From the Black Forest to Schaffhausen
Piero: after breakfast, we pack our bags and hop on our van, ready for the last day of our tour.
Angela: we cross the entire southern area of the Black Forest heading towards Switzerland. It's just over 80 kilometers, but we take about two hours to enjoy the natural beauty of this region.
The Black Forest
Piero: The Black Forest, or Schwarzwald as the Germans call it, is famous for being the setting of many Grimm Brothers fairy tales as well as the home of the cuckoo clock. The road we travel runs along its mountains and is dotted with picturesque towns and villages, interrupted by vast and beautiful pine forests. There are also enchanting mountain lakes and frozen rivers during this time of year.
Angela: despite the biting cold, our journey is very pleasant, so we enjoy it slowly until we reach the Swiss border.
Piero: from the border to Schaffhausen, the road is really short, and we arrive there by mid-morning.
Schaffhausen
Angela: Schaffhausen, called Sciaffusa in Italian, is the capital of the canton with the same name. The city itself doesn’t have much that’s special; the real attraction, and the reason we chose it as the last stop of our tour, is the famous Rhine Falls.
Piero: the Rhine Falls, called Rheinfall in German, are the largest waterfalls in Europe, stretching 150 meters wide with a maximum drop of 23 meters. The falls are located just outside the town; we easily reach them by van and walk the last stretch, arriving directly at the side with the castles.
Angela: perched on a cliff, overlooking the waterfalls with its imposing presence, is the Laufen Castle. The castle dates back to the 9th century, is well preserved today, and houses a hostel. Crossing the castle’s inner courtyard, you can take a transparent elevator to reach the "Känzeli," a platform suspended above the waters of the Rhine. From here, the view is breathtaking, allowing you to admire up close the raw power of nature and even reach out to touch the water as it cascades mightily.
Piero: a boat ride would allow us to reach the rock right in the middle of the waterfall; however, we don’t have much time and with the kids still so young, we don’t feel comfortable taking the risk.
Angela: we opt for a nice walk starting from the castle: we cross the railway bridge located just upstream of the waterfalls; the pedestrian path takes us to the other bank of the Rhine. We relax and get organized for lunch.
Piero: speaking of lunch: the prices are crazy, both for food and drinks; so beware, it’s better to plan ahead.
Angela: our time is up; we get the van, return to Schaffhausen, and from there begins the journey back home.
Piero: but first, in town, we got caught by a speed camera snapping us at 53 kilometers per hour: enough to receive a “very romantic” letter from the Swiss authorities inviting us to kindly pay 120 francs to the Swiss treasury; the tone is, let’s say, conciliatory, so we happily pay...
Angela: the fine is becoming a constant on our wonderful trips: oh well!
Piero: the 400 kilometers back home go smoothly, and we arrive before dinner. In our chats, there’s all the happiness from these three days spent with our families and the feeling that many more adventures will follow… It wasn’t on this trip that our wives started calling us Piero & Angela, but do you remember how they teased us just for repeating a hundred times that the Schaffhausen waterfalls are the biggest in Europe?
Angela: I remember well! Maybe the wives and kids didn’t like the last stop that much. The others, however, loved it so much that, according to them, the only regret was not spending a bit more time in this area because there would have been many more beautiful things to see. No worries though, it means we’ll come back!
