Trips

      Europe is repleat with churches, interesting buildings, and other photographic attractions which, in the course of a general narrative, may be redundant to some viewers (as in the famous remark: "ABC" meaning "another bloody church.") Therefore, I have, for the most part, established links to pages with photos dedicated to churches, buildings, etc. Especially interesting on this trip were all the signs for businesses and all the different clocks, so these also have their own pages. This way, if you don't want to see another ABC, you don't have to. The links for these special pages are on the Rhine Itinerary below and on the Switzerland Itinerary on its page. If you access these pages from the body of the web pages you will have to use your back arrow to return to your original location.

Tues., 7/1/14 – Zurich to Lucerne
       After breakfast we packed up and sat in our comfy room reading for an hour before heading off to get the train to Lucerne.  We took the shuttle to the airport RR station and bought tickets for the direct train to Lucerne.  It cost only 28CHF each.  The ride was less than an hour and we were able to squeeze our luggage into one section of four facing seats.  Since we were in Lucerne two weeks ago we knew where to exit the station and walk the block and a half to our new hotel, Ameron Flora.  Our tour guide, Johannes Baur, was in the lobby to check us in.  He gave us our key cards and a bunch more papers.  We took our luggage up to our nice but very small room and then went back to the Co-op in the train station to buy food for lunch and dinner.  We ate watching Wimbledon tennis and then walked to find out how to get to Rigi Kulm on our own.  We decided not to take any of the Grand Circle optional tours because they are too similar to what we did two weeks ago.
            Well, at 6 PM we met our new group over a free ½ glass of wine or a beer. 
            We ate “dinner” (salad and hard boiled egg sandwiches with donuts for dessert) in our room and watched Switzerland play Argentina in World Cup Soccer.

Sat., 7/5/15 – Lucerne to Basel, Switzerland
       We read in our room until 10 AM when we were to put our luggage out in the hall and vacate our room so the next group could get in.  The lobby was a crowded mob.  One group checking in, another group being divided to go off with local guides for their city tour, and us waiting for our bus to take us to Basel, Switzerland.  Marge and I left the crowd and walked into the old town to use the coupons I found in the Lucerne City brochure.  It started to rain seriously so we ducked into the toy store across from our hotel.  They had some neat, different kids things and others like what you expect in the US.  I kept thinking of spoiling Henry!
       We went out when the rain eased and got a free bag of chocolates from Bachmann and a Swiss souvenir spoon for my collection free from Casagrande Gifts and Souvenirs.  I felt like we made a 20 CHF haul for free!
       The Saturday market was in full swing along both sides of the river.  Today they were selling flowers and plants, fruits, vegetables, and cheese with some other booths like Vietnamese chicken on a stick.  Too bad it was raining.

Saturday market	Saturday market
Saturday market	Saturday market
We finally were able to board our bus to Basel.  We drove west and north leaving the Alps behind us, which was kind of sad.  We rode through the farming breadbasket region into the low ancient Jura Mountains.        We arrived in Basel, the second largest city, with the Rhine River running through it.  We got on our river boat, the River Melody, gave our passports to reception, got our whisper devices and room cards, and a key to the tiny safe in our room.  Our room is small but we will manage just fine.  It is actually larger than our last hotel room!  There is space to put things away – shelves, drawers, and closets.  The beds are the Murphy variety that pull down over the sofa and tonight we will find out how they get set up.        At 2:30 we met our tour guide for the river cruise and the post trip in Bruges.  Her name is Rebecca and she grew up in Minnesota but married a man from the Netherlands and now lives there.  She took us on an introductory tour around where we were docked.  Tomorrow she will take us on a tour of the old town.  It was dripping rain so we did not take pictures. Sun., 7/6/14 – Basel       Our group convened off the boat at 10:10 and began our Basel tour.  Basel is unique in that it is the only port city in Switzerland.  The Rhine is navigable from here in Basel to the North Sea.  We were given tram tickets, told to validate them (stamped with date and time and they are good for all day) and then put them away because probably no one would appear to check them. Switzerland likes the honor system.        We got off the tram (#11) by the Elizabeth Church, which is also a Culture Center, and is used for traveling exhibits, and once had the pews removed to hold a basketball game!  We walked to the new theater to look at the unique Tinguely Fountain, which is also called the Carnival Fountain.  The ten “sculptures” spew water from moving parts made from parts of the old theater.  In the winter, the water drops freeze and create ice sculptures.  The movements are fascinating.
River Melody docked in Basel	Flags of Switzerland and Basel
Tinguely Fountain	Tinguely Fountain
One of many "Free Pee" locations in Basel - for the men	Basilisk creature providing drinking water from a fountain
We walked to the elaborate Munster, the 12th and 15th c. church built first as a Catholic Cathedral with cloisters. After the Reformation it became a Reformed Church.  The church has two sundials and a clock.  The sundials are on different aspects in order to catch morning and then afternoon sun.  The Bishop of Basel was at one time the most powerful person in Basel and the city symbol is the bishop’s staff.             We walked down to the Market Square to admire the Rathaus or Town Hall.  The square and most of town was almost devoid of people.  It was easy to get around and see things.  The Rathaus is a red sandstone, very pretty building.	Munster
Model of the Munster	Relief of the bishop's staff, the symbol of Basel
Rathaus	Rathaus
Rebecca gave us a brochure that described five walking tours in town.  We picked the Thomas Platter tour and followed the gold profile symbols to “discover Basel on our own.”  We walked gradually up hill over cobblestones to the Spalentor, one of the finest old city gates in Switzerland from the 14th c.  Just before the Gate we found a window decorated with parts of flutes forming a “work of art” and advertising a music school.         We walked where the former outer moat was to reach Switzerland’s oldest university, founded in 1460.  We walked past St. Peter’s Church and square and worked our way back to the Market Square to catch a #11 trolley back to St. Johannes Tor.
Thomas Platter tour sign	Roger enshrined on the "walk of fame"
Interesting roof decoration!	Spalentor gate
Advertising for a music school	Our trolly
St. Johannes Tor (gate)	St. Johannes Tor door
After lunch we walked along our side of the Rhine, crossed over the bridge to look down at the people floating down the river.  The tradition is to put your shoes and towel and dry clothes in a dry bag with air inside it and use it to float down stream and get out opposite the area where our boat was docked.  Eight of our tour group paid 30 CHF to buy a dry bag and do the float.         We walked back on the opposite river bank among the sunbathers and “floaters” and took the little ferry back across the river.  We got back to our ship before the approaching dark cloud dumped buckets of rain with lightening and thunder.
Floating down the Rhine	Floating down the Rhine
Nasty storm brewing	Ferry across the river

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