We both had a quiet, good night's sleep and were eager to start the day early. M had repacked her bag the night before. For some strange reason, it seemed to have doubled in size in the last few days. We caught the tram back to the main station and bordered the 7:30 am train to Schaffhausen. Once arriving in Schaffhausen we viewed the bus schedule and hopped the bus to a stop close to the Rhien Falls. Of course this stop wasn't as close as you would think by viewing the map so we had to walk (following the yellow footprints on the sidewalk) to the falls. The journey was all downhill so our return journey would be another interesting early morning hike back to the bus stop. 
The Rhien Falls isn't as spectacular as Niagara Falls but it was still an awesome site to behold. We viewed the falls from several advantage points, each giving an awesome view. For those who wanted to say they stood in the middle of the Rhien Falls, a ferry service would trawl you out to the rock in the middle of the falls and you could climb to the top and experience the 'splitting' of the falls.
We headed back to the bus stop and took another bus in the opposite direction to Munot. 
After getting off at the Munot stop, we meandered through the streets to the Medieval fortress; an impressive site to see from the outside but a disappointment once you got to the top. They use this sight as a summer theater location. The area was set up with folding chairs and a huge cinema screen.
We viewed the city from the walls of Munot before heading back to the train station. Instead of taking a bus back, we opted to walk back to the station. We boarded a train heading to Romanshorn, which lies along the German/Austrian border. 
We got off at Stein am Rhien. This hidden jewel is a must see if you are visiting Switzerland. We left the station and headed down towards the river to a place that is straight out of a Hans Christian Anderson fairytale.
We spent time wandering the tiny streets looking at all the painted houses. I stopped in a glass store and purchases a small glass frog for my collection. We both filled up our water bottles at the public fountains. Where else but in fairytales can you share a drink with a cat or have St. George slay a dragon? M was tempted to jump in the river, pack and all, because of the hot summer heat. It did look cool and refreshing and oh, so very tempting.
We headed out of the city gates and walked across the street to the church. We toured the graveyard. I must say it was a pretty resting place. Each site was its own flowerbed. All the sites were in full bloom and it made the area look lovely. 
We headed back through town and uphill to the station. Neuchatel was my favorite town until we stopped at Stein am Rhien. This place is considered to be Switzerland's prettiest city and usually draws a huge crowd. I could live here in a heartbeat.
We decided to invade Liechtenstein. In order to do this we had to take the train to Romanshorn then to Buchs. Once at Buchs, we had to take a bus across the border to the city Vaduz. Clouds were heading in over the mountains and were turning the lovely sunny day into a dark afternoon. While we were walking the streets viewing the sights, thunder started to sing throughout the sky and was followed by a downpour of rain. 
We ducked into a church to wait out the storm. Due to the darkness outside, inside of the church was eerie dark. Because of the poor lighting it looked like there was a body at the front of the church. Upon further investigation, it was a statue depicting Christ under the alter. After touring the church we headed back outside to walk around since it stopped raining. On our way to the visitor's center, we stopped to view the government building, which was in the process of getting a facelift.
The castle on the hill is used by the prince and his family so we couldn't take a tour of it. From what we could see, it looked like a nice place. We stopped at the visitor center to get our passports stamped and Meg picked up a lot of Euro2008 soccer freebies. We spent some time shopping and looking around at the square. I scored some Cuban cigars from Bob and my brother-in-law. Kind of funny when you think about it...I had to go to Liechtenstein by way of Switzerland to get a few Cubans. It will be cool once the embargo is lifted. I would love to dive the reefs around Cuba and to experience the island. One of these days. After winding our way around the square we went to COOP for dinner. While heading to the bus stop, we were able to view a men's beach volleyball competition going on.
This competition was being sponsored by COOP. It was kind of weird seeing this in Liechtenstein. It's something you would expect to see on the sunny coast of California, taking place along the beach resorts of Caribbean islands or in the Mediterranean but not in a small country that is landlocked. Still made for a nice afternoon. We boarded the bus, headed back across the border and caught the train to Bern then on to Fribourgh. Another long haul on the train but this puts us close to Murten and Avenches for our next days adventures. We booked beds in The Hospital, a hostel in one part of an old psychiatric hospital located in Fribourgh.
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