Hiking in Chasseral Switzerland

Spring has sprung!! We went for a long hike in Chasseral, Switzerland on Saturday. It's located in the Jura Mountain range that spans parts of Switzerland and France (yes, there are other mountains besides the Alps!). The weather was perfect, and it provided many great views of the surrounding areas. As we got higher, we encountered some snow that we had to tromp through - Nancy loved that part! The highlight was at the top where we were able to watch many people paragliding near the Chasseral Hotel. You can see a video here. After six hours of walking, we were tired and ready to return to Basel. See pictures from the hike here.

Europa Park

The Roche PMO group took a day trip to a theme park: Europa Park located in Rust, Germany. I love a good roller coaster and the Silver Star did not disappoint (look Mom, no hands!). The park is divided into sections that represent 12+ nearby countries. Each has their special building types, food, crafts and music represented. The park is open year-round and has special decorations and activities for each season. Everyone had a great time as the weather here has been absolutely perfect (mid-70's, clear and sunny) for almost 2 weeks straight.

London Day 6: South Bank & Theatre District

We started our 2nd Anniversary at St. Paul's Cathedral. Some time after the old St Paul’s – which was a wooden structure – was burnt to the ground in the great fire of London (1666), Sir Christopher Wren was asked to design a new building. We climbed up to the highest galleries of the dome to get an amazing view of the city.

Next, we crossed the Millennium footbridge (known as the wobbly bridge because of its rather alarming tendency to sway on first opening – sadly this feature has been greatly reduced with dampners since then) to Tate Modern. In one of the most stunning architectural feats of recent times, the Bankside power station was converted into a gallery to house the Tate’s growing collection of post 19th Century Art. The turbine hall – which was left intact – itself is worth the visit to the gallery.

After a quick lunch, we took a short stroll east along the river to the Globe Theatre. This theatre is often referred to as ‘Shakespeare’s Globe’ because of its strong association with the playwright. The building he knew was burnt down after a particularly rousing production involving real canons. But in the 1990s, renowned director, Sam Wanamaker, realised his dream of reconstructing the theatre. Built entirely in traditional materials (with a couple of exceptions for modern fire regulations etc.) and using traditional methods, the building is as much a centre of education, helping people explore traditional methods not only of construction, but also of production, as it is a museum and a working theatre.

We visited the Britain Wartime Museum which is a place where you can experience what it was like for Londoner's to use the Underground as a bomb shelter, what a victory garden was, how rationing worked and many other interesting 1940’s era facts about the city. In fact, we were looking for the Churchill Museum, but by the time we realized our error it was too late to visit the correct one.

Then it was off for a trip on the London Eye. Another really good Millennium project, the Eye is a big bicycle wheel that takes you in a ‘capsule’ high above the city for amazing views. It’s owned by BA, which means that there is some slightly annoying airline vocabulary to put up with (a trip is called a ‘flight’, for example).

A great dinner in the theatre district at The Porcupine (a local pub) and then we went to enjoy our London show: We Will Rock You (the tribute musical to the rock group Queen). It was great fun, fantastic singers and of course great music =). You can see our pictures of London here.

London Day 5: Tower Hill & Buckingham Palace

First off we took tour of the Tower Bridge. Despite looking reasonably Gothic, the bridge is a total fake and usually mistaken for the London Bridge. It had great views of the city and some interesting films about how it functions and how it was built.

Next we went on a London walking tour which included Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace the changing of the guard, and St. James Palace. We are never disappointed with the walking tours we take – it was awesome!

Then it was off to the Tower of London - one of the city’s most enduring images, but no one really comes for the architecture. They come for two things: the bloody stories (boy princes murdered in the tower by their wicked uncle, more beheadings than you can shake an axe at) and the crown jewels. We joined one of the yeomen warders’ (also known as Beefeaters – of gin fame) tours which was highly entertaining.

Finally, we took a trip around the HMS Belfast which was very interesting indeed. Whew! What a DAY =) You can see our pictures of London here.

London Day 4: Hampton Court & Kew Gardens

Hampton Court was built for Cardinal Wolsey, but Henry VIII liked it so much that he, er, stole it. Nice to be a king! Anyway, in the building’s 500 year history, it’s been almost demolished (Christopher Wren, the architect of St Paul’s cathedral, built a sort of extension round the back) has housed various kings and queens and has entertained thousands of visitors, most of whom take the time to explore the gardens, including the world-famous maze and the largest single grape vine in the world! Altogether, it was delightful. See our pictures of Hampton Court here.

About an hour in the other direction we decided to see Kew Garden which is designated a world heritage site. They have a pagoda that will be 250 years old in 2009! A fantastic example of a proper English garden – we had a beautiful day to enjoy it. See our pictures here.

