A trip to the Rhine falls and Schaffhausen

Rhinefall

The 23 meter high Rhinefall is the highest waterfall in central Europe.

It's a bright sunny Sunday and a good day to go for an excursion :)

'Stairways to Heaven'

The way to the Rhinefall which we paid Fr 1 for the entrance fee. We later discovered another route that is FOC!


The 2 'hua chi' (aka crazy flower lovers)

Upon arriving here, we heard a ghostly voice humming...and we realised that it came from this 'musical instrument' ;)

Right in the middle of Rhinefall

You could take a boat ride to reach to the middle of the fall, that is if you don't mind getting all wet.

Actually I didn't find it very magnificent in terms of its size given that it is considered the biggest waterfall in Europe and I had expected to see a huge one instead. But as I get closer to the falls, I could feel its power and its magnificence.

It was quite deafening standing close to the waterfall as you hear the water gushing fiercely. To quote one of the famous poet, Eduard Mörike: Oh traveller, be careful and hold your heart very firm in your hands - I nearly lost mine out of joy by watching the powerful play of huge masses of water thundering down the falls and breaking the surface below, causing a mist rising high...

Did you see the rainbow?

Up, close and personal.

You could feel the aggressiveness of the water gushing down.

Facing the waterfall.
We felt as if we had a good spray of 'Evian water' on our faces ;p

Schaffhausen

According to what I read, it's one of the most captivating medieval town centres in the whole of Switzerland and is near to the Rhine falls. In recent years, Schaffhausen has developed into a busy modern town, now expanded well beyond its medieval centre, and capitalizing on its position on the fulcrum between Germany and Switzerland to act as a commercial and cultural bridge between the two. It has also absorbed a high number of Sri Lankan immigrants and asylum seekers, leading to an unusually broad ethnic mix on the streets and plenty of local advertising posters in Tamil.

Personally, I feel that it's quite a small town and have some semblance of Bern in terms of the layout of certain streets. Perhaps we were there on a Sunday so majority of the shops weren't open except for the restaurants and cafes. It's a quiet little town with pockets of people strolling away eating gelato or some having their cuppa at the cafes. A quiet and quaint little town to spend a lazy afternoon.

Walking along the streets with my 'umbrella..ella ella ay ay under my umbrella...' haha ;D Found this unique and cute brolly so decided to buy it :)











A familiar sight...thought will only see queues in SG.

They are queuing for ice-cream. Ya, it's much cheaper as compared to the rest. If I remember correctly, it should be about Fr 2.2o per scoop as compared to the others at Fr 2.50 or most commonly Fr 3.60 per scoop. So if you see a Q, it means a good deal :)

And this shop sells only ice-cream.

Ok, it's stairs climbing time again...one 'before' shot :)

Making our way to the Munot - the symbol of Schaffhausen

One 'halfway' shot...

The deers within the enclosure.

And finally to the top.

This is a city fortress high above town and the Rhine and is maintained by an association called Munotverein which was formed since 1839 with over 4,200 members.

We walked into the fortress and it felt as if we've walked into an air-conditioned place.

It was dark and sunlight only managed to enter via the openings in the ceiling. And standing where the sun ray shines in, you'll feel a little warmer.

Picture taken via one of the small windows within the Munot.

25 years of construction

After the accession to the Confederation Schaffhausen in 1501, and especially after the Reformation 1529, there was a call to strengthen fortifications. After years of planning, the councils decided on 6 Nov1563 the construction of the new artillery fortress. From 1564 to 1589 the Munot was built in drudgery. As an artillery fort, the Munot was part of the city walls.

Johann Jakob Beck - saviour of the Munot
At the beginning of the 19th Century, fortifications lost the significance. The Munot was disintegrated and became the quarry. But Johann Jakob Beck continued vigorously from 1826 to rescue the Munots and 1839 founded the Munotverein with Munotvater Johann Jakob Beck as the first president.











I tried to remove my shoes and walk since the pebbles look good for a foot reflexology, but the ground was too cold...

View from the top of Munot

The Munot is also available for events booking, which you need to seek the approval of the President of the Munotvereins. Cost about CHF 150 for half day and CHF 300 for a day. Would be cool to hold a wedding reception here :)

We walked into a garden and found this male statue standing in an awkward position.

Cloister
The largest cloister in Switzerland with a charming garden. It's so-called thr "Junker cemetery" at the 1582 - 1874 where high Schaffhauser magistrates as mayor, Ratsherrn, priests and other deserving citizens and citizens were buried here.

There' also the Saints Museum located here on artifacts of culture and the history of Schaffhausen. We didn't visit the museum they are in the midst of changing parts of the exhibits. But it only costs Fr 5 only as compared to the Einstein's museum :)


Before I did research on this place, I didn't know that it was a burial ground when we were there. Now that I know, it's rather interesting...to think that I told Uncle Tan to do an 'oomming' pose there ;p