Basel and home to Freiburg

At the Aparthotel a tram outside the door, traffic a bit noisy but then we were used to none at all before, hah, can’t please us! We are actually in the Theatre and Convention Centre district, after walking around, getting our bearings Bruce said what a shame so much space was taken up by them. Many small “oriental” shops that carry a little of everything around the area. Didn’t find anything in the way of restaurants but didn’t go in the right direction the first afternoon.

Next day we take a tram down to the old town. There are two old towns here, small on our side of the Rhein (Rhine) River and large on the other side. There is an outdoor market at the (Rathaus) City Hall, not as large as Freiburg’s but lots of selection. Didn’t take pictures today and should have, sunny and warm. Bought Kalamata olives, Gorganzola cheese, dried tomatoes - yum! Basel’s architecture is more Baroque in style, very ornate buildings, from the bit we saw. Beautiful! The old town is hilly and we were thinking it was flat, should have known better, as usual. It is at the northern tip of Switzerland, very close to the French and German borders, German spoken first, then French, then English. Having been here one whole day, we like it very much already and are glad to have cut short our time in Zurich to come and experience another city, different culture once again even though the same country.    
I had kartofel gratin gratin in German it would be kartofel kaese (e indicates double dot over the a), see how the mix of language is here. Basically what we used to call scalloped potatoes in Canada. Bruce had a Russet apple he hasn’t had for years. So we both took a foody road down memory lane.
 
Went to the Tinguely fountain which is a bunch of oddly shaped mechanical structures that spray water in all directions. Tinguely was an artist and there is a museum there but we didn’t go in. Probably a lot more to know about this but I didn't research it.

Passed by the doll and teddy bear museum called Spielzeug Welten, didn’t go in there either but may do if we get a rainy day, but didn't get a rainy day!
 
Downtown for  a short walk along the river. There are four ferries that run across at various points. They float with the current, which is strong, on overhead cables. 

Visit to the outdoor market and Globus food market, bought picnic like food. Another sunny day and enjoyable to walk around.
 
Already after only two days we like this city very much and would return. Won’t go back to Lausanne or Zurich, although we were there longer than we are here so we’ve sort of “done” those cities, for what we wanted to do anyway.
 
Sunday and we take two trams to the Basel Zoo. It is beautifully constructed with waterways throughout. Decent cages for the animals and they are building a new elephant enclosure. It’s not as large as Zurich’s but easier to walk. The penguins are amazingly fast underwater, there was a viewing post to see them flying around, then they burst out of the water and jump on the ledge, as this one did, as if to say “Here I am, perfect photo op!” We were there mid-afternoon so a few of the cages seemed empty, animals inside having their siesta. 

Dual enclosure note zebra looks smaller than ostrich

Love the colour!

I do know zoos can be a controversial subject with some people, everyone to their own opinion, but we do enjoy going. 

The City Hall in Basel, probably the most photographed building.

A piece of it.

The symbol on the right of the statue is for Basel. A staff used by probably the statued person, a nobleman, it's everywhere.

River cruise boat

We went to a paper museum, a bit of a walk from the tram but found it. Making paper was a very large industry in Basel and they have used many buildings in this district of St. Alben-Tal to make it in, all combined into the museum now. The museum has many activities for children, they can make their own paper, they can scribe on it with a quill pen etc. The district itself is very pretty along the river, with a good restaurant attached to the museum.

Works from a chain inside, bringing water into the building from the Rhine and back out again - very big!

City wall, beautiful park

Last afternoon we were there, there was an extremely large demonstration at the Messe, the Exhibition hall, we were located close to. People kept coming and coming and when the hall was full gathered outside on the streets. Lots of shouting or chanting "we want ... " and flag waving. We could see all this from a front view seat at a Restaurant we had been to a couple of times before. When the police started holding hands to make a barrier, Bruce said it was time to go home. Although people were bringing in children so I don't think they expected violence of any sort. Many different coloured flags, some on staffs, some worn over the shoulder. I have never witnessed anything like it! We asked the waiter and he said it was a political rally to do with Iran. 

So I feel that we "skimmed" Basel, intending to come back and learn more. As you can tell I have not done a lot of research on the symbol of Basel, the Tinguely fountain and art gallery, all reasons to come back. I could use the excuse that internet access has been skimpy but honestly that's a cop out. Enjoyed the place immensely anyway and sometimes you just enjoy and don't think about the historical details. 

Our partners with the flat came to pick us up in Basel, much appreciated although I’d already bought train tickets, it was easy to get a refund on. We had two nice afternoons of visiting and catching up on flat goings on and they are headed home to Ottawa.

We just love this flat, so comfortable and spacious and appreciate it even more when we’ve been on the “road” for a while. 
 
The usual flurry of catching up with laundry, bills, shopping for food, making appointments for things like haircuts and pedicures, in both cases, much needed but prefer to go to someone we know. Bruce is cooking again! 
 
To the Mundenhof I’ve spoken of before. We like to go Sundays, while it is usually packed with families, it’s a good walk for me and good lunch too. They have baby monkeys, about the size of a teacup, so little and so cute, sorry no picture.

But this is their version of a scarecrow, made with round hay bales and gourds for eyebrows and nose.

All for now, but the weather we've had in October has been better than July, August and most of September so we're grateful for that.

Cheers, Bx2 & Lexi Cat