Day 4 - Rhine Falls

Today we celebrated the German holiday by spending the day in Switzerland :-). As promised by the language school, very little was open here in Radolfzell as all stores and some restaurants observed Corpus Christi so we thought we would head to where things are open. According to Todd's teacher, this is a very German thing to do since most of the Germans go to Switzerland on days like this in order to get groceries. It reminds me of having to go to Michigan in order to buy wine because Indiana won't let you buy alcohol on Sundays.

Anyhow, we spent a half hour on the trains in order to get to the Rhine Falls, which is the largest waterfall in Europe. It's not terribly tall, but is very wide and full of rocks and rapids that make the water spray out all over the place. There is a castle at the top of the rapids, but it was closed due to construction. Therese was quite the hiker as we climbed up the hill on top of the falls and then over the Rhine via a footbridge right near the top of the waterfall. The walk across the bridge was incredible. The water of the Rhine is surprisingly clear and blue. It reminded me more of the Carribean than a river. Plus, you could really sense how fast the water was moving as it rushed below your feet. We could also admire the people who boated out to the bottom of the falls in order to climb up on one of the rocks that protrudes from the top of the falls (don't worry moms - there are stairs up the rock making it a safe climb; you can see the picture below).

We then hiked along a path that led down the falls. We stopped often to look out at the falls and to take pictures (we ended up with 43 pictures today!). At the bottom of the cliff, there are (as you would expect) vendors selling Swiss items like knives and chocolate. We ate lunch here at a table right against the rails that blocked us from the Rhine before wandering around a bit. I know this is a huge tourist spot, but it didn't seem over-crowded at all. Maybe everyone was busy celebrating Corpus Christi.

At one point we walked Therese over a little bridge that leads to a gift shop, and we stopped to look down at the water. It was so clear that you could see the fish swimming below us. I pointed the fish out to Therese, asking her, "Do you see the fish? See the small things swimming down there? Those are fishies!" After looking down she enthusiastically replied, "I eat fishies!" and jumped up and down :-).

Here are people crossing the footbridge over the top of the waterfalls.

People standing on one of the rocks protruding from the top of the falls.

Posing with Reese at the bottom.