Here are some of our favorite photos from the trip (each photo is a thumbnail linked to a higher quality picture.):
1) Kunstmuseum Basel (Basel Fine Arts Museum), Basel, Switzerland, May 10, 2024 - After a long day flying to Basel Switzerland via Frankfurt Germany we arrived in the mid-afternoon. We were both very tired from all the travel but also knew that we needed to keep moving if we had any hope of getting on the local sleep schedule so we dragged outself out of the hotel and walked to the Fine Arts Museum. Bill, who had arrived the previous day, met us in the courtyard but he he already visited the museum so it was just the two of us checking out the museum's collection. Given our upcoming Rhine River Cruise the painting "Vater Rhein (Father Rhine) by Max Ernst from 1954 really jumped out.
2) Kunstmuseum Basel (Basel Fine Arts Museum), Basel, Switzerland, May 10, 2024 - This is supposedly the oldest public art collection in the world and is a fine selection of art. The Kunstmuseum building was a bit maze-like which meant we kept finding new rooms where we didn’t expect them to be. We think we managed to wind our way through all the rooms in the "Old Building" which took us about two hours. We didn’t have time to go across the square to the "New Building" which I think is even larger. I always enjoy a good story and there is a great one about how two Picassos that were on loan to the museum in the mid-Twentieth century went up for sale and the townspeople of Basel pushed for and passed a ballot initiative for a tax so the city could buy the paintings. Picasso was so touched he donated two additional works to the museum.
3) Tinguely-Brunnen Fountain, Basel, Switzerland, May 10, 2024 - On our walk back from the museum we walked past a very whimsical water fountain. The park with the fountain was once the main theater of Basel. It was replaced and subsequently destroyed to create the park. In 1977, this fountain was built by the artist Jean Tinguely which has 10 kinetic sculptures arranged in the location where the original theater's stage was located creating a perpetual show! We were doubly tired after soldiering through the museum but somehow found the energy to rally for dinner. The whole family group walked a few blocks away to a food hall where we all had different ethnicities of food. Yum!
4) Spalengraben, Basel, Switzerland, May 11, 2024 - I got in my steps today! Jonna had her own plans (which involved two trains going most of the way across Switzerland to meet a good friend for lunch) so I ended up getting up early too. After enjoying the hotel breakfast our family group headed out for a leisurely stroll through Old Town Basel. We wound our way over to Peterplatz where we had two destinations: 1) The University of Basel Botanic Garden and 2) the weekly Peterplatz Flea Market. On the way we passed the 15th century Spalentor gate and walked down Spalengraben street which is lined with old houses.
5) Botanischer Garten Der Universität Basel (University Of Basel Botanical Garden), Basel, Switzerland, May 11, 2024 - The trip was off to a great start and I think my parents were enjoying exploring a new place!
6) Botanischer Garten Der Universität Basel (University Of Basel Botanical Garden), Basel, Switzerland, May 11, 2024 - The University's botanic garden is small but nicely laid out. In addition to the outdoor garden there were also a half dozen greenhouses. The plants were well labeled with plant names and country/region of origin.
7) Botanischer Garten Der Universität Basel (University Of Basel Botanical Garden), Basel, Switzerland, May 11, 2024 - The highlight, for me, were the green houses which were separated to house plants from widely different environments: One for desert plants, another for jungle plants, another for water plants, etc. After circling the garden we exited and then wandered through all the stalls of the flea market. Nothing particularly unique but I do enjoy just crowd watching and looking to see what all is on sale. Once we finished our exploration we walked through a different section of Old Town as we walked down (literally given the stairs required!) to the riverside to finally see the famous Rhine. We walked for a half dozen blocks to Basler Münster Church and behind that to the Basler Pfalz scenic overlook. Then we headed back uphill into Old Town to return to our hotel. We rewarded ourselves with some ice cream figuring a morning of exploration should have positive re-enforcement. We had to check out by noon and just squeaked in under that deadline.
