Bounding in Basel and Zig-Zagging Zurich

Looking out on the Grossmunster and the mountains in Zurich

I realize I've been a little delayed in my postings but I was out of town this past weekend and given that I am leaving Geneva in less than a week, things have been a little hectic as work as well as I try to wrap up my projects and tie up all loose ends. That being said, I have been able to see a good amount of Switzerland, including a whirlwind trip to Basel and Zurich with the Maxwell program two Fridays ago (August 2nd). I believe I mentioned that August 1st was Swiss National Day and with the Friday trip and this past weekend's travels I was somehow able to get two long weekends in a row.

We left for Basel early in the morning and arrived only to be greeted by the baking sun (the temperature reached 39 C, around 98 F) immediately upon setting foot outside the train station. Our first point of interest in Basel was the Munster cathedral, which was originally built on Roman foundations and has some incredible stained glass windows as well as a massive pipe organ.

Just a side note: any time I see a huge pipe organ in a cathedral I think of this song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZO7ZWfvCjBE&hd=1), how could you not?

The pipe organ in the Munster Cathedral

Anyways back to the Munster. The cathedral is situated on a hill above the Rhine river that flows through the city. Given the heat, there were hoards of people floating down the river with the current, using dry bags packed with their belongings as their flotation devices. The tombs of some Hapsburg royalty from the 15th century are housed here as well.

The Munster Cathedral in Basel

Stained glass in the Munster Cathedral

After the cathedral we wandered down some cobblestone streets in the old town of Basel down through a market to the city and canton hall, which is a beautiful building that has been amazingly restored. Murals adorn the walls of the building and it is also famous for a quote from the 16th century on the value of good governance.

Basel Canton and City Hall

Famous quote from 1501 on good governance

One of the many murals on the walls of the Basel City Hall

From the city hall most of us grabbed a quick bite at the market before making our way down to the Rhine to take a boat across and then hurry back to the train station to catch our train for Zurich, which is about 1 1/2 hours away.

Chet in his yellow jalopy

Upon arrival in Zurich, we took the tram to the Rathaus (city hall) which is situated right on the Limmat River. We proceeded to walk to the Grossmunster cathedral, where Ulrich Zwingli, another famous Reformationist, preached. Compared to the Munster in Basel, the Grossmunster was quite basic and you couldn't take pictures inside! Anyways, after visiting the cathedral we walked back down to the river and crossed over to the other bank and up to an area with spectacular views of the city and the mountains in the background. Given the weather and our desire for shade we decided to have an early dinner and we ended up at a traditional German/Swiss beer hall that was excellent. I had wienerschnitzel with authentic German potato salad (none of that mayo crap, it's mixed with mustard and vinegar) and a nice dunkle beer to wash it down. After dinner we ambled back to the train station to get our train back to Geneva.

View of the Grossmunster Cathedral from across the Limmat River

Zurich's Rathaus

The rest of the weekend was rather uneventful, although a few of us went to see V for Vendetta at the free outdoor cinema on Sunday night. For those that haven't seen the movie, here's a little clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQyqx1K495U&hd=1.

That's about all from here for now, Interlaken blog post coming soon!

What I'm listening to: I've made it to the middle of the letter R in my quest to listen to all the albums on my iPod in alphabetical order.

"Dr. Robert" by The Beatles http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQK2ikupQB8&hd=1

"St. Peter's Day Festival" by Ra Ra Riot http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDLbfh1IuFQ&hd=1