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Thursday 3rd to Friday 4th September
Switzerland runs like clockwork, and especially the trains. We were given specific instructions to take an afternoon train from Zürich to Schaffhausen and to meet Heinz at the station. Heinz has spent his life travelling or advising others how to, in his travel agency, so our adventures were nothing compared to what he has achieved in his lifetime.
After dropping our bags off, we drove in to meet Mieke at her physiotherapy rooms in Feuerthalen. Mieke runs programs for disabled children.
Then we visited the Rheinfells, which are the largest waterfalls in Europe and the major attraction in the Schaffhausen area. The waterfalls actually breaks water access on the Rhein River. Fish cannot climb the falls; however, eels can worm there way up. Of course, goods being transported along the river in old times would have had to be carted between the two water levels.
The water was low when we visited, in summer 650,000 cubic litres of water can tumble over per second, but for our visit the rate was approximately 250,000 cu l/sec. All that information is available on the Rheinfall web site
After Mieke had finished work she insisted on driving us back to Schaffhausen to have a look at the jail where I spent a night in 1972. That is another story, that I will tell one day. Suffice to say that the jail looked very much as I remembered it, but I didn’t hang around Shaffhausen at that time, after I was released.
Mieke, Bruce and I walk around Schaffhausen. It is a pretty town with an old cloister dating to the 11th century.
We had a fun night with Heinz and Mieke – a home cooked meal, good wine and lots of chatter about our travels and theirs.
