Basel

Located along the Rhine river, Basel (pronounced as "Bar-cil") sits in the corner of 3 countries - France, Germany and Switzerland.

One nice perk you'll get when staying in Basel is the Basel Mobility Card, which comes free with your hotel stay. This card gives you free tram and bus rides throughout the city.

There are 2 main train stations in Basel - the larger Basel SBB is the main Basel station and the Basel Badischer Bahnhof, which runs the German trains. If you are going to France, you need to walk to Bâle SNCF at Basel SBB.

Basel also has an international airport which is shared between Basel (Switzerland), Mulhouse (France) and Freiburg (Germany). I wonder if it'd be confusing.



Upon reaching, we tried to get hold of the location map at the Tourist Information Office. It is the first time we had to pay (CHF 0.50) for a map. Usually maps are given out free unless you're looking for those detailed maps. Hmm...small wonder it's the "most successful economic region in Switzerland".

The train ride which took about an hour somehow made us go hungry. Not wanting to waste time, we decide to 'eat and go' and got ourselves 2 hot sandwiches from Migros. They're yummy ;d


From afar, we saw a huge tower, St Elisabeth church, which is located in the center of the city. It is regarded as the most important neo-Gothic church of Switzerland with a bell tower 72m high where Uncle Tan made his way up.

On our way to the church, we passed by a mini carnival with stalls selling exotic products. Not all were opened then. And we saw this make-shift loo for men. Dare to pee there? ;p

Apparently there was a children's event to be held there where we saw a slide being set up in the church with some of the children's art work being put up as decoration.

Whilst Uncle Tan went to climb the tower, I waited for him mid-way in the clock tower. It was actually a little eerie for there was no one around, and the area was rather dark. All I could hear was the ticking of the clock tower with occasional movement of the minute hand and sometimes, someone walking somewhere within the tower.

There was this little "door-like" fixture that was attached to a wall that would move occasionally. I wonder why they had this fixture there for it was not a door leading to any room. I thought it was kinda strange when it moved as I couldn't feel any breeze in the room. It made a squeaky sound as it moves front and forth.... So, I tried not to focus my attention on that "door" in case "someone" is trying to attract my attention. Uncle Tan also shared with me that he didn't ventured to the dark corners while he was up there taking pictures.

Look at the symmetrical design of the tower.

Hehe, fortunately I didn't climb together with him though it was only like 180+ steps. The view wasn't that fantastic.

Here we are at the shopping street of Basel. I kinda like shopping here for the shops were much bigger as compared to Zurich's and offer more variety. But too bad, we had to go to the "Basel triangle" so I had can only shop briskly...
The long piece of cloth hanging above not only provides very good shelter against the sun, it appeals aesthetically too.


The Bucherer which is equivalent to an atas (expensive) watch shop.


They have quite a few street performers on the shopping street and this was one of the more interesting one.

The picture on the right is the Marktplatz where everyday, except Sunday, fresh vegetables, fruits and flowers would be on sale here. Next to the Marktplatz is the brightly coloured Town Hall (Rathaus) which was built from 1504 to 1514. Imagine our Town Councils having such a building.

The façade of its oldest parts still contains the Gothic and Renaissance elements, and comprises the 3 arched entrances - the clock, the golden turret and the chancery, which was added from 1606 to 1608.

We were wowed by the colourful interior as we enter the Town Hall.

From 1898 to 1904, when the Market Square was replanned, the oriel tower was added and crowned, as a symbol of the citizenry's claim to power. The murals were done largely by Hans Bock, a famous artist in the 16th century.

We suspect this shiny golden ornament at the top is made of real solid gold.

On our way to the "Basel triangle"

To reach there, take Tram 8 from the either the main train station or at the stop outside the Town Hall and stop at Kleinhuningen. Walk for about 20-30 mins and you'll reach this place called Dreiländereck where you could see France and Germany while in Switzerland. It's not a scenic walk with no shelters along the way.

The railway - one of the favourite scene of Singaporean couples taking their wedding photos :P

This was reeeally hot and this place reminds us of our Keppel Harbour.

Click on this picture if you can't see the birds. There's one bird perched on every pillar and all facing the same direction :)

A couple is getting married and are having their function on board this vessel. We saw the vintage bridal car later on our way back which gave a few cheery horns :)

Saw this really long boat.

The sky is always bluer in other countries ya :)

Here it is - the Basel Triangle.

We were a little disappointed cos we expected it to be a scenic place with a beautiful park. But all that was is this.

On my left is Switzerland and on my right is France.

On Uncle Tan's right is Switzerland and on his left is Germany.

The beach in France :)

Next stop: Basel Cathedral

Situated above the Rhine River, the Cathedral is a prominent feature in the city with its red sandstone walls, multi-coloured roof tiles and twin towers. Why why there are always renovation works on most of the buildings we see? Is Auguest a period for reno works?

Opening hours:
Summer, Easter Sat till 15 Oct
Mon - Fri 10am - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm
Sunday and holidays 1pm - 5pm

Winter, 16 Oct till Good Friday
Mon - Sat 11am - 4pm
Sun and holidays 2pm - 6pm

The Cathedral is closed on the following days: 1 Jan, Good Friday, 1 May, 1 Aug, 24 and 25 Dec

Views from the Basler Platz.

The word "Pfalz" means "palace". The terrace high above the Rhine behind the Cathedral is called the Pfalz because the residence of the Bishop of Basel was in the immediate vicinity.

Stairs lead down from the Pfalz to the landing stage of the Münsterfähre (Cathedral Ferry). The ferry is attached to a wire rope stretched across the Rhine, and is propelled across the broad river purely by the force of the current. There are three other ferries in Basel, which are a popular attraction.

We could hear a faint high-pitched sining coming from one of the rooms. It was quite funny looking at the perplexed expressions on the visitors' faces as they hear the faint singing. They were all curious but no one dared to open the door of the room to find out. I tried but it seemed locked...



If you ask me, you can give Basel a miss if you have a tight itinerary. Basel is a gateway to France and Germany, so perhaps you might wanna consider going to places like Comar in France (which is like a little Venice) or Fribourg in Germany where you could try the black forest cake :)

I shall save these 2 places for my next visit to Switzerland hehe ;p