Where We Be
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| Next door to the Cheese Dairy is Stein's highly rated Folklore Museum |
| St. Gallen & Stein, Switzerland |
We took the train from Appenzell to St. Gallen
about 40 minutes away. The main reason for
our visit was to see St. Gallen Library, called
the Stiftsbibliothek. It's attached to the main
"Dom" or cathedral in St. Gallen. This Unesco
World Heritage Site is the cultural centerpiece
of northeastern Switzerland. One of the world’s
oldest intact libraries, it was built in the 1500s
and is considered the finest example of rococo
architecture in Switzerland.
The library is wonderfully proportioned and
filled with parquet walls and floors, wooden
pillars, swirling fresco ceilings, and thousands
of ancient manuscripts. When you enter you
put slippers over your shoes, so you end up
shuffling through the exhibits in an amusing
manner, but it’s all to protect the original wood
floor from damage.
Our day trip included several other interesting
sites in St. Gallen and the nearby town of Stein
with its folklore museum, as you'll see below.
about 40 minutes away. The main reason for
our visit was to see St. Gallen Library, called
the Stiftsbibliothek. It's attached to the main
"Dom" or cathedral in St. Gallen. This Unesco
World Heritage Site is the cultural centerpiece
of northeastern Switzerland. One of the world’s
oldest intact libraries, it was built in the 1500s
and is considered the finest example of rococo
architecture in Switzerland.
The library is wonderfully proportioned and
filled with parquet walls and floors, wooden
pillars, swirling fresco ceilings, and thousands
of ancient manuscripts. When you enter you
put slippers over your shoes, so you end up
shuffling through the exhibits in an amusing
manner, but it’s all to protect the original wood
floor from damage.
Our day trip included several other interesting
sites in St. Gallen and the nearby town of Stein
with its folklore museum, as you'll see below.
| St. Gallen Library is attached to the main cathedral in St. Gallen (unfortunately, no photos allowed inside) |
| The Appenzeller Showcase Cheese Dairy includes a warehouse of stacked cheese wheels. (Free cheese tastings with Appenzeller card!) |
| We took a bus from St. Gallen to Stein. By now it was rainy and overcast, but the sightseeing in Stein is primarily indoors anyway. |
| St. Otmar, first abbot of St. Gallen -- with his bishop's staff in a wine barrel! |
| What a zany art installation! |
| Intended as an "outdoor living room," it seemed quite popular with the locals when we visited |
| The Stadtlounge is an unusual part of historic St. Gallen that is covered in a rubberized red tennis-court coating! In place since 2005, it covers several streets as well as numerous outdoor chairs, sofas, tables, and even a car! |
| We finished our visit to St. Gallen with a bratwurst at Metzgerai Gemperli, said to be THE place to go |
| This silver bug-like building is the city’s emergency call center – an unusually modern piece of architecture surrounded by tradition |
| Near the cathedral we liked this patterned tiled roof and carved wooden inset |
| The top floor is dedicated to Appenzell folk art made by 19th-century farmers |
| Traditional wooden bedroom complete with painted furniture |
| Live display of traditional weaving techniques |
| Traditional Appenzeller cowherd's cabin |
| Stein |
| Boys play a pickup game of soccer beneath the cathedral |
