The Baselbiet.

So, I'm back from this weekend away only to realise I haven't even updated my blog about last weekend. Time seems to be flying by, last Sunday was the 2 month anniversary of my arrival in Basel. Can't believe we've reached September already!
Anyway, if I can stretch my memory back to last weekend, here's what I got up to....
Friday night had a nice relax, a beer by the Rhine, and a meal at Lily's, a East Asian restaurant (sort of a Swiss slightly posher version of Waggamamma's, with the same sort of benches). I had a lovely, if not a bit too spicy for me, curry and then an awesome bannana fritter. After this we headed to see "My Sister's Keeper". I had read the book, and not to spoil the film for anyone who wants to see it, was a bit disappointed that they'd changed the ending. It was still very moving and touching, and made me think of my big sister back at home (miss you loads skin!).
The next morning, we headed to Reigoldswil, which was about 45mins away on the bus from Basel, and in Baselbiet, the countryside which surrounds the city. We got the standard, ever present Cablecar up to Wasserfallen, I will call it a hill (but I think it is a mountain, just a very small one for Switzerland). We walked around and saw some lovely countryside views and flora and fuana. We had our pack lunch at the peak, and then grabbed "scooters" (they were scooters except you stood on them with both feet) to journey back down. It was a bit surreal, you felt like you wanted to sit down on them, and the incline was so steep you had to always have the break on a little bit. For any parents reading, yes I did have a helmet on. It was really fun though, and ironically I managed to fall over on foot on gravel before getting on the scooter, scrapping my hand up, not on the dangerous part of the day. After that, had a drink at a local swiss restaurant and then headed back on the bus to Basel.
Sunday was a bit of a lazy morning and then we headed to Colmar, described as the Little Venice of France around lunch. On the train it's just under an hour, and the countryside you pass through, is surprisingly, much drier than Basel's countryside. The reason for the trip was to visit FLUNCH, a French version of MacDonalds, as Abi remembers having Steak Hassiche there as a kid and wanted a bit of a nostasglia trip. From our Steak Hassiche, we headed to the main square of Colmar, which was very picturesque, and we passed lots of quaint tourist shops and even a Sorbetiere Isabelle. (my new ambition is now to open my own!) We then enjoyed coffee and cake outside in the main square, by the church. The canals of the Little Venice, were very shallow, but quite pretty.
Then I think we might have been incredibly sad and watched The X Factor online, but you gotta keep up with the gossip back home! (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it).

Will update about this weekend soon, and try not leave it as late as usual.

Have a good week,

Swizzy x x x

Madagascar Remembered

Hey Everyone! Hope your all well.
Not too much to report this week. I spent the weekend chillaxing in Basel, had many coffees and ice teas in the local coffee bars and of course grabbed a bit of the Ashes action! The weather was really lovely and on Saturday I spent a bit of the afternoon in the "GartenBad" in St.Jakob (a suburb of Basel very near to Muttenz), it is a garden with 3 different swimming pools, one with more slides for children, and another one for more serious swimmers. I was able to blend in and pretend that I belonged in this pool. Then I headed for English mass in Bruderholz, and enjoyed listening to the enthusiastic American music leader.
Catching up on the news at the weekend, I was shocked and saddened to see that the situation in Madagascar is rapidly disintergrating. I've included the link to the article that triggered this post. It was mostly upsetting, as I had such a get time in Madagscar, and learnt so much there, and the all the people I meet there were incredible. It was poignant to think that as I am enjoying another adventure in my life, my first big adventure destination is going through such a terrible time. Please return the situation in your prayers.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8210000/8210355.stm

Have a good week,
Loads of love,

Swizzy x x x

Geneva, Geneve, Genf

It's pretty confusing living in a country where they speak 4 languages. Everyone calls places by different names. I spent the whole week telling people I was going to Geneva, which they didn't seem to get, and then got told it was called Genf by the German speaking Swiss. The places can sound really similar in different languages and I'm pretty impressed that with my sense of navigation I haven't as yet ended up stranded in the wrong city!

