Keeping A Watch On Things

Thursday 5th October 2023

Basel

It was a somewhat red faced individual that stepped out of the bathroom this morning. Seems I have had a reaction to the’ Rock Your Body’ liquid soap and I have the face of a sunburned Pom on Bondi beach.

We still had plenty to see of Basel, so could not let a little rudiness get in the way and we struck off early with the workers to find somewhere for breakfast.

On the outskirts we found a nice little cafe and dined on both sweet and savoury offerings and a good cup of coffee. Unlike last year in Turkey a cup of tea has not passed my lips on this trip.

Our main aim was to get to the riverside and do a little cruise on the Rhine. Unfortunately, only 5 hour cruises were available, so we quickly did some Dr Google, at one of the free Wi-Fi points, and opted for a 2 hour bus tour instead.

Found the bus stop and embarked on a great trip, which despite limited photo opportunities, gave us a great understanding of Basel’s history and its evolution to where it is today, along with some stories of its prominent citizens.

We started out adjacent to a crazy looking fountain with sculptures by a local identity Tinguely. His works were also in a Museum dedicated solely to him which we passed later in the day.

The fountain apparently has a very different view in winter, the on-bus video gave me an chance to snatch a view.

Just on fountains every one in Basel has drinkable water, so it’s hard to go thirsty.

Another favourite son of Basel was adventurer Johann Burckhardt who was an Indiana Jones of his day, being accredited with finding the lost city of Petra and the Great Temple of Ramses at Abu Simbel. Interestingly he studied Islam then posed as a Muslim and changed his name to Ibrahim so he would be accepted.

We travelled around to the major railway station which apart from its grandness had a great role to play in WW2 when it housed thousands of refugees from Italy.

Next was the covered market which was a centre of trade in its day, but when we went back later in the day found it was more of a food court for any food other than Swiss.

On the way to the Jewish Quarter we passed the hotel where UEFA soccer federation was formed in 1954.

The Jewish Quarter over time was home to the likes of Anne Franck and the Coen brothers of movie fame.

Headed through the university precinct where there was a minor protest going on outside the University Hospital over abortion.

Then it was down along the riverside passing Les Trois Roi Hotel which is one of the most exclusive in Europe. It has a 3 Star Michelin restaurant.

With the ridiculous cost of living here I think one might need to sacrifice their first born to eat there.

Next point of interest was the Town Hall which we walked to after the tour , it was pure opulence.

Headed out of the old town towards the business area, in particular the Novartis Campus, built on the site of an ancient Celtic village , and now home to some 10000 people in the health science industry work.

Interestingly it was 75 years ago that LSD was developed in these laboratories. Along the same lines, the Weedy Shop in middle of town satisfied all your modern day hash requirements.

Like Silicon Valley in US it has been nicknamed Bio valley. In total something like 70000 are involved in the industry.

We went down through the St Johannes Gate which led to the area where the Fish Markets previously existed, it is now the entry to the huge Rhine River port.

It’s the only port with direct access to the North Sea and moves about 15% of Switzerland’s trade.

The middle of the river marks the three way border of France, Germany and Switzerland. On land there is a large symbolic three sided pole.

There is a modern bridge which replaced the old pontoon bridge destroyed by US troops in the 40’s.

Still in the industrial / business area we went to what used to be called the Beer Bottle , which was the area where all the brewery workers lived.

It is now an area noted for its ethnic diversity. Basel has 150 different ethnic groups living in the city.

Back towards the middle of the city we passed the Exhibition Centre which was designed by Hertzog and Partners who were also responsible for Peking’s Bird’s Nest Olympic Stadium.

Then over the river on which the baths were located. Swimming is very popular and our friends floating downstream yesterday are multiplied 100 fold in Summer.

We saw our little punt from yesterday and found out they have no motor they just use the current and tiller to maker their way across the river.

Maintaining the water theme we passed the old paper mills which use to pollute the river in years gone by.

It was off the bus and into town centre for us to have kramsky and Prosecco, not quite a Bunnings Sausage sizzle.

Having dodged trams, buses, cars and bicycles for the last two days we decided to look from the other side with a twisting tram ride towards home.

Walked the remaining kilometre and had a little siesta before heading out around 630 to finish the visit with a dinner typical of town – good old pork snitzel. Add a wine and a homeward bound gelato and our day was done and we headed home to ponder the next 8-10 days traipsing through the Black Forest.

We passed a great mural of the famous rock stars outside a cafe pumping out music from all era’s.