Rhine Falls - where no fish except eels could climb

Have you been to Rhine Falls? Hehe.. Me neither! I had no idea of any foreign Waterfalls, except Niagara until I was in India. So when my bf and I were on the way to Zurich (Its a city in Switzerland, not the capital!), we put Rhine Falls into our itinerary. The largest Waterafalls in Europe was just one hour away from Zurich? Oh, we so had to go there. (Atleast to brag.. <grins>) Statistically, it is 45ft wide and 75ft high.. Huge.

We reached the Rhine Falls pretty easily by car. There were large pay-parking lots on either sides of the Falls. The weather was cloudy, as we disembarked from our car.
My bf (my now husband!) is soo fond of driving cars (Crazy I'd say! ), so me being a not-so-much-into car travel before wedding, am now a total car-travel freak! Its become like my favorite mode of transport ! Really! Our jackets, ear-phones, chargers, drinks, water, snacks, chewing gums, car charger, headsets, AUX cable, my boots, sandals, chips, sunglasses, tissues, handbag, DSLR and what not - everything is right next to me ! And oh, the car stops anywhere anytime - for a coffee break. Also, its so romantic when you both travel alone, especially if it rains, or is cloudy (blushes).

At a distance, we saw a counter, and people going towards some office. Pointlessly, we also head towards that direction, and it happened to be a ticket office for the falls. We so paid a small fee and entered the falls. Later I read Wikitravel about the other entrance of reaching the falls -> It sounded so complicated, I could not orient it - or maybe just the that we were spellbound by howmuchever we saw - Egal!

We started moving through the entrance. Overlooking the Rhine Falls was the Laufen Castle, through which we entered. It was a stone pathway, with a slight uphill. In a short distance, I see people peeping into something dumbfound. We walked towards their stare, and I cant believe myself. It was so vast, so perfectly turquoise blue, so mighty - the Rhine river! The mere size and looks of it creates fear, anxiety, peace and serenity all at the same time. After-all, Nature is still bigger than us.

Going farther down, we see a map with directions to reach the base of the falls. There was access to several terraces from where visitors can approach the waterfalls - you could either walk down the stairs or take a glass elevator relishing impressive panoramic view of the Rhine. We walked down the narrow stairs, enjoying the dampness of earth, green-ness of leaves and inhaling more oxygen. As we went up the first flight of stairs, we reached a viewing spot from where we horizontally faced the waterfalls. From here, we could see the lake meeting the waterfalls, and also the settlements of the other side.  Wow, it was so beautiful. A portion of the pathway arches over the lowest platform, and the spray fell so thickly over us, that looking behind, gave a glimpse of the wave, the rock and the skies. This was a mesmerizing moment, exceeding any other sight I had ever seen.

The water splashes all over, as we approached the thunderous roaring of the waters. It is also a fact, that fishes cannot climb the falls, except by eels, which glide their way through the rocks!! Wow. There are boats, that make short or long tours (based on fee) to the Falls. You can either choose to go just close to the rocks in the midst of the river, or risk to disembark yourself at the bottom of the two rocks. Hehe .. we went in neither! Just took a picture of a boat. It seriously was so rocking, with huge mass of water everywhere! (Jeez.. am super scared of water already - No way!)

We then climbed the second flight of stairs which reached to the the next batch of several visiting terraces. One of my favorites was the one closest of all to the waters. It was a horizontal platform with railings, standing tall over the waterfalls. From here, one gets a feeling that he is hovering over the water himself! We watched the water gushing under our feet, shaking the platform we stood on. The water cascaded down with shattering force, creating a mystical combination of colors and harmony. Maybe I could relate this as 'After all shattering times of your lives, there sure would be a tranquility'? Hmm .. It sure does.

Down the lane, the water reduces its force, and begins to glide in as a lake. We got as far as the lake, dipping our feet in the slow waves of the mighty Rhine. Simply cant believe, that it is these calm waters that gushes with such thundering speed just a few feet above. Engulfing the beauty around us one last time, we walked back towards the entrance, this time in the glass elevator. We finally took one panoramic view , so I could make you feel the vastness I felt. And hey, the next time you make a plan to Switzerland, make sure you do not miss this largest waterfalls of Europe! Here goes the panoramic; (this was all we could capture!)

Have you been to a waterfalls that left you spellbound? Scribble it below :) So I will add it to my next to-go checklist !