Basel

After three and a half months of being in France, one of my parents finally made the trip across the ocean to visit me! I saw my dad on Thursday and Friday, and it was a great break. Technically, though, I visited him, as he was working in Basel, Switzerland for the week, and I took the train after my last class on Thursday night to visit.

I arrived in Basel just after 8 p.m. Thursday night. It's not far, either: the train to Basel takes about 1h20. My dad was waiting for me at the station, and it was a happy reunion. Side note: it is unbelievably nice to have someone waiting for you when you get off a train or a flight especially. It's such a small thing, but it makes you feel so loved. Just one of the things I've noticed as I've been traveling around Europe. 

Anyway, it was SNOWING in Basel on Thursday night as my dad and I walked to a restaurant, and it made me so excited. I absolutely love the snow. Of course, it was just a steady flurry, but it was the first snow of the year for me!

The restaurant my dad picked was really nice--serving specialties from across France, Switzerland, and even a few from Germany, I believe--and it was a good opportunity to just talk with my dad for two hours. I finished off the dinner with a slice of Tarte Tatin, a special apple pie which originated in France, and it was absolutely delicious by the way. After dinner, we walked around for a few minutes until we found Basel's main sight: a very unique-looking and ornate red building--originally built in the 13th century--called the Basel Rathaus. It served as their town hall. It was dark and the picture quality was terrible, but that didn't stop me from taking a few photos!

Hey dad!

After that quick stop, my dad and I rode the trams back to our hotel. By this time, it had stopped snowing, and it was bitter cold. At the hotel bar, my dad bought a pint and I had some Baileys, and the situation made me laugh because back home in the US, I'm still under the legal drinking age.

Friday morning, we woke up early. I was able to have a continuous shower (yay!) and then the two of us set off to see Basel!

...Unfortunately, there is not much to see in Basel.

In fact, there are three main sights: the town hall, Basel Rathaus, a big church, and a smaller church. That's it. To be fair, Basel does have a lot of museums, and the Rhine River cuts right through it, so it is nice to stroll across the bridges and along the river (all things we did). And there are many fountains in the city--we were spotting random fountains everywhere, many of which used dragons... perhaps dragons are a symbol of the city, or they have some other significance? Also, Basel is a rare city in that it is at the corner of two countries: France and Germany. This means that there are a lot of foreigners--and surprisingly, many English-speaking foreigners (apparently there are quite a number of companies in Basel, including the three my dad was sent here to review).

The inside of Basel Rathaus

 

Additionally, the city lies in the German part of Switzerland, so everyone speaks German. I was greeted in German in every café, restaurant, and shop that my dad and I walked into. However, I always responded in French (it's automatic now) and they fluidly transitioned to French as well. For my dad, they spoke English, even thought he can understand a fair amount of French since he lived in Geneva for close to two years. Everyone in Basel was tri-lingual, it was amazing!

My dad and I spent our morning hopping from café to chocolate shop, then walking along the river and visiting the old town. There was even snow on some of the rooftops, which made me happy. It was also fun to see construction crews on every corner, setting up Christmas lights and decorating Christmas trees... Europe puts so much effort and emphasis into Christmas, and I'm so impatient to see all the cities lit up, and to sing carols (in French?) and see Santa Claus everywhere... I keep forgetting that if I was in the U.S., the next holiday would be Thanksgiving!

We had a good lunch at a small little restaurant which seems to be only known by locals, and then I helped my dad pick out a box of chocolate truffles for my mom. In the store, though, I couldn't help but notice these shimmery gold champagne macaroons! "Only in Switzerland..." I thought to myself, but they were really quite pretty. I wonder how expensive they were?

Chocolate shops and trams

My dad had to catch a train to Zurich airport at around 4pm on Friday, so I set off for Strasbourg at the same time, along with a tupperware of homemade gingersnaps from my mom! (I've already eaten two or three, although I'm meant to save them for our Holy Cross Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow). They tasted like home... I'm so glad I was able to visit my dad, especially so close to Thanksgiving. It's the first time I'm ever missing the holiday, so I've been a little homesick, but the visit cheered me right back up. And my mom is coming to Strasbourg in exactly a week's time to see the famous Christmas markets.