8) Rhine River, Dreirosenbrücke, Basel Switzerland, May 11, 2024 - We all got taxi/Ubers for the short trip down the river to St Johann’s Park where our river barge was moored. We couldn’t get into our cabins until 3pm but we could store our luggage. We’d planned to walk the neighborhood to find lunch but it turned out that the boat was serving lunch so we just stayed onboard to eat.
9) Messe and Congress Center Basel, Basel, Switzerland, May 11, 2024 - Afterwards, I joined cousin Debbie for a walk across the river to see the cool architecture of the Messe transportation building. The neighboring convention center was hosting the Swiss Comic Con so we got the added fun of spotting super heros, anime characters and Sci-fi legends on the sidewalks and in the restaurant patios. We walked a big loop re-crossing the Rhine a couple of bridges up-river from the boat. We made it back exactly at 3pm and exactly as Jonna walked up after her morning trip to Geneva... a testament to the efficiency of the Swiss train system! Our friends Bill and Tracy arrived then so we met up with them as well - our group of eight finally all assembled together. We got checked into our cabin and then Jonna and I went back out to find both a pharmacy and a grocery store. When that errand was complete we went back to the boat for the mandatory introductory safety briefing and welcome talk.
10) Uniworld "River Queen", Rhine River, Basel, Switzerland, May 11, 2024 - We finished off the day with a tasty dinner in the dining room and then retired to our room to sleep.
11) Unterer Rheinweg, Basel, Switzerand, May 12, 2024 - This was Mother’s Day in the U.S. and I was very lucky to be able to spent it in person with my mother! For our last time in Basel and our first full day of the cruise Debbie, Jonna and Alan spent the morning doing a bicycle tour of the Rhine as it flows through the center of Basel. We started the tour by climbing from the boat side path up to the Pont des Trois Roses bridge, the hardest part of the hike ride in the first 200 yards. After crossing the Rhine we turned south and peddled along a paved path running along the east bank which gave us a nice view of the River Queen across the river.
12) St. Alban-Rheinweg, Basel, Switzerand, May 12, 2024 - The east side of the river, rather than the Old Town on the west, is where most of the people live. As expected the houses on the river front are pretty fancy so we had nice scenery as we peddled. We stopped periodically so the guide could give us details about the area and the history. Our goal was cycling down to Birs Kraftwerk Insel which is an island in the Rhine that houses a hydro-electric plant and some locks. There is also a large park on the island with a path encircling it. We biked around this and then used a walkway over the lock to cross over to the west bank.
13) Basler Münster, Basel, Switzerland, May 12, 2024 - From there we turned north and cycled back downstream to the boat, again stopping along the way to see sights including a return to the Basler Münster which we had seen on our walk the previous day. All together it was a three hour ride and we never were out-of-sight of the river. Scenic and relatively easy despite being labeled as "strenuous" on the activity guide.
14) Uniworld "River Queen", Grand Canal d'Alsace, Rosenau, France, May 12, 2024 - We got back to the boat in time for lunch and to catch up with Mom, Dad, Joyce, Tracy and Bill. They’d split up to do various other things. During lunch the boat crew cast off our moorings and we started down the Rhine. The river flows at 9 knots in this area so not much propulsion is needed, just steering thrusters to keep the boat from drifting sideways. We went under a few bridges as we left Basel, then started going through a series of locks that we would be encountered all day as we crossed over into Germany and then into France. For the afternoon we relaxed, read, planned our excursions for the rest of the trip and spent some time on the upper sun deck soaking up the Vitamin D. In the evening there was an official introduction with the crew, followed by the Captain’s dinner. Another fine meal and plenty of great time spent with our group of eight exchanging stories. After dinner we spent a little more time on the upper deck watching the scenery scroll by, then started some laundry and watched TV while the washer did its thing.
