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.

Calling all coconut lovers!

Robert recently found another European delight which is a close second only to the famed Magnum Bar...freshly baked coconut macaroons. I took one bite of a delightful cookie that was bigger than a house (see photo) and I was in heaven. It was perfectly browned with a slightly crunchy outside and a chewy, soft coconut-ty inside and I was transformed. YOU, potential future visitor, will be treated to this delight - courtesy of the Thompsons - when you come to visit. It's well worth the trip =) We will sacrifice and dispose of all macaroons unclaimed by our visitors so don't feel bad if you don't like coconut.

Strasbourg, France

Strasbourg is a wonderful combination of a French town with some German influences (as it has been controlled by Germany in two separate instances). Founded in 12 BC by the Romans it has a long, rich history and is the 7th largest city in France and is also called the European Capital. It is home to: the coucil of europe, the european court of human rights, youth center, science foundation, and parliment. We started our visit by taking an audio tour of the city. Our first stop was the beautiful cathedral which was the world's tallest building for over 200 years, has impressive stained glass windows and an Astronomical Clock built in 1547. Stasbourg lies on the Rhine and has a picturesque walk along the edge which highlights half-timbered houses, an area dubbed 'Little France', a lock system, the terrific 'covered bridge' and a medieval dam. For lunch we enjoyed some local beer and Tart Flambee a regional Alsatian specialty (which is essentially a poor man's pizza). Our last stop was a visit to the Contemporary Art Museum which featured a special exhibit of George Raualt. Robert's camera battery took a turn for the worse only 30 minutes into our visit, but he was able to take a few photos before the tearful discovery was made ;-)

Garmisch-Partenkirchen

This weekend we visited our friends, The Huber's in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. It's located in Bavaria - half way between Munich and Innsbruck about 4 hours northeast of Basel. We have been to visit our friends several times and always seem to bring bad weather with us and Saturday was no exception: rain, clouds and cold. After catching up with the family, Robert Huber took us to the beautiful Parnach Gorge a delightful sight even in the rain. Afterwards we visited a wonderful old church, St. Martin's, and then wandered around the old town looking at the historic houses ornamented with colorful paintings. For dinner we went to a traditional restaruant with music and dancing - Nancy had Kaiserschmarrn and Robert had veal and potatoes. Afterwards we went to a quiet, but trendy bar for a few drinks before calling it a night. Sunday we were up bright and early because we heard the weather would be perfect to visit Germany's highest mountain, The Zugspitze ~3,000m...from the top we were able to see mountains in 4 countries: Germany, Austria, Italy and Switzerland. We rented some sleds and had a great time! After returning to earth we went to visit the area that hosted the 1936 Winter Olympics' bob sled, speed skating and hockey events...a natural lake! They had information posted about the winter games and it was great to it in person. After the best risoto lunch we've ever had we headed back to Basel on a terrific drive thru the mountains. You can see all of our pictures here. Thanks Robert, Gaby, Daniela, and Florian for another great visit!

Ecomusee

If you have ever been to Conner Prairie, New Harmony, or Greenfield Village you know the general concept of the Ecomusee. The Ecomusee is similar to these museums, but also a bit different. Similarly, it is an open-air museum which allows you to enjoy a beautiful day, see some houses from the past, and allows you to get up close and personal with some farm animals (cows, chickens, pigs, goats, donkeys, geese, etc.). It's a bit different because its purpose of the museum is to show French building styles and techniques over the past 500+ years with actual buildings from the general area that have been painstakingly moved to their new location. It has a great variety of houses, barns, stables, chapels and even a bee house, a train station and a tower. This is also the home to around two dozen storks which are perched on top of almost every structure with a grand nest and use strange clicking sounds with their beaks to call on another. Although the grounds and structures were open today, there were no services or workers on-site...they usually perform demonstrations of period trades and customs. Located 30 minutes north of Basel in Ensisheim, France - it was well worth the short drive. C'est magnifique! You can see our pictures here.

