Day 20 ~ A Single Afternoon in Basel

We wistfully said goodbye to lovely Heidelberg, grateful, satisfied, and very excited to be headed to Switzerland. We boarded a train that was 10 minutes late, but had no ordeal remotely like what we’d experienced on our way in. We deeply enjoyed rolling through the German countryside. Across Europe, it seems that everyone’s in agreement that the towns are towns, the cities are cities, and the fields and farms are fields and farms. The houses cluster, the farming is left alone. There is none of the creep that happens with urban sprawl where you’re not sure if what you’re looking at is urban or rural. The towns were very cute with their churches and tipsy roofs, and the farms were lovely with their grape vines and orchards. The train rides are some of the most fun parts of the travel (helps when the trains run more or less on time).

We rolled through the famous Black Forest too, which was all pretty much second-growth forest. No trolls or witches though. There probably could have been ham or cake if we’d asked for it though.

We’d decided to overnight in Basel after some cursory research – it was right on the way, straddling the border between Germany and Switzerland, and people said it was neat. It’s the “cultural capital” of Switzerland, with lots of world-class museums and performance halls. That’s not really our thing, so it was hard to say what we were there to see. Still, those were the plans we made, so we plotted a route toward the destinations we’d pinned on the map, and set out to see what Basel had to offer.

Switzerland was maybe our most highly anticipated leg of the adventure…and the forecast is rain, every day, the whole time we are in Switzerland. It might melt the mountains. To set the tone, it rained in Basel all afternoon (although it was mercifully dry on our unexpectedly long walk from the train station).

Our hotel, like everything we were going to see walking around Basel today, was very high-end and fancy. This is a classy place, and maybe an odd fit for two people walking around with backpacks and walking shoes. They only have to put up with us for one night. Nice room, plenty of outlets for the first time in Europe, and a return to luxurious showers.

Off we went in the rain. There’s a fancy shopping district near the hotel, with tons of streetside cafes, brand name stores, and boutiques. Fun to see, even if we’re only window shoppers.

Our first stop was Basel Minster, a church we had no expectations about. It turned out to have maybe the most to offer of any cathedrals we’ve seen so far.

Inside, it was on the simple side, with elegant architecture rather than lavish adornment.

On the signs, there was something about a crypt, and we seemed allowed to go down there, so in we went. What was inside was a whole archeological site, with church structure and tombs dating back to the 800s, right under the church. There was a bunch of information about the site and the process they’d been using for the archeology, pictures from when they’d dug out the church to unearth the area, and it was basically like a really sophisticated tiny museum. We hadn’t seen anything like it in all the cathedrals we’d been in.

Then, on our way out, Daniel saw an alternative exit that it looked like we were allowed to use, and we emerged into a magnificent set of cloister buildings. Again, we hadn’t gotten to explore anything like this connected to any other churches, and it was neat to imagine the holy people getting holier.

Right next door, we aimed for the Reading Society! We’ve never heard of such a thing, but it sounds like just our kind of place. Sure enough, it was beautiful inside, with views of the Basel Minster in one direction and the Rhine River in the other, and it looks like an exceedingly wonderful place where Stef in particular would have loved to spend some time. Alas, today, pictures were snapped, and we were on our way.

We walked to the wall over the river, and watched a ferry that drifts back and forth along a guidewire, which Daniel found very interesting.

The Old Bridge over the Rhine and the other side of the river, which also looked charming, were great to see. On we went.

By this time, with yet another lunch skipped, it was definitely time for dinner. We were already affirming Switzerland’s reputation as the most expensive country in the world, so we were keeping it simple tonight. We got some excellent pitas with doner, and with haloumi, and watched some Swiss teens feed the birds.

On our way, we saw the old Post Office and Telegraph building, which was resplendent and I’m sure they’re still sending lots of telegrams. What a building, they should turn it into a library like Utrecht.

We headed to City Hall, which, like Basel itself, was a place we’d heard we should check out, but didn’t have a strong sense of why. We were just following the map. City Hall was amazing! It was a big Swiss clock of a place, with lively adornments that were so adorable it didn’t matter that they were kinda goofy.

It’s a public building, so we were able to go inside. The courtyard was accommodating, but it was 5pm – er, 1700 – so we were fighting a flood of exiting civil servants in our efforts to get inside. We finally decided that the neighborly thing to do was leave with them. Still, we caught a glimpse of some world-class woodwork and lively places to do the important work of bureaucracy, even if we didn’t get pics of that.

We headed back to the Rhine to cross the Old Bridge. The other side looked just as compelling, but we were a bit deterred by the rain, which just kept coming.

We turned back and started weaving our way back to the hotel.

We were happy to see that gelato has a strong tradition in Basel, just as it had in every single city we’d been in so far. We stopped at a fancy and delightful place whose offerings included a macaron stuffed with ice cream, which obviously we had to try. Up the considerable stairs to the upper part of town where our hotel is, and that was our day.

We went into today without strong expectations, and were surprised and delighted at what we found. We definitely had plenty of soggy fun, and think we saw a lot of the best of Basel’s Old Town. Admittedly, after ridiculously high-value targets like Haarlem and Heidelberg, this was maybe a less memorable leg of things, but still well worth seeing. Also it was neat to see one of Switzerland’s many sizeable cities, since most of our visit will be in the mountains. Tomorrow, to the Lauterbrunnen Valley. We cannot wait.