This Saturday, me and Abi, and her friend Flick whose staying for a couple of days, headed off to Geneva, and the train was fun, with really nice views of lakes and mountains. Again, arriving in Geneva, it had a totally different feel, quite obviously French, but I have to painfully admit, probably one of the nicest cities I've visited (not sure if it bets Luzern or not at the moment). However I couldn't live there (too many Frenchies)! We headed to the International City, which is north of the lake, and strolled along by Lac Leman, which is I think (but I could be wrong), the biggest in Europe (at least one of the biggest). There is a fountain, which Geneva, is very proud of, definitely the largest in the world, which spurts water straight out of the lake high into the air. On Sunday we managed to stand near it for some good photos, but weren't crazy enough to jump underneath and get soaked, which thrilled all the kids that did so.

Back to the International City though. We approached via the Botanical Gardens and an ice cream stop (it was boiling and needed a cool down from the trek up). We passed the UNICEF building and then approached the UN headquarters, which had it's very own protest (only a small family protesting-not very coherently though, apparently we should interfere in Iran, but leave Iraq and Afghanistan immediately!) I had my picture taken outside the UN sign and flags, possibly one of the proudest moments of my life and then we walked around the fountain, and saw a modern statue of a huge chair with a broken leg, I like to think it is a statement that there is always space for negotiation, but that it's not comfy, but you'd have to ask the artist what they meant.

A stroll past the Gandhi statue, lead to the Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum. This had really poignant statues of covered chained people, symbolising the loss of humanity of refugees and prisoners. I was really impressed by the whole exhibits, and the founding philosophy of Henry Dunant, that love and respect outdo violence and hate. Maybe it was hitting a particular cord with my Christian values. However seeing exhibited pictures of orphaned Rwandan children, did strike a terrible cord, as I'd just seem hotel Rwanda, and the exhibition about the Holocaust. I didn't realise though, that Red Cross agents, went in at the end of the war to try to prevent more killing, before the liberation of the camps had been accompolished, agreeing with German authorities they wouldn't leave at all.

After that we went and check in to our Youth Hostel, which was pretty good, had good security and the next morning the continental breakfast wasn't too awful! I filled up on bread and my favourite blackcurrant jam! In the evening we went to a local restuarant, where I had roast beef and chips (it wasn't what I'd expected when I'd ordered, it was cold slices but still tasty) and then walked along the lake front before heading back for to the hostel for bed.

The next morning we walked around the old streets of Geneva, which were very pretty, and covered in the Swiss and Geneva canton flags. By one we'd really exhausted Geneva, so headed back to Basel. I got back in time for mass in Muttenz, full of Marian hymns for the Assumption, and then we headed into Basel for dinner, at a very authentic Swiss restuarant in Barfusserplatz, so authentic it had swiss drunks singing traditional songs by the time I was finishing my pudding of apple fritters.

So that's about all for this week guys,

Keep safe and enjoying your summer, we got a mega heat wave here, it is very hot on the trams commuting to work.
I am getting behind with photos but they will be added some time next week,


Swizzy x x x

Bella Italia!

Well, well, the world's most disorganised blogger is now finally recapping her trip to Lugano, if I can remember that far back!

Before I get to last weekend though, have to describe my swim in the Rhein last Thursday. It's one of the things I've really wanted to do since I arrived, and finally managed it last week, with my work clothes in my waterproof (actually did keep everything dry) bright orange bag, which also acts as a great buoyancy aid. We walked all the way down (sorry should say upriver) and then jumped in. It was very cold at first but then got used to the water and were warmed by the sun. It only took a little way to make it all the way down, under a couple of bridges, bobbing along in the current. It was relatively easy to jump out onto the bank when we reached mittlere brucke, and sat having an ice cream with the Basel locals drying off.

