Hello Schweiz!

(NOTE: If your train schedule says 9:21, it really means that the train will DEPART at 09:21. They're often on time so don't expect to catch the train if you arrive in the nick of time at 09:21 cos it would have departed. So do get on the train 5 minutes earlier to be safe.)

The cold winds will greet you upon your arrival at Appenzell AB so be sure to bring along a nice warm jacket and gloves. Follow the signboards to the Tourist Office and grab the Appenzell info book. The book is handy as it guides you through a tour of the village. There's also a brief write-up on the history of each site. The fun part is you can be Dora the explorer for the day and navigate with the map to find the different historical sites haha.






Apart from the walking tour, one of the things to do in Appenzell is to see the cheese making demonstration. We chose to see the demonstration at Hotel Hof Weissbad. Weissbad is about 5 minutes and 2 stops away by train. The return train tickets are at a hefty CHF 9.60 for 2 stops but it definitely is worth the trip as Weissbad is such an untouched beauty. Do however plan your train connections properly as you wouldn't want to miss the train back to St Gallen if you're on a day trip. Also, the trains have a frequency of about 30 mins to 1 hour depending on the time of the day so check the train schedules beforehand.

I've got a soft spot for untouched beauties and for roads less travelled. So naturally, I fell in love with Weissbad in an instant. Weissbad seemed closer to the Alps. As compared to Appenzell's town, this one has less buildings and more open spaces which means unblocked views of the mountains and the flowing rivers. Ahhh love at first sight, really.

The view as soon as you get off the train. I certainly love the open concept of the train station but it does get coldddd

As you walk out of the train station, walk down past the river and you'll see Hotel Hof Weissbad. When you meet the hotel, walk further down along the carpark and you'll see a park on your left. The cheese demonstration is in the wooden house beside the river (Photos in sequence above). Just knock on the door and you'll find this cute little man who is all smiles. You can witness the demonstration on Tue, Thu, Sat and Sun afternoons anytime between 2pm to 5pm. Also, I would have loved to stay in Hotel Hof if I could stay the night because it really exudes grandeur. Check out their website here. Rooms start from CHF 220.

Boys and toys

Time to go home ):

So on the train back to Winterthur, we met this really cute lady here. She's 88 but she's still so strong and very much healthy. Masya Allah. She was on a trip back home from a visit to her daughter's to see her lovely grandchildren. She's really adorable and kind, and even offered to pay for my coffee because she thought we were looking for change. When I got off my seat to have my coffee to-go, she told Mr D that he was a lucky man with a beautiful wife (heheheh member ni kembang lah sekejap when I found out). Before she got off, she gave us her contact details incase we needed anything. Sighhh I feel so blessed for all the beautiful people around me. May she stay healthy to see her grandchildren grow up because she was really happy speaking about them.



In summary, here's how much you need:
Return train tickets from Zurich to St Gallen - CHF 60
Return train tickets from St Gallen to Appenzell - CHF 18.80
Return train tickets from Appenzell to Weissbad - CHF 9.60

And that concludes our trip to the less travelled roads of Appenzell and Weissbad. Till our next trip!

Abbey precinct

Stiftsbibliothek. (Picture taken of a postcard I bought for CHF 1.80)

St Gallen is located in the north eastern part of Switzerland, about an hour away from Zurich by train. St Gallen is home to the Abbey library or Stiftsbibliothek, which houses over 170,000 documents, mostly handwritten from a thousand years ago. The Abbey precinct (located 10 minutes on foot from the train station) used to be a monastery and the town later developed into a culture and education hub for Europe.

While I was in the library, I couldn't help but draw a parallel to what used to be Al-Andalus in the muslim world. Andalus was the beacon of art, science and culture of Europe under Muslim rule. I'm sure if the libraries and books hadn't been burned down during the Reconquest, it would most definitely rival this one here if it was still standing. I was pretty sad and contemplative as the thought filled my mind as I toured the library. My only consolation is that I know Allah is with us always insya Allah. May we always be protected from fitnah of this dunya. Amiin.

En route the library, we passed by Stadtlounge. Stadtlounge (Citylounge) is a square lined with red polymer carpets in St Gallen. In some city maps, the area is purposefully marked in red. What's cool about it is that it's like a huge living room, complete with sofas, lounge chairs and hanging lamps.


Since we went to St Gallen on a Sunday, all the shops were closed. (Please note that in Switzerland, family time and work life balance are very much valued. Most shops close at 6pm from Monday to Saturday except Thursdays with extended hours until 8pm, and close on Sundays) Hence, the library was the only place we visited. Also because we had a train to catch to Appenzell. More on Appenzell next time!


Here's how much you need:
Return train ticket from Zurich to St Gallen - CHF 60
Entrance fee to Stiftsbibliothek - CHF 12
English audio guide at Stiftfbibliothek - CHF 3

St Gallen city map

Yes, you heard me. We found halal meat!

Actually we didn't go to Zurich with the intention of buying groceries. We were merely looking for a place to perform our prayers and found the Islamic Center on Ausstellungsstrasse 21. The Islamic Center is located on the 4th storey of an unsuspecting apartment on Ausstellungsstrasse. After our prayers, we thought, hey usually halal food can be found near a mosque right? So off we go, in our quest to search for halal food/butcher. We googled for a halal butcher and found one on Josefstrasse 53, so we walked and walked and navigated our way to Josefstrasse. As we approached Josefstrasse, we found an Indian supermarket and afew kebab shops.


