As planned the previous day we started out by backtracking about a kilometre to check out the city of Schaffhausen.  A much larger city than any we’d been through in a while, Schaffhausen allowed us opportunity to do some great shopping at its excellent morning market. We filled our panniers with food, ate some pretzels, and then were back on the route.

Crossing again to the south side of the river, the route winds through a forest for a few kilometres as it gently climbs up the hill that holds Schloss Laufen and forms one bank of the mighty Rhine Falls.

Having peered into the valley, we quickly realized that the best view of the Rhine Falls below was on the other side of the river. With no crossing points nearby, we opted to continue our ride further downstream hoping to find both a place to cross and a way down to the bank of the river.

Finding a bridge turned out to be rather easy. After following a lesser used trail that went down to the river bank over a few hundred metres, we were able to spot a small pedestrian bridge that crossed the Rhine. Taking the bridge, we then began to backtrack towards the Rhine Falls on a small footpath that looked to run along the bank.

The footpath quickly turned out to be a poor decision as we hadn’t gone but a short distance and had to shoulder our bikes down some stairs and then push them by hand on a very narrow trail that was just inches from the river bank. One missed step would’ve resulted in a very large splash and a very wet bike.

Still, we persisted, and within time the trail we were on arrived in the main tourist viewing area for the Rhine Falls. We parked the bikes, got out a bunch of food and just enjoyed the view for nearly an hour. The falls were awesome, and with Schloss Laufen now fully visible on the hill above, it was a great time to take some pictures.

Leaving the falls we found a different way back to our small bridge (on a road this time, thankfully) and crossed back to the south side of the river to rejoin the route. Our day from that point on consisted almost entirely of riding alternating villages and meadows along the Rhine gorge.

I really enjoyed this section of the Rhine. Great farmland. It was a very nice day as well, so we were having a blast. Lots of great little Swiss towns.

After riding about three and a half hours past the Rhine Falls, we found ourselves in the Swiss town of Koblenz (not to be confused with the much larger city of Koblenz in Germany). Finding no accommodation there, we crossed the river into the German town of Waldshut and quickly found a hotel.

With some daylight still left, we decided to ditch our bags and ride further into Waldshut to find some dinner. This was the first time I’d ridden the Surly without its panniers since leaving home. That night, it felt like the fastest bike in the world. We found the main market street of Waldshut further downstream and had some pizza.

Day’s stats

Distance ridden: 69.43 km
Max speed: 68.6 km/h ???? – cycle computer must’ve made an error.
Average speed: 15.6 km/h
Seat time: 4:26
Total distance: 494 km