So, on Friday, we headed off to Lugano, which is in one of the two Italian speaking cantons, called Ticino, and is very close to the Italian border. It is surrounded by Alps, and is a very mountainous region even for Switzerland. Before jumping on the train, we had dinner at "Mister Wong", a buffet style Chinese restaurant by the station we seem to have become rather fond of in the last month. The train took about 4 hours, and we arrived in Lugano at 11 ish, and had a short walk to our hostel, the Montariano. It was very clean, and had a swimming pool, which we used on the Saturday evening, which was really good, but our sleep was interrupted by noisy guests, and leaves one a bit surly when you've been up at 6 during the week. The next morning we had time to properly explore the town. The hostel was at the top of the hill, and the town continued below. I've never been to Italy, but it had what I consider a very traditional Italian feel, with steep cobbled stone steps. Although it was raining a bit, we hired mountain bikes, and set off on a countryside journey to a town up in the mountains called Senvico. It didn't seem very steep, but was uphill all the way, and after 3 hours we reached just outside the town. Being completely parched, we stopped at a local restaurant for 3 bottles of sprite and a pizza (which defeated me, as I have to admit, I could only eat half of it). All the men were sitting around, drinking coffee while one waitress was having to serve all the customers (typical Italians). The way back was much easier, free wheeled all the way down to the town. After that in the evening went up by funicular to the top of Mount San Salvatore, which has an amazing view of all the surroundings, you could see Milan, and Lake Como and the rest of Lake Lugano. We had a more restful night on Saturday evening, and next morning had a nice coffee and cake at a local cafe. A trip on the boat was in store next and we headed for Gandria, a beautiful village on the Lake. We walked the route of olives and then had a lunch at a restaurant with a patio over the Lake. It was very Italian, with Virgin Mary statues along the narrow cobbled streets. We popped back on the boat and on to real Italy, a town called San Mamote, and climbed to the local church, where there was amazing views of the surroundings. Then we had pasta at a local restaurant and an ice cream on the seafront in Lugano. Monday was a day off to allow us to travel back to Basel, and we spent the morning going on the Noddy seaside train around Lugano and then visited a couple of local churches and the cathedral. After nearly losing the safe key we headed back to the train station, and saw the scenery of the William Tell pass, which we missed in the dark on Friday night.

This week I've also managed to watch Hotel Rwanda, a very thought provoking film, a couple of episodes of Gilmore Girls, and actually won two games of pool (very fluky)!

Hope your all well, photos will follow soon,

Swizzy

Happy Birthday Switzerland!

Feels like this week is rushing by, so it's time for the regular recap of the last weekends activities.
The build up to this weekend was epic, because Saturday 1st August is Swiss National Day, when the Swiss celebrate the founding of the Confederacy, the hero William Tell (who famously shot on arrow through an apple on his son's head), the defeat of the Hapsburg Empire, and the beginning of a united Switzerland. Feeling slightly cheated that the 1st August fell on a Saturday I was planning to celebrate in style, and the Swiss were madly preparing. Basel was decorated from the beginning of the week, with Swiss flags flying from bridges, houses, shops, everywhere really, with shops selling loads of souvenirs. It felt quite sad when I had to explain to all my Swiss and German colleagues, that we don't have a National Day in England, partly due to a group of nutters using the St. George's flag as a racist symbol. They thought it was crazy when I said we celebrate St.Patrick's Day more than our own saint's day.
Anyway back to the celebrations. Leaving work on Friday at about five-ish, I got a punt across the Rhein, it is carried across by the current, and was also adorned with Swiss flags. In all the main squares and streets off them, there were food stalls, selling traditional pretzels; which of course I tried-very different from pretzels back home as they taste more doughy, bratwurst, pizza, ice cream and then the more recent imports of Chinese and Indian food. There were tonnes of street bars selling beer and cocktails. It was lovely to stroll along the streets, having a couple of beers, and everyone was enjoying the laid back atmosphere and beautifully sunny weather. We could have that in London, although the weather wouldn't be guaranteed. There was a band playing on a platform in the river too. I grabbed a patch of grass by the Rhein ready to watch the fireworks that were launched from the river at 11.30pm. They lasted half an hour, and were amazing, and the view was great all the way along the river. I jumped on a tram home, which of course were still running amazingly efficiently, and got home at 2am. I was knackered, as I'd been up since 6.30am.

