Basel, Switzerland

For our big holiday this year we decided to splurge on a river cruise down the Rhine.  To stretch it out and get the most out of our flights, we spent 3 days in Basel, Switzerland before the cruise, and then 3 days in Amsterdam at the end of it.

We arrived in Basel on Saturday, November 16, after an overnight flight.  Our hotel room was not yet ready, so we headed out to see some of the town.

These first few photos are from the short flight from Frankfurt to Basel, around 9 am:

You can see a bit of what I assume are the edge of the Alps in the background of this one:

Descending into Basel, these must be the suburbs, or an adjoining town:

I love narrow European old-town streets:

The main town square.  Since it was the weekend there was a market on, and we had a quick lunch of grilled sausage and rye bread here:

Street near the church square:

The Basel Munster, or cathedral:

One of the stained glass windows:

The Munster square:

An old timber-frame house:

More old houses, off a street from the Munster square:

Shopping street in Basel:

The Rhine:

This is a passenger ferry over the Rhine:

This tower was the main gate to the town when the wall was still standing, I think it dates back to the 1400's:

Part of an outdoor mural featuring prominent musicians of the past several decades:

... and that was it for our first day, we were pretty tired by the end of it as we hadn't slept on the plane.

The following day, Sunday November 17, it rained all day, so we spent it in museums, specifically the 3 buildings of the Historisches Museum Basel.  The first one is located in an old church, and has the history and artifacts of Basel, which goes back 2000  years.  One building is an old mansion, and also features exhibits of clocks, watches, and toys, as well as rooms decorated as they might have looked in the 1700's and 1800's.  The third pavillion is in an old jail, and is a large collection of musical instruments.  We ate supper at the Cafe Barfi (which is one of the few somewhat more affordable restaurants in Basel, and even then was hugely overpriced).  I took no photos in the rain.

Next up:  A high-speed train ride to Lucerne on the Monday.