Our
visit to Basel was unexpectedly quaint.
Of course I had heard of the internationally known Art Basel show so I
figured it to be a very modern city, but also read about it being a major industrial
center. I was intrigued that
it is the crossroads of Switzerland, Germany, and France borders. Other than this, I was clueless about
how beautiful and rich in history and culture this city really is. We spent most of our time in the Old
Town and booked a lovely hotel that was modern, but with lots of character, called Der
Teufelhof. This was another ‘on
the money’ recommendation from Tayfun (our Zurich friend). [Side note - we love to talk to the
locals (especially Tee!) and get their take on the town. Usually this gets us the lowdown on
what is touristy vs. where the locals prefer to frequent.] This unique hotel has 33 rooms spread between a historic building (the Art Hotel) and a more modern building (the
Gallery Hotel). The Gallery hotel
actually changes the theme of their rooms around different art
exhibitions. Tee and I loved their
perfectly Parisian bar and noticed the extensive collection of whiskies, but
eventually settled on a nightcap of the local beer suggested by the chicest bartender around (I loved her short haircut and wanted the name of her stylist). Waking up the next morning to streaming sunlight and a
most stunning view of the historic Basel rooftops was all I needed to pop out
of bed and get started on my one day tour of the city. Some of our favorite stops below in
pictures…
Tee
looking out of our hotel window while I started the exploration a bit
earlier. I love to walk around and
window shop before the stores open, making my list of where to return.
Our view from the top of
the hotel overlooking the Old Town of Basel.
The
small streets of Old Town wind up, down, and all around making it easy to get
lost (sometimes a good thing!) The
vibrant flowers in the windowsills were bursting forth as if exploding out of
the windows. Makes me wish I had a
green thumb!
Munsterplatz
- catching a brief moment on the square when very few tourists were around and
a biker rode by at the perfect time.
Tee and I sat on a bench in the square, to soak in the gorgeous
day and listened to the nearby schoolchildren singing through the open windows.
Tee
loved this sundial clock on the Munster church, a major landmark in the
city. He finds the most simple logic to be very interesting!
A
view of the same church from across the river. The red sandstone architecture and colored roof tiles in
green, yellow, and red made it standout amongst the traditional gray stone
cathedrals that you see in Europe.
Across the Rhine River is where most of Basel’s inhabitants live and
here is where we decided to have lunch.
The
river peaks out through the small sliver of the alleyway on the way to
lunch. Here we saw many more
locals than tourists, all going about their busy weekday. We start to realize that we are losing
track of the days of the week!
Before
we left this area, Tee was really itching to have a good schnitzel dish. I love schnitzel as well but I also
love the accompaniments…usually a cool cucumber and potato salad with fresh
dill and lingonberry compote. The
one we found at Volkshaus Basel was perfect and reminded us of our favorite NYC schnitzel at Blaue Gans. We sat outside under a canopy of trees and considered
whether it gets any more perfect than this. So starts my desire to always eat outside and enjoy the Spring-like weather we have had since we arrived.
We
could not leave without a stop to a Swiss chocolate store. This chocolatier, called Laederach, had
large slabs of fresh chocolate in all types, flavors, and toppings. You choose and they break off a piece to
your preferred size and charge by the weight. Tee chose a white chocolate topped with dried fruits and
pistachios and I chose a white chocolate with crushed raspberry and blackberry,
yum. We have been eating Swiss
chocolate ever since, buying bars of it along the way during our road trip!
Links
of Note:
Der
Teufelhof Basel - www.teufelhof.com
Volkshaus
Basel - http://volkshaus-basel.ch
Laederach
Chocolates - www.laederach.com/ch
Marinsel
– Swiss leather bags - http://marinsel.ch/shop/
Santa
Pasta – an on the go Italian pasta place with lines out the door at lunch
time! Their version of a
Chipotle?? - www.santapasta.com
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