Basel - I almost made Germany

Swimming the Rhine Basel style
Munster Cathedral 11th century
Last Saturday morning Jo and  I caught an early train to Basel which is on the border of France and Germany in the north of Switzerland. The train ride in itself was treat. We glided by endless lakes and views of the snow capped distant peaks, rushing through old rural villages with names like Neuchatel and Biel, leaving endless memories
of perfect postcards. (mainly
because I forgot to take photos)
The Kunstmuseum courtyard



After Lausanne, Basel felt a bit stiff and formal. The buildings were spectacular, the available artwork for viewing far surpassing most Australian gallery collections but it is not as layback as good old Lausanne. It's pretty funny how you can get comfortable with a place after two weeks. We'd been juggling the Swiss-French  language since we arrived but Swiss-German was a whole new yodeling competition. All I wanted for breakfast was bacon and eggs. Jo played it safe with Bircher meusli and strawberries. I ended up with another escargot pastry and a coffee. Almost walked it into Germany but ran out of time. The sun was out and we almost joined the locals for a rapid Rhine dip. At 150k's an hour the trip home took about two hours. With twelve museums and galleries of all descriptions you would need more than a day to get a taste of all there is to offer in the Basel part of the world.                                                    


The Rhine River

Another spoiled pooch

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