There I was alone in Europe. On a bit of a whim I decided my first solo trip in the Europe was going to be to Switzerland. Switzerland had always been a bucket list destination for me. And I knew most Swiss people also spoke English which made me a bit more comfortable picking this country as my first destination. 

I decided I would venture to Zurich, Switzerland due to it’s proximity to Lucerne, Lichtenstein, etc. I had a total of 5 days to explore including travel time. I chose to travel by Flix Bus (a really great, inexpensive way to traverse Europe). The bus ride itself was about 8 hours long.

I arrived in Zurich in the afternoon, & checked in to my first ever hostel. I was feeling pretty confident in myself & my navigation abilities. Prior to arriving in Zurich I had looked up and identified a couple of my “must see” things. 

One of those things was to visit Rhine Falls. I LOVE waterfalls. If I can go see a waterfall during a trip you can bet your bottom dollar I will. 

I figured I made it all the way to Zurich on my own…I could make it to Rhine Falls. I went to the train station, bought my train ticket and I was feeling good. 

Let me just take a moment to remind you I’m from a small town. 

I had never ridden public transport on a regular basis before arriving in Europe. Trains & buses were foreign territory. But I hoped on the train & off I went. 

Now I’d done my research & I knew the easiest way to reach the Rhine Falls is by taking a train to either the station called ‘Neuhausen Rheinfall’ or ‘Schloss Laufen am Rheinfall’ on the other side of the river. Both stations are located right next to the falls. And it takes 45-60 minutes from Zurich to get there. Somehow though the overhead speaker calling out the stops confused me and I got off at the wrong stop completely. Only to be re-directed by a kind Swiss person who helped me understand I needed to get back on the train for a few more stops.

As a result my timeline got screwed up & I arrived later than I planned. But hey, I made it to the Falls & I was IMPRESSED. The roaring, rushing water. The serene landscape. I was so proud. It was also pretty cool because I felt like the only person at the Falls. It was surprisingly sparsely visited. 

Little did I know…

The train stopped stopping at the Rhine Falls stops after a certain time. Cue the panic. 

I somehow realized this fact as I was on the other side of the Falls. I looked up on my phone when the last train would be coming through. Unfortunately for me, it was in 5 minutes…leaving me next to no time to get back to the train platform. You see, these trains don’t stop for long. 

When I tell you I sprinted down the path I’m not exaggerating at all. If I didn’t catch that train I was going to be stuck in the middle of Switzerland, with no transportation & nowhere to stay until the next morning when the trains started running again. 

I got to the platform as the last train was about to pull out and had to literally run full speed at the doors to get there before they closed. I’ve never been so terrified in my life. 

But by some amazing circumstances I made it on. I didn’t get stuck at Rhine Falls all night. 

I did, however, learn a very important lesson about double checking train stops & times before riding a train.