Mountain Tops and Flip Flops

Sunday, I awoke to rain and it was perfect day for a long drive I drove through some of the prettiest countryside, through Liechtenstein, and eventually back into Switzerland to Appenzell...my base for the next few days.

Appenzell was the cutest little town and my hotel was right in the middle of the historic center, so I checked into my hotel and explored for a bit. There were tons of cute little bakeries and shops and places that sold $3000 kitchen knives.

The next day I didn't have much of a plan, so I decided to just go hiking and see what I could find. I found myself hiking through a massive cloud that made visibility difficult, but added a serenity that I really enjoyed. It also made the temperature more in the 60s which was a nice break between 90 degree sunshiny days. I took the Wasserauen gondola up and hiked to the Wildkirchli caves, the Aescher Hut, and eventually the Ebenalp ridge to the Berggasthaus Schafler Hut where I had a pork chop and a beer.

I asked a hiker to take my picture in this super scenic spot and then a cloud rolled in and completely obstructed the view within like, 8 seconds. Oh well.

After several miles along various ridges and across meadows in the fog, this of trail was my favorite. There were 2 other people eating lunch in the Berggasthaus Schafler Hut and I watched the clouds begin to move a bit and I was eager to get back on the trail. From there, I continued along towards one of the highest peaks of the mountain range...but I couldn't see it. I was literally walking along the spine of the mountain, above the clouds, without having any idea where I was headed to. With it being kind of cloudy and rainy, there wasn't anybody else around either. I just ran into one man who reprimanded me for wearing my sandals and thoroughly pissed me off. The clouds were drifting in and out and were concealing most of the valleys, but would occasionally clear enough that I could spot the beauty around me. I continued to a very sketchy ridge with ladders and cables and it was probably some of the more technical hiking I've ever done. Eventually, the clouds rolled in again and I couldn't see anything and I knew that I needed to hike allll the way back to the gondola station, so I turned back.

Tuesday was the day of my big hike and was supposed to be clear and sunny and warm. I planned on hiking to the Saxer Lucke...a famous rock formation that rises up from the earth in the most dramatic fashion. There's a gondola that would have dropped me off just a couple of miles from the destination, but wanting to get my day's worth, I opted to take the Hoher Kasten gondola up and walk along another long, scenic ridge to the site. Appenzell was completely cloudy but as I rode the gondola up, we rose above the clouds into sunny skies.

I spent a few minutes at the gondola station watching the clouds flow like a river over the mountains and then set off into the unknown.

The hike seemed to go on forever, up and down along the ridge and through the forest.

I stopped for a beer at the Berggasthaus Staubern hut and then continued on to Saxer Lucke. The clouds seemed to be clearing out a bit so I made it quick. From the hut, the trail went up and down and got pretty technical before leveling out along another ridge. I was so grateful to have my trekking poles.

Just as I arrived, the clouds cleared out a bit and revealed the stunning view and it was spectacular.

I hung out for a while and then continued down the trail, but the clouds began to roll in again and I wasn't able to enjoy any of the views, so I turned back. Plus, I had a 4 hour drive to Austria ahead of me. It was crazy that, through out the entire day, there was about 20 minutes of a break in the clouds and I was there right during that time.

Within about 5 minutes to turning around, I felt a shift in my right knee (that's been bothering me for a while now) and the most ridiculous pain shot through the inside and back of my knee. It felt like it was dislocating, but it didn't. When I went to Colorado last month, it was popping with every step and oddly enough, I had fallen at one point on the trail and it didn't pop anymore after that, lol. I thought that maybe I'd fixed whatever the problem was, but alas, it's back. Every time I stepped downward, it hurt so badly, but walking on a flat surface or uphill was fine. Thank goodness I had my trekking poles because it took me about 4 hours to get back the 5 miles to the gondola. It was awful. I was on the verge of tears just from pure frustration that my body is falling apart and I can't do anything about it.

Luckily, the next few hours were spent driving so I wasn't doing any further damage.

I drove through another huge storm in Austria and was followed by a beautiful rainbow. I'd love to go back and explore more of that area because it looked absolutely beautiful with castles and sky bridges and gorgeous mountains.

I took a shower at my hotel in Austria and slept like a rock. The next morning, I took my arthritis medication and a few ibuprofen and I felt totally great...like nothing had happened the day before.

I drove back into Italy and stopped at the Franzensfeste Fortress and Museum of the Brenner Pass which was pretty cool. The fort itself totally gave me the creeps...I don't know why. It was just bare and empty and they had strange voices in German over the loudspeakers and creepy art exhibitions and I couldn't wait to get outta there.