View Zürich in a larger map

One could not be faulted for saying that Zurich is not really a natural excursion when on a journey from Mainz to Paris; however there are direct trains between all three cities, and it was cheaper to travel from Zurich to Paris than from Mainz to Paris, so work did not complain. I had visited Zurich previously in 2011 and my memories of the city were that it was pretty, but that it also stank of money which really put me off. Having visited Switzerland somewhat more extensively since then I wanted to give it another go, not to mention I was very keen to visit the nearby Rhinefalls, which are the largest in Europe.

Schaffhausen and the Rhinefalls

Schaffhausen from above, with the crystal clear Rhine running through

As the trip from Mainz took a little over 5 hours, we met late at night at the main station in Zurich, and headed to our apartment in Langstrasse, where most of the city’s bars are located. Wandering through Dienerstrasse late on a Friday was an experience, but the city was certainly alive.

The next morning we were up early to grab some breakfast and catch the train to Schaffhausen, a gorgeous town on the upper Rhine and also (perhaps unsurprisingly) the capital of the Canton of Schaffhausen. Trains are regular, but as the length of the trip can vary between 35 minutes and 90 minutes, planning is a good idea. The ticketing system in Zurich is one of the most confusing I have ever come across, we simply could not figure out the zoning structure and instead let the system do it for us, which probably means we paid too much, but it was only about 10 CHF return so we were not so worried. We were slightly stressed as the ticketing took us longer than anticipated, so we ended up running for the train which pulled away just after we stepped aboard, ensuring that all eight people on the train would be on time.

Schaffhasuen in a beautiful town, lined with beautiful renaissance-era buildings and dwarfed by the 16th century castle, the Munot. As is usual in Switzerland, the town was abuzz with a morning market in the old town selling both trinkets and treats. We had a wander through, slowly making our way to the Munot, which coincidently was having its yearly Open Day. We walked up through the vineyards where we were informed about this by some locals, so we headed inside, where one was meant to follow a set path which had people working to inform you about the various things. However, this was all in German, and as a consequence, we made a real hash of the whole thing, going the wrong way, seeing things in the wrong order and eventually getting stuck in the tower stairwell while people dressed in giant animal costumes made their way to the celebrations in the upper courtyard. In that courtyard there were all sorts of great activities, from blacksmithing to old-style cooking and music, but as most things were aimed at local kids, the language barrier kept us from becoming too engaged. It was still really worthwhile and the view over the town is pretty impressive!

The Munot had a pretty impressive interior.

We planned to walk from town to the Rhinefalls, which is roughly 6km each way. There are a few bridges along the way and paths on both sides of the river, so the round trip plans itself. There is a train station at the falls themselves, but on a separate, much slower and lesser-serviced train line. We stocked up on some lunch and snacks in town and then headed down to the river. We walked down-stream along the eastern bank of the river, which would turn out to be the much nicer side - so much so that the return should also be walked on this side. The river has an amazing blue/green appearance whilst simultaneously being crystal clear due to being so close to the source: lake Konstanz, which is some 20 kilometres upstream. The path is a little sporadic in the beginning, meandering through some small towns and occasionally becoming a road, but it eventually settles into a lush forest, the Buechhalden. This proved to be an excellent place for lunch, with some perfectly shaped rocks along the river bank overlooking some rapids.

From the eastern bank, one comes up behind the castle overlooking the waterfalls, Schloss Laufen. Here there is a collection of platforms allowing you to get up-close to the waterfall, but it will cost you 5CHF per person. I would say that it is worth the cost, as it is really the only way to get close to the falls. After following the path inside that castle, we crossed over the river and followed the Rheinfallweg around to the northern viewing point, which is below the falls. The walk from the bridge is really something, as you pass an old mill, which is in great condition and walk amongst some of the rapids and smaller cascades. It is apparently a great fishing spot, as we sat and watched an angler reel in enormous carp, one after the other, bringing in one every 3 to 4 minutes!

We eventually arrived at the viewing centre, which is easily the worst part of the experience, as it seems like they are trying their hardest to make the place as unpleasant and as touristy as possible; much like I imagine Niagara Falls to be. To make matters worse, it was quite warm and we were craving an ice cream, but had to settle for some Italian Eis, a form of soft serve that is disgustingly sweet. Luckily the view was good, otherwise it would have felt like a wasted detour.

