Langweisen and Schaffhausen on the Rhine

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After a very good sleep we feel we are now into the new zone in the north - thanks to "No-More-Jetlag". I'm not sure how these wee tablets work but since using them over the last few trips we don't seem to get affected by Jet Lag.

Since our first day in Gstaad will be late Saturday we were best to buy groceries today since shops are not open on Sunday. We are in the part of Switzerland where Germany juts into Switzerland so it is easy to drive over the Rhine into Germany to do shopping. We went to the Aldi Supermarket which was amazingly cheap compared to Switzerland and New Zealand prices. For example, I bought a lipstick, nail polish, foundation and perfume for 26E - some very girly stuff but why wouldn't you at that price?! Cheese was a reasonable price and honey was 3E for 500gm. When you consider the wages in NZ, groceries in Germany are far more affordable. In Switzerland it is a different story in a high wage economy.

After a snacky lunch we walked along the Rhine to a restaurant right on the shore where we had coffee and cake/dessert. We conversed with the Slovakian waiter who has a pretty tough life earning money here and then going home over the winter when the restaurant is closed. It is common to live in Poland with the extended family because living costs are too high to stay in Switzerland in the down period. The rest of the afternoon we walked to Schaffhausen (about 30mins walk from the apartment) where we crossed the Rhine and walked into the Old Town. Up on the hill above the town is a castle, but not the usual castle. It is a fortification built in the 16th century with a roof covered walkway up to the castle coming out into a huge rock chamber carved out of the raw rock. The building is circular with a spiral staircase from the cavern opening out onto a circular surface looking out over the town. It is now set up with tables and a stage for celebrations or concerts.

Back in the Old Town we wandered through the medieval streets with buildings with what appears to be bay windows (old style) jutting out over the footpaths. All in all, it is a very nice town of 36,000 people, not unlike many other medieval towns in this area. Alongside the town the Rhine River has steep vineyards growing on the south side. It is a sight we usually associate with Germany, but of course effectively this is in the same area.

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