Rhine Falls

We decided to start the new year with a day trip to Northeast Switzerland to see the Rhine Falls. It’s a natural waterfall located on the Rhine River in Neuhausen Switzerland. Schaffhausen and the German border are also nearby. The name says it all, the Rhine Fall is the largest waterfall in Europe in terms of volume of water passed. At only 23 meters, it wasn’t tall, but with the full weight of the Rhine running over it, it looked spectacular. Like Niagara Falls, a whole town (Neuhausen am Rheinfall) is built around it. Unlike much of the Rhine in Germany that is wide and rock free, this part of the river is narrow and full of large boulders. Barges can’t travel through this part of the river. The Schloss Laufen is perched on the high cliffs directly above the falls. The Schloss may have once been a true palace, but now it serves as the Rhine Falls' primary tourist haven. The Schloss hosts a restaurant, a massive souvenir stand, a garden, and a gateway to several observation decks that wind their way down to the falls. You can see our pictures of the falls here.