Rheine Falls - Europe's largest water falls

Date of travel: August 15, 2009

The Rhine Falls, Europe's largest water falls, are a major tourist attraction in northern Switzerland. The falls are located on the High Rhine between the municipalities of Neuhausen am Rheinfall and Laufen-Uhwiesen, near the town of Schaffhausen  in northern Switzerland, between the cantons of Schaffhausen and Zürich. They are 150 m (450 ft) wide and 23 m (75 ft) high. The Rhine Falls are very busy with a huge number of tourists visiting daily in summers to get the best camera angle and souvenirs. August 1 – the Swiss National Day – is particularly impressive, with a huge fireworks display mounted on the riverside.

Travelers: 

Pradeep, Payal and Betu (Family 1)

Manoj, Minal and Asmi (Family 2)

Paresh, Nidhi and Nannu (Family 3)

Shirish, Mona and Hanu (Family 4)

Our Rhine Falls trip was planned on a very short notice. Anyways it was a day's trip, so we didn't have to do much preparation except for the thing for which Indians are famous for i.e. food. We all prepared  one dish per family at home, packed some snacks and were ready for the trip.

On the morning of Aug 15,  we took IC train for the city of Schaffhausen. Being weekend, the train was a little crowded. Biking is a very famous sport among Europeans. On weekend they normally take their bikes and head towards hills with their family. That day was no exception. The bike area in the train was queued up with bikes. Since we were having 3 prams with us, we too were sitting in the same area. So, the train journey was not very enjoyable as we were not able to sit together and gossip. ;-). But  at least kids, irrespective of crowd, were running here and there and were enjoying the trip to its fullest.

From Schaffhausen, we took a city bus (Bus #1) to Neuhausen am Rheinfall. From Bus stop we walked a short distance (about 15 minutes) , following signpost , for the Rhine Falls. That day was little hot. We bought Ice cream on the way and moved towards Falls walking and talking and enjoying Ice cream.

As we neared the falls, we could hear the gushing of water and the 'whites' were seen at the sudden drop in height even before we could actually see the Falls. Once we were within sight of the falls, the view was absolutely amazing!! A magnificent fall was in front of us. Its power could be imagined from the spray of water rising from the fall that formed a cloud just in front of the fall above the forested banks. Two mighty rocks were standing in the midst of the waterfall that has withstood the force of Rheine River for thousand years. There was one observation desk to experience the power of river from close. But we had to struggle a bit even to get a close view of the Falls from the bank of the river as there were hordes of tourists crowding banks in search of the best camera angle. Everyone wanted to capture the best image of this stunning Falls as a remembrance.

One might think the Rhine Falls is measly in comparison to the other waterfalls that are famous throughout the world, but seen in person they inspire a healthy respect.  The water spills over the edge of the cliff at a rate of 750,000 liters per second.  This is about a fifth of the volume of water that flows over the Niagara Falls, yet is still more than enough to discourage visitors from leaning too far over the railing to get their photographs of the Rhine. We had to hold our kids tightly in order to keep them away from the bank.

Now it was our Lunch time. We had our home-made lunch there and then started our walk along the river through charming paved footpath. There were many points of good outlook on the route from where we could get the magnificent view of emerald-green foams of water formed by the fall.

On the way we also saw a wooden water mill. The use of water-power has a long tradition in Switzerland. A mill driven by the waters of River Rhine near the Rhine Falls is mentioned in old documents as early as 1052. In 1404 other crafts using hydro-power like grinding and forging are documented. In 1889 Europe's first industrial aluminium production plant was built next to the Rhine Falls. A sculpture designed by Ernesto Hebeisen was erected on the lawn on the right shore to mark the 100th anniversary of the industry. We rested for some time near that sculpture and then continued our walk around the lake at the bottom of the falls towards Schloss Wörth castle.

One the way we took break again in a playing area for children. The place was just in front of the Fall on the other side of the river. While the kids were busy playing, we sat there watching  the magnificent sight in front of us. It was very relaxing and was a treat to the eyes.

After spending some time there, we moved again towards Schloss Wörth castle. There were various restaurants there and a big souvenir shop. Various boat trips are also operated from there which take you up the Rhine to the falls. Your trip is worthless if you come till here and don't take any boat ride. These daredevil boats are the best way to see the falls face-to-face. Some famous trips that are operated are: a trip near to the bottom of the fall or a boat ride to the rock in the middle of the stream which can be climbed through stairway and give a top view of the falls.

Since we were having 4 hyperactive naughty kids with us, we decided to take a boat trip to the bottom of the Falls. The river water was crystal clear. We could even see fishes swimming inside the river from the surface. The boat took us till the bottom of the falls from where one could observe the natural spectacle from up close. We were as close to the falls as possible by the boat from where the roaring waters tumbled inches away from our noses.  We were standing in the middle of the falls with spray of water all around and experiencing the gushing sensation of the crashing waterfall all around us. This gave a true impression of the water's power. A beautiful rainbow could also be seen just below the falls making the whole scene just perfect. The boat took 2 rounds of the falls. It was hardly 15 minutes boat ride, but it was simply amazing!!

With this boat ride our adventure also ended!!! We spent some time there and took numerous snaps. We  then left the place and followed almost the same route back to station and then to Munich. But the memories of this great fall would surely remain in our hearts for the rest of our lives.