Day trip: Rhine Falls

It all started with a friend's discovery of a CHF10.20 super saver train ticket to Schloss Laufen am Rheinfall (Laufen Castle at the Rhine Falls).

So it was an uneventful train ride with a transfer at Winterthur, a surburb station outside Zurich, we arrived at Schloss Laufen am Rheinfall, the largest waterfall in Europe.

The waterfall feature a great view which was complemented by the deafening roar as the water gushed down, though certainly nothing as spectacular as the Niagara or Victoria falls. Perhaps it was because the volume of water flowing through is much less in winter.

It was unfortunate that the weather was really bad, the sky was gloomy, the ground was slippery with snow hardening into ice and the chilly wind cutting into the skin and lungs.

After viewing the waterfall, we ascended the steps to the castle, which was supposedly a Swiss heritage site of national significance.

The castle was fairly well preserved, though there really wasn't much to see within the castle apart from a small museum, a restaurant and a youth hostel.

We crossed the lake on the railway bridge and strolled to the other side of the waterfall.

As the trains stopping the Schloss Laufen am Rheinfall, which is the station serving the attraction are low in frequency and the last service back leaves at 1626hrs or 1831hrs in the Spring/Summer season, we took bus 643 to Dachsen, which is served by more trains.