Tour de France... Well, Almost

Perfect weather today... So we took a long bike ride in Switzerland and France (a seven hour ride). The country is very beautiful to ride in. Rolling hills, trees, wheat and corn fields, farmers taking care of their land, all very pleasant to see, and also relaxing at the same time. We enjoyed riding from town to town, and at the end of every small journey, we checked the map and picked the next small town to ride to. Lots of hills to climb so it's not the same as riding in Indiana. However, there is one thing the same... Cow Shit in France smells just as bad as Cow Shit in Indiana!! Ah... nothing like the smell of the country. Anyway, having the beautiful scenery makes it all worth while. We'll do more rides like this very soon. See pictures of our bike rides here.

A Night Out

Last night we saw two groups play traditional swiss music. The first group of three musicians played a soprano saxophone, an accordion (which looked more like a bandonion), a contra base and an alphorn. They played fun, circus-y music and did a little good ol’ yodeling as well. You can get a taste of their quirky music by visiting their web-site SULP. The second set of three played the contra base, the xylophone and a flat triangular instrument that the musician stood in front of using small metal mallets and a foot petal. They also used instruments that looked like a tin can with a stiff rubber band coming out of the end. This group was decidedly different from the first, and the man playing the xylophone was terrifically inventive with his use of mallets, cymbals, shakers, bells and bows. The last set was both groups on stage at the same time doing a bit of jazzy swiss improve (complete with animal sounds – dogs, sheep and cows). All of this to a back drop of an interesting mix of day-in-the –life photography slides of (mostly) Basel. We had a great time!

Barcelona, Spain (take two)

A couple of weeks ago Robert had to go to Barcelona again on business so I went along to do some sightseeing. I took the bus tour around the city, saw all the Antoni Gaudi buildings, the Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Pavilion that he designed the Barcelona chair for, the Contemporary Art Museum, the zoo (where they had the only known albino gorilla from 1966-2003 – Snowflake) and their most famous street, Las Ramblas. See our Barcelona pictures here.

Munchen (Munich), Germany

It is impossible not to like Munich: a beautiful city with a giganitc park, the Pinakothek with a huge architecture section, the glockenspiel and most of all the BEER! On our first evening in the city we took the beer tour and drank our way through four breweries: Schneider, Paulaner, Lowenbrau and of course the Hofbrauhaus. We learned a lot about the history of beer and beer culture, beer gardens, the maypole. We took a walking tour of the city as well and also visited the local palace. We'll be back in Septemeber to experience Oktoberfest - we can't wait!
See our photos.

World Cup 2006

It is absolute mayhem in all of Europe right now – no, not protests about “The DaVinci Code” or US-Iran issues. We are one short week away from the 2006 World Cup tournament which is being hosted by Germany this year. As you may or may not know, the World Cup only occurs every 4 years and it works kind of like the Olympics where the regular soccer season is suspended and country teams are formed by professionals who normally don’t play together. The excitement is intense and the fans are loyal and I still can’t believe the US actually has a team! We have a member of the Fussball Club Basel that lives in our building who is playing for Japan, his native country, in the games. Check out the history of the game and all about the World Cup here.

Maranello, Italy

Maranello Italy - never heard of it. Maranello is 30 minutes outside of Bologna and is the home of Ferrari. We visited the Ferrari gallery which is a mix of F1 cars and street cars. We picked out the one we wanted, but they wouldn't let us take it home =( Here's a fun article about the factory tour (you can talk to your local dealer if you'd like to get a tour for yourself). Read this article. See our pictures here.

Firenze (Florence), Italy

Florence is yet another very old, very beautiful city. The Ponte Vecchio is a very famous bridge that dates from 1333. Be sure to read the bit about the padlocks in the following link – Robert got some great photos too. The Santa Maria dome is an impressive site atop a fantastic cathedral – it was a milestone in architectural history. Michelangelo’s statue of David is a must see in Florence – it is an awe-inspiring 17 feet tall and it’s no wonder that the people of Florence (and the entire world) fell in love with it when it was unveiled in 1504. View our pictures here.

Lucca, Italy

Lucca is way more than bad mall pizza – it’s actually a wondrous walled city between Pisa and Firenze. We walked around this great city during the evening and we very impressed with its incredible history and up-to-date style. We had a great, garlic-y pasta dinner with the local wine there and were all sorry we couldn’t spend more time getting to know it better (lucca history). Take a look at our pictures.

Pisa, Italy

Pisa isn’t just a leaning tower – it’s actually quite a large city, but time only allowed for the obvious. Once we found the tower we were all stunned to see how much it leans – 27 degrees! Robert took some great pictures and we actually got to walk to the top as well. After our perusal through the souvenir vendors, a stop for gelato, and a walk around the tower area, we were presented with an official Pisa citation for not knowing how to read the parking signs =( Check out our pictures.

Genova, Italy / Mediterranean Coast

We know it as Genoa, but this is where Christopher Columbus is from. We stopped just long enough to stretch our legs and we saw their nicely renovated port area that reminded us of Baltimore of all places. Renzo Piano is from here as well and had buildings and structures in the port. The bank here is where the first check was ever issued! We took a leisurely drive along the beautiful Mediterranean coast and ate a picnic lunch on a rocky beach and had gelato for dessert. For those of you who haven’t experience gelato – you can get the real thing in Indianapolis at Gelato da Vinci . Take a look at our Genova and coastal photos.

Milano (Milan), Italy

Indeed the fashion capital of the world, Milan has great shopping and lots of history. The Opera House is not much to look at on the outside, but the inside (according to Sandra who decided to venture in) is stunning. It is a working theater and a museum as well. Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper" (1495-97) is here; unfortunately we didn’t know you needed reservations. We’ll be back. (By the way, we understand that there is a lot of controversy around “The DaVinci Code” in the US – there are no such issues, problems or protests that we know of anywhere in Europe). Sforzesco Castle is a well preserved relic of the past that has been incorporated into a fantastic use of public space for residents and visitors alike. Last but not least the duomo at the heart of the city is the largest gothic cathedral in the world. Built in 1387 and it is still covered in scaffolding! Here are the pictures.

Our First Visitor!!

Sandra Moffett came to visit us for 2 weeks =) We were both very excited to have her and enjoyed showing her around Basel and getting her acclimated to Europe. She went to several museums, the local roman ruins and the zoo and saw many Basel landmarks (basilisks, ferry, three kings corner, the munster, etc.). We all went for trip up into the mountains, did a little hiking, and had cheese fondue for dinner. It seemed that all roads led to Luzerne as she was there several times over once to see the city and another time with Nancy to see an example of the Swiss military forts built into the sides of mountains (of which there are 15,000!), we also spent a nice day in Bern. A lovely drive thru the France took us to Luxemburg to the American Cemetery where Sandra’s uncle, a Medal of Honor winner, is buried – a very humbling experience. On the way home we came back through Germany to visit the Heidelberg castle and a trilling drive on the autobahn! Finally, we took a trip to Italy to soak up some sun, pasta, gelato and wine.

Barcelona, Spain

Robert took a business trip to Barcelona several weeks ago and during his time there he was able to squeeze in a bus tour of the city along with some colleagues. Check out his great pictures!