This blog is the last for Switzerland and the first for our return trip north through Germany. Our last full day in Switzerland was another perfect day thanks to the sun, my friend Katharina and her father.

After sipping our coffee while enjoying a last look at the lovely village of Isenthal (in the sun) we packed up and headed to Schmerikon where we met Walter and Katharina. We had tickets to a concert in the Appenzell valley at a town called Toggenburg. None of us really had any idea what to expect. That’s a good thing. Without expectations you are open to whatever happens. It just so happens that yodeling lessons were part of our day and that certainly wasn’t expected. The little village of Toggenburg is trying to reinvent itself and is using the history of music in the area as a way of drawing tourists. I think it is a brilliant idea. The Appenzell valley is kind of like the Ozarks of Switzerland. The people were isolated from the big commercial centers and lived a sleepy kind of existence farming. The biggest cultural influence in the valley seems to be the Catholic and the Reform churches. Apparently they co-existed in a love hate relationship and shared the same cloister. The Reformers decided there should be no organs or statuary in the churches. Now this upset the locals who loved their organs so they built their own and hid them in the attics (5th floor way up there) because the sound was best. (Can’t imagine how the clergy could avoid hearing the noise. ) The simple home made organs had to have small pipes in order to fit in the attic. The people designed a way too get the deep sound they loved and still keep the pipes short. Many of these colorful organs still exist. The one we heard was 800 years old with a rich sound. They use a series of levers and a foot pedal and must stand up to play in order to get the maximum sound from the instrument.

There was a fascinating story of a young man who wanted to make musical instruments. Though he had no training and no implements he devised a way to make a clarinet using a hollowed out branch, wooden keys and mouse leather for the flaps. The one we heard had a wonderful tone. Apparently he made quite a few and became well known. The museum has located about 30 of them, two of those in America.

We took a little tour of the village up in to the hills and down to a mill that is being restored to house the museum…. Water wheel and all. Here we heard a musical selection using huge cow bells and learned how they are made. Another art that is dieing. There is only one man in the valley who has the skill to make a musical cow bell. He is training others to take over but it isn’t easy to find takers. Strange thing to put on a resume.

Before the concert we headed farther in to the valley and did a short hike up the hill to sit with the cows for a while. The valley is, for a lack of a better word, truly “Heidiland”.

After enjoying a local meal (thanks Walter) it was time for the concert. I thought it would be a yodeling concert only. It was much more than that and played to a packed house.

The conductor (and mastermind for the concert) decided that cultures should come together. Not just Appenzell and Toggenburg but other cultures in the world that have a history of singing accapella. He lived in Corsica for a time and heard the local form or yodeling. This unique experience gave him the idea of bringing the Corsican singers together with the Apenzell yodelers. This resulted in an amazing performance that just took your breath away. The local yodelers came down the isle mid way through the performance and the pitch of their voices brought the room to their feet. Awesome and haunting. The group of 8 men have been together for 36 years and will soon disband. There is a history here that is about to be lost and we both feel privileged to have been witness to this talent.

Drove to Katherina’s ’cabin’ after the concert which took about an hour . In the hills above the Walensee , the family cabin is in a setting that is, at the least, breath taking. What a blessing to have the opportunity to spend another night in this magical place. Shane and I were here last year … it was like coming home for me.

The next day we woke to sunny skies and a new adventure ahead.

Is it only in Europe they get two long weekends in a row Think it’s just an excuse to get out and enjoy when the sun shines - not that I blame them! It has been cold and wet here until Friday, May 21st. Then the sun shone and the locals took to the road in droves! Seems like most of the people who own motor bikes decided to take the same route we chose to leave Switzerland. A lot of the high passes are still closed which may also explain the numbers.

My friend Katharina suggested we go south east from her cabin to a spa town of Bad Ragaz. Not all bad, it is a beautiful city full of flowers, modern statuary and beautiful old buildings. Unfortunately it was too early in the day to stop for a spa so we just enjoyed the place and headed off on our journey. The next logical place to go was Liechtenstein.. Liechtenstein isn’t big but it does appear affluent. The first impression we got were army fortifications at the boarder and the second was the affluence. The cities are clean with lots of banks, business and large well kept houses. Of course there are all the flower gardens as well.

In the countryside (after passing my first thousand street bikers) we stopped for coffee. A couple of bikers at the next table gave us directions to Mad Ludwig’s castle in Germany (no tourist info open on Sunday… but it’s way more fun to ask). His directions took us on a beautiful route through Austria and then north to Fussen via the Arlbergpass and the Flexenpass. The passes meant windy roads up and down and up and down and on each corner there seemed to be a motorbike, a bicycle or a bus. Really fun to drive but it was exhausting watching out for those guys.

By the time we found a place to sleep we had traveled through Switzerland, Lichenstein, Austria and Germany. We had conquered the roads and found food to eat. We arrived save in a town that, from what we could tell, must be well known for orthopedic shoes and sensible clothing. The town of Bad Worinshofen is a spa town with a decidedly older clientele (fountain of youth hopefuls) and pretty good beer and schnitzel. The “waters” in our hotel were nothing more than a swimming pool but pretty good to soak in after the end of a long day.

What will be in store for us tomorrow……