The Black Forest (Schwarz Wald)

Today we ventured into Germany's fabled Black Forest. It's only 5 minutes to cross the border and you're in the rich heritage of cuckoo clocks, black forest cake, and age old traditions. We started our adventure in Schonach (75 miles north of Basel), the cradle of the cuckoo clock industry AND the world's largest cuckoo clock. Afterwards we ventured into Triberg (less than a mile down the road) to visit Germany's highest waterfall and the great Black Forest Museum. It had a lot of great exhibits about wood carving, straw thatching, traditional dress including the red-ball hat, the Black Forest Railway and the largest collection of barrel organs (street calliopes) in Europe. After lunch we each tried a piece of traditional black forest cake which was laden with whipped cream and lots of cherry liquor in the bottom layer (YUMMY!). Off to Furtwangen to experience the German Clock Museum and the headstream of the Danube River (which ends 1795 miles away in Romania into the Black Sea!). We ended our trip in Titisee, a traditional village set on a beautiful lake. It's hard to believe we've been here over a year and this is our first Black Forest experience - we'll be back!

See all of Robert's great photos here!

Basel Fasnacht (Carnival)

Basel is considered to have the best carnival celebration in Europe. The carnival atmosphere is everywhere in the city. The youth of the city sell Fasnacht pins (since 1911) to raise money for the event. Visit this web-site for an overview of the history and activities of this treasured event. The Basel Fasnacht (Carnival) is CRAZY! Confetti, drums, flutes, costumes, parades, floats and more… It’s a huge party for the city. You should visit us in February next year to participate. You can see our pictures here.

Lisbon - Day 3:

At 10am we started a walking tour of Alfama and learned about its rich history and the city’s 1755 earthquake. After 3 hours of walking we were ready for a break at an outdoor restaurant (it was 18 degrees C). Then, off to the castle overlooking the city – updated in the 20th century, but a fine example none the less. To finish our trip we took the famous tram 28 thru the city with narrow streets and fantastic views and even a glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge sister. See our pictures of Lisbon here.

Lisbon - Day 2:

We took the metro to Parque das Nações and experienced the fantastic Calatrava subway station. We walk along the waterfront to admire the impressive modern architecture of the surroundings including the longest bridge in Europe, the Vasco da Gama Bridge. A huge rain storm allowed us to ride the overhead cars back to the beginning of the walk which provided a nice view of the area and the bridge. Later, we visited the Gulbenkian Museum and spent several hours admiring its Indian treasures, pleasant gardens, and ending at its Modern Art Center. The map indicated a huge park near by so we took that in before dark as well. See our pictures of Lisbon here.

Lisbon - Day 1

We started our day downtown and admired the amazing sidewalk designs (of limestone and basalt) that are all over the city. We walked down a pedestrian only street Rua Augusta to Comercio Square and then hopped on a tram to Belem. We went inside the cloisters of Jeronimos Monastery and then strolled thru the monastery's gardens and crossed the road to the Discoveries Monument. Afterwards we took a break at Antiga Confeitaria de Belem to have one of the city’s legendary custard tarts (YUMMY). A steep climb uphill took us past Belem Palace to Ajuda Palace and we took in the Botanical Gardens on the way up. Back downtown we saw the São Roque Church, Carmo Church and the Lisbon Elevator. We made reservations in advance to experience traditional Portuguese food and an evening of Fado music at "Senhor Vinho" Fado House in the Lapa quarter. See our pictures of Lisbon here.

Carnival in Germany

Germany is in the middle of their carnival, so we decided to visit some of the activities in Freiburg. After the usual picture taking near the cathedral and a wonderful lunch in a traditional German Restaurant (good German Beer included!), we made our way to the festivities. Although the final parade was scheduled for the next day, there were thousands of people in the streets “practicing” for the big day. The sound from the band and their supporting carnival costumes is really something to see and hear. Of course you can dance, eat, drink, or even sing along to help celebrate. The next time you’re in Germany at the beginning of February, you MUST participate in carnival. You can see our pictures here.

Hiking in Switzerland

On Saturday, we went for hiking in Switzerland. It was a nice day with warmer than usual temperatures allowing us to be outside without any problems. We ventured to the Berner Oberland area in central Switzerland to a town called Kandersteg. From there we parked the car and started our walk. There was a ski slope that paralleled the hiking trail, so we were able to see many skiers on their way down. The area has great views to snow capped mountains, streams, and a nice town with traditional Swiss buildings. You can see our pictures from the day here, or all of our hiking pictures here.

