(#4) Switzerland
It seems like all I have been writing about is the food we eat and the wine we drink. So I will attempt not to do so much in this post.
Our location for Basel was actually in Germany and about a 20 minute tram ride from a shopping centre where there was also free parking, bonus. The Euro is not used in Switzerland although they will take bills but give you Swiss francs back in change. We used the credit card, a lot. A little walk around the centre of town at which point we found that our data did not work in Switzerland. I think we got a message , in German since we bought new sims cards in Germany, indicating if we wanted to use date it would be 0.50 Euro cents for 50 KB data. Just agree on line, YA sure you can't connect tot the internet so how can you agree. Luckily we had a town centre paper map and found a museum to visit for the afternoon.
How is it that someone can define somethings with a few lines giving depth and perception while others you struggle to perceive just what it is they were trying to convey. Then there are those artists whose paintings are 3D from centuries ago. One of Saint George slaying the dragon felt like his horse was moving further and further out of the painting the closer you got to it. Then there is Picasso whose subject of the painting is usually some part of the background or at least not initially obvious to the untrained eye.
From Basel we struck out towards Geneva on roads less travelled. Lovely country side but almost no place to pull over to admire the view. The one time I did almost caused an accident since tailgating must be a badge of honour for the Swiss. It may cost to travel the highways but you do not have to tend with the traffic circles or roundabouts every few kilometres, so it seems.
We thought we would stop for lunch but make certain a credit card was accepted. The place we stopped at was open(?) but the reception we received was worst than I had experienced in Paris years ago. No English, fair enough not our country, but the looks, tone of voice and body language was more than enough to make you feel you came from the wrong side of the tracks. Getting through Geneva was more than just a lesson in frustration. We have never experienced traffic anywhere near the magnitude of that day. Vancouver in comparison has a rush hour we see in Sechelt.
After finding another spot and getting dinner we had a well desire end sleep. That he next day we took the bus into Geneva. We found our way to the lake front and walked around for a bit realizing that there was free wifi. We found the solar powered train, took a little tour further down the lake side and then stopped for a lunch break. We headed back towards the public rose gardens before we headed back, quite tranquil spot overlooking the lake from the hill side. The wifi indicated we could catch our bus closer than we thought and off we went. Oh ya, there is free wifi but only in the areas where tourists congregate and we ended up doing 12,000 steps plus because we really got lost. The saving grace, if you can call it that, was a pedi-taxi that we were fortunate to find and get us back tot the bus terminus. Needless to say we got the H out of Dodge a soon as we could the next day.
Basel, this ferry travels across the river by use of the current only
A small sampling of Picasso, including the bronze statue
Who knew Billy Crystal was so old, 1600's painting
Finally we get a picnic, but the cheese we chose was actually yeast. Not good
Lake Geneva and the water jet
Geneva UN and the World Trades Buildings from the rose garden. No roses in bloom though
Our location for Basel was actually in Germany and about a 20 minute tram ride from a shopping centre where there was also free parking, bonus. The Euro is not used in Switzerland although they will take bills but give you Swiss francs back in change. We used the credit card, a lot. A little walk around the centre of town at which point we found that our data did not work in Switzerland. I think we got a message , in German since we bought new sims cards in Germany, indicating if we wanted to use date it would be 0.50 Euro cents for 50 KB data. Just agree on line, YA sure you can't connect tot the internet so how can you agree. Luckily we had a town centre paper map and found a museum to visit for the afternoon.
How is it that someone can define somethings with a few lines giving depth and perception while others you struggle to perceive just what it is they were trying to convey. Then there are those artists whose paintings are 3D from centuries ago. One of Saint George slaying the dragon felt like his horse was moving further and further out of the painting the closer you got to it. Then there is Picasso whose subject of the painting is usually some part of the background or at least not initially obvious to the untrained eye.
From Basel we struck out towards Geneva on roads less travelled. Lovely country side but almost no place to pull over to admire the view. The one time I did almost caused an accident since tailgating must be a badge of honour for the Swiss. It may cost to travel the highways but you do not have to tend with the traffic circles or roundabouts every few kilometres, so it seems.
We thought we would stop for lunch but make certain a credit card was accepted. The place we stopped at was open(?) but the reception we received was worst than I had experienced in Paris years ago. No English, fair enough not our country, but the looks, tone of voice and body language was more than enough to make you feel you came from the wrong side of the tracks. Getting through Geneva was more than just a lesson in frustration. We have never experienced traffic anywhere near the magnitude of that day. Vancouver in comparison has a rush hour we see in Sechelt.
After finding another spot and getting dinner we had a well desire end sleep. That he next day we took the bus into Geneva. We found our way to the lake front and walked around for a bit realizing that there was free wifi. We found the solar powered train, took a little tour further down the lake side and then stopped for a lunch break. We headed back towards the public rose gardens before we headed back, quite tranquil spot overlooking the lake from the hill side. The wifi indicated we could catch our bus closer than we thought and off we went. Oh ya, there is free wifi but only in the areas where tourists congregate and we ended up doing 12,000 steps plus because we really got lost. The saving grace, if you can call it that, was a pedi-taxi that we were fortunate to find and get us back tot the bus terminus. Needless to say we got the H out of Dodge a soon as we could the next day.
Basel, this ferry travels across the river by use of the current only
A small sampling of Picasso, including the bronze statue
Who knew Billy Crystal was so old, 1600's painting
Finally we get a picnic, but the cheese we chose was actually yeast. Not good
Lake Geneva and the water jet
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