Appenzell

From Landsgemeindeplatz, walk 60 seconds south down a small lane behind Hotel Säntis — the white spire is already in view. The plain facade hides a startlingly ornate 1820s baroque interior of white, gold, and salmon stucco. This is the spiritual anchor of Catholic Innerrhoden — the half-canton that, partly out of religious identity, only granted women the cantonal vote in 1990.

Tip: Skip the main nave for two minutes and walk around to the cemetery on the south side — the hand-carved wooden grave markers with painted alpine flowers and saint figures are a folk-art tradition you'll see nowhere else in Switzerland. The brass family plaques are still added by local woodcarvers in Gonten.

Backtrack 90 seconds north to Hauptgasse 22 — you'll spot the window first: rows of dark-red Mostbröckli (air-cured beef) hanging beside coils of Siedwurst. This is Appenzell's working butcher since 1888, and the lunch ritual is local: order a hot Siedwurst (CHF 8) from the counter, take the bread roll (CHF 2), squeeze mustard from the wall dispenser, and eat standing at the chest-high counter or on the bench outside.

Tip: Order the Siedwurst (boiled veal sausage) over the Schüblig — Siedwurst is the indigenous Appenzeller specialty. Add a 100g slice of Mostbröckli (CHF 7) sealed at the counter for the train ride out. Pay cash — card minimum is CHF 20 and locals don't bother. The line moves in 4 minutes flat; never join the sit-down restaurant queues on Hauptgasse for lunch — they cost triple and serve the same product.

From Hauptgasse, head south down Brauereiplatz for an 8-minute walk along Sitterstrasse — the smell of warm malt reaches you before the wooden brewery does. Locher has brewed Quöllfrisch since 1886 in this same timber building, and in 2002 began distilling Säntis Malt whisky in retired beer casks — Switzerland's only old-tradition whisky. The Brauquöll visitor area is a free walk-through with viewing windows into the copper kettles.

Tip: Skip the paid guided tour — the self-guided Brauquöll loop is free and shows the same kettles. The real reason to come is the on-site shop: bottles of Säntis Malt 'Dreifaltigkeit' single malt (CHF 49) and the unpasteurized 'Naturperle' beer (CHF 3.50) are sold only here and at Zürich airport at triple the price. Tasting flight of 4 beers at the Brauereibeizli bar = CHF 9.

Cross back over the Sitter footbridge, then follow yellow trail signs 'Kapuzinerkloster' uphill — within 10 minutes the painted roofs of Appenzell drop below you and cowbells take over the soundtrack. The Capuchin monastery (1586) sits on a meadow shelf with the village framed against the Säntis massif. Continue north on the marked Höhenweg through pine and pasture to the Hoher Hirschberg cross at 1,094 m — the canonical view of Appenzell with Säntis behind it, then loop back via the eastern Sitter trail. About 11 km, 350 m ascent, well-signed, no map needed.

Tip: Time the Hoher Hirschberg summit for 16:00-17:00 — the sun moves behind you and lights Säntis straight on, which is the only shot worth carrying a phone uphill for. Wear actual shoes, not sneakers; the descent through Mendle has slick wooden plank bridges. Refill your bottle at the Kapuzinerkloster fountain — the next public tap is back in the village. If you hear an alphorn from the Stelzern farm, it's not for tourists — it's how the farmer calls his cows in.

Descend off the trail back into the village via Engelgasse — Adlerplatz is 100 m east of the church spire you passed at lunch, and the painted Hotel Adler facade glows orange at dusk. Ask for the wood-panelled Erststube (not the modernised side room) — the corner table beside the painted shutter is the one to claim. The kitchen is unfussy and exact: Käseschnitten (Appenzeller cheese melted into local bread with onions, CHF 24), Siedwurst with hand-rolled Hörnli pasta and apple sauce (CHF 26), and to start, a slate of Mostbröckli with pickled walnuts (CHF 18).

Tip: Reserve same-day by 17:00 — Erststube fills by 19:30 with locals, not tourists. Pair the Käseschnitten with a draft Quöllfrisch Naturperle, then finish with a single shot of Appenzeller Alpenbitter (the 'Premium 27 herbs', CHF 6) — the green liqueur is the regional digestif and ordering it earns a nod from the host. PITFALL: avoid the cheese shops on Hauptgasse marked 'Echter Appenzeller' selling vacuum-packed wedges at CHF 45/kg — that's supermarket stock with 2x markup. The genuine cave-aged 'Appenzeller Extra' is sold by weight at Sutter Käserei (Hauptgasse 35) for CHF 28/kg; ask for the 'mindestens 6 Monate' batch.