Saturday April 10th, 2021 -- Another regional themed trail in Switzerland called the "Rheintal Höhenweg" (Rhine Valley High Trail, Trail no.86) covers 105 kilometers from Lake Constance in the North to Sargans, running parallel to the Rhine River through the wide open St. Gall Rhine Valley which forms the Eastern border of Switzerland (with Austria and Liechtenstein).
Early in March this year, we completed the last section of this trail (photos HERE), the one that descends to Sargans. (At that time, the snowbells and bear garlic were in full bloom, and in the meantime winter came back at least three times!). Back in January 2018 (with much better early spring weather), we did a different 14-km stretch further to the North, between Berneck and Altstätten (those beautiful photos can be viewed HERE).
Since we had such success in January 2018 with this trail as a good walking trail in Spring, we decided to do another section, starting in Altstätten where we left off at the time, and walking another 13-km stretch to a convenient bus stop in Rüthi. Along this trail you pass through vineyards and farmlands, looking East into the mountains of Austria and Liechtenstein. This area was supposed to have nice weather this day, as Föhn weather was forecast, which usually comes with strong winds that blow away the clouds in this valley. Unfortunately for us, we got sunshine only late into our hike, which means much darker photos, but also less wind, and it wasn't cold. And we DID see the mountains clearly.
Not one of my most exciting hikes, but a good way to get sunshine and fresh air at this time of year.
 |
| We didn't take the time to walk through the streets of Altstätten this time, as we had seen it last time we were here. The sign shows we will pass the "Crystal Caves" in three hours (after this we walked for one more hour) which sounded interesting, so we were going to have a look.... We started walking at 11:10 |
 |
| Heading South up the hill we look behind us for a view over the rooftops of Altstätten, with its relatively large late-18th-Century catholic church of St.Niklaus |
 |
| The high growth pear trees are fabulous when they are in full bloom. |
 |
| For a change, I have no idea what mountains we are looking at. The direction is Southeast, so probably Liechtenstein/Austria? |
 |
| There were lots of very nice large houses to admire along the way |
 |
| And since this is an agricultural landscape, lots of interesting animals to admire as well! |
 |
| Fancy artwork: They call this "Scherenschnitt" here, which is usually done with scissors and paper. |
 |
| Another beautiful farmhouse. This is a typical Appenzell construction. We are actually pretty close to the Appenzell border here. |
 |
| Typical little village along the way. We were particulary impressed at all the solar panels! |
 |
| We found a bench with a view for our picnic lunch |
 |
| The trail had a nice variety of farm and forest roads, also some paved roads but not too annoying. |
 |
| It's always nice to find a wooden bridge over a river in the forest |
 |
| This was the only vineyard we passed along the way. The Rheintaler Höhenweg passes through many vineyards otherwise |
 |
| More curious farm animals! |
 |
| At 14:10, three hours after we started, we finally had some sunshine! It then got warm quickly |
 |
| Heading up the road in the direction of the crystal caves |
 |
| It turns out the Crystal Caves (Kristallhöhle) are only open to the public on Sunday afternoons (not during COVID, though) and otherwise for tours by appointment. So it's a cave we'll probably never visit! |
 |
| A view North across the St.Gall Rhine Valley. We started in the hills on the left |
 |
| We passed by the village of Kobelwald, didn't go into the village, though |
 |
| Final stretch. It was about here that the wind started up. |
 |
| If you look closely, you can see the wind blowing |
 |
| All that's left is a descent to the road to catch the next bus for the start of our ca. 3-hour trip home! |
 |
| Another long hike, over 13 kilometers and about 4 hours of walking, from Alstätten to Rüthi in Canton St.Gall in the Rhine Valley |
 |
| In 2018 we walked from Berneck to Altstätten, and this time from Altsätten to Rüthi. Together with the final piece to Sargans, this makes not quite 40km of the 105-km trail, so we still have a long way to go! |
 |
| Altstätten photo from our 2018 hike |
No comments:
Post a Comment