A week in Appenzell, Switzerland – Day 3

The rain continued on day three so it began with lunch. Word of warning. If anyone is thinking of going to Appenzell to lose weight, think again. In general the food consists of meat, cream, cheese, probably a type of flour product and fried. If you do the walks then you might manage to hold your own but otherwise you will just come back very happy.

After lunch we went to meet a friend of Mr Frodo's and visit a museum. The museum in Appenzell is actually very good and must be about seven stories high. On the ground floor there is a little movie theatre where you can watch movies about the history of the town and its Landsgemeinden which is how they vote. Basically they all gather in a square each year to vote in the executive of the Canton. It's one of the first forms of democracy and has been going on in Appenzell since the fifteen hundreds.

Another interesting part in the museum was an unexpected sarcophagus which was gifted to the town by the Egyptian government. It's three thousand years old. There is also the embroidery they are famous for, local art, tools, the old jails, photographs or the painted boards dead people were carried on. Actually there is an amazing amount of stuff. It is well worth the visit.

Once Mr Frodo realised I liked old things (buildings in particular) I was invited to go into one of the older buildings in the village that is being restored. An exterior that looked like dragon scales housing an interior that was a mix of original features and then a completely modern kitchen. A brand new floor but on a lean because the house was. And, as it seemed with most old houses there, about four of five stories high. One of the really interesting things for me was how they build for the cold. Before double glazing there was double windows. You enter a house and then you enter it again. You can see it gets cold sometimes in Appenzell.