Basel Walkabout 2005
My second trip to Basel allowed me a little more time (and considerably more daylight) to have a look around the Old Town and wonder what kind of drugs these guys had available when the built some of this stuff!
If you want to see my previous Basel rant click here
If you want to see my previous Basel rant click here
Old Town
The main square in the old town is exactly what it says on the tin: O-L-D. The red sandstone Town Hall is one of the best-preserved examples of a building from the Middle Ages that I have ever seen.
To our modern sensibilities, much of the decoration seems a little in the Liberace's House of Crap school of design, as scarily naked cherubs cavort over the arches and beautifully detailed Bible scenes decorate vast expanses of wall. It's all a bit religious, Catholic, fire and brimstone, Hell and Damnation for my tastes but, if that sort of thing floats your boat, this is one Town Hall you'll want to see. It's obvious why the Americans love Europe so, with examples like this around; they just don't have anything like this across the pond. Probably just as well, they’d only turn it into a McDonald’s…
To our modern sensibilities, much of the decoration seems a little in the Liberace's House of Crap school of design, as scarily naked cherubs cavort over the arches and beautifully detailed Bible scenes decorate vast expanses of wall. It's all a bit religious, Catholic, fire and brimstone, Hell and Damnation for my tastes but, if that sort of thing floats your boat, this is one Town Hall you'll want to see. It's obvious why the Americans love Europe so, with examples like this around; they just don't have anything like this across the pond. Probably just as well, they’d only turn it into a McDonald’s…
I especially enjoyed taking these three pictures of the Town Hall entrance...
I came over all Bosch! Actually, that sounds quite disturbing…
I came over all Bosch! Actually, that sounds quite disturbing…
The main square in the Old Town... and some hideously expensive shops.
This is not a cheap place to live, believe me.
This is not a cheap place to live, believe me.
New Town meets Old Town
Heading away from the Town Hall and Old Town...
...to the 'New Town', which is still about 200 years older than any other building in the USA!
...to the 'New Town', which is still about 200 years older than any other building in the USA!
Botty
Yes! They really have a shop called 'Botty'!
Sells shoes...
Ah, well, it made me chuckle.
Sells shoes...
Ah, well, it made me chuckle.
The Barfüßerplatz. It says Switzerland to me!
My amazing all-glass bathroom!
I know it's sad but the thing that really got me all hot and frothy on this trip was the glass bathroom in my hotel room. And what a shower?! Oh My God! I stayed in there for hours!
I know it's sad but the thing that really got me all hot and frothy on this trip was the glass bathroom in my hotel room. And what a shower?! Oh My God! I stayed in there for hours!
A room with a view?
Reminded me a bit of the view from my hotel room in Reno, but without the desert, casinos and so on. Actually, it was nothing like Reno...
Oh, I know what I mean!
Reminded me a bit of the view from my hotel room in Reno, but without the desert, casinos and so on. Actually, it was nothing like Reno...
Oh, I know what I mean!
It wouldn't be right to leave Basel, without a few shots of the Rhein, would it?
... or a kitschy 'European' establishing shot*.
That, people, is Basel through my warped mind and the lens of my camera. In spite of the weird language they speak here, I quite like the place. For me, however, it is a little lacking in the rock music department. Nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live here.
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
January 2005
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
January 2005