Obstgarten-Route

Leaving the shores of the wide Bodensee in Arbon, you discover the art of making apple juice in the Möhl Saft & Brennerei Museum and pedal past mighty Mammertshofen Castle on a green hilly ridge. From Wittenbach to the St.Gallen Monastery on a busy main road, touching a bustling agglomeration strip to reach Herisau, the main town of Appenzell-Ausserrhoden that has kept its village character.

The hilly outcrops of the Säntis to be overcome, a green, highly contoured landscape with scattered farmhouses often covered with small, coloured round shingles. Dairy and fruit-farming country, the route marked by apple and pear trees, whether impressive high-crowned trees, providing habitats for many birds, or productive low-crown cultures. A 1000m climb to Schwellbrunn, then 750m downhill into the rugged Necker ravine, to tackle yet another 1000 m climb without a breather. On the crest of the hill, the pretty houses of Hemberg with panoramic views of the Säntis and twisting Toggenburg.

The reward for all that effort, the quiet high Chellenmoor, your companions erica, bog bilberries, pine, birch, perhaps the croak of a frog or a buzzing dragonfly. In the far distance, the Churfirsten ridge then a thrilling downhill run into the valley of the Thur and the wonderful, century-old, timber-framed «Haus zur Mauer» in Neu-St.Johann.