Appenzell Ausserrhoden (German:  Appenzell Ausserrhoden (help·info); in English sometimes Appenzell Outer Rhodes) is a canton of Switzerland. The seat of the government and parliament is Herisau, judicial authorities are in Trogen. Appenzell Ausserrhoden is located in the north east of Switzerland, bordering the cantons of St. Gallen and Appenzell Innerrhoden.

Lake Constance (German: Bodensee) is a lake on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps, and consists of three bodies of water: the Obersee ("upper lake"), the Untersee ("lower lake"), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein.

The lake is situated in Germany, Switzerland and Austria near the Alps. Specifically, its shorelines lie in the German federal-states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, the Austrian federal-state of Vorarlberg, and the Swiss cantons of Thurgau and St. Gallen. The Rhine flows into it from the south following the Austro-Swiss frontier.

Lake Constance was first mentioned by the Roman geographer Pomponius Mela about 43AD. He noted that the Rhine flows through two lakes, and gave them the Latin names Lacus Venetus (Obersee) and Lacus Acronius (Untersee). Pliny the Elder used the name Lacus Brigantinus, after the Roman city of Brigantium (today Bregenz). The lake is also colloquially known as the Swabian Sea (das schwäbische Meer).

The freshwater lake sits at 395 m (1,296 ft) above sea level and is Central Europe's third largest, after Lake Balaton and Lake Geneva. It is 63 km (39 mi) long, and at its widest point, nearly 14 km (8.7 mi). It covers approximately 571 km² (220 sq mi) of total area. The greatest depth is 252 metres (827 ft) in the middle of the eastern part (Obersee). Its volume is approximately 1e10 m³ (1.3×10¹⁰ cu yd). The lake has four parts: the main section, called Obersee, 476 km (0.184 sq mi); the north section, Überlinger See, 61 km² (24 sq mi); the west section, Untersee, 63 km² (24 sq mi); and the northwest section, the Zeller See and Gnadensee. The regulated Rhine flows into the lake in the southeast, through the Obersee, the city of Konstanz and the Untersee and flows out near Stein am Rhein. Lake Constance provides fresh water to many cities in south Germany.

Appenzell (or Appenzellerland) is a region and historical canton in the northeast of Switzerland, entirely surrounded by the Canton of St. Gallen.

Appenzell became independent of the Abbey of St. Gallen in 1403 and entered a league with the Old Swiss Confederacy in 1411, becoming a full member in 1513. It has been divided since into Appenzell Innerrhoden and Appenzell Ausserrhoden since 1597 as a result of the Swiss Reformation.

The territory of Appenzell as a geographical entity is known as Appenzellerland or (erroneously^{[citation needed]}) as das Appenzell. In political contexts, the two cantons are referred to as beide Appenzell ("both Appenzells").

St. Gallen ( Sankt Gallen (help·info) or St. Gall; French: Saint-Gall; Italian: San Gallo; Romansh: Son Gagl) is the capital of the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It evolved from the hermitage of Saint Gall, founded in the 7th century. Today, it is a large urban agglomeration (with around 160,000 inhabitants) and represents the center of eastern Switzerland. The town mainly relies on the service sector for its economic base.

The main tourist attraction is the Abbey of St. Gall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its renowned library contains books which date back to the 9th century.

The city has good transport links to the rest of the country and to neighbouring Germany and Austria. It also functions as the gate to the Appenzell Alps.

Vorarlberg is the westernmost federal-state (Land) of Austria. Although it is the second smallest in terms of area (Vienna is the smallest) and population (Burgenland is less populated), it borders three countries: Germany (Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg via Lake Constance), Switzerland (Graubünden and St. Gallen) and Liechtenstein. The only Austrian federal state that shares a border with Vorarlberg is Tyrol to the east.

The capital of Vorarlberg is Bregenz (28,000 inhabitants), although Dornbirn (45,000 inhabitants) and Feldkirch (30,000 inhabitants) are larger cities in terms of population. Vorarlberg is also distinct in that it is the only province in Austria that does not speak an Austro-Bavarian, but rather an Alemannic dialect; it therefore culturally has much more in common with its Alemannic-speaking neighbors Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Swabia than with Bavaria and the rest of Austria.