Rheinfall to Schaffhausen

On our final day in Switzerland we drove to Rheinfall near the German boarder to enjoy the sunshine and explore the region.  Daniel dropped us off there on his way to his office nearby.  After taking in the sights and sounds of the falls we walked northeast along the Rhein River towards the city of Schaffhausen.  The river begins not far from where we were and makes its way all the way to The Netherlands where it reaches the sea.  It was a beautiful walk and we couldn't believe how clear the water in the river was.  You could see the fish swimming next to you!  I was definitely kicking myself for not bringing a swimsuit or at least wearing shorts, as I would have loved to have stopped for a swim along the way like we saw some of the locals doing.

Once in Schaffhausen we did some shopping, stopped for lunch, and then made our way up to a 16th century Fortress for some more beautiful views.  Schaffhausen was such a neat little town (Europe is full of many, I've come to learn) with lots to see, including the IWC Museum which we unfortunately didn't know about until we were window shopping at their airport store.  Daniel met us at the fortress and took us to have a look at one of the training centres for the company he works for - which just happened to be housed in an old monastery with a name which translates to paradise.  We were also able to tour their library museum full of historical books about industrial innovation. It was surprisingly fascinating!  Afterwords we stopped for coffee (and gelato) at a cafe on the water and it was easy to see where they got the name from.

Finally the time had come for us to head to the airport and say our final goodbyes as we boarded our plane to Rome.