It was raining for a few days, so I couldn't keep my promise to myself and go on my daily walks. However, I compensated that by cleaning our apartment, so I don't feel bad about it. My husband keeps telling me that I'm not made out of sugar and a little bit of rain wouldn't kill me, but I don't see any pleasure in walking with an umbrella and getting soaked anyway because of the wind.
Today, the sun was out again. I planned to walk for 10 kilometres to soak up the sunshine and enjoy the spring vibes. It's been 16 degrees Celsius! My plan didn't work out exactly how I wanted because a part of the trail was closed, but I still enjoyed it.
I will take you on the Zurich side of the river Rhine where we will walk through Flurlingen, which until recently I kept calling Fruhlingen (The spring village) without knowing that I was wrong, then we will continue to Schaffhausen and back on the other side of the river.
I love seeing the Rhine at different times of a day. The later in the day it is the darker the water becomes. It has something to do with the position of the sun, but I'm not going to elaborate on that as I'm no expert. The only thing I know is that I would like to have a dress in this colour 😊
Flurlingen is a tiny village in the canton of Zurich. It stretches from the river up the hill and it is full of traditional houses. I like to walk around the village and in the past we even wanted to move there because of the tax advantage, but it's impossible to find a place right because of that reason. Many people from this area want to live in this village as you can save a lot of money on taxes, so when something comes on the market it is gone in matters of a few days.
I feel like there are more and more palm trees in the gardens, and I have no idea how they survive there. Soon, it will look like Mediterranean here!
The farm houses were surrounded by large fields in the past, but when farming became less and less profitable, the farmers had to look for other sources of income and started selling their land. It resulted in more and more houses being built, and gardens becoming smaller and smaller. It is not unusual now that houses in the villages have a tiny front garden and are attached to another house (from at least one side). Many of them also have no garages which we noticed now when we started to look for a house to purchase.
This house used to be a hotel. Today, there is an optician and a restaurant. I like how they changed the name. They simply painted over 'Hotel' and the entire concept changed 😊
The golden rain is growing everywhere these days...
This is my favourite place in summer. It's an outside café with some snacks and simple meals. There are plenty of tables in the summer months, and so many people come here after work. You can sit in the nature, enjoy a refreshing drink, and relax after work.
More golden rain bushes...
Some of them are huge!
The wild fruit bushes and trees are blooming too! I have no idea what kind of a bush is this, but it smelled delicious...
And now we'll head to a beach - yes, you heard me correct! We have a beach at the river.
Most part of the beach area is covered with grass. In summer, there are many people having picnics or barbequing. There are also some yoga and pilates classes organized here.
It must be fun for people living here to see those classes, but who knows, maybe they join them too.
There are plenty of benches along the river, and trees providing shade for people like me who can't be in the sun for more than 30 minutes without getting burned.
I wish I could transport the scent to you...
At least I can show you a little detail...
There were pink blossoms too...
And now we're coming to the sandy part of the beach. I think that each year more sand is brought here. OK, I know it's a small sand beach, but how many places can say that they have one? Except of the sea areas of course...
I couldn't resist to take a photo 😊
This is the best place for the beach as you don't jump directly in deep water, but you can walk a few steps while you can still reach the bottom. I guess this should resemble the sea a bit. Also, the current here is very strong, so many people don't dare to go deep and simply enjoy shallow water.
From the sand to the grass again...
Daisies are blooming!
Not all buildings in Switzerland are charming or have a character 😊 I have been to one of those buildings and their offices look as bad as their façade. But the views during the working hours are great. I used to work in a building at the river too (not in this complex) and I know that sometimes it is difficult to focus with all those tourists and school classes passing by.
I wanted to continue walking towards Schaffhausen, but as I said it was closed, so I had to cross the bridge to the other side of the river.
This bridge...
There are some vineyards in Flurlingen too. I haven't tried their wine yet. I assume that it's the same principle as in other small villages where you have a few small vineyards that can't afford to produce wine on their own, so they put all their grapes together and make the wine as a village. I like such co-operations!
Have you seen such a tree yet? It looks like some sort of a conifer, but its needles look like some sort of a cacti. And it produces cones too! Weird...
This is the beach from the other side. It somehow looks bigger now.
You can also bike here...
Still Flurlingen on the other side...
I continued towards the Rhine Falls to compensate for closed part of the trail, but I will only show you a few spring photos as I have already taken you there 😊
This is the ideal season for me. Everything comes to live again, the temperature is amazing, and that makes me somehow happier..
See you next time!