First Basel Walkabout 2004
'Nestled in the three countries of Germany, France and Switzerland, Basel is a city full of surprises. The city canton with roughly 190,000 inhabitants and a 2000-year history is located on the bend of the Rhine on the borders with France and Germany. The city offers a unique range of culture and art, and possesses one of Europe's most attractive and best-preserved Old Towns.'
At least that's what it says on the website of the Basel Tourist Board...
At least that's what it says on the website of the Basel Tourist Board...
The Wrong Exit
One thing that they don’t necessary explain very clearly when you land at the airport in Basel is that, because of its location, you walk out of one door and your are in Switzerland; you walk out of the other and you are in bloody ffrance. I loathe ffrance, and from my dealings with ffrench people, I have no reason to like the cheese-eating surrender monkeys. I can see why the British have been at war with them, on and off, for centuries. In fact, let’s surprise the crap out of them and declare war on them now. I’m serious. They won't be expecting that....
So, as you can imagine, it was with a certain amount of bile rising that I tried to get back into Switzerland…
So, as you can imagine, it was with a certain amount of bile rising that I tried to get back into Switzerland…
The Rösti Economy
Now, I know that people (I'm hoping that more than one person will see this, OK?) will look at that top bit, up there, and say: "Oooh. He didn't much care for Basel." Not true.
Basel is a very quaint, old, city, with the sort of history that your average, modern American city would gladly give you a major sports franchise for. It is also a huge exhibition and conference centre, given its strategic location and good air and rail links. No arguments there.
It has culture by the bucketful and is full of Swiss shit, like clocks; hard, smelly cheese; and very expensive chocolates. Then there's the stuff you don't normally hear about unless you go there, like Kalbsleber (calf's liver); Leberwurst (liver sausage); and Rösti, which is made from shredded fried potatoes.
Switzerland is also famous for its cakes and pastries. Especially wonderful is Leckerli, is spiced honey cake topped with icing sugar, and is a Basel speciality. There's Fasnachtküchli is a sugar-dusted pastry eaten during Carnival; Gugelhopf, a type of sponge cake with a hollow centre and Schaffhausen, which are cream-filled cakes. All very tasty.
And then there's the alcohol. Beer, naturally, is very popular and plentiful, wine obviously, and Schnapps. Kirsch is especially popular and particularly lethal, being just one step removed from moonshine!
Basel is a very quaint, old, city, with the sort of history that your average, modern American city would gladly give you a major sports franchise for. It is also a huge exhibition and conference centre, given its strategic location and good air and rail links. No arguments there.
It has culture by the bucketful and is full of Swiss shit, like clocks; hard, smelly cheese; and very expensive chocolates. Then there's the stuff you don't normally hear about unless you go there, like Kalbsleber (calf's liver); Leberwurst (liver sausage); and Rösti, which is made from shredded fried potatoes.
Switzerland is also famous for its cakes and pastries. Especially wonderful is Leckerli, is spiced honey cake topped with icing sugar, and is a Basel speciality. There's Fasnachtküchli is a sugar-dusted pastry eaten during Carnival; Gugelhopf, a type of sponge cake with a hollow centre and Schaffhausen, which are cream-filled cakes. All very tasty.
And then there's the alcohol. Beer, naturally, is very popular and plentiful, wine obviously, and Schnapps. Kirsch is especially popular and particularly lethal, being just one step removed from moonshine!
However, as nice as Basel might be, it doesn't have much of interest for a rock monster like me. This is not a metal city, by any means. Hell, try as I might, I could not find a decent music emporium. In Holland, at least you can find a shop to stock up on your Golden Earring CDs. I looked all over Basel in the hope of finding a seedy little emporium that could satisfy my craving for Tea and Krokus CDs, but to no avail. I had to make do with a box of Leckerli, a bag of Paprika crisps, and some cold cuts.
Now then, pictures... Really, not that many and some are pretty poor. This trip to Basel was in September 2004 and was midweek. The only chance I got to go out was late afternoon, it was cold and going dark. I was hampered by the fact that I had just got my Fuji S7000 and wasn't used to it. The results speak for themselves.
Now then, pictures... Really, not that many and some are pretty poor. This trip to Basel was in September 2004 and was midweek. The only chance I got to go out was late afternoon, it was cold and going dark. I was hampered by the fact that I had just got my Fuji S7000 and wasn't used to it. The results speak for themselves.
Bahnhof SBB
I have to admit, I had absolutely no idea where I was going, so I hopped onto a trolley car and made best use of my complimentary pass. I had a map and made for the spot that I thought would give me the most 'bang for my buck', as it were. Being late in the year, sundown was coming early and it was about 4PM by the time I alighted at the Bahnhof. OK. So, I have a thing for railway stations... I wanted to be a train driver when I was a kid...
The Münster
I wandered back through the very quaint old city and headed for the Münster.
And, yes, I love the gothic architecture of old cathedrals too.
Let's face it, if you like old churches, it doesn't get a whole lot better than this. Walking through the old town, you can quite easily picture an angry mob, torches and pitchforks aloft, marching towards the castle on the hill, to discuss the ethical merits of piecing together a man from corpse parts!
And, yes, I love the gothic architecture of old cathedrals too.
Let's face it, if you like old churches, it doesn't get a whole lot better than this. Walking through the old town, you can quite easily picture an angry mob, torches and pitchforks aloft, marching towards the castle on the hill, to discuss the ethical merits of piecing together a man from corpse parts!
The Rhein
If there is one dominant feature in Basel, it has to be the stream that runs right through it. As rivers go, the Rhein, no matter where you encounter it, is pretty impressive. My first encounter with this body of water came as a thirteen-year-old, on my first trip to Bonn. Back then, like most stretches of urban waterway, it was brown and sludgy and didn't so much flow as lay there, shivering occasionally. Here in Switzerland it looks quite fresh, inviting (in a bit of a freaky self-punishment), and bloody cold.
That was about all the wandering I could manage on my first trip to Switzerland. Not much, but I didn’t have much choice, really. Incidentally, on the way back to my hotel, I missed my my hotel by one tram stop and ended up in the bloody red light district. I didn’t even know Basel had a red light district!
Click here to see what I got up to on my next trip to Basel
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
September 2004
Click here to see what I got up to on my next trip to Basel
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
September 2004