Let's Do It Again - Basel Switzerland - The Second Time Around

 

Basel on the Rhine River

When I first started traveling years ago I never wanted to really visit a city or location more than once.  I told friends and other travelers that there were so many places I wanted to see I did not have time to return to someplace I had already seen once.   Of course that was pure travel naivety on my part.  Then after a few years I fell in love with some locations and truly wanted to see them again.  But there are locations that I really had no big desire to return to a second time.  Basel was one of these places.  I love Switzerland.  It is my favorite country I have visited.  And Basel was my least favorite city I had visited there.  I've been to to Switzerland four times times now.  I have been to Zurich on three of those visits.  And I would return to Zurich again any time.  Each trip to Zurich has a required a visit to the mountain over looking the city for a cliff side glass glass of wine or cocktail at the Auto Klum on top of Uetilberg. .

Aperol Spritz at Uto Klum 2023

If I return to Zurich again I would go to Uetilberg and visit the Uto Klum again with no question.  But Basel was another story.  I first went there in 2003.  It was a lifetime ago now.  My life has changed so much since those days.  And there was nothing of interest that was calling me back to Basel. Mark and I went to Zurich in April 2023.  This was our third visit to Switzerland and our second to Zurich.  We had eight days to spend in Zurich and a five day Swiss Travel Pass for day trips.   Mark had suggested Basel as a place he was interested in seeing.  He liked the idea that it was on the German and French border and wanted to go there.   I told him I had been to Basel and was not really impressed.  It was probably my least favorite location I had visited in Switzerland.  There was nothing awful about it.  I just did not find it as interesting as many other cities I had seen in Switzerland.  But it was not a long train ride to get there. And we did have five travel days to explore so we ended up in Basel on one of those days. 

When I visit a city or a town for the first time I am always busy snapping photos, checking out restaurants, visiting churches and museums, the typical tourist stuff.  But I don't always notice the small unique things around me.  I am two busy trying to take in the over all experience of the location.  When I do return a second time it's usually a different experience.  My photos end up being detailed small objects.  The massive churches I have already seen and photographed.  The river banks are already in my collection of photos.  So I find myself focusing on the small details that I never notice on an initial visit.  But I ust was not sure about Basel.  I did not think I would much more  of interest on my second visit than I had on my first. 

I still took photos of the churches on this second visit of course. When I was in Basel in 2003 the Grossmunster was covered with scaffolding, as many churches are when I travel.  My photo was disappointing of course from all of the construction.

Basel Grossmunster - 2003

 However when I returned in April 2023, twenty years later I was able to get a photo free of scaffoling.

Basel Grossmunster  on the Rhine River 2023 sans scaffolding

But I did find another church this time covered in scaffolding to include on my annual church renovation travel photos.  I just expect this when I travel.

Elizabethenkirche - Basel under scaffolding 2023

As I walked through Basel on this visit I had a very different experience than I did in 2003.  I noticed many small details that I simply passed by on my initial visit.  These are not big things or necessarily important things.  But they are things I found interesting making Basel a much more fun experience this time.

I noticed people sitting along the banks of the Rhine River.  I don't know that I would have paid any attention to them on my initial visit.  I was too busy looking for the "big picture" experience of Basel. But they had the right idea.  Perhaps it was their second visit also.

I walked across this bridge several times in 2003.  I even had a photo taken of me on the bridge.  But I did not notice a lot of details.  On this visit I saw more than a bridge.  I noticed a lady on the sidewalk asking for coins bringing the human element into focus of Basel. 

Lady asking for coins on the bridge

This one makes me laugh.  I saw a head of a king on the side of a building sticking his tongue out at people was they walk by.   It's a small detail but it made me laugh.

Lällekönig -  King sticking out tongue  - 1914

I have also been learning a lot of German from my time in Basel.  While labeling and editing my photos of small details I have seen many words that I did not know.  Lälle könig interprets as Little King in my Google search.   I also learned that it is a well known symbolic figure in Basel and has probably existed since the 17th century. The house where he is hanging today was built in 1914.  

