December Travels

Unfortunately, the bise returned last night and has been blowing all day, howling around the corners and causing drafts through any open air vent.  The temperatures are shockingly low and, according to the forecast, will remain -0 C all week.  Snow is expected again on Thursday.  Winter was late in arriving here, but when it finally did get here, it's been loathe to leave.  So, it's an opportunity for me to talk about my visit to Basel in early in December, when Friend J and I traveled to visit the annual Christmas market there - and there was NO snow at all.

I had never really visited the city of Basel before, having only passed through the train station on train trips to Strasbourg in France.  Friend J was combining business with pleasure, having meetings during the morning, so we left Geneva on the early train.  I had purchased my ticket from the commune, which has a wonderful deal for purchasing a round-trip train ticket anywhere in Switzerland and that includes all local transportation as well for a total price of CHF 40, so long as one is a resident.  We are limited to two such tickets during the year covered and they must be purchased in advance.  This was the first real opportunity that I had been able to enjoy this deal.   So, after my first glimpse of the front of the Basel train station,

and after Friend J had departed for her meetings via tram,

I set off to explore this beautiful city, deciding that while I might briefly scout out the Christmas market, I would wait for a longer visit until Friend J could join me.

It was so warm in early December that restaurants still had tables set up outdoors.

I headed into the Old City, up towards the Cathedral

only to discover that the otherwise magnificent Cathedral was undergoing some structural work.

Past the Cathedral, I came upon the Rhine, one of the great rivers of the world and

was able to view the Cathedral from the rear.

By this time, I decided that I wanted to spend some time indoors and decided to visit one of Basel's feature museums, the Puppenhausmuseum, full of dolls, teddy bears and other toys.

I think that Princess Butterfly, Prince Tyger and Prince Lightning would all love to visit here someday

and I hope that the "someday" will be very soon!