You might know already that I have a soft spot for Stein am Rhein. It is our go to place when we don't have any weekend plans, but still want to go outside. We have already left Switzerland for the holidays, and when we will return it will change into a 'ghost town' as after the New Year's Eve most of the shops and restaurants will close for the season and only reopen again in spring. It's a strange concept, but I can imagine that it is expensive to stay open if there are only a few tourists coming here during the winter months.
However, these days the town is full of people, and it is difficult to find a free spot in a restaurant. Luckily, there are many stands serving some food and wintery drinks, but if you want to get to them you first have to park your car which is an unusually difficult thing to do. We had that great idea of going to Stein am Rhein on Sunday in the afternoon. I totally forgot that it's better to go there in the morning, and that we might not find a parking slot at all. It all started at the entrance to the town when we were in a traffic jam for what seemed like an eternity. I'm not a very patient person, so maybe it wouldn't be so long for other people 😊 You can see all those cars waiting on the bridge...
There are tons of parking spaces for such a small town, but during the season it might not be enough. We drove around the town twice before we decided to wait in front of a parking garage and see if anyone would drive out. We were lucky it only took about 5 minutes and we could finally get out of the car. I was very close to the point of turning around and driving back home - it wouldn't be the first time. After a little bit of unnecessary drama we could walk to the town and we were both ready for a drink!
Stein am Rhein is a town of huge contrasts. These streets are only one street away from the main street and they were completely empty. I must say that I was happy for the residents as I would personally not enjoy having thousands of people in front of my windows every day.
On the other hand, I do understand all those people coming to enjoy the town as it has so much charm! It is part of the Grand Tour of Switzerland for a reason. The Grand Tour goes along entire Switzerland and brings you to the most beautiful places in the country.
Let's enjoy some decoration before I take you one street further to see why all these people are coming here...
Stein am Rhein is well known for its houses with painted facades. Every time we come here I find something new that I didn't see before. Each painting tells a story, and there are tour guides that can tell you all the details about them.
This street is right before the bridge, and it's also the reason why there was such a traffic jam. It connects two parts of the old town and there are many pedestrians crossing it all the time.
Look at those gigantic Christmas balls! I'll tell you a secret... it's always the same Christmas balls every year hanging at exactly same places 😊
I was happy that this place was closed because I would have spent way too much money if it wasn't. I love art and crafts, and glass blowing fascinates me, so I wouldn't be able to walk by without buying something what I don't need at all.
I think that this might be an angel (I guess the red thingies are wings), but whatever it is, it reminds me of the nutcracker somehow...
In Switzerland, there isn't a town in winter without a fondue place. It's one of a few places that I never visit because of the strong smell that I cannot get out of my coat for at least a week. I will never understand how other people don't mind it, but I guess they love cheese too much. However, I must say that those chalets are really cute!
Finally some drink! We found a stand serving special hot drinks that I have never heard of before. Mine was with cranberries and ginger, and my husband had one with apricots and rosemary. They were both delicious! And of course I couldn't resist one free tangerine 😊
And here we come to the main street leading to the main square...
You can see what I mean when I say a 'huge contrast'. There were so many people, but we still wanted to walk there because of the traditional market. I like to get inspiration for my own work anytime I can...
And this is why everyone comes to Stein am Rhein - richly decorated medieval houses, some of them going back to the 12th century.
The one building in the middle is the town hall, and there were bands playing in front of it all the time. There is a program for the entire season, so people can pick which performance they would like to attend.
When we reached the other side of the old town I saw a donkey a bit further down. At first, I thought it was some sort of a decoration, but then I realized that it was a real donkey! We came closer to find that there were in fact 6 of them. They are from a donkey sanctuary, and there was a stand with some information about the sanctuary with a possibility of a donation to support them.
There was an obstacle course, and each time a child passed by they could do the course with a donkey. Everybody was taking photos and the animals didn't seem to mind too much although you never know...
Then we walked to the monastery in the hope of finding some peace...
Little did we know that there was a medieval market taking place there!
We came across this ventriloquist with his cute little puppet 😊
I like medieval markets as you get to meet many enthusiasts who are happy to talk about their products and techniques, but it was so busy that we didn't stay very long...
Instead we went to the river...
It looks like someone from the medieval market sellers was looking for some peace and quiet too.
Everyone comes here for the architecture and we come here for this...
We didn't feel like going back to the chaos, so we walked outside of the town walls instead...
On the way back to the car we saw the castle Hohenklingen on top of the hill and decided to drive up there to enjoy our favourite views...
Here we go!
In summer, we come up here for picnics with friends. It's a perfect place! You can hike up the hill from Stein am Rhein, but we like to make it more comfortable and prefer to come by car.
There is a restaurant with amazing food and great service in the castle, so don't miss it when you happen to be around this place...
You can sit on the balcony and enjoy your meal with spectacular views...
Perfect golden hour, isn't it?
I love the light on the castle walls...
It was getting late and we were tired, so we drove back home. As much as I enjoy the Christmas markets I think I might have seen enough of them for this season 😊
See you next time...