I first moved to Schaffhausen in the summer of 2020. Prior to Schaffhausen, I had lived in Zurich and after moring away from Switzerland and then returning I was very excited to call Schaffhausen my new home in the country that I had dearly missed. Once I had made the move and arrived at my new home I quickly realized that Schaffhausen encompasses three things which I absolutely love. Forests, water and accessibility.
The forests which border the town are filled with an abundance of wonderful walking and running trails. Each time I go in I make a note to purposely venture down a different path and although it sometimes ends in me being very thankful to have Google Maps on my phone, it more often leads to an adventure into the unknown. There are many caves and beautiful rock formations all along the neighboring forests. The rocks are also home to some great climbing sections if one feels game and ready to take on some heights.
After growing up in Australia, I am always looking to live close to a water feature of some sort. Schaffhausen also filled this criteria for me, in a big way. The Rheinfall has its own beauty and awe, however, it is the lesser known sections of the Rhine further upriver which excite me. I often go with friends on boat floats and end up pulling into uncrowded areas to have a fire or bbq and share some laughs and stories. The water is always clean and refreshing. Just recently I have begun to just see how refreshing it is by taking on polar bear swims in town. Some adventurous friends and I can be found near the Flurlingen shores going in to test the waters, no matter what the temperature. My record on the coldest day is 2 minutes. Sounds easy enough? Come on down and give it a try:)
Switzerland is known for many things. Transport and accessibility is definitely at the top end of this list. Schaffhausen and its road network and train schedule has made the small town easily accessible from all the areas I enjoy visiting. Whether it is the mini volcanoes in neighboring Germany, the ski days in Flumserberg or the hiking of Austria. It is all within a couple of hours and can make any weekend day a wonderful memory to share on Monday
By Daniel Watson, teacher at ISSH.