I saw this sculpture of St. George Slaying the Dragon over a fountain.  Labeling the photo I realized I had never read the story about St. George and the Dragon.  I had seen images before and even a know album cut called The George and Dragon from an old Herman's Hermits album   (now that is telling my age!)  So I took some time when I got home and researched the legend of St. George.  Thanks Basel for that interesting lesson.  

We walked past a restaurant called Papa Joe's.   It's a rather odd restaurant in Basel.  It's menu consists of American and Mexican food choices and I read that it's difficult to get a reservation here.  However what caught my attention was this unusual mural over the restaurant.  There is an angel on the left of the mural. And then three naked ladies or perhaps angels flying toward what looks like a naked Jesus with a cape.   I am not sure exactly what anything represents here.  But I was fascinated by the image and had to get a photo of it.  

Amazon leading a horse

Here is another sculpture that caught my attention.  This is titled Amazon Leading A Horse. It was created by Carl Burckhardt.  I found out it was his last work before his death in 1923 and it was donated to the city in 1926.   It is one of his best known works and it is  on the Mittlere Brücke. It is also his last work. The casting was done after his death.  I am sure I will return to this statue again and do more research.   I know it is an interpretation of an ancient statue.  The girl is looking across the river in this location.  And I am sure it has some historical significance for it's placing.

I saw this bar and restaurant called the Braunen Mutz  (The Brown Hat).   It has bear images on it's wall and a metal bear symbol hanging over its door.  I know bears are important images in Switzerland so this caught my attention.  But I was surprised when I translated the name to find it call The Brown Hat.  But all of this continued to make this visit Basel fun for me.

This is probably my biggest surprise of my visit.  There is a Rodan sculpture in Basel that I just happened to walk past after leaving the train station into the city.   Les bourgeois de Calais (The Burghers of Calais) by Rodin, 1884 - 1886 ~ outside  Kunstmuseum in Basel.   I am a huge fan of Rodan's works so I was thrilled to have seen this.  However when I walked past it I did not realize it was a Rodan or that it had any importance.  I only knew that I really it and was fascinated by it.  Not until later in my research did I realize who created it.  

As we were leaving Basel I told Mark that I found the city much more fascinating on this visit and that I was glad I had returned.   He told me he was surprised as he was not very impressed with Basel at all, much like me on my first visit.   He may have to return again and see if he finds it more interesting the second time around.  I'll take the train to Geneva that day.  Although I had a wonderful experience revisitng Basel, it once again was still my least favorite city I have visited in Switzerland.  But it was certainly worth a second chance.  

From bronze statues of Poseidon ...

To dragons hovering over bridges...

To me taking selfies with strange murals ...

I thoroughly enjoyed my second visit to Basel.    I was a member of Virtual Tourist, a travel web site that no longer exits, when I first visited Basel in 2003.  I wrote on that site that Basel had the opportunity to become a travel destination in the future.  The possibility was there for the future if the city had the resources to work on it.  Twenty years later in 2023 I still say that Basel has the potential but still needs some attention to detail.  

I am glad I returned.  I am glad I got to notice the small and unusual details that I missed on my first visit.   So I life a glass to Basel and a cheer because I enjoyed it much more the second time around.

Cheers! To Basel.  

O Solo A Roma - Day Four - Misplacing the Elusive Piazza Novana

Basilica Di Sant Andrea Della Valle 

I've mentioned before I am not a great person with maps.  They can mislead me very easily.  I much prefer to just follow along behind someone while they use the map to navigate.  Then I can find some humor when the map misleads and frustrates them instead of me.   All I needed was a simple tourist map with  the tourist destinations singled out and enlarged so they are easy to locate.   Or I could have asked the attendant at the hotel for some guidance each morning.  But instead I had a very complex street map with lots of small print and tiny streets.  And each day I was determined to use this map all on my own and conquer my problems with  maps.  And each day I struggled.   

