Winter wonderland in the hamlet of Schwägalp…

As soon as I read about how one could do snow walking at night in Schwägalp … and the view to be had from Mount Säntis, just a cable car ride away from the cable car station located just next to the hotel that made the night walk possible … I knew that I just had to go there.

So I told the hubby of my desire to go there. Thankfully after reading up on the area as well as learning from his bestie who had done his compulsory military service near the area (after he had told him of our intention to go to the area) that Schwägalp was indeed a very beautiful area, the hubby was equally keen to go there just as I was!

To get to Schwägalp, we had to change trains in Gossau and later to a postbus in Urnäsch. In all, it took more than 4 hours to reach Schwägalp from Lausanne. A long journey … but the beautiful area more than made up for it … and we cannot wait to go back there again!

And I am also happy to say that on this excursion I got to do all that I had hoped to be able to do — the night walk on snow and to take a cable car up to the top of Mount Säntis so as to enjoy the magnificent view from there! Ahhh … it was definitely one of the most memorable excursions that we had had this winter!

We knew that we would be seeing some snow in the area … but definitely not in the quantity that we got to see and experience during our stay there! Even nicer was the fact that we even got to experience a snowfall on our last morning there … were we not lucky?! 🙂

Anyway, since we took loads of photos (as usual ;)) … I will share on our excursion to Schwägalp in parts … so that I will be able to show more photos … and thus allow you to get a better idea of how the area looks like.

(Just move the pointer of your mouse on any picture to display background information or click to enlarge.)

The view of the countryside as we made our way towards the hamlet of Schwägalp. Note the many windows … typical of the style of the buildings in this region.

As we got nearer and nearer to Schwägalp … we began to see more and more snow.

Especially as we got nearer to Berghotel Schwägalp where we would be staying! We loikeeee!! 🙂

Berghotel Schwägalp (1352 m). … and the new cable car station located next to it.

Since we had only managed to book a one night stay at this hotel on that weekend (on Friday as it was fully booked for Saturday) … we therefore had to look for accommodation elsewhere if we wanted to stay another night in the area. So as soon as we arrived and after having refreshed ourselves, we decided to walk down the road … to a guesthouse that I knew offered the only other accommodation available in the immediate area …

… Gasthaus Passhöhe (1280 m).

Luckily for us … we managed to get a double room for ourselves there. Although there was no television (even though the price of a double room here was the same as at Berghotel Schwägalp) the cosy atmosphere and the warmth of the staff, especially Heidi, the woman in charge of this guesthouse, more than made up for it!

And so once we had settled the business of finding accommodation for our second night in Schwägalp … we went to check out the area. And what we saw … we liked!! 🙂

The view outside Gasthaus Passhöhe ... with me trying to take snapshots of the mountain and the amount of snow in the area. You can see the height of the snow in some stretches. There was just so much snow in the area, incredible!

Many signs were more than half hidden by the snow … even some buildings in the area, too.

The view towards the other side … and the hubby was as busy taking photos of the beautiful area as I was. 🙂

One of the views opposite the guesthouse that the hubby was trying to capture.

And the view to the right of the above picture.

The view as we made our way back towards Berghotel Schwägalp … with the imposing Mount Säntis ahead.

The sun was shining very brightly that day in the valley … a nice day to start our extended weekend stay in the hamlet.

Passing by the new cable car station with a cable car just leaving the station …

… and then passing by Berghotel Schwägalp (which used to be the departing point of the cable cars until the new cable car station was opened in 1976) …

…. to make its way to the restaurant cum weather station/observatory tower at the top of Mount Säntis, which was partly covered in mist that afternoon. Not the best of time to be going up to have a look at the view from the station, for sure! Thankfully, the day was beautifully clear when we went up the next morning … pheww!! But as that Friday night was also the night of the full moon … the restaurant was opened that night for those who wished to enjoy the full moon while having their dinner. Very romantic … but of course not cheap lah!

Upon reaching the hotel, while I decided to relax in the hotel lounge area … the hubby, seeing so much snow in the area, decided to take a walk to enjoy the snow and to admire the winter landscape.

So leaving the hotel behind him …

… the hubby went deeper into the snow-covered valley …

… and took loads of photos! The setting sun certainly added a surreal feeling to the beautiful winter landscape!

And the hubby did not get back to the hotel …

… until the day was almost gone.

He enjoyed the walk so much that he could not stopped talking about it as soon as he got back. Of course, there was still the night walk to do … which I was looking forward to … and which I will share more in the next post.

Waiting for the familiar yellow postbus under the snowfall at the bus stop conveniently located in front of Gasthaus Passhöhe …

… to bring us to the railway station in Urnäsch so that we could take the Appenzeller Bahnen to Gossau where we would have to change to the Intercity train to Lausanne … on the Sunday we went back home.

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