An FYI from my last post. The rain and wind that we survived wetly in Lausanne was Storm Benjamin which broke wind records. I feel much better now about my little umbrella’s succumbing. How could it best Storm Benjamin?

The menu of Latini attracted me as it had an eggplant pasta dish and I adore eggplant pasta. I started with a mozzarella, cherry tomato and basil (in Basel, haha!) salad, and followed up with the eggplant pasta. And a couple of glasses of wine, of course. I encourage you to click on these photos to see them as I intend them to look.

I walked home in the dark through slightly damp streets up the steepest hill I had climbed so far in this trip. I don’t know what it is with my map app! I have felt completely safe in Europe on this trip, whether walking alone during the day or after dark. It’s a lovely feeling to be safe.

The next morning Marco took us on a guided walk of the old city. There are no buildings older than the mid 1300s as an earthquake destroyed most of the area in 1356. The old city is charming, very hilly, and was starting to fill up as Basel’s anual Autumn Fair opened at noon. The fair includes crafts booths, but it seems mainly to be a good-sized midway squeezed into the old medieval squares.

We stopped at the Tinguely Fountain built in the mid-1970s on the site of the old theatre. “The ten figures were designed and executed by the Swiss artist Jean Tinguely and are arranged like actors or dancers on a stage, performing the same spectacle over and over again, though no two performances are ever alike.” (Wikipedia) It’s one of those whimsical things you can look at and look at and see something different each time. I’ve included two short videos, one showing most of the “dancers” in the fountain and one showing a close-up of two of them.

Marco pointed out to us the Mosquito House though he has never been able to determine why it is named after mosquitoes. What is important is that this building served as the first museum created by humans. I have not fact checked that, but Marco was very sure that was the case.

We continue to walk around the old town, skirting the Autumn Fair, until we came to the Rathaus, the seat of local government. I can’t help but find the name amusing given Vancouver’s current City Council. It’s a stunning building and we spent some time there hearing about its history and the architecture. I’ll let you judge for yourself. Please ignore all the wires. The trams are all electric, of course.

There’s very little fine graffiti in Basel but there is some wonderful public art.

The old town is typical of late medieval “town planning.” Streets are narrow and winding and very picturesque. I love being in these old towns.

We were released after the walking tour to wander about and get some lunch. Once again, I Googled a restaurant that sounded appetizing. I don’t know what it is with this map app, but these stairs were part of the route. The final leg of the route was up a very steep hill so I settled for a little restaurant that was just fine at the bottom of the stairs.

We had a trip review before our final dinner. Sergio presented the map of the tour complete with photos from each place, and had actually improved one of our group photos. We are all much appreciative.

Sergio and assistant group leader Stephan have been the absolute best. They are organized and pleasant, have a great sense of humor, are so well informed about Switzerland, and the both of them are just so darn cute.

I am now at the Radisson Hotel at the Zürich airport ready for my flight home tomorrow. This post has been long enough. I have a few things to say and a few pictures left to show you but I shall do it from the plane. We are back in German speaking Switzerland, so bis morgen.