A taste of Switzerland

After a leisurely start we explored the old town of Schaffhausen, passing the Minster church with its cloisters and buildings with vividly coloured shutters.  The Landsknecht fountain, the largest in the town was at the southern end of Fronwagplatz, the centre of the pedestrian zone.  The heavily armed figure on top of the column symbolises the fortified city of Schaffhausen.

Simon’s friend Dave was due to meet us at midday, so we had time to return to our accommodation for a quick cup of tea.  After some confusion about our location, we met up and were soon on our way to Stein am Rhein, a lovely town on the banks of the Rhine River. 

We had lunch at Wasserfels restaurant with views over the river, and on Dave’s recommendation ordered a salad and a traditional Swiss dish, Schweinsgeschnetzeltes.  This turned out to be a delicious dish of shredded pork in a mushroom cream sauce, with beans wrapped in bacon and served with tagliatelle.  It was very filling so we definitely needed a walk after lunch.

Rathausplatz, with its impressive town hall, was very busy with lots of restaurants, pedestrians and people pushing bikes.  We admired the buildings around the square which dated back to the 14th and 15th centuries and were painted with colourful murals. Some had oriel windows, a form of bay window which protrudes from the main wall of a building but doesn’t reach the ground. In the centre was the Marktbrunnen, a historic market fountain, with its column topped by a statue of St George slaying the dragon.

We turned the corner into a quiet deserted street, lined with pretty buildings with colourful shutters and a much more peaceful square. We made our way back along the river to the car, deciding not to hike the 40 minutes to Hohenklingen castle that we could see perched on top of the hillside.  

Susanna had been unable to join us and it was nice to have a chat to her as we made our way to Rhine Falls, the biggest waterfall in Europe.  It was a little quieter than the previous day and we paid our 5 franc entry fee to make our way down from Schloss Laufen to the viewing platforms.  At a width of 150 metres and height of 23 metres, the falls were most impressive, with a flow rate of 600,000 litres per second in summer.  They certainly looked to be in full flow as we made our way to the different view points.  

You could take boat tours to the base of the falls, however, the viewing platforms took us so close to the falls that we weren’t tempted. At one point we could almost touch the water as it thundered past, and another platform protruded over the fast-flowing water.  The falls were truly spectacular and we enjoyed the different vantage points before climbing back to the castle and the car. 

Dave dropped us back at our accommodation and we bid him farewell, promising to visit him and Susanna next time were were in Switzerland.