A Delightful Town

I mentioned earlier that I had taken a train to Schaffhausen to visit the Rheinfall.  You perhaps have never heard of Schaffhausen before, but it was one of the highlights of my trip.  I told you that I would frequently use the German word "Altstadt" which means Old Town.  I saw many on this trip (and there are more to come), but my favorite "Altstadt" was that of Schaffhausen.  Its compact and largely pedestrianized Old Town is a delight, and it is not overrun with tourists.  After viewing the Rheinfall, I spent the afternoon wandering its picturesque streets.

The "Altstadt" is filled with lovely buildings, some dating from the Renaissance.  A number of them have elaborately painted facades.

The town is also noted for its oriel windows (a type of bay window).  There are 171 of them.

The history of the Church of St. Johann goes back to the 11th century, but the current structure was built in the 14th through 16th centuries.  Originally a Catholic Church, it became a Protestant church at the beginning of the Reformation.

On a hill overlooking Schaffhausen is a circular fortress called Munot.  It was built in the 1500s to protect the town.  The only time that it saw military action was in 1799 when Napoleon came through here on his way back from Austria.

This little staircase along a street in the "Altstadt" turned out to be the way to climb to the fortress.

The hillside is covered with vineyards.

Inside Munot there is a large dark chamber where troops would have gathered in case of attack.

A spiral ramp leads up to the roof.

From there you have a great view of the town.

After exploring Schaffhausen, it was time to have dinner before taking the train back to Zurich.  I went to a place called Restaurant Falken.

I started with a Swiss specialty that I had never seen before... "weissweinsuppe" (white wine soup).  It was very good and rich with cream.

For my main dish I had schnitzel again.  It seems that schnitzel is always served with French fries.  I wish that instead they would serve it with German potato salad or red cabbage.

Before I ordered my meal, I got a chuckle out of the saying on the placemat.  And I also felt proud that with my rudimentary knowledge of German I was able to understand it.

"Beer is made from hops.

Hops is a plant.

So, beer is practically a salad."