So, I arrived in Basel on Sunday night. After a meal at 'Wong's wok', preceded to the accommodation. It's in a little suburb called Muttenz, and at first was a little apprehensive, as looked more like a industrial than residential estate, but it seems to all depend on which way you approach it from the city centre. I'm on the 6th floor and have an amazing view of rolling green hills and intriguingly there is a castle perched on top of one of these hills- a little job for the weekend is to go and investigate (and perhaps lay siege to) this castle.
Basel (according to a flat mate) has the best public transport in Switzerland. You can get trams everywhere, and I feel I'm pretty good at navigating them, and a ride from Muttenz to the other end of the line was a good way to get a feel for Basel, passing through the main squares seeing the river, and the Rathaus (town hall). Once I leave the trams, my sense of navigation appears to leave me! On a trip to the zoo today, managed to walk an "alternative" route to the 5min journey (it took about half an hour)! Particularly enjoyed seeing the bear, which had climbed up a tree in it's enclosure and was surveying it's kingdom, and the penguins!
As afternoon entertainment, I visited the Pharmaceutical museum, as no chemistry student (or anyone come to that) should dare skip it. It was full of old books, photographs of famous chemists and had a 17th century pharmacy reconstruction. At one sense did wonder if in 400 years time people would walk around a lab similar to ones I work in, thinking how strange and old fashioned it was.
Anyway, enough ramblings, will add more when I'll done more.
