Switzerland day 1

Ann and I spent last night (Monday 3rd September) in a hotel near to Heathrow airport.  Crawled out of bed at 03.00 and took a taxi to Terminal 2. By 04.25 we were checked in and through security.  Ours was the first flight to depart in the morning - wheels up at 06.10.  An uneventful 90 minutes later we touched down in Zurich.

We decided to leave our luggage at the customer service centre in the airport while we went out and about for the day, because hotel check in time was not till 14.00.  There is a mainline train station that runs through the airport terminal building, from where we boarded a train heading north.  One change and a little over an hour later and we arrived at the viewing site for the Rhine Falls, near Schaffhausen.

The Rhine Falls are the largest in Europe and, while not terribly high, the volume of water flowing over them is very impressive.  We visited all the viewing platforms, taking plenty of photos from all angles and from both sides of the river.  Yes, there were LOTS of steps!  See a few of our photos below.

At the top of the hill beside the falls is an old castle, now converted into a museum and visitors centre.  It was not very impressive compared to many others we have visited, but we walked through to take a look since we had paid for the ticket.  As can be expected, at a popular visitors destination like this, there were plenty of souvenir shops and places to eat.  We bought the obligatory fridge magnet but left other options for later in the week.  After a quick snack at one of the cafes beside the river we boarded another train and headed back to Zurich airport to retrieve our luggage.

Back on a train, this time heading west, and in under an hour we arrived at the town of Aarau, which will serve as our base for this trip.  The hotel (selected by Ann from experience on a previous visit) is literally beside the mainline train station, so really convenient for commuting.  However, because the Swiss trains and rails are so well engineered, they run almost silently.  We could not hear them, even from less than 100 metres away.  No keeping us awake at night, I hope.

After checking in and getting unpacked we took a stroll through part of the "old town" before returning to the hotel for an early supper.  We sat outside on the terrace under big shade umbrellas and enjoyed the warm evening weather as well as the very good food.

It's been a long, tiring day, but satisfying overall.  Early to bed for another adventure tomorrow.