St. Gallen AltstadtPatti - February 18, 2018
Switzerland is made up of 26 cantons (or states). We live in the city of Gossau, the canton of St. Gallen. The capital of our canton (also called St. Gallen) just happens to be 10 minutes down the road, and it is one of the beautiful old cities of Switzerland.
Elias and I had the opportunity to go on an afternoon date a couple of weeks ago, so we took a couple of pictures of the Altstadt (old town) and the famous Kloster (abbey). The Marktplatz (market place) was full of booths, confetti, and people celebrating Fasnacht (it's kind of a kid version of Mardi Gras or Carnival, but Christians here do not get involved in it), so we just took pictures of the quieter streets.
Inside the Kloster is a famous library called the Stiftsbibliothek. We had never visited, so it seemed like a good time to go! The library is very beautiful and ornate (sorry, no pictures allowed), and they have a few famous and old Bibles, but the price to get in is not worth it beyond the first visit.
One of the quirky things I love about European cities is all of the modern stores in buildings that are centuries old. At first glance you feel like you are stepping back in time, but then you look closer, and that medieval building has a McDonald's! The Altstadt is almost always a pedestrian zone, so shopping there with children is especially nice.
I already love going to St. Gallen, and I look forward to exploring this city even further!