Rheinfall And Schaffhausen

When I arrived in Zurich, it was well over 35 degrees Celsius (that's nearly 100 for those of us who measure in Fahrenheit); the humidity was in the low 90s. However, the next two days, the temperatures dropped 30 degrees and it rained periodically.

By the fourth day, the sun had returned, so I took the half-day tour north through Winterthur to Rheinfall, Europe’s biggest waterfall, on the Rhine River. Leaving Zurich, the bus took us through northeastern Switzerland into the the rolling green hills of the wine grower region.

After an hour or so, we reached Schauffhausen, a quaint little medieval town with the look of a pastoral village you might see in Deutschland, no surprise given its proximity to the German border.

Rheinfall is impressive, though not nearly as big as Niagara Falls. The amazing spectacle has two castles overlooking the falls (above) –- the Schloss Worth on the north bank and the Schloss Laufen on the south bank. Our tour bus parked at Schloss Worth (below), where we ferried over to the falls by boat to the tall rock in the middle.

Once there, you can watch the water rushing around the rock. I had to move quickly in getting my shots because tourists clamber over each other to ascend the narrow metal stairs to the top of the rock and the line was a constantly undulating snake.

During WW II, Schauffhausen became the only town in Switzerland to take a direct hit from Allied bombers, a seemingly honest mistake considering it’s less than a mile to the German border. The return route actually took us into Deutschland before crossing back into Switzerland on our way to Zurich.

Hotel X-tra

When planning this trip to Switzerland, I explained to my travel agent, Danielle, that I was looking for a good three-star hotel in the heart of Zurich. I needed one with my own bathroom and other amenities that I had become accustomed to at the Hotel Deutsches Theatre in Munich and the Hotel Cristoforo Columbo in Genoa.

Three-star hotels are about right for me. Four- and five-star hotels are for corporate CEOs on expense accounts and wealthy travelers who want to spend the family fortune before the kids can inherit it. One- and two-star hotels are bare-bones. No hostels for me. I require serenity and tranquility: in other words, a quiet spot when I need it.

Danielle came through for me, finding the Hotel X-tra in downtown Zurich. Close to the main train station and the exquisite shops in old town, Hotel X-tra was a clean and comfortable spot with a delightful staff who were always helpful and aimed to please.

Located in the lively and trendy Kreis 4 quarter, Hotel X-tra featured free Wi-Fi and a wholly adequate complimentary breakfast which, if you’re like me, you tend to stock up for the day. The guest rooms were well appointed and decorated, and very comfortable. The restaurant also offered seating on an outdoor terrace as well.

The hotel includes a club, described by one server as “the biggest and best in Zurich,” featuring the likes of Jack White of The White Stripes, Marina and The Diamonds from Wales and many more.

Hotel patrons are admitted free to club events to help mitigate the inconvenience of the late night noise. As luck would have it, our room was positioned furthest from the action, so any club cacophany was offset by turning on the room fan.

The Hotel X-tra was perfect for me. So here’s a tip of the “alpen hut” to the helpful, friendly and accommodating staff, including Frank, the manager, Nicki, Caroline, Isabella, Steven and the rest of the front desk staff –- as well as Faiz and Mike in the bar and Olga and Vladimir in the restaurant –- for a job well done.

Switzerland: Confederation Helvetica

Modern Swiss history begins in 1291, even though a variety of tribes had been living in the region for thousand of years. Celts, Helvetii and Rhaetians had inhabited the area prior to an invasion by Rome in 58 B.C., led by Julius Caesar, who dubbed the land "Helvetia."

The Germanic tribes had driven out the Romans by 400 A.D. and were joined by the Burgundians, another Germanic tribe that brought Christianity and the Latin language to the area. Under Charlemagne, the Franks conquered both tribes. The area was incorporated under the Holy Roman Empire in 1032.

However, when Habsburg ruler Rudolf I became Holy Roman Emperor in 1273, he dispatched thugs –- who were basically shylocks and mobsters –- to tighten the screws and collect more taxes in the area. Swiss resentment grew quickly.

Nowhere is that animosity characterized more than in the legend of William Tell. Few national folk heroes have achieved the mythic status of Tell. Stories vary, of course, but most go something like this:

Tell was a strong man and an expert shot with the crossbow. In his time, the Habsburgs were laying the hammer down on the Swiss people. The local “Habsburg sheriff” of Altdorf, Albrecht Gessler, raised a pole in the village square, hung his hat on it and demanded that all townspeople bow before the hat.

Visiting Altdorf with his young son, Tell publicly refusing to bow to the hat, and was subsequently arrested.

Gessler, intrigued by Tell’s famed marksmanship but smarting from his defiance, developed an intriguing punishment. Tell and his son would be executed, but he could redeem his life by shooting an apple off the head of his son, Walter, in a single attempt. Tell promptly split the apple with a bolt from his crossbow.

However, Gessler noticed that Tell had removed two bolts from his quiver. Before his release, he asked: "why two?" Tell replied that had he killed his son, the second was for Gessler himself. Naturally, Gessler was angered and had Tell sent by ship to Kussnacht to be imprisoned. But a storm broke on Lake Lucerne and Tell escaped.

Tell then ran cross-country to Kussnacht and as Gessler arrived, he assassinated the Habsburg regent with the second crossbow bolt.

His blow for liberty sparked a rebellion that led to the impetus for the Swiss Confederation. The Swiss people have maintained that independent spirit for hundreds of years, keeping their autonomy intact, and even refusing to participate in either world war by declaring their neutrality.

In 1829, Italian composer Gioachino Rossini debuted the William Tell Overture, the last of his 39 operas, a classic piece that -- for most of my generation -- will be impossible to disassociate from The Lone Ranger and “those thrilling days of yesteryear.”