The Rhine Falls and the enclave of Büsingen

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June 24th

Itinerary:

First section:  Customs post Schleitheim – customs post Altenberg / Nohl, on the Rhine

Distance: 36.7 km, by bicycle
Time: 3 hours 10 minutes (plus 35 minutes for stops)
Vertical distance: 425 m uphill, 505 m downhill

Second section: Circuit of the German enclave of Büsingen

Distance: 14.6 km, by bicycle
Time: 1 hour 20 minutes (plus 15 minutes for stops)
Vertical distance: 170 m uphill and downhill

It was again beautiful and hot all day. I left Stühlingen by bicycle and had to cross three sets of hills before arriving in Nohl. I still had time to pedal to the German enclave of Büsingen the other side of Schaffhausen.  After 1 km I was in the midst of crowds of tourists (cycling prohibited 250 m) with a beautiful view of the Rhine Falls (see “Border Stories” No. 24.) – mandatory picture!

It was 8-9 km to the enclave, for which the circuit required an hour and a half. I then crossed Schaffhausen again to Beringen where Sally was able to pick me up.

For the record: most frontier stones around Schaffhausen dated from 1839. They were inscribed CS (= Canton Schaffhausen) on the Swiss side and GB on the other side. Later I found the solution to this riddle: GB means Großherzogtum Baden, an entity seemingly created by Napoleon.

Photo of the Rhine Falls, June 24 (with a lot of water), but not strictly on the border.

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