Basel

Spalentor was first stop. This is a city gate . When I got off the bus at Splaenator, there was this guy saying "Tickets Tickets" Now I knew that Splaenator does not have tickets.
Ok, In Switzerland, I hadn't been approached by anyone for tour guides, hotels, come eat in my cafe, I'll get you a good rate on exchange or any of those touristy nightmares one gets to endure. So with my drop dead glare, I said a definititive "No!" and kept walking. But this ponytailed bulky person followed me and said " You don't understand. You have to". Huh? What now? I rolled up my sleeves and was ready to win this fight. I mean, I've haven't been out-touristed in hard core Jaipur or Marrakesh.
.. And then he says "I'm a Ticket Inspector. Show me your bus ticket" Aaaaaaiyiyi. Embarassed. Red in the face, apologized profusely to him and his co workers who by now were probably getting ready to the Swiss equivalent of lathi charging me.

Crossing the road, I was still too hassled to click photos and quickly made it to the other side of the city gate.
Visited the university. Then to the Marketplatz in frnont of the Rathaus (town hall) where local farmers bakers sell their wares. Crossed Tinguely fountain with its weird magical mechanical contraptions which may not be quite art but are fascinating nevertheless.  Walked all along the river. Light green canopy above almost all the way.

On the way, totally by chance, I came across an ancient waterwheel, black huge circle powered by a stream. Just ahead( probably part of) was a rampart and a gateway. Its called the Mulhouse or the Mill. It now houses the paper museum. The Kunstmuseum - the main one is under renovation and its Cezanne collection was at the contemporary art museum. There were some other artists as well. Got to see Van Gogh's brilliant self portrait and some Monets. 

Theres this store called CoOp that shoestringers can live on. Bought some bread and cheese and fruit and lunched on the riverside. I mean.. This, I tell you, is living. The river, is so clean, you can see the pebbles at the bottom. People swim here. Apparently, that's another must do in Basel. Me, I chose to take the motor less boat across to Tinguely. The Tinguely museum was worth the visit. The entire museum is experiential. You can start off this mechanical set of wheels and shoe and drum and typewriter topped off with a feather to do its dance. There were a bunch of kids on a school field trip and they were fun to watch. Some of the contraptions even got applause from the kids.

In the evening, after an unsuccessful  search for live music, finally settled near the Munsterplatz with some wine and cheese and watched people bowling Basel style.

Basel - Switzerland
Sept 2015
#Basel

Basel is small enough to walk to anywhere if you have shoes. I did. Followed a map to find a park closeby. Park had construction going on but I got to see a nursery school in the area. 6 cheery rooms, 5 darling students, 4 cycles parked, 3 drawing boards, 2 swiss teachers and 1 very confused Indian.

No that doesn't mean I miss the population thank you. Anyway, walked to the riverside, sat in the banks, near Mittlere Rheinbrucke and wrote this. The steeple of Martins kirche adds character to the ripples in the flowing Rhine. Theres actually a church bell that chimes somewhere. Ducks float in. It is as the postcards promised. The sun is warm, the air is just chill and I'm hungry. There are people opening up their riverside cafes selling sushi among other things. I don't see many patrons and wonder if the tourists are enough to keep them open. They are so friendly and human though, the people of Basel. They smile and meet your eyes and take the time to be human.

I walk along the right bank to Solitude Park. Maple trees. Houses in a row with Swiss facades, ivy, fountains. People run, walk, cycle and leisurely sit and take out a snack from paper bags and watch the river. There are these motor less boats  that take you across the river for 1.6 CHF.  Its the one tourist attraction they tell you not to miss.

I'm staying in an Airbnb with a Chinese couple and go back to the house to whip up some lunch. The nearby grocer is from SriLanka and we Vanakkamed each other while I bought a zucchini and a solitary red pepper.

Round 2 of seeing Basel turned out to be in Germany. Vitra Museum is worth a visit. Four floors of chairs and you can sit in any and all of them. The museum simultaneously functions as an office and staff go about their business and are part of the functionality of the products. Just stunning. Both at the micro level (as in a paperweight with a willow the wisp in it) and at the macro level (each floor is oriented in a different direction, like roofed houses piled on top of another)
In its grounds is the longest slide I've been on... a steel tube winding down a skewed pole. One can wheee :) down, whoever you are, your grin is guaranteed , One can wheee :) down, whoever you are, your grin is guaranteed.
Note- Museum is free if you skip the temporary exhibition.
Bus 55 takes you there and arrives on dot, like clock work, at the stop you're waiting at.

