Christmas Market

Last weekend we decided to do some Christmas shopping in Basel. There are areas around town where Christmas Markets are set up. This means many local (and other) vendors have booths setup where they sell their goods. Everything from Christmas ornaments, to pottery, wood carvings, scarves, toys, and MANY others. The booths and surrounding areas are decorated with a variety of Christmas decorations like lights, Nativity scenes, ribbons, and others. There is also a lot of good food available as well. (Pizza, hot dogs, sausages, bread, cheese, etc…) Gluehwine (hot red wine with spices) is also available to keep you warm as you shop. If you’re not in the Christmas spirit before going to the Christmas Market, you will be before you leave. It seems to have a very festive and pleasant atmosphere with all the music and decorations you could ask for. Merry Christmas! You can see our pictures from the Basel Christmas Market here.

Charity Run

Last Saturday night, hundreds of people participated in a charity run in Basel. There was even a shorter run for small children (something you don’t see in the U.S. very often). The weather was excellent for November… Warm in fact. The course was in the main part of the city, and the Christmas decorations made it pretty for everyone. Lots of people lined the path, plenty of food and music around for everyone, and also sponsor tents that had plenty of gear. Roche had a special program that encouraged their people to “race” against the IT Management team. If a Roche participant finished before the Managers, the Managers would contribute extra money to the charity (Manager money, not Roche money). As expected, Nancy had an awesome performance and turned in a time under 29 minutes!! She finished 3rd compared to all the female Roche employees. Great job Nancy!! You can see pictures of Basel Events here.

More Basel Hiking

Another day of hiking near Basel. This time we started in a town called Sissach (15 miles south of our apartment) hiked to Farnsburg, and then returned to Sissach where we started. About 4 hours all together. As opposed to last week, this hike had less steep inclines which made it easier, and less mud which made it more enjoyable. We enjoyed a lot of wide open scenery with plenty of green grass, hills, and trees. Once in Farnsburg, we visited another castle that sits on top of a hill. Although the castle is mostly in ruins, we were still able to climb the stairs in a very narrow column to the top where we had an excellent view of the surrounding areas. There are so many castles like this around here… just look to the top of a hill or mountain, and you’re likely to see one. Every castle has unique characteristics that always make it fun to see. Also, hiking up the hill makes it all worth it! You can see our pictures of the castle and the hike here.

Hockey Game

Hockey season has started! Becasue we didn't make it to a single game last year, we decided to get an early start this year. The Basel Ice Hockey Club plays at St. Jakobs Arena that is just a five minute Tram ride from our apartment. The tickets were 35 Francs and a good saugage for 5, (both comparable to a game in the U.S.) However, the fans are very different than in the U.S. The Basel team, and the visiting Bern team both had sections where their "crazed" fans stood and cheered together. It was very similar to a student section at a college Basketball or Football game. They waved flags, beat on drums, chanted, sychronized their clapping, and they even sang songs! It was a good experience, and we'll go back for more. You can see pictures from Basel events here.

Basel Hiking

The Basel Tourist Office has a good list of hikes that are near Basel. We decided to try one just 18 miles south of here starting in Waldenburg. The hike turned out to be quite difficult as we spent most of our time ascending steep inclines. However the weather was perfect, and there were still plenty of colorful leaves on the trees to enjoy. Our first stop was an old castle that over looks the town. Although now in ruins, you can still climb the stairs to the top of the tower where a platform provides an even better view of the surrounding area. From there, we moved on to the "tight rope" (as it's called by the Tourist Office) section of the hike. We walked along the crest of the hill, looking down on both sides. After a quick lunch we moved along, stomped through lots of mud, and eventually made it to a hotel where we enjoyed one of our favorite beers, Schneider Weisse!! Our journey continued at a quicker pace in order to make it back to the start before it got dark. After six hours in total, we made it back, and completed another beautiful hike in Switzerland. You can see our pictures here.