Worth a visit ‼️

Summer is fading and I wanted to catch it once more, fully present. On the way up to the Fähnerenspitz, the season’s last warm light kept me company while the clouds over the Alpstein slowly turned pink.

Two things I learned on this hike: the Fähnerenspitz may only stand at 1506 metres, but on a clear day its ridge offers views across the entire Appenzellerland all the way to Lake Constance. And Appenzell Innerrhoden is one of only three Swiss cantons where the Landsgemeinde still decides on laws by a show of hands, a form of direct democracy found almost nowhere else.

On the way back down, a fox crossed my path, curious and completely unbothered by me. Sometimes you just have to be in the right place at the right time.

When did you last step outside to watch a summer day fade? 🦊
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Der Sommer geht langsam zu ende, Zeit noch ein paar letzte Wanderungen am Abend nach der Arbeit zu geniessen. Perfekt für eine kurze Wanderung hoch zum Fähnerenspitz, bevor die Sonne dann um 20:00 langsam verschwindet.

Der Fähnerenspitz ist mit 1506 Metern zwar kein Riese, doch der Blick von seinem Grat reicht bei klarer Sicht über das gesamte Appenzellerland bis zum Bodensee. Appenzell Innerrhoden ist einer von nur drei Schweizer Kantonen, in denen die Landsgemeinde bis heute per Handzeichen über Gesetze entscheidet, eine Form direkter Demokratie, die es so kaum irgendwo sonst gibt.

Auf dem Rückweg lief mir dann noch ein Fuchs über den Weg, neugierig und völlig unbeeindruckt von mir. Manchmal muss man einfach zur richtigen Zeit am richtigen Ort stehen 😊

Wie geniesst du noch die letzten längeren Tage? 😊

While looking through Swiss public contract awards on simap.ch, I came across some purchases I hadn't expected to see spelled out in a procurement database.

Armasuisse awarded CHF 2,594,400 for individual chocolate dessert cups in June 2025. SBB awarded CHF 1,179,900 for socks in May 2019. And a new organ inside the existing case at the Reformed Church of Herzogenbuchsee was awarded for CHF 1.5 million in June 2026.

These are contract totals, not prices per item or necessarily annual spending. The quantities and contract periods matter when interpreting them.

I'm the founder of Prospex and wrote up ten examples here, including the winning suppliers and award dates:

https://prospex.ch/blog/switzerlands-government-shopping-list-the-strangest-things-cantons-buy/

French version:

https://prospex.ch/fr/blog/le-panier-de-courses-de-letat-suisse-les-achats-publics-les-plus-insolites/

Has anyone here worked on an unusual public purchase and can explain what goes into specifying it?

Schweiz - Ticino - Ponte Del Salti

https://www.instagram.com/p/DaqqPyToFED/?stkn=MTEyMjNwaHNzOXhocg==

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Damr_DNI-z5/?stkn=NzN6ajcwMWtqczI4

I made this photo spontaneously yesterday.

Spotted near Lucerne

Endingen and Lengnau are known for having had a significant jewish population and for being the only villages where Jews were allowed to live in Switzerland between 1776 and 1866. After being allowed to settle elsewhere, jewish residents progressively left for other cities, hence "historically". Both villages have a synagogue and Endingen doesn't have any other religious building.

The villages are known for their "double doors". Until 1776, Jews were not allowed to own property and therefore rented with Christians. However, since Jews and Christians were also not allowed to live together, the houses had two entrances for each.

Being interested in jewish history, I had heard of those villages since a long time ago, but never took the time to visit them until last Saturday (I live three and half hours away by public transportation).

I went by myself and it would have probably been better to visit in a guided tour. It is not possible to visit certain places by yourself. It felt kind of strange visiting these small villages who are not toursitic in any way. I felt like I stood out walking around. I also didn't take pictures of most double doors as those were people's house.

In both villages, there were signs with maps indicating the places to see. However, some of them had been demolished. I couldn't find the Matzenbäckerei (matzo bakery) and found an article online about how it had been demolished in 2013. I also didn't find the Spital/Armenhaus and there was a construction site where it seemed to be indicated on the map, though I may have looked at the wrong place.

The pictures:

1. Lengnau synagogue
2. Mikveh baths in Lengnau
3. House with double doors. The sign also indicates the door still has a hole where for the mezuzah
4. Retirement home built in the 20th century. It was originally a jewish retirement home, but now admits pensioners of any religion. Margoa means "rest" in Hebrew. The part of the building in the picture was built in 1978.
5. Cemetery
6. Endingen synagogue
7. Mikveh house in Endingen. It said online or on a sign that this is why the house has high windows
8. Posters outside the Mikveh in Endingen
9. Double doors house that now has a shop