The next day, I woke and had brunch before popping back into town. I went to the Historical Museum, which is in an old church in Barfusserplatz. It was full of beautifully painted altarpieces and ornate religious sculptures, which have somehow managed to survive the Reformation. The church itself is very striking, and I'm sure my Dad would love to visit it! I then popped down to the Rhein, which showed no sign of the day before; everything had already been tidied up, and sat with a Starbucks iced coffee, reading my book and enjoying the sunshine. That evening I went to another student's house, an expat whose family lives in Switzerland, to see some more fireworks. The paella and BBQ was great, as was chatting to many Brits, had not been in a group of more than 3 Brits for a month! All the villages around Basel were celebrating with their own firework displays, and it was incredible to see them all set against the hills.

At the beginning of this week, I had traditional cheese fondue, which was very nice, can really taste the wine, and then watched The Proposal, which was pretty funny, and tried to follow the German subtitles as well as listening to the English being spoken. I've also just finished reading the Ugly American, which is about the American Foreign policy towards South East Asia in the 50's. It really struck me, and the parallels with the past few years were uncanny. I was also disappointed we're only 1-0 up in the ashes!

Happy Birthday to my Dad for tomorrow! And love as always,

Swizzy x

Baden, Baden!

This weekend was time for a relax after the bustling paragliding adventure in Interlaken last week. On Friday, after work I headed off into Barfusserplatz, which is the most happening square in Basel, and grabbed a Movenpick ice cream, which was hazelnut flavoured, and tasted amazing. When I got back I had some supper and played at bit of pool, and generally chillaxed.

The next morning I made my first trip to the local train station, as surprisingly, the tram that usually runs very efficiently and conveniently past my accommodation, was being suspended for work (sounded like being back in London). The train from Muttenz to Basel central station took 5mins, and I was early for my train to Baden, so grabbed a coffee and a croissant for breakie. There was the usual bustle of Military service personnel heading home for the weekend, and hikers heading to the Alps. As an aside, I found out on Friday, all Swiss houses have nuclear bunkers underneath them, and that until recently, there were no gun laws. Sometimes for a "neutral" country, Switzerland seems a bit quite paranoid. I jumped on the train to Baden (not the German Baden Baden), which took an hour travelling through some beautiful countryside. When I arrived I headed from the train station to the Altstadt, to have a wander and explore a little bit. I visited the Historical Museum, which is situated in the old Landvogteischscloss, by the Holzbrucke, shown in the photo above, where the governors of Baden used to live. I seemed to be the only visitor there, and one of the wardens had to turn on the lights for me in some of the exhibition rooms. As I walked around the tower of the castle, which had rooms decked out from different eras, I thought about how much my mum and sis would have loved it, "living history" and stuff. After that I walked up to the ruins of an old castle at the top of the hill, which had beautiful views of the surrounding countryside. I sat there and had my packed lunch, and read a bit of my book, I seem to be doing a lot of reading now I don't have a TV, which is a bonus, though I might be running out of reading material at this rate.

