Friday, March 20, 2015

Recipe for a great day out


Ingredients:
  • 2 day passes for the entire Swiss train system
  • 1 good friend
  • Sun from one end of the country to the other

Set the alarm for an earlier time than usual (the hardest part)
Repeat: “it will be a wonderful day” until awake
Dress for all types of weather
Wear comfortable shoes
Actually get to the station at the pre-arranged time
Grab a sandwich and coffee up on the track
Find seats together in the train for which we had planned
Smooth trip through ever-changing and beautiful landscapes
Arrive on time in Basel
From the train along the road

Head straight for the cathedral, which I had missed the last trip
Discover that the largest ethnological museum in Switzerland is just feet from the cathedral

Museum der Kulturen, Basel

Coffee (or rather tea) in the nearest tearoom



Enjoy the current special exhibitions: From Patchwork to Illumination (Buddhist monk’s clothing) and Straw Gold – Cultural transformations rendered visible

One of the several "Kesa"s exhibited

The inside stairwell

The exhibit partitions were all made from PET bottles - great!


Enjoy lunch in the Museum’s restaurant



Take in the view overlooking the Rhine

View from the cathedral overlooking the Rhine

Visit the Munster Cathedral – built of red sandstone, there has been a church on the site since Celtic times, however, the original church built to replace former smaller edifices was mostly destroyed during the 1356 earthquake and the structure as it currently stands was finished in the 1500s. As in the case of Geneva’s cathedral, the Münster was taken from the Catholics by the Reformers and is, since 1529, a protestant church.

As seen from the South side

Roof details

South side with the David's star

One of the side "crosses"

The organ: the shutters are from Hans Holbein Jr.

One of the windows

Take a tram across town and over the border into German for a spot of shopping
Tired but happy head back to the train station
A glass of sparkling wine, a platter of cheese and the ride back to Geneva was accomplished in style



Once the day was done – off to dreamland to repeat the highlights
A great recipe for a fun and instructive day: one that I can highly recommend.

One of the "public" sculptures

another - one that makes one happy just seeing it

First leaf along the wall

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