Monastery retreat

It's been snowing today, but last week we were enjoying the summer weather in the middle of April. In Slovakia it is said that the weather in April can be crazy and it's exactly what is happening this year. We went from 27 degrees Celsius to only 2 degrees in less than one week! Luckily, I was able to spend some time outside when the weather was great, and today I will take you to a former monastery in Schaffhausen.

When we lived in Schaffhausen we used to come to the monastery garden for lunch. The garden is surrounded by thick walls that block the noise of the street, so it's a perfect place when you need to calm your mind during a workday.

Let's look around!

The entrance to the monastery is open all year long. It is also the entrance to the oldest church in the city. Don't get too excited though. When I visited the church I was disappointed as it's pretty much empty, but it's still impressive to stand in a place with almost 1000 years of history. And I also like coming to the monastery every now and then as the city gardeners take great care of the flora here, so it's always a pleasure for the eye.

This time there was a wide variety of colourful spring flowers...

These ones caught my attention. It's like they had a tiny head with eyes and a big mouth that never opens 😊

When you pass the part with the flowers and turn to the right you will find yourself in the largest cloister in Switzerland. It's actually surprising that you can enter it for free. There are not that many free things in Switzerland 😊

In summer, it's usually full of people sitting around during their lunch break. It's a perfect place to cool off when it's hot.

There are also many events organized here, such as the wine festival, the Christmas market or various exhibitions just to name a few.

You can walk around the cloister, but you can't enter the garden that is in the middle. You can however enjoy the views, so this is what we are going to do before going to the herbal garden which used to be the monastery garden in the past.

The church is still active and used for regular services as well as for various concerts. The other buildings belong to the Allerheiligen museum. When you happen to be around this area then you should definitely visit this museum. You will learn a lot about the history of the region and if you're lucky you could also enjoy some of their special expositions which could be anything related to art or crafts. You won't be surprised to hear that I loved their pottery exhibition last year.

This garden served as a burial place for noble families of Schaffhausen, and I guess that this is the reason why you can't enter it. There should be more than 50 epitaphs, but until now I could only spot a few.

In a couple of months when everything will be green and bushy the church will almost disappear from the view...

This is the part that belongs to the museum...

On the way to the herbal garden you will come across the Schiller bell. This bell dates back to the 15th century and it was the largest bell until the end of the 19th century. You can't see it well from the photo, but it's so huge! Schiller bell

We're finally in the garden now! It's still early in the year, so the garden is not in the full bloom yet, but there are some plants already that we can enjoy.

This is a pear which looks like a pumpkin. When I first saw the fruit I thought it was a pumpkin hanging on the tree which was so strange because pumpkins don't grow on trees 😊 If I don't forget I will show you the fruit in summer.

Cherries are done blooming...

Doesn't it look beautiful?

There are not so many flowers yet, but the herbs are slowly coming out. This garden is said to be a peaceful oasis, so the herbs are not harvested to not disturb the nature.

It's such a pity as every year I see so many herbs wilting, but I can't do anything about it. I have heard from some of my friends that they do take some herbs when they need them in the garden, but I couldn't do it. Once I asked in the museum if I could have a couple of leaves of one particular herb and they said no, and I couldn't make myself to take them without their permission.

There are a few benches and as you can see I was not the only one enjoying the sunshine...

The garden is open all year long until 8 PM and you can enter in directly from the old town if you don't want to pass through the cloister. I always choose to walk through the cloister though 😊

I was done with my walk, but I didn't feel like leaving yet, so I went to the museum café for a cup of coffee. I was sitting outside on a bench as all the tables were occupied. I had the best place though as a family with a dog sat next to me and I could play with him. He was such a cute dog!

When I finished my coffee it was time to go back home...

Outside of the monastery walls are those pretty magnolia trees. It's such a spectacle when they bloom, and I have recently found out that they are edible. I haven't tried them yet and since they're done blooming now I need to remind myself next year to taste them.

And the last glimpse of the monastery from the other side...

When I look out of the window now it feels like these photos were taken last year and not a week ago. It's like the seasons turned around and it was winter again. I hope this will not take too long and we will have some sunshine again soon 😊

See you next time!