Getting Lost in Basel : Day 2
Today I woke up pretty early, with plans to go to the zoo. About an hour after I woke up, I konked out pretty quickly for a few more hours, so going to the zoo was out of the question, since I had the orientation for my program at 5:30. Instead, I decided to walk and see what the Rhine was all about…it does, after all, split Basel in two.
I stood by the river, and watched the ferries going across for awhile. I had heard about them, but wasn’t sure exactly how they worked.
This rod is attached to this cable, which is attached to another cable that is stretched across the river (kind of like a clothesline). Whichever way the captain (HANS STEINBRÜCKE VON STEIGEL BON) flips the rod, the boat will go and be carried across the river by a current. Awesome and ingenious!
After the minute-long ride, I was on the other side of Basel, Kleinbasel (or lesser Basel; I’m staying in and the school is in Grossbasel). It was like College Spring Break 2009 over here! My side of the river (we’ve all staked claim) was surprisingly quiet compared to this other side.
A thing that the kids do here for fun is drift down the Rhine. They have these waterproof bags that they put their clothes in and double as floatation devices. They let the river carry them (and it goes very fast!) upstream for a ways, and then they get out.
Kleinbasel is nice, and has it’s own shopping area called Claraplatz. And of course, there are fountains everywhereeeee.
This is called Mittlere Brücke, literally, Middle Bridge. It’s the center of three main bridges that connect Basel city. I walked back to Grossbasel to get to the orientation.
Took a detour through old Basel, and stumbled upon a bunch of old houses, and the Natural History Museum, which I just learned yesterday is having an extra wing added on by architects (of the Bird’s Nest in China) Herzog & de Meuron.
Kept walking like I knew where I was going, but actually getting lost, and found Münsterplatz, home of Basel Münster, a big cathedral.
Under construction now, as all beautiful things are when I visit. The roof is probably my favorite part of it anyways, it has such a cool design on it!
Had pistachio ice cream (of course!), which was sooo good, to calm my nerves before meeting all the teachers and classmates.
Orientation was at Restaurant Kornhaus, very close to the building (the old art school library) where our classes are held. In the garden, we had wine and small appetizers, like meat, cheeses, olives, and pickles. Afterwards, all the students gathered and went to ring in the month together with some beers at a river side bar. Trés European!
Next time on this exciting adventure…Back to School: Day 3! Will Diana get drunk before the first day of class? Stay tuned.