Baden is set on a curve in the Limmat river, and has for many centuries been a center for thermal spas, the Romans being the first to use the waters. So after lunch I walked along the bank of the river to the spa area. There are lots of hotels now, which have private pools, but I headed to the public baths. It was around 25francs to use the baths and the sauna, which is pretty good going (£10-15). I had a swim in the inside pool (both were 32C), which was a little more chilled and peaceful, and then headed to the outside pool, which was incredible. I had a bit of a sunbathe on a lounger and then got back in the pool, where the heat of the water hit me again. My time the time my hands and feet had got all wrinkly and I'd done a couple of lengths of the pools, I went back in the inside pool for 10-15mins and then went and had a shower and used the sauna. Usually I'm not very good at doing nothing, I usually need some background noise or something like that, but I adapted to the quiet and peace of the sauna pretty well, and definitely want to go back there. After that I left the baths and sat by the Limmat for a while taking in the view while having an ice cream. I then wanted to visit Maria Himmelfahrt church just for a look, so headed in that direction. As I arrived I heard the bells calling people to mass, and walked in just in time to join, which was a slightly odd experience. Baden was a Catholic canton, and during the Reformation had to fight Zurich and Bern, the Protestant cantons. Eventually, they lost, but it means that Baden retains a beautiful church, all the ones I've seen so far in Switzerland are very sparse protestant churches, or modern catholic ones. Maria Himmelfahrt has Baroque, Neoclassical features as well as its Gothic outline. Dinner was grabbed quickly before I got on the train back to Basel, and at 9o'clock was heading back to Muttenz, while everyone else was heading for a night out in the city.

I spent Sunday catching up on the British news, seeing what horrors Gordon has in store when I get back, listening to Any Questions, which sometimes really riles one, and reading the BBC news pages, I miss my Dad's daily offering of 2 newspapers, but am quite enjoy Nick Robinsons blog. I caught myself listening to the Archers last week, as my parents always have it on.

As always, comments and suggestions welcome,

Take care, till next time

Swizzy......

A tale of two halves (and many good meals)

This weekend was action packed, to say the least! We set off for Interlaken on Saturday morning, the train took about 2 hours. Leaving Basel the weather seemed a little downcast but as we pulled into the Interlaken station it was in a hellish downpour. Ran into the "Coop" Restaurant and grabbed a coffee and cake to shelter from the weather. Seriously imagined would be spending the whole weekend damp and wet through. Bought some amazing waterproof trousers to match my raincoat.
We had to hang around to be picked up by Outdoor Interlaken at 13.30 for our paragliding adventure. The rain, wind and temperature seemed to suggest it wouldn't be possible but we spent an hour at the top of the hill in the middle of the downpour to be certain. Still was quite fun, the instructors kept us all entertained, as did the crazy Americans who made up the rest of the group (couldn't seem to get away from Americans the entire weekend!)
So came back down the mountain, in the van not by flight unfortunately. Decided to ride up to Harder Kuln, one of the smaller mountains nearby, which has a panoramic view of the Jungfrau, Monch and Eiger mountains, all snow capped and incredibly beautiful. There was a rainbow at the top and a beer waiting at the cafe on top. After a much appreciated steak and chips, we had a hot choc at "Hooters", which has apparently reached Switzerland, so we could watch the brilliant fireworks in the town square, thankfully the rain had stopped just in time, and their was even music set to them.
Up bright and early the next morning, which couldn't have been more different from the day before. It was bright and sunny, and enjoyed a settling bacon and eggs at cafe nearby before heading off to go canyoning. It was really fun, a mix of abseiling, rope swinging and diving into snow melt pools (wet suit thankfully provided kept the cold out) but I'm not sure I was very good, it's difficult to fight the whirlpool currents. After a hot shower and lunch of hot dog and curly fries, yes diet went out the window, it was PARAGLIDING time, take two. Had the same instructor as before, and it was amazing, weather was perfect and the view of Jungfrau was incredible, the town below looked like a model village. Performed a couple of tricks, rollercoastery type stunts before landing, quite well I think for a first attempt. Spent the afternoon wandering around Interlaken, which is just how I imagined traditional Switzerland, before dinner of tuna salad followed by mango and strawberry sorbet, then jumped on busy intercity train back to Basel, knackered but fulfilled.

Pics Below Enjoy: