Thursday, November 20, 2008

Basel and Bloggers FIRST

As I mentioned in my last post, Donica and I flew to Zürich, Switzerland, last week and worked (Donica) and played (me). Actually, Donica played, too, when she wasn't working!

Her main business was in Zürich, where I took most of my pictures (still working on them!), but she had to take the train to see her boss in Basel on Friday, so I tagged along and was out on my own all day, walking my feet off. In my own heaven!



Within yards of the train station, guess what I first saw! Yup. Starbucks! It was still too early to be open but I sure did take notice! They're everywhere, even in Europe.



Eventually, I tackled the old town, bordered on the east by the St. Alban gate (1400) above and the Spalentor gate (1370) on the west, below.



All the churches in between became my target for the day!
I'm such a glutton for them.



The first one was near St. Alban's gate and is called (of course) St. Alban's church (above)! I liked the coziness of all the trees on the grounds, with the old walls (below).





And there was the landmark Münster Church (above) with its cloisters (below) where I spent most of my time.



Then there were churches I saw from afar, while standing at other churches, not yet figuring out their names. I didn't care what they were called. They called me and that's what was important.







This one is Peterskirche (above), which I do remember because I was able to go inside (below).



I knew from the get-go that Donica and I would end up around 5:30p at the Town Hall to meet up with bloggers Canadian Swiss (Sandra) and husband Orange-X (Mark). But by then, it would be dark, so I had to get my pictures earlier in the day. It's one of the most colorful town halls anywhere in the world. Trust me!





By the time 5:30 rolled around, I was one tired puppy and was so ready to see Sandra and Mark, again. I had already met them in Amsterdam last March!



We met for before-dinner drinks across from the Town Hall.
Then we walked to our dinner restaurant at the Besenstiel = Broomstick. It just so happened that a couple hours earlier, I had coincidentally captured this image (below)!





Then it was time to say Good-Bye to some of the best of bloggers anywhere and walk to the train station for our one-hour ride back to Zürich.



At this point in time, we're talking about midnight! No wonder I was so tired. But it was that GOOD tired, of course, full of happy memories I'll never forget.

And that was just one day out of four! Hold your horses while I get to work on Zürich. It, too, was wonderful! In the meantime, here's the Basel Album.

21 comments:

  1. Thanks for capturing all the sights of Basel...while I was working!! Now I know for sure, we will make a trip back there so I can see all these amazing churches too!

    Glad you had a chance to rest on the way back to Zurich....I couldn't resist making this capture :)

    Now...the Zurich shots...can hardly wait.

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  2. Ginnie - I've been waiting all week for this! I love the churches and went with Mark to or two that you photographed..

    But I bet the train ride was nice to sleep on too.. And you guys are so happy..

    The blue of your photos is just incredible! I hardly had a day like that in March while I was there...

    And Zurich, I can't wait.. Now to the Album..

    And your impressions of switzerland?????? Were you thinking of me at all. ;-)

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  3. Ginnie, As always - thanks for sharing your wonderful adventures. I didn't think Starbuck's was ever closed in the morning - you must have been early! Love all the pics and so glad you had such a nice evening with Sandra and Mark. Look forward to Zurich.

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  4. Donica: I just realized I had more churches (in the album) that I could have added here, but these were my favorites. And yes, we'll definitely have to go back. I'm sure I missed a lot!

    ET: You have waited so patiently, Jen! Thank you. I hope Zurich will come soon...before Thanksgiving. That will be my goal. :) Basel was the only day with blue skies! I wonder if they were blue in Zurich while we were gone??

    Judy: I have thought about that Starbucks...and maybe it wasn't closed because it was between 8:30 and 9a. I guess I didn't pay attention well enough. I was antsy to get to Old Town! More important things to see than Starbucks. HA!

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  5. Aww, you guys are so cute! Those are some wonderful pictures, as usual. I sure hope you managed to get some rest after being totally exhausted. I know the feeling. :-)

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  6. Zurich gets a lot less blue skies than does Basel. Basel can be sunny while Zurich can get rain. It's closer to the Alps and the mountains, thus I think why there are more grey skies there! :) While I was in Zurich it was greyish/not sunny skies. But while 20 mins south, it was blue and beautiful skies.