Brighu Lake trek Himachal

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Brighu Lake Trek

14 km, 8hrs (walking time), 4235m

Vashisht is on the Manali- Rohtang Road, 3km from Manali, less crowded and home to natural hot springs. The drains of Vashisht are in a constant gurgle along the temple boundary wall, steaming with boiling hot water. There’s a bath area in the temple for the uninhibited. The sulphur springs are well known for their medicinal properties. The Vashist temple is the familiar wood and stone structure common in Himachal Pradesh with intricate carving and a roof made of slate. However in keeping with the times one sees more and more alluminium roofs – unaesthetic, but I suppose economical and functional. An uncomfortable number of foreign tourists dot the area, several looking like they live there and could, with an air of imperiousness, tell you a thing or two about Vashist. Accordingly, the local eateries have adapted and do a great job with lasagnas, french fries, apple pies, cinnamon rolls and what have you.

Drive along the Vashisht- Rohtang road and you find a bizarre exhibition, all along the way, in little, numbered stalls. They fervently display “snow suits”, fur coats, bright coloured overalls, gum boots, all strung out with great expectations of a rental to the ever excited, endearingly gullible, happy family of Indian tourists who in their rented Sumos, throng this “highway”, which is in a perpetual state of insane traffic snafu. All this to see snow at Rohtang pass. However, once you get there, you can see people throng the bhel-puri wala or the momo-wala ( in keeping with the culture, you see). Now if your idea is to go to Brighu lake, you can completely avoid the mela situation above and stop after about 30 minutes drive from Vashisht, much before Rohtang, at a place called Gulaba, with the omnipresent Dhabha, at the head of the Brighu lake trail.

The trail takes off east from the road. A 20 minute walk up the trail and you are in a natural forest of fir, spruce, and Kharsu oak, away from the Rohtang madness and in an excellent camping ground with a stream on your left. You may still be able to hear the distant traffic but the white snow peaks cheer you up and the horses and sheep grazing in the nearby pastures calm you down and you can pitch your tent and soak in the atmosphere and decide to chill out and get to Brighu Lake the next day. But if you are strapped for time and you want to do the express trek, so be it. Continue along the trail up, up and up along the meadows. An occasional Gaddi Shepherd may stop and exchange pleasantries. Don’t ask him ‘Kitna Door hai”, he will invariably reply ‘Age baraf hai, uske age Tal hai”. To a question “Kitna ghanta lagega”?, his philosophical answer would be “Chalnewale ke oopar hai”.

After the constant climb for about 2 hours, the trail eases out into a nice walk above the tree line and you can see the shepherd’s markers on top of ridges and along the trail as route markers. Flat stones are piled one on top of another to form a pyramid. These are kept at vantage points to help shepherds and can be spotted even from a great distance. The Himalayan Blue Iris was in bloom when I went in June. There were other bright, colourful flowers infusing some cheer in the trek breaks or “breath-taking” breaks. After about an hour from the Shepherd’s marker, there are a couple of caves and rock overhangs if you want to camp at this level.

The weather turned bad and light snowfall made visibility low. But a small blue patch of sky at a distance gave enough reason for optimism. Another hour of walking and just before the snowline, next to the last stream to be crossed, a large rock pointing west makes a good resting point and a visual treat with snow covered undulations in the background.

A 30 minute walk from this rock and you can see Brighu pass ahead of you at a height on the right. Water is available all along the trail till you can see the Brighu pass and therefore many pleasant camping possibilities. You can see a narrow trail skirting the snow covered slope in front of you. The snow was not fresh and had turned to ice. Ice steps had to be cut out as the trail was at a great height and a clumsy foothold could get you 500 ft down an icy slide and beyond if you can’t stop. This low gradient, icy traverse took up one whole hour. There is a rocky resting area below the pass from where it is a steep uphill climb to the pass (20 mins). Once over the pass, there is a fantastic view of the lake that takes your breath away. Snow peaks surround the lake and there is a 360 degree spectacular view of the the Pir Panjal, Dhauladhar, the Lahaul triangle between the Chandra and the Bhaga rivers makes for some seriously impressive photo shoot possibilities. On a clear day, you can even see the Spiti Range.

Legend has it that Bhrigh Rishi meditated here, and that many local gods of the Kullu Valley, Guru Vashisht among them, visit to take a dip in its sacred waters. Bhrigu Lake is at an altitude of 4,235m and is considered a holy place. I had to take off my shoes and walk on freezing ground to the frozen lake and the lake and I had our personal icebreaker exercise and became acquainted. The locals have a thanks-giving prayer and bring offerings to the gods. Prayer flags flutter on a knoll above the lake. Gulaba is at 9000 ft and Brighu lake is at 14000 ft, so the altitude gain is huge and it is not advisable to stay too long at the lake.

The walk back to Gulaba is very long and very downhill. You can take several thrilling snow slide shortcuts to get to base faster. However, getting your base back safe is more important. Sliding down, though absolutely a fantastic, must-do-it-at-least-once-experience, is not completely without risks. Take some risk analysis advice from your local guide on this. Once on the meadows, you wait to get to Gulaba which seems to be an elusive destination. If you are carrying your own tents, it’s a good idea to camp in the high altitude meadows and put off getting to civilization.