After an improvised breakfast, we set off from Zurich and soon find ourselves on the motorway heading towards St. Gallen, but not for long. In Andelfingen, we drive over an old wooden bridge and admire the half-timbered houses in Marthalen.

Then we arrive at the Rhine Falls and are delighted to receive free tickets for Gabi and me. We pass through the archway in the tower and enter Laufen Castle. Here, the lift takes us down to the viewing platform. We can see the spray from afar and marvel at the force with which the Rhine bubbles over the rocks. Below, long, narrow boats glide through the water and dock at the small island in the middle of the Rhine Falls. Here, a steep staircase winds its way up to the viewing platform. It looks both quite dangerous and really cool. Oh well, we’ll do that next time.

Next, we drive to nearby Schaffhausen and stroll through the old town. We really like the elaborately painted Haus zum Ritter and the large squares in the town. Only the Munot, the round fortress, is proving difficult to access. It towers high above the old town and can normally be reached via a small footbridge. However, it has been closed for a few days and will remain so until well into December because it is being replaced by a new bridge. What a shame.

Now we visit Stein am Rhein and immediately fall in love with the picturesque old town and its beautifully decorated houses. We marvel at the jackdaw lids with St George and the dragon, whom we know mainly from England as the patron saint of Richard the Lionheart. But we learn that he is also the patron saint of many towns, including Stein am Rhein, and is also featured on the town’s coat of arms. We order two exciting savoury crêpes at a crêpe restaurant. Mine has ham, cheese and tomatoes in it, while Gaby’s ‘Alsacienne’ tastes like an Alsatian tarte flambée. We eat them sitting on a bench on the banks of the Rhine, watching the boats, swimmers and other people strolling by.

We are unlucky with the next two photo spots. Or rather, Switzerland Tourism has placed them in such a way that Gabi cannot get there. The first is located on a small hill above Stein am Rhein, which can only be reached via steps, and the second is at the Napoleon Museum on the grounds of Arenenberg Castle, at the bottom of a staircase. They could just as easily have been placed in a location that is accessible without obstacles.

The next photo stop is then gone again. It is located at the end of a harbour facility overlooking Lake Constance and is simply called ‘Lake Constance’. It is a bit generic. At least someone is paddling past on a stand-up paddle surfboard, which makes more sense.

The subsequent photo stop in Romanshorn is even more questionable. It was placed next to the entrance to a ferry, behind the large marina and next to the railway station. We would have placed it anywhere else.

Right next to the harbour is the Autobau Erlebniswelt, a kind of car museum that I’ve been wanting to visit for a long time. But it looks like it’s not going to happen: it’s not open every day, as we had assumed, but only on Sundays. Since today is Thursday, that’s not going to happen. Instead, there seems to be a Porsche event taking place here, which even a Porsche driver from Stuttgart, the Porsche headquarters, has travelled to attend.

The signs and the Grand Tour app soon lead us along increasingly narrow roads past fields and forests. At the next photo stop, we look at each other questioningly: instead of metal, the sign is made entirely of wood and says ‘Grand Tour of Swiss Wood’. Is this stop really official? All you can see here is just any old forest. At least the drive along the many apple orchards for which the canton of Thurgau is famous is very beautiful.

Finally, we arrive in St. Gallen and head for the photo stop high above the city. Here at the three ponds, many people are enjoying a leisurely end to the day, swimming or sunbathing on the lawn, walking their dogs or entertaining others with pan flute music. It’s actually quite nice!

As it’s getting late, we decide not to visit the old town and head straight for IKEA instead. It is located directly opposite our hotel, or rather opposite the motorway next to our hotel. Gabi had suggested Köttbullar meatballs for supper, and we were all in favour of the idea. So we soon find ourselves sitting in the IKEA restaurant, Chrige with two hot dogs, Gabi with meatballs, mashed potatoes, peas and cranberry sauce, and me with an entrecôte and chips. Afterwards, we still have time to buy a few small items from the newly launched Halloween range.

LucY still needs to charge. Conveniently, this can be done at the Tesla Supercharger at the other end of the shopping centre car park. From there, it’s only a few streets to the hotel. And we are pleasantly surprised by the rooms, which are now much more practical than yesterday’s, with similar wooden floors and high-quality furnishings.