Day # 56 Waldshut to Eglisau.

The easy part of trail walking.....

            It started out as a day of promise unfulfilled. The worst breakfast in 50+ days on the road---and I told the hotel manager. Pathetic. My plan today was to follow the well marked tracks on the German  (northern) side up river to Eglisau. Somehow, coming out of my overnight location of Walshut, I became side-tracked onto the bridge and ended up on the Swiss (southern) side. I quickly discovered that the Swiss tracks are not as well sign-posted or groomed as in Deutschland. In fact, after a pretty good first few kilometres it started to deteriorate rapidly and with the fallen leaves covering the slippery banks, I was at odds to determine exactly where the track actually was. My fear was that I could lose the buggy and even myself if we slid down the bank and into the river. Not a joke, as in these parts the Rhine moves along very rapidly, with whirlpools and boulders until the next lake that backs up behind a hydro-electric dam. Anyway disaster averted, but not with out the sacrifice of a lot of energy. As my 1950's loco-spotter friends would have noted: much tractive effort required to drive forward! My 20 km march today seemed like 35 on flat track.
           Anyway a beautiful pathway, and I saw it in absolute isolation--never saw or passed another soul for maybe three hours. Plenty of large bird life, hawks, heron, swans and evidence on the tree stumps of beaver activity.
            Interesting bit of modern  historical residue on the Swiss river bank, are the massive concrete defensive blockhouses that were constructed about every kilometre. The structures so indestructible they will likely be left for ever to blend into the trees and river bank foliage. Difficult to imagine that the Swiss actually feared that Hitler may try to invade.
           At this point the Rhine is entirely in Switzerland and I stay the night in the small bridge crossing town of Eglisau, last stop before the final official leg of the walk into Schaffhausen, site of the Rhine Falls, the largest water falls/cataracts in Europe.

22 kms. walked today per Google Maps.
1024 Cumulative kms. walked.
Type of overnight lodging: Private lodging house.
Cost of lodging: 65E. No breakfast.