Rhine Falls and Sattel-Hochstuckli Skywalk

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The spring weather is not being so kind, we had hoped to get out into the mountains for some hiking but there is rain and low cloud.  Due to the weather we decided to take a car trip to the Rhine Falls, which is Europe’s largest plain waterfall.

The falls are stunning at 150m wide and 23m high. In the winter months, the average water flow is 250 m³/s, while in the summer; the average water flow is 700 m³/s. The highest flow ever measured was 1,250 m³/s in 1965; and the lowest, 95 m³/s in 1921.

The next day we still hoped to get into the Swiss Alps, but the weather just wasn’t cooperative.  The mountains remained cloudy and windy.  We decided to try the Sattel-Hochstuckli Skywalk, a 374m suspension bridge even though the weather wasn’t promising.  We found the gondola to the bridge which was closed, then we found a winding one lane mountain road which took us to the top to find that the skywalk bridge was also closed.  Not the most successful day, but better than sitting around the house. 

Zurich City

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There is no better way to find out about a new city than with a walking tour.  Zurich is a small city with only 400, 000 inhabitants, a beautiful lake and river and a lovely city center.

It was surprising to learn about the woman of Zurich.  At some time in the 18^th Century all the men had left Zurich to fight, however Zurich become vulnerable to attack.  The woman dressed in men’s armour and lined the river bank, the enemy believed they had the wrong information and thought the city was heavily guarded and left without invading or attacking.  Other than this the woman of Switzerland were actually very suppressed, woman only got the vote in 1971.

Zurich has 1224 water fountains that Leo and Corban were very happy to drink from and play with along the tour.

After the tour we headed home to pick up the bikes and spent the afternoon biking along the lake.  Corban did really well biking on her own while Leo had a comfortable seat on the back of the bike. 

Home Exchange Zurich

We have a fantastic home exchange in Zurich.  Our apartment is located 4km from the city and is on the lake, we look out the window at the lake and rowing club.  Like always the kids are happy with new toys to play with, bikes to ride and trampoline. 

Our home exchange family welcomed us to Switzerland with a Swiss Fondue meal and Swiss wine.  It was very strong tasting, but we loved it and enjoyed dipping into the hot creamy cheese.

Liechtenstein

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Easter holidays are here and we are heading to Switzerland!  We decided to go through Liechtenstein on the way, so we could tick off another small European country. We have now been to Europe’s four smallest countries: Vatican City, Monaco, San Marino and Liechtenstein!

Unfortunately Liechtenstein didn’t turn on the weather or the charm, unlike the other small countries it doesn’t have very much to offer.  The Prince of Liechtenstein in the wealthiest man in Europe and his country reflects his wealth!   He even lives in the castle on the hill, meaning it is one of a few working castles.   

Everything is pristine, modern and well groomed.  It has lots of banks and after a little research we discovered that Liechtenstein is one of the world’s leading destinations for money launderers.  We were actually making jokes about this as we walked around, and were not surprised when we read about it online.

We brought some incredibly over priced souvenirs, the kids begged us to get back in the car and keep moving towards Zurich, we happily obliged.