Brian’s birthday present this year was a mini-break somewhere in Europe. Since we moved to Oxford, Brian has wanted to go back to Switzerland (he went as a small child with his dad), so Switzerland it was. We went to a different corner of the country than Brian had previously visited however, Basel (Bale in the French). This city is nestled in the corner of 3 countries, the Alsace region of France, the German Black Forrest, and the Rhine region of Switzerland. It isn’t a city of vast mountain peaks or lakes (which most people seem to associate with Switzerland), but it is a unique spot in Europe.
We stayed at the excellent Logis 69 Bed and Breakfast. Fabian, the proprietor works in human resources for a large multi-national company and uses Logis as his creative outlet. He has done all of the interior decorating himself (in a very complex modern style–yes a red paisley bed spread and orange curtains can go together) and the facilities are great. In fact, the two of us were not there long enough to really enjoy access to the garden and the wonderful, fully equipped kitchen. (Although Rachel did spend a lot of the weekend trying to figure out how to make milk foam in the super slick, red espresso machine). Fabian also had lots of good recommendations for food, sights, etc..O, and did we mention that all tourists to the city are issued with a transportation pass good for all trains, trams, buses,ferries, etc. during their stay. As a result, getting around was as simple as finding the nearest tram/bus stop. Word to the wise, however, unless you enjoy copious amounts of deli meat and cheese for breakfast, we would suggest opting for the Logis ‘bed no breakfast’ option. We enjoyed breakfast on our first morning, but I don’t think our tummies (used to cereal and milk in the morning) would have lasted through 3 mornings of this.
One of our more surprising discoveries on our first day were pretzels the size of steering wheels. Not able to pass up such an unusual opportunity, we ate one of these with cheese (much like having a baguette and cheese) for lunch on the banks of the river. This was also the point when we discovered that the decorative dragons spouting water at various points in the city are not just there for show, they are public drinking fountains for whomever needs to make use of them.
Basel is a city of many museums (something Brian in particular is not very keen on). As a result, on our second day, we decided to take a bit of a day trip. We headed to Colmar, France the city at the bottom of the Alsace wine region. We went via train and were very surprised to discover that there were no passport control measures at all leaving Basel on a Sunday morning. We arrived around mid-day, only to discover that we’d just missed the last vineyard tour of the day (by about 10 minutes). We therefore spent the day walking around Colmar, enjoying the giant carousel, interesting pastries and walking along the canals in the old city. We did also make our way to 1 tasting room, bringing back one bottle of wine for consumption later on. Foot tired we made it back to Switzerland in the evening (where the passport control was more rigorous). Most of the restaurants we wanted to try that night were closed (a lot of Basel closes on Sunday), so we had a quite meal in.
Our final day was a chance for a bit more sightseeing, photo snapping, and purchasing a few yummie delicacies (great German sausage for lunch as an example). That night we were back home in Oxford quickly, ready to head back to work on Tuesday.
