the cable car station, paragliders take off from the slopes. We did paragliding in Lauterbrunnen (watch paragliding video here), but we were glad that our son and my father-in-law could see how paragliders take off up close. We even saw a funny incident of paragliders bumping into a cow resting on the mountain’s slopes.
The pathway leads to some stairs and then to Wildkirchli Caves. Once you enter the caves, it’s dark and a bit chilled inside, and some water is dripping around, so be careful when climbing the stairs down in the cave. There is railing throughout the trial, which our dad found helpful.
You come across a few tiny wooden houses on this trail; you need to pass through some small cottages. We even saw a man working on a wooden cabin with a lot of focus and dedication.
There is an old church built into a smaller cave; we even saw a decorative flower bouquet at the church, later we learned that there was a marriage ceremony held at this church just before we arrived—what a scenic place to take vows and start a lifelong journey.
It was Ruhaan’s first hiking experience, but he enjoyed it to the fullest. Of course, we didn’t expect he would walk at the age of 2 years, and the narrow path doesn’t allow younger kids to walk on their own for safety reasons. So most of the time, we were carrying Ruhaan. But the colorful wildflowers, paragliders in the sky, ponies and dogs along the way, and beautiful views kept Ruhaan entertained.
From the church in a few minutes, you reach Berggasthaus Aescher, the beautiful cliff restaurant.
LUNCH AT BERGGASTHAUS AESCHER
Many people come here to this restaurant; it is one of the most beautiful restaurants we have been to. Because its location is on the edge of Ebenalp mountain on a cliff, the views you get to see while having a meal make it a unique experience. Plus, the fact that you can reach this restaurant only by walking after a cable car makes it even exclusive.
Here is the link to Aescher Restaurant, though you don’t need to make any bookings here.
When we went there, the restaurant was very crowded because of the wedding guests so we couldn’t get a table in the outdoor sitting area. But we couldn’t wait till a table was free, as we had a plan of Seealpsee hike later. So we had our lunch in their wooden cabin. There were views even from inside, plus it was safer to sit inside and let Ruhaan loose, as he was just two years old then. So we had a peaceful and relaxed meal. Foodwise, you get mainly Swiss food and some Appenzell specialty. We tried some Rosti and their famous Whisky sausages and quite liked it.
After lunch, we walked past the restaurant to grab the views of Seealpsee from the mountain and then realized it was a not-to-be-missed place.
There is a ascend from Aescher restaurant to cable car, so it took a little longer for our family of three generations to reach back.
HIKE TO SEEALPSEE
By the time we reached back the cable car station in Wasserauen and picked up our stroller, two of our family Ruhaan and his grandfather, were tired. So we strapped Ruhaan in the stroller and said bye to dad as he decided to stay back at Wasserauen cafe. Later we were glad that he didn’t come, as the hike to Seealpsee was not easy. While searching about Seealpsee on the internet before the trip, I read the trail is stroller friendly, as the road was paved. But Some stretches were so steep that it gave us strain in our arms.
Before I talk more about the beauty of Seealpsee, I need to mention that this trail is not easy. It is rated moderate, but if you are not an active person, you might even find this trail a bit difficult. Our very lightweight stroller has been there and is still in good condition, but the steep slopes we uncovered are even more tricky while returning. Our stroller gave us a great workout for our arms! We took longer than the time mentioned on the road sign of the trails and even joked that this time is only very active local Swiss people.
But is it worth the efforts and pain? Yes Totally! Watch here why it is worth hiking up to Seealpsee!
The trail to SeeAlpsee is again beautiful, which goes between two mountains. You start your walk with Ebenalp mountain on one side, a stream of alpine water on the other side, across the fields, and the sound cowbells give you constant company. The stream originates from Seealpsee lake, so it feels extraordinary to walk towards the source.
We refilled our reusable water bottles at the water fountain of fresh alpine water.
As the trails start going up, the jungle of alpine trees gets thicker. On this trail, there is a far lesser crowd than Ebenalp. Most of the people we met, talked, and waved on the way were locals from surrounding towns and cities. One even mentioned that they don’t get to see many Indian families visiting here. I am sure we Indians are lazy by nature!
My husband and I were taking turns to push the stroller on the way to Seealpsee, but I hardly touched the stroller on the way back on steep slopes. It was a huge challenge to control the stroller with our son sleeping in it.
The last stretches of the trail towards Seealpsee are challenging, where slopes feel like verticles. So after we lost our breath and even faith from the road signs, we entered a small town, where mostly there are hotels and some houses. Then came that very memorable sight of SeeAlpsee, which was carved in our hearts like a most precious picture.
It was so peaceful at Seealpsee. The reflection of the snow-capped Alps, trees in the calm lake, chirping birds, the sound of cowbells, fresh alpine air, surrounding mountains, and thick greenery! Nothing but the Heaven on the Earth! We just peacefully walked around the lake without a word and took in as much beauty in our hearts, which no camera can capture!
Then we headed to a lakeside restaurant with an outdoor sitting area for a drink. The sun was setting, so the air was getting a bit chilled. This place is so mesmerizing that anywhere you look, there is beauty! After some relaxed time, we headed back to Wasserauen.
There are quite a few hotels and restaurants around Seealpsee and can be great options when hiking in this area.
OTHER THINGS TO CONSIDER IN APPENZELLERLAND
We took a train to Zurich from St. Gallon on the way back. Taking a stopover at St. Gallon can be a good idea. It can be less tiring, and there are some exciting things to do in St. Gallon. Though we missed the Abbey Library of Saint Gall, it is worth visiting. This is the oldest library in Switzerland and is situated in the St Gallen monastery complex and listed in UNESCO World Cultural Heritage sites. Here you can check the opening hours of Abbey Library.
At St. Gallon station that night, a music band was waiting for the train on the platform with us. The band people were getting bored, so they decided to practice. They played some beautiful symphonies, and it was a great experience to attend a live concert of Swiss music at St. Gallon’s train station!
We wished we had more time in Apenzellarland than just a day trip. But we had more days booked in Lauterbrunnen and Lucern, read here about of Swiss trip. But I would highly recommend a visit to Appenzell Canton. The population in Appenzell is so tiny; you can roam around all these green grasslands, mountains as if they are all your private properties.