15) Place d'Austerlitz, Strasbourg, France, May 13, 2024 - Our one day in France was well spent. We woke to find we were docked just outside the beautiful city of Strasbourg. After breakfast on the boat we trooped out to waiting buses for the short drive into the city center. The city government had put a hard press on getting citizens to switch to tram, bicycle, walking and other alternative forms of transportation. One part of this is prioritizing traffic signals to other road users so it was a slow drive - sometimes sitting at traffic lights for 5 minutes until all the other traffic was through before allowing buses (and cars) to progress. All the trams we watched go past were packed so it appears to be working. The city is notable for two things - the first is the university which is the second largest in France with nearly 60,000 students. The second are the EU offices based here which includes the EU Parliament and the EU Human Rights Court. Needless to say it is a hustling city! From a very tourist perspective the big highlights are the Notre Dame Cathedral of Strasbourg and the Petite France neighborhood. Both are located on an island created where the Ill River splits. (That is the Eye Ell Ell, even though it looks like the Roman number three when typed!) The original Roman settlement was made here and was eventually turned into a walled medieval village. This area has changed hands between France and Germany about six times so the culture is a mix of both countries. Pretzels and sausage alongside cheese and pastries. We exited the buses and then did a guided walking tour through part of Old Town.
16) Rue de Rohan, Strasbourg, France, May 13, 2024 - From the central bus parking lot was cross one channel of the Ill and walked the medieval streets of Old Town.
17) Cathédrale Notre Dame de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France, May 13, 2024 - Our tour ended at the massive Notre Dame Cathedral.
18) Cathédrale Notre Dame de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France, May 13, 2024 - The cathedral has massive stained glass windows on both ends which light up the interior.
19) Horloge Astronomique (Astronomical Clock), Cathédrale Notre Dame de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France, May 13, 2024 - We initially rushed through the cathedral in order to watch the Astronomical Clock go through its quarter hour procession.
20) Rue des Serruriers, Strasbourg, France, May 13, 2024 - Our group split at this point with Mom, Dad and Joyce heading back to the boat while Debbie, Tracy, Bill, Jonna and I headed over to Petite France. As with the cathedral, the old neighborhood was impressive but also packed with tourists. We popped into shops selling various foods, gifts, Christmas ornaments and other goodies. Neither Jonna nor I are shoppers but we did snag some tasty samples along the way.
21) Quartier de La Petite France, Strasbourg, France, May 13, 2024 - Next we found a restaurant serving some Alsatian specialties where we stopped for lunch. Good food and we ate outside in a lovely medieval square. Tracy decided to head back at this point which left four of us. While Bill helped Tracy find an Uber Debbie, Jonna and I walked over to the Petite France neighborhood. This area is about as quaint and picturesque as is imaginable.
22) Quartier de La Petite France, Strasbourg, France, May 13, 2024 - Debbie was kind enough to take a rare picture of the two of us together!
23) Quartier de La Petite France, Strasbourg, France, May 13, 2024 - Bill caught back up to us as we wandered through Petite France. We not only walked the riverfront section but also wandered through some of the side streets set back from the water. It was a very touristy area but still interesting to explore and we had lots of fun looking into the speciality food stores selling cheese, sausage, bread and sweets.
24) Pont Saint-Etienne, Strasbourg, France, May 13, 2024 - After we finished exploring Petite France We decided to walk all the way back to the boat so we started meandering in that direction while making side trips to find an ATM, stroll through the University’s botanical garden and to walk down a street with trees housing about three dozen Stork nests (with babies!)
25) Boulevard de l'Orangerie, Strasbourg, France, May 13, 2024 - I think we were all fascinated by the storks along the Boulevard de l'Orangerie near Parc de l'Orangerie. The Plane trees along this street are specifically pruned to support massive stork nests. The birds nest here in the spring and as we walked along the street the birds would stretch their necks back and clap their beaks together making a loud clacking sound. Very neat to watch! We got back to the boat around 3:30pm which gave us time to catch up with the others and nap before the evening briefing and dinner. This evening we had a special bit of entertainment - a pair of sisters originally from Cameron but now living in Strasbourg. They did an hour long set with a mix of folk, R&B, Soul, Funk and African cover songs. Beautiful voices and very nice guitar work.
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