With all that walking, we decided to take the night off and have one drink too many at a local pub, The Anchor. One thing we did learn is that there are several dishes that are very common in England that we are not familiar with: bangers and mash, spotted dick, scones, toad in the hole, yorkshire pudding, and bubble and squeak. They commonly have baked beans on toast for breakfast?!? You can see our pictures of London here.

London Day 3: Greenwich & Pub Tour

To get to Greenwich we took a boat tour from Westminster Millennium Pier to Greenwich. This was a fun thing to do and the guide, like most Brits, was very funny. From the Thames, it’s an easy walk to Greenwich. This is one of London’s most fun riverside communities. The village has a historic centre, as well as plenty of hip and trendy young people drinking, eating, dancing and generally behaving badly. Greenwich is also the origin of….Greenwich Mean Time, named when the British really did rule the ocean waves. The Greenwich Meridian – the 0º line – passes through Greenwich: through the courtyard of the Observatory, actually. Stand with a foot on either side, and you have a foot in either hemisphere… You can see our pictures from Greenwich here.

From there, we also saw the existing exhibit of the Cutty Sark (of whiskey bottle fame). This is an old clipper that used to transport tea to England from India when it was super important to get it back to port first so it was fresh. It is currently under renovation but they had a video and samples of green and black tea that was just like what was brought back many years ago.

Finally, we wandered around in the park, admired the exterior of the Queen’s House designed by Inigo Jones, and debated on whether to see the maritime museum and spent some time exploring the lanes before we headed back into town for a walking pub tour! We tried some of the several types of English beer, but unfortunately English beer is to be served at a warm 52 degrees, but we had fun looking at the pubs, learning some great history and sampling the beer none the less =) See our pictures of London here.

London Day 2: Stonehenge & Bath

Magnificent Stonehenge has been enthralling visitors for hundreds of years. Mysterious, beautiful and eerie, it’s one of the most important prehistoric sites in Britain, in the heart of gorgeous countryside. The nearest town is Salisbury. This lovely city has one of the most beautiful cathedrals in Britain. At Stonehenge, we explored the monument as well as walking around some other important remains in the surrounding plain before heading off to Bath. See pictures of Stonehenge here.

Bath was the premier destination for rest and relaxation for the ladies and gentlemen of Regency England. Its superbly elegant crescents and boulevards, designed by architects including Nash, were well known by Jane Austen and featured in a number of her novels. The Romans loved the city for its natural hot springs, and you can still ‘take the water’ in the beautiful pump house. After our visit we decided to take in the nearby botanical gardens and the Royal Crescent. See our pictures from Bath here.

London Day 1: Hyde Park & Kensington

Our hotel was in a great location - just 5 blocks away from Paddington Station (of Paddington Bear fame). A very short walk away we found the beautiful terraces, shopping, eating and museums of Kensington, the funky culture of Notting Hill and Portobello and gorgeous Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park. We hit three pubs the first day! See the pictures here.

Edvard Munch Exhibition in Basel

On Sunday we started our day with a trip to our favorite Basel Museum, the Foundation Beyeler. They're having a special exhibition featuring Edvard Munch. Although it wasn’t included in the exhibition, you might have seen his famous painting, The Scream (sometimes called The Cry). He has many other interesting paintings you might want to see here. The exhibition is the largest ever held outside of his home country of Norway. We were glad to see it.

Dreiländereck - 3 Countries come together

We recently visited the place where Switzerland, Germany, and France come together. It’s only 10 minutes from our house, so we’re not sure why we haven’t been there before. Anyway, the Rhine river divides France and Germany, so they have built a monument on a small piece of land that extends into the water where the countries come together. Although there are a few restaurants close by, there aren’t any souvenir shops in the area, so don’t save your money for a hat or T-shirt... On a warm day, it would be nice to have lunch or dinner there to enjoy the view of the river, the monument, and a nice pedestrian bridge that is nearby. You can see our pictures of Basel here, or read about it here.

Castle in Germany - Burg Rotteln

On Saturday we decided to visit a castle just across the German border. The Burg Rotteln (castle) ruin is at the southern end of Germany's Black Forest region, near the town of Lorrach. This early 13th Century castle was first documented as a completed fortress in 1259, but it’s first family namesake Walter von Rotteln was mentioned as participating in a tournament in Magdeburg in 938. It is located in the southwest most corner of Germany where Germany meets Switzerland and France, 20 kilometers from Basel across the Swiss border. The Burg Rotteln is one of the largest castle complexes in southern Baden-Wurttemburg. If you’re interested in castles, you should make the short trip to see this one. It’s worth the time. You can see our pictures here.