Deep in the mountains
Our friend from Prague visited us the weekend before we went to Slovakia. She likes to travel and explore new places, so we took her to Säntis (2502 m), the highest mountain in the Alpstein massif of northeastern Switzerland. I've heard that you can see 6 countries from the summit - Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, France and Italy. But I must admit that I have no idea which country is in which direction so I can't confirm that 😊
It was supposed to rain in the afternoon, and we left home quite early to arrive there before lunchtime. It takes about 10 minutes to get to the top of Säntis by cable car. The temperature in the valley was pleasant but we were not sure how it would be on the top. We put on our hiking shoes as we were hoping to do some hiking around the mountain.
When we got out of the cable car, we were surprised to see that there was still a lot of snow and all hiking trails were closed! We couldn't even see most of them because of the snow. There were a couple of people with the Alpine gear hiking in the snow, but we had to stay close to the station as we left our gear at home and it was too dangerous. And it was also so cold!
Our friend didn't bring proper clothes so she was feeling very cold. We were afraid that she would become sick but luckily my husband always has a second jacket with him in case we would need it. She happily accepted it and we could start the tour.
Honestly, she was not the only one who underestimated the weather. There were many tourists who came only for the view and didn't realize it would be much colder on the top of the mountain than in the valley. Some of them didn't even get out of the observation platform because of the strong wind.
We were only able to walk around the observation platform because the rest was simply not accessible, but it was enough to enjoy some fantastic views. To give you some idea of the accessibility you can check out that railing coming out of the snow which is part of a hiking trail..
In some places the snow was taller than me! Well, with my height is not that difficult but it was still impressive 😊
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The clouds were heavy and dark and at some point it started to rain but we continued walking.
We could also see the Seealpsee. It is the starting point for hikers to different summits around us, even Säntis.
Majestic Altmann (2435 m) in the Appenzell Alps.. when we were here last year at the end of summer there was almost no snow between Säntis and Altmann.
This is where we walked last time...
If you look carefully you can see some footprints in the snow..
We were in awe of how different the views were compared to what we experienced here last year...
This is yet another part of a hiking trail. The snow was so tall that no one even tried to hike there..
We didn't walk much but it was more than enough in such weather conditions.
I hope that you enjoyed our tour from the comfort of your chairs 😊
Thank you for reading,
Cheers,
Martina
PS: all photos are taken with my smartphone. It was too windy and raining so I didn't take out my camera 😊
Martina I might have to change my favorite posts of yours... Omgosh, that is so incredible words would do it no justice. I live on a mountain, but nothing even close to that. Wow, very very impressive! Love your pics too, very well done!!!
Hahaha, I don't mind which ones are your favorite as long as you like all of them :)
Oh, I wouldn't like to live that high so I think I would prefer a mountain where you live :) Can you imagine how much effort it takes to bring there the food or whatever you need? There are such villages in Switzerland that you can only access by cable cars as there is no road leading there. It happens regularly that they are cut off as there is either too much snow or the wind is too strong. It's quite challenging but on the other hand, imagine waking up with such view :)
lol... don't worry, I can live with those choices!
And I should've been more clear... I would definitely like to see each breathtaking view (occasionally), but don't think I could live without a road. In fact I love the winter weather at my home at first, until we get about the 3rd snow of the season... Then I'm ready for spring again! I'm easy to please, but also I'm like many people in that I want what I don't have :P
And you love summer at first until it gets over 30 Degrees Celsius (whatever it is in your measurement unit :D) every day and then you wish it was winter again, right?
If I'd live at the sea I wouldn't mind.. but I don't and I already wish for the temperature to go down a bit :)
exactly! :)
and the sea is great, but you'd need a break from it too ;)
Oh my dear @delishtreats, pressed for time, but ”deep in the mountains” sounded wonderful, so had to stop by for a read of your latest post. And the cold also sounded wonderful, as it is very hot. Waay tooo hot! I’ve always done much better with cold than heat. You can always “layer up,” but there’s only so many clothes you can take off and … then what?! 😉
Good man! I grew up routinely going into the high country and always take a jacket / sweatshirt. Even if you arrive and it seems relatively warm (for the high country) that can change in a remarkably quick period of time. I’ve been snowed on more than once in the middle of summer …
Thanks for these beautiful photos and the story of your day’s adventure. Being able to see 6 countries from the summit is not something we can do here … 😉
Take care!
P.S. Any news on your new restaurant venture?
P.P.S. Picture quality was still very high, even with you smartphone ... Years ago, I used to own a beautiful Olympus OM1 Black Body camera. My pride and joy for years, it would be a "dinosaur" today ... Hard to beat the convenience of our (computer, camcorder, camera, ... ) phones ...
I'm flattered that you found time to come over to my profile :) Hahaha, you are right. You can always walk in your bikini :) How do you call a bikini for a man? A swimsuit?
Me too. I spent a lot of time in the mountains when I was younger so I always have a jacket, another pair of socks, snacks, a lot of water, etc in my backpack. Or in my husband's backpack to be honest, lol.