Pretty cascades away from the main falls

On the way back, we had anticipated stopping somewhere for a beer, as we had imagined that there would be beer gardens galore along the banks of the river, given how suitable it is for beer gardens - but there was not one! Rather, just a plain river path which passed via an industrial district - which is why we were sad that we did not take the eastern path both times. We did find a pub once we were back in town, Güterhof, which was a nice - if a little pricey - place to have a beer. We relaxed here for a while and enjoyed the late afternoon sun before getting back on the train and returning to Zurich. Having been out in the sun all day, we were both pretty exhausted, so we were on the hunt for dinner as soon as we stepped out of the station . There was some kind of music festival occurring inside the station, somehow relating to the football World Cup which just made for a really disorienting atmosphere. We ended up walking roughly in the direction of home hoping to find something that jumped out at us, which simply did not happen until we were a few hundred metres away. We dined at an Italian restaurant called Celia which was authentic Italian (complete with all Italian staff) which once again was really tasty but just a little pricey. From here, the next stop was bed.

Zurich

Our plan for the day, in opposition to our usual approach of seeing everything we could, was instead to just wander around the city, see the sights and relax. Our first stop was Saint Peter, a church built on the site of an old roman castle, but it is famous (thanks to some strong self-promotion) for being the largest clock tower church. The clock is indeed enormous and is one of the town’s icons, but the church itself leaves something to be desired. For here, one can wander the delightfully narrow streets to Kirche Fraumünster, but on our journey, we were greeted by another medieval fair. The Münsterhof was packed with all things old-timey, with period bands and music to boot. We wandered around for a while, but nothing really caught our attention for too long; primarily the stalls were selling food and drink and since we had just eaten breakfast, we were not really in the mood.

We headed into the church and had a look around; my memory from my last visit was that the church was pretty bare except for the stained glass windows in the choir for which the church is famed. This memory was more-or-less correct, but I had forgotten about how ignorant people can be when trying to squeeze into a small area and view something special! From here, we did not waste any time before getting to our next religious landmark, the Grossmünster. This would easily be my favourite building in the city. I am not entirely sure what it is about the look of the cathedral towers combined with the stone-lined Limmat river, but it is something that gives the town a real flavour. The cathedral itself is fantastic, having been founded by Charlemagne, and commenced building around 1100. Climbing the tower costs 4 CHF and gives you probably the best view over the city that you will get. In addition, the people that sell the tickets can give you novelty sized cards which detail what all the windows represent and their history - as well as just being really friendly and providing good conversation.

Having had our fill of cathedrals for the day, we headed off for a walk around the lake. Staring at the Bürkliplatz, we wandered over to the manicured Quaianlagen and followed this along the lakefront. It seems like this is what the entirety of Zurich does on a Sunday morning, but that does not matter, it is just gorgeous. We made a complete spur of the moment decision to hire a pedal boat and go for a paddle around the lake. There is no shortage of renters, all of whom have more-or-less the same price, but I imagine the one we ended up at - Bootsvermietung Rytz+Kreuzer - does well as they are second in line along the lake-edge, so everyone gets the idea at the first and then takes it up the second. For 19 CHF, we had our boat and we were off. Unfortunately, the boats were really designed for four people, so when there were two people paddling in the front and nobody weighing down the back, the rudder was out of the water making steering impossible and the only way to get it in was to pedal quickly, which is exactly what you don’t want to do when navigating through expensive yachts. Whilst a little stressful - particularly at the start and end - when we were out on the open water it was quite enjoyable, and the superb weather probably was not hindering this.

Once we had made landfall, we continued on and ended up at the Chinagarten Zürich. As one might guess, this is a Chinese garden, which was donated to the city by Zurich’s sister city of Kunming. An entrance fee of 4 CHF is required per adult but it is well worth it, as it houses a tranquil water palais, detailed pavilions and the open galleries give a great view over the entire installation. By the time we were done, we were starting to get pretty peckish so we headed back toward town and settled in at the lakeside pumpstation, where one can get tasty wurst and beer for a reasonable price. From here we meandered toward the station as we both had early afternoon trains back home, but not before relaxing in the Platzspitz, which is easily one of the city’s best parks. Then it was back to Paris - but I would return to Switzerland in only a matter of days as a long weekend was looming, and demanding that we head into the mountains...

Adventures

Schaffhausen and the Rhinefalls

Zurich