And alas we found EGE Supermarket! The supermarket sells halal items from meat to turkish halva. They even bake those huge Turkish breads. I loved how the smell of the freshly baked breads fill my lungs as I enter the supermarket.

Halal produce in Switzerland mainly comes from Germany as it is illegal in Switzerland to bleed out an animal without the use of anaesthesia. On top of that, there's an import quota for halal meat, driving prices northwards. I thought I could survive on just fish and seafood but ohboy was I overjoyed when I found chicken and hot wings! ALL HALAL! The chicken wings were for CHF 10 a kilo but I didn't check how much red meat costs though. Mahal pun mahal la.

How to get there?
From Zurich HB tram stop, take 17 and stop at Museum fur Gestaltung (indicated as the red pin in the map below). From there, walk to Josefstrasse 53

Since Winterthur (the place we're staying at) is 20 minutes away by train from Zurich, it is only natural that we explore Zurich first. The train ticket costed me CHF 12.60 with my Half-fare card. Hence a normal trip from Winterthur to Zurich Hauptbahnhof (often abbreviated as HB which means Central train station in English) would otherwise cost CHF 25.20 without the half-fare card.

I opted for the half-fare card since it is the most cost-efficient pass for me as I'm definitely going to break-even. However, if you're not staying for long, you could check out other Swiss travel pass options here. Also if you're planning on travelling Europe, you can check out Eurail passes here. These passes can be purchased at the train stations which are usually opened everyday of the week. Also, do note that transportation here is expensive so do provision for that.

Train ticket. (Note: Zurich HB is in zone 110) You're paying for all the zones the train passes through

oh have I mentioned that there's Starbucks on the train?

Zurich Hauptbahnhof

Zurich is a charming city where the Limmat river and Lake Zurich meet. It is the largest city in Switzerland and is often confused as its capital. (Note: Bern is the capital of Switzerland). The streets of Zurich, lined by swanky shops, very much remind me of Orchard Road back home in Singapore. You can find brands like Chanel, Prada, and everything else wonderful here. (There are like 4 H&Ms in one street!) Even if you're not out shopping, admire the Swiss architecture and its old charm.
Lake Zurich is a mere 10 minutes walk down from Zurich HB. Otherwise, you can take the many trams available. The city is very interconnected and the tram maps at the stops around the city make commuting even more a pleasure. If you've purchased a ticket in Zone 110 (see map of zones in ZVV network here), you can have the thrill of hopping on and off the trams without having to pay for each trip!

Sit by the river and enjoy your lunch while soaking up the sun and admire the beauty of Lake Zurich backdropped by grand buildings rich in history. If you're travelling in April to October, hop on the Limmat river cruise to get a wholesome experience of the city where the river and the lake meet. Round trips for adults cost CHF 4.30 and CHF 3.00 for children (age 6-16), half-fare travelcard holders and dogs (yes, dogs can even enter malls here). Do check the Limmat River Cruise website for more information.



While you're in Zurich, visit the Landesmuseum or the Swiss National Museum and learn about their rich history and strong banking system. The interior is a cross between a mansion and a castle. The Landesmuseum is located just behind the Zurich HB so you really have no reason to miss it. Adults are required to pay an entrance fee of CHF 10 while children up to the age of 16 can enter free. More information on the Landesmuseum here.

Apart from the array of museums available in Zurich, there are also the iconic cathedrals - Fraumunster and Grossmunster to visit.

Rest assured, you won't be bored in this city. The old town charm and the beautiful lake will keep you occupied enough throughout your stay here.

Landesmuseum Zurich

 Here's us signing off with our Frappucino in tow (yes, frappucino in winter, what were we thinking!).

Join us on our journey next as we hunt down HALAL meat!

Grüezi (pronounced as gry-et-si) means hello in Swiss-German.

Do you know that 74% of Switzerland speak German? Or Swiss German rather as they have their own set of words, pronunciation and grammar which differ from the standard German. I don't know why, but I always had the impression that they speak English. The rest of the population speak French (20%), Italian (4%), Romansch (1%) and other languages (1%). 

Hence, everything is in German. By everything, i really mean EVERYTHING. From the street signs to the labels in the supermarket. I thank God for the 3 different languages (German, French and Italian. Sorry, no English) they usually have on food packagings so that I actually know what I'm buying and what ingredients go inside the food from the little French I know from eons ago. So with zero proficiency in German, we usually resort to staring open-mouthed at someone trying to converse with us in German (okay maybe not open-mouthed, macam tak glam pulak). But most of them do know how to speak English so don't you worry if say, you get lost in their beautiful country. The Swiss people are rather warm and friendly so don't worry, they won't bite. They've got their really good swiss cheese and chocolates to bite into anyway. If the man in the street don't speak English, go to the train ticketing counters or the Tourist info office. They should be able to help you.

Enough introductions. I'm a woman on a mission (Haha okay no, not really). 

I'd like to invite you to follow us on our journey in this beautiful beautiful country and beyond. Insya Allah I'll try my best to include budgets and cost breakdowns so that you might just find this useful in your future adventures. Enjoy!

The customary search-for-free-wifi when you touch down

Magnificent view of the Alps from above