Walk with me - Schloss Laufen and Rheinfall

Are you ready for another walk with me? Put on your trainers and let's go! Today we will walk to Schloss Laufen and from there down the hill to Rheinfall - the Rhine Falls - the largest waterfall in Europe.

I would also like to join #wednesdaywalk challenge held by @tatoodjay.

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This area is one of the most touristy places in Switzerland. I'm lucky to live around 10 minutes from here so I can visit it anytime I wish. However, I don't come here very often as it usually becomes very crowded. Today I left home at 9 am in the hope that there will be just a few people.

Schloss Laufen is a medieval castle on a rocky spur above the Rhine Falls. The castle was first mentioned in an official document in 858. To get to the Rhine Falls we will have to walk through the inner courtyard of the castle and then down the hill to the viewing platform Känzeli.

But first we will cross the Swiss railway bridge on the left side to get to the castle.

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Don't forget to stop at one of the viewing points on the way to the railway bridge. You can sit down on one of many benches and enjoy the views of the Rhine Falls.

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We are now in Canton Schaffhausen and the other side of the bridge belongs to Canton Zurich already.

I always feel a hit of adrenaline when I'm on this railway bridge. I know that nothing can happen, but the trains here pass by so fast and it gives me a strange feeling in my stomach. Usually I run over to the other side as fast as I can.

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But today I took a moment and captured the part of the river that you won't be able to see from the castle.

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On the other side of the bridge there is a short climb up to the castle. In front of Schloss Laufen there is a playground. It was completely empty when I arrived but completely full when I was going back home just before lunchtime.

Let's get the ticket first. It costs CHF 5 and it's valid for the whole day. You can get it at the visitors' center outside of the castle.

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Once we have the ticket we can walk towards the main gate. If you have a lot of time you can take a seat on one of the benches looking like cows - one of the main Swiss symbols 😊

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From the bridge to the main gate we can see a restaurant that is right behind the corner. We used to go there before we went vegan. The views from the restaurant are amazing! Well, they have no vegan options, so we will just pass by and continue towards the courtyard.

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Now we can enter the castle through the main gate.

After the Old Zurich War in 15th century the castle was acquired by the Fulach family. It was bought by Zurich city in the 16th century. From 18th century up to 1941 it was a private property again. From 1941 it is owned by Zurich city.

Right now the castle is used solely as a tourist attraction and part of it is used as a hostel.

We finally reached the courtyard. The entrance to the Rhine Falls is behind that tree.

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From now on we will enjoy stunning views of the Rhine Falls and the surroundings. Schloss Laufen is overlooking a smaller castle called Schlossli Wörth - Wörth Castle. It is used now as a Michelin star restaurant. If you would like to enjoy a dinner there you might need to book a table a few weeks in advance.

I will tell you more about the history of the Wörth Castle next time when I will be visiting the Rhine Falls from that side of the river.

Can you see the railway bridge on the other side with a train passing by? This is the German railway bridge. We live very close to the borders and we have two kind of railways here: German and Swiss.

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Now we can enjoy the view of the top part of the waterfall behind the trees..

The Rhine Falls were formed 15,000.00 years ago due to tectonic shifts during the last ice age.

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Let's walk further down to get a better view..

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It doesn't take us long to get closer to the water. Can you see the flag on the top of the rocks? You can take a boat and climb up the stairs to get there!

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Today we can't see the full power of the waterfall as it hasn't rained for such a long time! The best time to visit is June when the snow in the Swiss Alps starts melting.

There is an average of 700,000 liters of water per second that plunge across a width of 150 meters into the basin below.

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Last time that I was here there were no love padlocks locked on the railings.. it must have been a long time 😊

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I will go further down to show you more of the waterfall.

I'm walking down the stairs to show you around but the platform is accessible for wheelchairs too!

In 2009 a project was undertaken to create a visitors’ center, an exhibition in the northern part of the castle and a wheelchair-accessible circular walkway with glass lift between castle and river levels. You can also reach the walkway by train, so everyone is welcome to visit 😊

It's a very steep path that can get slippery after rain, so I would recommend to take the lift to older visitors or visitors with kids.

From the lift it's not that far away to get to the viewing platform or you can also walk a little bit to take a boat if you wish to climb up the rock in the middle of the waterfall. For me it's enough to see those boats swinging frantically from one side to another to know that I don't need to get there..

Here are a couple of these boats.. You can see them coming every 5 minutes. It is a very popular tourist activity.

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No, no, this is not the last platform. We still need to walk further down.

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I can almost touch the water!

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Can you see the platform under this one? This is where we go!

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But first let's stop and take a photo of the rainbow..

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Here we are! I would say that we are now about 1 meter above the river. Standing on this platform gives you butterflies in your belly 😊

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Let's go back now. It's almost lunchtime and the platform is crowded now.

How many boats do you see here?

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On the way back you get a nice view of the railway bridge. I have to hurry up now as I'm getting hungry 😊

I will be back in a couple of days to show you around the other side of the Rhine Falls!

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I hope you have enjoyed another walk with me.

All pictures are taken by my Nikon D3200 AF-S NIKKOR 18-55 mm 1:3.5-5.6 G II/

Thank you for reading!

Cheers,
Martina

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