Basel, Switzerland
We got up at 630AM, had some oatmeal (which we packed), and were off to the train. It was an easy 10 min walk, the train was perfectly on time. We had to make a connection but that was pretty easy too. It took about 3 hours and 20 min to get there and it 61 and sunny in Basel when we arrived. We walked to the town, right down to the Rhine River--it was a little chilly at the water. We saw lots of school children all by themselves---it was obviously a very safe city. They would be walking, playing at the park, just hanging out and no parents or adults anywhere which was unusual for us to see. We went to their grocery store called Migros and it was packed, everyone was buying lunch it looked like--I guess this was the spot for lunch! There are a lot of bikers, lots of plant shops too. We continued to explore and saw the University, City Gate, a cool fountain which had different sprinklers going off and moving, Munsterplatz (a famous square-old city is what they call it), and churches (gothic style). We decided since the place to eat was the grocery store (4 floors)-they have a whole floor of freshly made lunch that we would eat at Migros like the locals do. We got a chicken sandwich (looked like a chicken patty) and some dark chocolate covered rice cakes which were awesome). We took the lunch down by the Rhine and started to eat there but then a lot of pigeons came and were annoying so we walked and ate. We saw a lot of puffy jackets so it must had been a little chilly for the locals at this time. We enjoyed our peaceful walk around Basel! Alex found a coffee shop he wanted to try so we stopped in and also got a glazed almond pretzel which looked delicious for the next train ride. We also found another Migros closer to the train and got dinner to go for the long train ride. Then it was back to the train station---we only spent about 5 hours in Basel but explored most of the city since it is fairly small and compact.
First impressions of Basel:
Small city, lots of road bikes, lots of kids on field trips and kids walking alone to and from school, lots of colorful homes, classes all mixed evenly-not distinctively located, very even throughout. Men were thin, more casual dress, everyone eats at the grocery store (to go meals), lots of people eating by the river and eating as they walked. Lots of plant shops, very very very clean and laid back city-very easy going, they had free bathroom rooms on the street (large, very clean port-a-johns). Everything was a bit more expensive here.
This train was 5 hours and 15 min long and we had another connection as well. Now unfortunately the first train left on time, but there was construction on the tracks and we became 19 min late. We only had a 8 min transition from train to our connection train so we were beginning to freak out. As the first train pushed forward we gained minute by minute back and soon were only 6 min late so we would have to run to the connection. We talked to the train conductors to find out our new platform number so we could just get off and run to the next train without looking at monitors. We were ready at the door right as we were slowing down and the second we stopped, Alex and I were off the train and running down the stairs, finally the next platform, and up the stairs-boy it was a rush! We were so nervous to miss the train, and we get to the platform to find out the connection was late............Now were sweating and out of breath, heart rate was up! Hahahah!
Since this second train was late, we had to find our Airbnb very late when we arrived. Luckily Munich is very lit and we were walking along the nice part of the city it appeared. Only took about 15-20 min to find the place and the owners boyfriend was waiting for us. It was an interesting entrance because we walked through the first door and then had to walk outside (corridor I guess) to get to the apartment. He showed us everything and then we had the place to ourselves. We were exhausted so we put our things down and crashed. We did like we were all alone, the owner was out of town and she typically stays with the guest but it was nice to have some space just to ourselves!
First impressions of Basel:
Small city, lots of road bikes, lots of kids on field trips and kids walking alone to and from school, lots of colorful homes, classes all mixed evenly-not distinctively located, very even throughout. Men were thin, more casual dress, everyone eats at the grocery store (to go meals), lots of people eating by the river and eating as they walked. Lots of plant shops, very very very clean and laid back city-very easy going, they had free bathroom rooms on the street (large, very clean port-a-johns). Everything was a bit more expensive here.
This train was 5 hours and 15 min long and we had another connection as well. Now unfortunately the first train left on time, but there was construction on the tracks and we became 19 min late. We only had a 8 min transition from train to our connection train so we were beginning to freak out. As the first train pushed forward we gained minute by minute back and soon were only 6 min late so we would have to run to the connection. We talked to the train conductors to find out our new platform number so we could just get off and run to the next train without looking at monitors. We were ready at the door right as we were slowing down and the second we stopped, Alex and I were off the train and running down the stairs, finally the next platform, and up the stairs-boy it was a rush! We were so nervous to miss the train, and we get to the platform to find out the connection was late............Now were sweating and out of breath, heart rate was up! Hahahah!
Since this second train was late, we had to find our Airbnb very late when we arrived. Luckily Munich is very lit and we were walking along the nice part of the city it appeared. Only took about 15-20 min to find the place and the owners boyfriend was waiting for us. It was an interesting entrance because we walked through the first door and then had to walk outside (corridor I guess) to get to the apartment. He showed us everything and then we had the place to ourselves. We were exhausted so we put our things down and crashed. We did like we were all alone, the owner was out of town and she typically stays with the guest but it was nice to have some space just to ourselves!
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