Fählensee – hike to the Bollenwees mountain inn

It “hudlets and chutets” in Brülisau. The wind is whistling around our ears. After we had already fallen in love with the Alpstein a little bit the day before on the ideal Appenzellerland beginner’s route, today we want to penetrate into the depths of the mountain massif. But the plan almost seems to fail. The foehn blows so hard that the cable car to the Hoher Kasten has stopped operating. What now? That would be the starting point for our high-altitude hike via Staubern and Saxerlücke to our destination for the day, the mountain inn Bollenwees on Lake Fählensee.

Alternative routes include the hiking trails via Brüeltobel or via the Ruhesitz mountain inn. But somehow it bothers me that we will miss the beautiful panorama along the high-altitude hike. We decide to hike to the Gasthaus Ruhesitz and decide spontaneously whether we might not want to climb the Hoher Kasten on foot. He doesn’t seem to be that far away…

Hike to the Hoher Kasten

Past typical Appenzell farmhouses, the path leads over lush green meadows through a picturesque idyll. Despite strong gusts of wind, we reach the Gasthaus Ruhesitz faster than expected. With a “oh come on, now we’re actually almost at the top”, we spontaneously decide to tackle the originally planned route via Hoher Kasten after all. With the 72-metre-high transmission tower and the striking rock massif right in front of our eyes, we manage the missing metres of altitude in no time. After almost two hours, we stand on the terrace of the revolving restaurant and let our gaze glide over the Rhine Valley. Unfortunately, due to the unstable weather, the visibility is a bit too hazy to capture the panorama in all its glory. As a reward for the unexpected athletic performance (actually, we shouldn’t have shed a drop of sweat until the summit) we treat ourselves to a portion of Chäshörnli in the revolving restaurant. That’s just enough to see the 360° panorama from all sides.

Strengthened, we set off on Switzerland’s first geological hiking trail. By means of boards along the way, various phenomena of geology are explained to interested hikers. For me, it’s the ideal opportunity to refresh rusty knowledge from my studies. The hiking trail leads from the Hoher Kasten in a steady up and down to the Staubernkanzel and from there along steep rock faces to the Saxerlücke, where the impressive Sax-Schwende quarry is located. On the way, we let our eyes wander to the left and right from time to time and enjoy the view of the Rhine Valley and Austria on one side and the view over the narrow Alpine valleys and rugged rock faces of the Alpstein on the other side.

Spend the night at the Bollenwees mountain inn

After the steep descent from the Saxerlücke to the Fählensee, nothing stands in the way of a relaxing evening in the midst of an impressive landscape. With its location directly on the shore of the lake with a view of the steeply sloping rock flanks of the Widderalpstöcke on one side and the Saxerfirst and Kreuzberge on the other, the mountain inn Bollenwees offers a fantastic panorama. But the highlight are the new Fählensee rooms where we are staying. I can marvel at the Fählensee and the mighty peaks of the end of the valley from my bed. Hallelujah, what a wonderful place.

Before we fall into bed tired, we pay a visit to the Furgglenalp. On the alp you can not only buy cheese and spend the night in the dormitory (either above the new playpen or above the pigsty) for an incredible 8 CHF, but every evening at 8:00 p.m. you can attend the prayer call – an alpine blessing in the form of an Ave Maria chant.

Sunrise at Lake Fählensee

The next morning I am woken up at half past six o’clock from the sweet dream world. Still half asleep, I look out of the window and am immediately wide awake. What I see outside is so magically beautiful that I can hardly put it into words. The foehn has subsided and the Fählensee presents itself like a huge kaleidoscope in the silence of the early morning hours. We quickly dress warmly and walk in the morning along the lake to its farthest end, where the Fählenalp is surrounded by mighty rock faces. The fairytale light spectacle lasts only a few minutes, but it is enough to enchant me. I will never forget the pure beauty of the moment when the sun’s rays slowly wander down the mountain flanks and the fog slowly retreats.

On the Fählenalp we look over Bruno Moser’s shoulder during the early morning hours and get an insight into the diversity of alpine cheese production. But we can’t elicit the recipe from him. He, too, guards the secret of his blend like a precious treasure.

Around nine o’clock we are back at the Bollenwees inn and enjoy our well-deserved breakfast. Outside, the weather has completely changed. Dark clouds have gathered and a light rain has set in. We don’t care. The five spectacular minutes in the early morning sweetened our day enough. We were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the raw beauty of the Fählensee.

After breakfast, we set off on our way back and are glad that we have already completed the challenging tour over the ridge and can now comfortably follow the valley flanks. We manage the last part of the way from the Gasthaus Ruhesitz down to Brülisau in a rapid way and reach Brülisau soaking wet, but filled to the brim with fabulous impressions from the Alpstein. One thing is clear: we will be back!

The map shows our route. The route of the first stage (Brülisau – Hoher Kasten – Bollenwees) is about 12.5 km long and includes an ascent of 1,250 meters in altitude and a descent of about 700 meters in altitude. The pure runtime is about 5.5 hours. The way back to the retirement home is just under 7 km and is mostly flat. The path leads past the Alp Rainhütten, where alpine cheese is sold.

Hike Brülisau – Hoher Kasten – Bollenwees – Brülisau: Key data of our tour

Starting point	Brülisau
Length	19.57 kilometers
Elevation gain	↗ 1425 m 1425 m ↘
Duration	7:31 p.m.
Destination	Brülisau

Information and tips for the hike to the Bollenwees mountain inn:

• An overnight stay in the Bollenwees mountain inn costs 42 CHF per person (dormitory) and 84 CHF per person in a double room
• From Bollenwees, for example, you can also continue hiking via the Zwingli Pass and Rotstein Pass to the Säntis
• In summer you can swim in the Fählensee – don’t forget your swimming trunks
• Mountain cheese is sold on the Fählenalp, the Furgglenalp and the Alp Rainhütten.
• Most alpine farms offer holiday apartments or simple, inexpensive mattress dormitories
• The trip to the Hoher Kasten (if the train runs ;)) costs 24 CHF one-way
• At the Gasthaus Ruhesitz you can rent a scooter including helmet for 15 CHF for the 3km long descent to Brülisau

Note: My stay in Appenzellerland was supported by Appenzell Tourism. Thank you very much for this! As always, my readers can be sure that I always represent my views and enthusiasm.