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.