"This is Basel" - part 2

Basel main artery is the river Rhine, where people - locals and visitors alike - gather at the Rheinbord (above), where festivals take place, and, where the most popular occupation in summer is "Rheinschwimmen". Down the river with a special waterproof bag in which clothes and valuables are packed before floating down on the gentle current through the picturesque Old Town. 

Basel is situated at a border triangle, the so-called "Dreiländereck" marked by a sculpture (below, left) and equipped with a beach bar on the rooftop of the nearby building. There are more "party boats" around. The point at which Germany, France and Switzerland converge and boats (cruise/freight) sail off towards the North Sea is also a transport hub for the supply of raw materials to Switzerland.

 

We enjoyed a great tour at the port, one of three in the area, in Kleinhüningen, got to know about the harbor operations in the past and nowadays (mostly containers - photo below shows the Hafenbecken 1). Also, we visited the Hafenmuseum with lots of interesting ship models, a reconstruction of the harbor, simulators, movies and many other interesting documents, photos and items.

Harbor of Basel - modell in the museum:

Simulator:

But, there are not just huge freighters and cruise ships on the Rhine. Unique are the four Rhine river ferries “Wild Maa”, “Leu”, “Vogel Gryff” and “Ueli”, which link Grossbasel to Kleinbasel. They are attached to a long wire cable and are driven purely by the current of the Rhine itself. For 1 Franken you'll get from Großbasel to Kleinbasel and vice versa.

Rural Basel - green excursions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bruderholz Wasserturm (above) - a water tower still in operation today - is especially known for its observation deck and its views. Another "first" for us, which we will certainly include in our book update. Far in the background are the two Roche towers to be seen.

Birsköpfli - at the confluence of the river Birs into the Rhine - is a popular beach (especially, for the locals and for families) with a Buvette (kiosk) called "Spatz". We've never been there before! From there it's been a nice walk along the Großbasel river bank towards the Muenster - especially at sunset!

Another excursion - besides Fondation Beyeler in Riehen (see blog post before) - brought us  to the Dreispitz Area in Brüglingen with the adjacent Merian Gärten. While the Dreispitz neighborhood (where we climbed the tower to get the overview shown on the photo on the left) is the probably most exciting city planning and architectural project in Basel right now, the gardens are pure delight for the soul.

 

 

The Merian Gardens are both: a botanical garden and a historic park. A unique variety of plants and impressive botanical collections like rhododendrons, clematis garden, irises, but also veggie gardens and fruit orchards are surrounding some historic buildings: There is the old Villa Merian (above, on top), built in 1711, and there is a renovated barn (third photo) with a restaurant and event space, historic green houses and a water mill and more. Originally, this was farmland, bought in 1824 by Christoph Merian and (as many other properties) given to the people of Basel by him or his wife. The Merians were one of the big patrons of the art in Basel and the name is omnipresent.

Back to Roman roots

Augusta Raurica, in Augst and Kaiseraugst, is easily to be reached by bus from Basel. It was the hub of a Roman settlement, officially founded in 44 b.c., in existence until about 280 a.d. Besides a museum and "Römerhaus" (with reconstructed scenes of Roman life), there is an impressive theater with 2000 seats, remains of an amphiteater, a Roman bath, the forum with curia and temple, a basilica, some commercial and private buildings and much more spread out along nice trails in the landscape of rural Basel-Land.

Farewell to Basel

Basel is also known for its flea markets, one on Barfi (left), the other, much larger one is a once monthly event on Petersplatz. On our departure day we, of course, had to check that out!

And, before we left, we spent another hour in the Botanical Garden at Spalentor, closeby our Hotel Spalentor, part of the university and one of the oldest ones in Europe, founded in 1589. Many rare plants, like this Franklin Tree (left) are to be found here.