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  7. All just wonderful! I would have loved the cloisters and spent a lot of time there too, wow. I do love me the inside of a church (as long as I'm not in a service, haha).

    It's great that Donica caught you sleeping/resting. Perfect to include it here. :)

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  8. Wow....that is awesome! I love Switzerland. Have been there twice and hope to go back some day.

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  9. Christina: Our trips are always so full, for sure. We DO have to rest after them...except for Donica, who then just goes back to work. I don't know how she does it!

    ET: Ahhhh. That makes sense. Hmmm. Now I need to go to the Alps. :)

    Ruth: HA! I know what you mean...the inside of churches in Europe, however, are nothing like what we grew up with. Maybe that's why I like them so much. But we never go to a service, of course. It would be all Greek to me, I'm sure.

    Charley: Thanks for stopping by and commenting. That means a lot.

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  10. Ginnie I just love the look of this place what a gold mine of shots you ahve here.
    I can imagine how worn out you were.
    I also know how you love to meet fellow bloggers time and time again.
    We will meet up agin hopefully in the new year.
    Lovely Musketeer :)

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  11. You certainly made good use of your time while Donica was busy at work. Your churches are lovely, and you had the advantage of a wonderful blue sky day.
    And how nice to meet up with CS and OX again, they must be a delightful couple to spend time with.
    No wonder you were bushed on the way home.

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  12. Hi again Ginnie: I've just read your comment that Amy graduated from Flagler College. St Augustine is such a nice place to wander round, but unfortunately full of annoying tourists. I've been there 4 or 5 times in recent years and I always find something new to look at. BTW you may be interested to know that the Bridge of Lions is being completely restored, the only parts left standing are the towers in the middle, the spans have been dismantled and sent away to be restored. There is a HUGE temporary lift bridge to take the traffic across the intracoastal, and once the Lion's Bridge is back in action, the temp bridge will be taken away.

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  13. It's actually been a week already, and I finally find the time to post a comment. We had such a great time with the two of you and hope to be able to fix something up soon again.

    You were really lucky with the blue skies. Right now, it's covered, rainy and we have winds of +80kmh, plus we're expecting 30cm of snow this weekend. How's that for a change? :)

    Hugs to you both!

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  14. Ginnie, wonderful tour. I feel like I've been there. I sure enjoyed your church images. I love them. I even checked your album and they're all great.

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  15. Oh the amazing places you show us! I love the old Europe. I wonder why they needed so many churches? Did they fill them all up? Were they different demoninations? Pre-Post Reformation?

    OK, maybe I need to go study.

    I miss you guys, I need a B & D fix

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  16. Lurch: Yes, Musketeer, we will meet again! 2009 for sure!

    Sham: Maybe one day you, too, will meet CS and O-X. How fun! Thanks for writing back about St. Augustine. I'll have to tell Amy about that!

    CS: Man! That's a lot of snow for a place that doesn't usually get much, right??! Are we glad we missed it? Yes and No. It might have been fun. :) And yes, I'm sure we'll meet up again one of these days!

    PC: Thanks for stopping by again, Maria. I love seeing you here.

    Don: HA! One day you'll be sick-n-tired of us! But truth be known, we always need our fix of you as well! :)

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  17. such fun!!!!!!!! and the colorful town hall is a pure delight........the first time i visited europe, i was overwhelmed by all the magnificient old churches, no matter which country i visited.....it's like an entire continent came together to build these beautiful churches.......

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  18. Oh! Another dream country i hope to visit one day. I'm so glad you can take me there via your amazing posts. Your photos are stunning, as always. I will definitely check out the whole album when I get back home.

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  19. Wonderful pictures of your travels, you were so lucky with the weather, one picture does remind me of the inside of the Dom of Utrecht.
    That townhall is a real piece of art.

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  20. How fun that you got to meet up with other bloggers....I love your church pictures.....what a lovely place to visit...

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  21. Moi: That's why I love Europe so much!!!

    Mad: One day I hope you can visit some of these places...to warm your heart and soul!

    Lekra: You would have been in heaven there!

    Neva: It's like heaven on earth!

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