Searching for Bernini was my big plan for visiting Rome.  So far I had spent three days and not found any works of Bernini.   My plan for day four was to locate Piazza Novana and see the famous Bernini Fountain in the square and then cut over to see the Pantheon which would be very close.  With the help of my guide the night before I  studied the map.  I saw that I could walk from my hotel to Castel Sant'Angelo.   I knew this neighborhood so this should not be a problem.  From there I planned to cross the bridge behind the castle and walk over to Corso Vittorio Emanuele II.   It appeared this would  take me directly past Piazza Novana.  But I was wrong!  I saw some interesting churches and a few statues.  

 I saw a memorial to Marco Minghetti.

Marco Minghetti Memorial

I had no idea who Marco Minghetti was but the monument was interesting.  It would give me some research to one once I got home from the holiday.

I saw a man who looked tired and had taken off his shoe to rest  his foot.  I was going to ask if he also was trying to find Piazza Novana but then decided against it.   Why let someone else know I could not follow my map.

I continued to walk down Corso Vittorio Emanuele II I and saw Basilica Sant'Andrea della Valle.  It was not on any tourist maps.  It was not in my guide book.   It had no art by Bernini.  But it was beautiful inside and had some art work that made me question what I was seeing.

Basilica Di Sant Andrea Della Valle 

Statue of Child of Prague inside Basilica Di Sant Andrea Della Valle

Just to prove to anyone reading this.  I am not Catholic.  I have learned a lot about the Catholic church from Mark who is Catholic.  But I was alone.  He was not here to keep me  from making uneducated guesses about things I was seeing.  I saw an amazing painting.   At first I thought is was   the crucifixion was of Christ which amazed me because it was so unusual. It depicted a very large man instead of the Christ we usually see. It made me think a lot and question myself about the images we see of Christ and what he must have really looked like. I was amazed by this depiction. Later that evening when I returned to my hotel I researched to see who the artist was on this amazing portrait only to find out that it was not Jesus but St. Andrew. I still felt I had received an important spiritual message anyway and still felt my mental image of Christ left a lot to question.  And then I realized this was the Basilica Di Sant Andrea Della Valle so of course the portrait was of St. Andrew. 

Depiction of Saint Andrew inside the Basilica

1.       I stopped for some lunch and did some people watching.  I saw an older man wearing dress clothes and some expensive leather shoes with  no sox having an intimate lunch with an attractive young girl.  There is a story to be written about this photo some day.  

After lunch  I kept walking thinking Piazza Novana  had to be just down the next block. But I never found it and ended up back at Vittorio Emanuele II Monument where I had already been the previous day.   

I had planned on seeing the Colosseum on the next day.  But as long as I was already at the  Vittorio Emanuele Monument there was no reason not to walk behind it and explore the Colosseum now instead of waiting for another day.  Besides I would have to search for Piazza Novana tomorrow instead of seeing the Colosseum.  

I have seen hundreds of photos of the Colosseum but no photo does it justice.  Nothing prepares you for it's majesty.  

1.       I had walked a lot.  I never did find Piazza Novana.  So by the time I got back  to my room I was very tired.   I stopped at the grocery store near my hotel and bought myself a couple bottles of water, a Coca Cola and a large bottle of Peroni.  Luckily I had left a bottle opener in my travel bag from my last trip. So I popped the top of the Peroni and broke out the guide book trying to figure out just how I has missed the elusive Piazza Novana.     

I decided to walk down to St. Peter's Square for some night photos of the Cathedral. My hotel was very near The Vatican.   I asked the hotel clerk for a suggestion of a good restaurant near the church.  The hotel desk clerk recommended Ristorante Almafi which was just down the street for dinner. It was a perfect choice. 

I had a delicious bottle of Vermentino which is one of my favorite wines.  The brushcetta was probably the freshest I have ever eaten.   And I my daily dose of pasta for dinner.

