Schaffhausen and the Rhine Falls

Schaffhausen- a word I could never forget. My father owned a schaffhausen watch , which was considered expensive and hard to obtain. One day it was stolen from him and that made him terribly sad. No hugs and promises of a new watch could make him overcome his bad mood. ( I'm afraid I have inherited this trait of character ; whenever I lose an item I can go sad for days , which is of course stupid. One shouldn't get so attached to things; it's only people that matter.).

Later on, I learned that Schaffhausen is a city in northern Switzerland with a long tradition of fine watchmaking. The IWC (International Watch Co) , a high-end Swiss watch manufacturer, is located in Schaffhausen.
However, the main attraction in Schaffhausen is not the watch industry or the city itself with its medieval car-free old town, but the Rhine Falls (3 km distance from the city).

I came to Schaffhausen with the ticking of my father's stolen watch in my mind, and I ended my tour with the thundering of the Rhine Falls in my ears. I could have composed a piece of music starting with ticking, and ending with thundering, and in the middle of it, the various noises made by the tourists ( if I were a composer).

Anyway, near Schaffhausen, the river Rhine offers a spectacular show (especially on a sunny day) of the waterfalls - the largest waterfalls in Europe (150mW, 23mH). It is possible to reach the Falls walking along the banks of the river , or by bus.

Once on the spot, one has to try and change positions to find a good angle to best see the roaring falls and take good pictures. One can also catch a boat ride to a rock in the middle of the cascading waters which enables a closer view of them (if one doesn't mind to get wet by the gushing waters, of course)
Close by, on a cliff, proudly overlooking the Falls, is the old castle Schloss Laufen, which serves as a complex, housing: a restaurant, a hotel, a youth hostel and a gift shop.

A visit to the Rhine Falls is great fun; it offers amazing sights and sounds.