Oh yes, you can only see the US unless you are somewhere close to Canada or Mexico :)
I didn't take that location that I was looking at so now I'm waiting for another one to come. In the meantime I consider getting a job as I don't want to just sit around. But we will see as I don't want to go to the corporate environment anymore. I feel a huge difference to what I was like when I was working in the office. I am a much more relaxed, stress resistant and nicer person in general :)
I like those dinosaur cameras. They make beautiful retro shots. It's a pity you don't have it anymore. But yes, it is much easier to take a photo with today's technology.
Are you traveling now?
Yes @delishtreats ...
... I can relate to this. Six months ago, I left that all behind. Since then, a recurring thought is I should have left much sooner than I did ... But, what's next is not an easy decision to make. Not for me and it sounds like for you. Like you, though, I do want to spend my day feeling productive ...
No we are not traveling. Just enjoying time at home, getting a long list of projects long overdue "off my back" ... For an even lighter stress load ... 😊
Currently we are excited about our efforts to live more simply and focus on our little small bit of the good earth. We are learning about composting, setting up a worm farm (2,000 wrigglers arrived today!) and other "heavy stress load" matters of great importance like that ... Haha 😉
You should not regret your decisions. I'm sure that there were reasons why you didn't leave sooner. I think that you don't need to work to be productive. But this depends a lot on the personality. Some people can't work around the house, others enjoy it a lot. Some people always find something to do, others need to be told what to do.. it's very personal...
These are matters of great importance, lol. Working towards a simple life is a great goal.
I think @delishtreats ...
... this is wise. I figured you must've made that decision and I think you made the right one, from your description. Some compromise is probably unavoidable, but location is everything in a business like what you are dreaming about starting up someday.
If it is meant to be, you'll have to maintain faith that the right place will come along at the right time!
Will the certification you studied and worked so hard to obtain be valid for a long time?
Exactly, I totally agree with you. If it's meant to be it will happen.. and I believe it is meant to be :)
It's a lifetime certification so I am not worried about that...
Great views from up there Martina, half green half white mountains all around. I should add Santis on my list of "to see" places while in Switzerland.
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Add Schaffhausen too and then we can meet ;)
I've already been in Schauffhausen briefly with my bike while doing EuroVelo 6 back in 2015 so technically our meet-up is now imminent :) but I can wait until your restaurant is up and running.
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Very pretty photos. It does look chilly up there, though! You have to love the tourists that don't plan ahead... lol
As for the snow depth, are snow shoes not a thing, there?
Hahaha, and she even said that she will bring the clothes for the mountains. Well, maybe she didn't realize that these were not hills :D
Well, I have never used snow shoes so I'm not that sure how you can really use them there as the mountains are pretty steep. Not sure if it would work. But honestly, I didn't see there anyone..
Thank you for stopping by! :)
I love these views from my chair! What a lovely experience for your friend! It looks very cold and snowy there! I will trust you on the feeling of the wind 😂
Hahaha, I'm glad that you enjoyed them :) It was crazy there.. the wind in the mountains feels so differently than in the city...
That looks beautiful indeed. However, I'd rather be somewhere else where I can walk... sitting tight in the same place blocked by the weather elements is not for me. Ah ah!
Thanks for the incredible photos, @delishtreats!
Hahaha, usually we do go to such places as we like hiking a lot but we wanted to show her the view as we didn't have that much time and this mountain has very impressive views and it's not that far away from our home. But I agree with you. I also prefer going somewhere where I can go hiking...
Thank you for stopping by!
You're welcome! Last time I hiked to a top of a hill was in Zvolen, in Slovakia. I decided to risk my way through what appeared to be a shortcut but I have a feeling I ended up doing the opposite. After 2 hours going up, up, up... I got there! 😌
Shortcuts are usually only in distance but it becomes more difficult because the path is usually steeper :) Did you visit the castle there?
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Holy moly Martina! wow, what magnificent views! A mountain hikers dream come true. The scenes are stunning..breath-taking! That's what they are. Is it unusual for the snow to be that deep this time of year?
I don't know who is this Holy Moly but I guess it's someone from your part of the world :D
Well, yeah, there is still a lot of snow. It depends on how deep in the mountains you go and how high of course but there are places with snow all over the year.. You should come and see it for yourself :)
I would love to see it for myself! Definitely. lol..have you heard the expression Holy Moly before? It's some silly redneck thing. lol.
Hey did you read my post today? I wondered if you could find the Bobcat..only one person who commented could find it on their own. I studied that photo for quite awhile and couldn't see a dang thing! lol.
I have but I just wanted to tease you a little :)
I haven't read it but I'm going to check it out! I have no idea what a Bobcat is but I'll try anyway :D
It looks like a house cat because it's a baby, a kitten. Super cute. But probably could slice your face up good with razor sharp claws!
Cold and oh so beautiful
Thank you Sara. Not planning to come to Europe?
Martina. I was just in Europe. I went with my two youngest siblings. We met my brother in Italy and then went to England and Scotland to the places our ancestors were from. It was a beautiful family history tour to remember our parents, connect to each other and our ancestors. Switzerland is still on the list of places I want to visit!