When I finally returned to my hotel for the evening I was very tired.  It had been an eventful day.  And I had no regrets.  It was still a perfectly fascinating day, just not the day I had anticipated.  I took some time to text with Mark before sleeping to tell him about my day.  He laughed at my problems with the map and said he was sure he would have found Piazza Novana.  And then came the question.  Did you get to  Trastevere today?   No.  Once again I did not go there.  But I promised I would try tomorrow.   

Train travel in Euorpe - Traveling from Munich to Zurich May 20, 2017

I love riding the trains in Europe.  They are clean, efficient, relaxing and fun.  Our trip to German and Switzerland included many train rides this year and each one was pleasant.  Our first train ride of the vacation was from Munich to Zurich.   We flew direct from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Munich.  We spent two days there before going to Zurich to meet up with some travel friends we have know for many years that we met on the former Virtual Tourist web site.  Although the web site no longer exists the friendships made there continue

1.       We started out leaving Munich the early afternoon of May 20 to head to Zurich.   We bought our tickets the day before but it wasn’t necessary as we could have bought them the day of the trip and still have no problems.

Italian restaurant in the Munich train station

1.       I took some photos in the station when we arrived.  We were early enough for an early lunch at the station.   Luckily there were some good choices for food and not just fast food.   We found a nice Italian restaurant where Mark ordered a salad plate which was huge.  I asked about the size of the pizza.  The waiter told me it was good for one.   When it arrived it was good for one full table.  So Mark helped me finish it.

1.       Our jet lag had gotten better after two days in Munich so we were not zombies and could enjoy the ride. And also our cell phones.

1.  The train took us from Munich, down into Austria, and then back to German in the city of Lindau where we changed tracks.   We never had to change trains.  Our train just changed directions.  

1.       Near Lindau the motion of the train got the best of Mark and he fell asleep.  I was too curious to give into the rocking motion and stayed awake to take photos along the way.

1.          We saw many  small towns and interesting stations like this small one with men sitting at a train station in Turkheim.

1.       We also got to see  Lake Constance (also called Bodensee) in Bavaria.  The lake is a  63km-long central European lake that borders Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Fed by the Rhine River, it’s composed of 2 connected parts, the Untersee (lower lake) and the larger Obersee (upper lake).  

Finally we got to see the beautiful and majestic Alps.   I love the Alps and have been fascinating with them since the first time I saw them in 2003.   As the train moved the mountains seem to change with each curve of the tracks.

There were many small towns along the route.  I enjoyed watching them roll past.   They were all picturesque.  I particularly like the many small churches I got to see in the distance.

Our good friend Sonja

1.       Finally we arrive in Zurich.  We were not expecting a welcoming committee but our friend Sonja, who lives in Zurich, was at the station to meet us.  I was walking down the platform looking at the station and trying to get myself acclimated when I heard a familiar voice and found someone running up to me and hugging me.  What a nice welcome to Zurich.  Like I said earlier.  The Virtual Tourist web site may no longer exist but the beautiful friendships we made there are a bond that will never be broken.

1.       Entering the train station I once again saw the Guardian Angel to those visiting Zurich suspended from the ceiling of the station.  I first saw this in 2003 on my first visit to Zurich.  So it was a great pleasure to see it was still there all these years later.  The guardian angel was designed in the style of the colorful, voluminous “nana” figures for which the artist was world famous. They stand for joyful, liberated, self-confident women. Initially ridiculed by fellow artists, Niki de Saint Phalle's works are now one of the most popular works of contemporary art. .    The Guardian Angel was even mentioned by Ric Steves in his PBS travel series.   I liked her 2003 and even more now.

 Sonja helped us find our hotel and then left us to rest and plan the rest of our night.  Our hotel with the Ibis Zurich West.  It was not city center but was in the Technopark area.  It was a very short tram ride Zurich's city center.

After resting we ventured our for our first tram ride in Zurich.  We went down the city center and found a wonderful Italian restaurant which was both affordable by Zurich standards, which are high, and very comfortable.  

Then I was finished.  The pasta and dessert had gotten the best of me and I was tired after a very long and enjoyable day.  I stretched back in my chair in the restaurant and took a moment to close my eyes before heading back to the tram and our hotel.