Europe's Niagara

The Rhine Falls and a view of the arched foot bridge from the mighty rock in the midst of the waterfall.

Europe's largest water fall is the Rhine Falls (Rheinfalls). It is located near Schaffhausen. These magnificent water falls have an impressive breadth of 150 meters and a height of 23 meters. It is such a sight to behold several hundred cubic meters of water rushing into the depths at the rate of 23 meters per second. On a clear day, the spray rises in a cloud of rainbows in the forested banks.

Schloss Laufen as viewed from the mighty rock.

Unfortunately for us, we weren't able to see some rainbows because it was very cloudy when we visited. The water falls was still very beautiful nonetheless.

One of the boats doing a circular tour of the Rhine Falls.

We did manage to reach that mighty rock in the midst of the water falls by riding a ship. It was a thrilling experience to feel the vibration and roar of the water up close.

Going down the steep and narrow stone stairway at the mighty rock.

There are lots of things to do while you are here. You can take the circular boat trips, go on a river cruise on the Rhein river and visit the neighboring towns, visit the castles of Laufen and Wörth, go on an rope climbing adventure and if you are daring, rent a canoe.

If you are ever in Switzerland or Germany, Rhine Falls is a worthy visit.

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Sightseeing In Zürich

Zürich is a beautiful place with its museums, lake, old castles and churches. We came for a visit the last time we were invited by friends to come to Switzerland.

On our way to the garage parking. There was a long line
but we didn't mind waiting because we had a splendid view of the city.

I first set foot in Zürich in February of last year during our information trip here Germany but I only got the chance to see the city center a few weeks ago. Zürich is about a three-hour drive from Stuttgart, Germany and although it is an expensive city, one can still have lots of fun sightseeing without hurting your budget.

We came only to Zürich for a day and to make good use of our time, we didn't go inside the museums but rather opted to walk around the city all by ourselves. We had no maps nor did we prepare for our stops for that day. It was just an "anything goes" type of sightseeing... and we did pretty much see most of the city with our so-called itinerary.

We were able to see most of the attractions like:

1. The Bahnhofstrasse, Zürich's high shopping street with it's shops selling designer items.

2. Lake Zürich, one of Zürich's most popular destination because it is clean and calm and ideal for walks.

3. St. Peter's Church, Zürich's oldest church with a Romanesque architectural style.

4. Fraumünster, one of the most splendid Gothic churches with amazing glass
paintings.

We hope to see Zürich's surroundings and the Swiss countryside on our next visit.

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Lake Zurich

I grew up in a country surrounded with beaches so that it was quite a sacrifice when we moved here in Germany for my husband's international assignment. The next best thing to the beach are the lakes... they call the lakes here See so that it still sounds like the sea. Going to the lake especially in the warm season is one of the many recreational activities here in Europe. Most would camp out in these areas and do water sports. When opportunities to visit lakes present themselves, we try to take advantage of it as much as we can.

And so it was mid-May of this year that we decided to give Zurich a visit and see Lake Zurich for ourselves.

Lake Zurich is one of the popular destinations in Switzerland. It is a place where one can relax, watch the ducks and swans dance on the water, or take ferry boat rides. It was a chilly and cloudy day when we went to Zurich for a visit but the view afforded by the Lake was still breathtaking. As you can see from our photos, are clouds are heavy and very low, threatening rain. Luckily for us, it only began to drizzle when we were on our way back to the garage where we parked our car.

It was very easy to reach the Lake because it is located right at the heart of the city. It was one of our first stops on that day. There are also lots of historical landmarks located near the vicinity which all make up for a memorable visit.

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