The glorious day had finally arrived, and Katie, Stacey and I were off to Oktoberfest. Cue MUCH excitement. We’d jumped on a friend’s pre-booked accommodation months before, but had been a little slower in figuring out how we were going to actually get to Munich. By the time we got around to looking at flights, they were around £400 return from London – ouch.
Instead, we decided to fly to Zürich and catch trains to Germany, the much less costly option at under £200 pounds total. That’s a substantial amount to save for steins and pork knuckle spending! In addition, it meant that we could see a lot of the Swiss and German countryside we would have otherwise missed out on. Best of all, we had just over an hour to explore the gorgeous little town of Schaffhausen, near the Swiss-German border.
In a very fun touch, the main streets of the old town were decorated with colourfully-painted seats, each quite unique.
Some were a bit… quirkier than others!
My favourite feature of the Old Town was undoubtedly the many gorgeous oriel windows and painted facades of the older buildings. The windows were often added on to existing houses in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and served both to demonstrate their owners’ wealth and to provide a clear view up and down the street. They seemed to have lots of potential for romance and flirtation as well!
The Schwabentor bastion once formed a part of the town’s medieval fortifications, and its clock face today depicts the unstoppable march of time.
Gorgeous little pub
The Munot, the 16th century symbol of Schaffhausen
The central St John’s Church
The autumnal exterior of St John’s Church
Crazily ornate doorway
As you can see, Schaffhausen is an absolutely beautiful little town, and I’d love to go back soon to spend some more time wandering the town and seeing much more of its wonderful sights. Another place added to the list!
