In Schaffhausen

I remember many years ago when my at that time fiancé accepted a job in Switzerland that I was no so excited to move here. Many people dream of this country, but I was living my life in Prague and I was happy. Switzerland sounded like a small country far away from home. I would have to leave my job, my friends and live far away from my family.

When I came to Schaffhausen for the first I changed my mind instantly. We entered the old town by car and I remember feeling like in a fairy-tale. It was winter and the town was decorated with Christmas ornaments and fairy lights, and I was in awe of so much beauty. I fell in love with it instantly and changed my mind about moving.

We stayed in Schaffhausen for about 6 years before we moved to another city in Switzerland. It has a special place in my heart and I love coming back as much as I can.

Schaffhausen is one of the smaller cantons in Switzerland. It is situated in the Northeast, and has its borders with Germany. It is a great place when you need to get around Europe by car as it's very central. It is a bit complicated to get to the mountainous area around Italy and France, but when we decide to go there, we simply stay for entire weekend and then it's fine.

People here are kind and friendly, and we managed to build some precious friendships. Schaffhausen is one of few places in Switzerland where people greet each other while walking along the river Rhine or shopping in the city. It's a small community and people know each other. I like it but I know that other people might not feel so comfortable about it.

The city is rather small, but you can find here everything that you need. There are plenty of restaurants, bars, clubs, shops, farmer markets, a theatre, many museums, and much more. If you would still require something special, then it's only about 45 minutes to Zürich by train. There are multiple train to Zürich each hour, so it's very easy to get there.

Each canton in Switzerland is either religious or not, and based on that there are public holidays which might be different in each canton. For example, canton Zürich has different holidays than canton Schaffhausen. Schaffhausen is a protestant canton, therefore it doesn't celebrate religious holidays. Italian cantons, on the other hand, celebrate those holidays as public holidays. If you work for a company that has branches in various cantons, it is sometimes challenging to know who has holidays and when.

You can drink water from public fountains unless there is a sign that you cannot. There are plenty of public fountains in Switzerland and this is one of them. I like that you can drink water as you don't need to carry heavy bottles in summer everywhere with you.

This church is one of the meeting points in Schaffhausen. It is located in the heart of the town, so it's easily approachable and everyone knows it.

I have mentioned the river Rhine several times in my previous posts. I find this river fascinating as I've seen it at many places and it looks so different at each of them. It's small and crystal clear in the Alps, getting bigger in Schaffhausen, becoming dirty while passing by the industrial area of Basel, and huge and brown flowing into the sea around Rotterdam.

This is a railway bridge where you can see train from Switzerland as well as from Germany as this is where this railways will take you. It is in directions of Konstanz and its lake, towards the place which we cross when we drive back to Slovakia.

A little more detail of the bridge...

While I was walking I have noticed the cloud formations which caught my attention. I have been always fascinated by clouds. I was trying to see different shapes and figures and watch them move and transform to another shapes and figures. I also enjoy the contrast with deep blue skies.

Are there any shapes that you see there? Among other shapes, I do see a cute happy hippo there 🙂

The weather is nicer every day, so I will spend more time outside and will be able to show you around. I'm looking forward to it!

Until the next time...