All four of us had a mostly sleepless night on the plane on the flight over, so we arrived in Switzerland before 8 AM a bit road-weary. Also, we had not had our schedule approved by the Chamber of Commerce (or whatever they call it here) because we were welcomed by a drizzly rain when we landed in Zurich. We had ordered sunshine, but that was not meant to be, at least not for today.
Since the train station is located in the same building as the airport in Zurich (extremely novel idea!), we started our journey in Switzerland by taking the train to a small town on the border of Germany, known as Schaffhausen, Switzerland. We are staying at a small bed and breakfast in Schauffhausen.
We had read some interesting things about the town, and decided to go and see for ourselves what was there.
Schaffhausen dates from medieval times, and has the large Munot fortress which is surrounded by a moat. Castle and moat date from between 1564 and 1589. The streets in the Old Town area are mostly vehicle-free. Many of the merchant houses date from Gothic times, and they have ornate oriel windows, making it a delightful town to walk in. The Rhine River runs through the town, and lush vineyards surround it.
When the rain let up, we climbed to the top of the fortress and took photos of part of the fortress and some of the vineyards.
The view of the Rhine River and the town of Schaffhausen was beautiful from the fortress, but the weather was not cooperative for making outstanding photos.
We walked around the cobblestone streets and marveled at the beautiful buildings before we literally ran out of steam. With the previous sleepless night, the dark skies, and the gentle pitter-patter of the rain from time to time, we found it nearly impossible to stay awake. We ate “dinner” about 2 PM, and while we were eating it began to rain in earnest. At this point we decided to call it a day. We took a taxi back to the bed and breakfast where we are staying tonight. We pushed ourselves to stay up until 5 PM, but that was it.
We hear that every night at 9:00 the Munot guard, who lives in the tower, rings the bell as a signal to the townspeople that it is time for the town gates and inns to close for the day. I am afraid we will have to miss that event tonight, since “we” have “closed up” four hours earlier than that!
No “people pictures” today! Now… Would YOU want your picture taken if you had been up all night, traveled part of the way around the world, and been walking around all day in the rain????
Since the train station is located in the same building as the airport in Zurich (extremely novel idea!), we started our journey in Switzerland by taking the train to a small town on the border of Germany, known as Schaffhausen, Switzerland. We are staying at a small bed and breakfast in Schauffhausen.
Schaffhausen dates from medieval times, and has the large Munot fortress which is surrounded by a moat. Castle and moat date from between 1564 and 1589. The streets in the Old Town area are mostly vehicle-free. Many of the merchant houses date from Gothic times, and they have ornate oriel windows, making it a delightful town to walk in. The Rhine River runs through the town, and lush vineyards surround it.
When the rain let up, we climbed to the top of the fortress and took photos of part of the fortress and some of the vineyards.
We walked around the cobblestone streets and marveled at the beautiful buildings before we literally ran out of steam. With the previous sleepless night, the dark skies, and the gentle pitter-patter of the rain from time to time, we found it nearly impossible to stay awake. We ate “dinner” about 2 PM, and while we were eating it began to rain in earnest. At this point we decided to call it a day. We took a taxi back to the bed and breakfast where we are staying tonight. We pushed ourselves to stay up until 5 PM, but that was it.
We hear that every night at 9:00 the Munot guard, who lives in the tower, rings the bell as a signal to the townspeople that it is time for the town gates and inns to close for the day. I am afraid we will have to miss that event tonight, since “we” have “closed up” four hours earlier than that!
No “people pictures” today! Now… Would YOU want your picture taken if you had been up all night, traveled part of the way around the world, and been walking around all day in the rain????
Amazing that there are still such towns. Beautiful pics, even with the clouds. thanks!
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