Ice Hockey - Skoda Cup

On Sunday, we went to an Ice Hockey match between Switzerland and Austria at the arena in Basel. The teams were playing for the Skoda Cup along with Germany and Slovakia. Skoda is a car company (owned by VW) in the Czech Republic that sponsored the three day event. Switzerland won the tournament in a final game when they defeated Austria 3-1. As expected, the fans are very active with face painting, flag waving, and cheering. Robert really enjoys going to the games. We will attend more games in Basel for sure. You can see pictures of Basel events here.

Ice Skating

We subscribe to a great magazine: Hello Basel - it is put together by a group called Network Relocation. They help people get familiar with the city, publish this magazine and connect Engish speaking people in the area. They orginized an evening of ice skating and fondue so we decided to see what it was all about. The ice scating rink was 7 tram stops away, but we had never seen it before - the rink was outside and Robert reports that it had 'great ice'. If you look at the web-site it indicates that it is actually a public pool in the summer and they tranform it into a rink in the winter! We had nice even weather so it was a good time. Afterwards, cheese fondue was served and we got some beverage lessons along the way. Several people at the table ordered beer and Coke, but when someone in-the-know sat down at the table, she told us the ideal beverage for fondue is either tea or white wine. Robert and I ordered wine. We got to know a table full of Brits and had a great time as they always have a great sense of humor. Near the end of the meal, someone ordered a Swiss beverage called RIVELLA. I have seen it in many places, but just assumed it was apple jucie as that is a very popular drink here. Nope, it's not jucie, it's not a soft drink, it's a milk by-product. Doesn't that sound YUMMY? Well, we'll try it with you when you come for a visit! See our pictures from Basel events here.

Jungfrau - A Day of Hiking in Switzerland

On Sunday, the weather was warm, and the sky was clear and blue. We decided to go for hiking in the middle of Switzerland or the Bernese Oberland area. A mountain called Jungfrau, and nick named "The Top of Europe" dominates this area. A train can get you to the top where you can enjoy the usual tourist activities like restaurants, gifts shops, or even a walk through a glacier. Yes, you can walk inside the glacier! Pretty cool! We parked the car in a town called Lauterbrunnen, and began the journey. We zig zagged our way up for about 2.5 hours before reaching a combination restaurant and ski lift area. We enjoyed a drink on the terrace with a spectacular view of the mountains and blue sky. Once refreshed, we started the journey back to the car. This is a beautiful area of Switzerland. And what a beautiful day we had. For the first week of February, we couldn't of had a better day. You can see lots of pictures of Jungfrau here.

Best Swiss Drives – Tour #7

We had some friends over for dinner last week and they were kind enough to bring us a terrific book – The AA Best Drives: Switzerland. Today we took Tour 7: Lakes, Peaks and Pastures. This drive took us to central Switzerland around Thun, Spiez, Lenk, and Gruyeres. We had a great day with lots of blue sky so the scenes were terrific. We stopped at Speiz Schloss which had some great views of Lake Thun and is a great example of a 12-century castle. Then it was off to Lenk which is a ski town with a terrific view of the mountains. Our last stop was Gruyeres, home of the famous cheese, and our favorite stop by far. It has everything – a terrific castle, a cheese factory, a chocolate factory, and a bizarre museum of HR Giger (the person who created the monsters in Alien – totally cool!) You can see our pictures from Switzerland by car here.

EARTHQUAKE!!

This morning at 5am we awoke to the room shaking. Just another earthquake - there’s 40 more minutes until the alarm goes off. Minor earthquakes have been pretty common around here lately. Switzerland is currently mining for heat in Basel since it’s conveniently located on a fault line. Currently, hydropower (60%) and nuclear energy (30%) get top billing, but like everyone else the Swiss are looking for alternatives and have been drilling for heat since the fall. In December we started experiencing a sequence of tremors and they discontinued the drilling to see what could be done, but the tremors have continued. In 1356 Basel had a devastating earthquake that had lots of damaging effects. Maybe this mining for heat isn't such a great idea...we wouldn't want to cause the next big one...