My last day in Basel, Switzerland, and my last day of sightseeing before returning to Frankfurt for my flight home, was the worst day, weatherwise. It rained all day, and it was a pain to carry an umbrella while trying to take pictures with my camera or check Google Maps on my cellphone.
My sightseeing centered on the Old Town, and if it had been a sunny day, I am sure I would have found it a more enjoyable experience.
As in the other cities that I had visited, the Old Town is dominated by the cathedral or "Münster". Well, it used to be a cathedral until the Reformation. Now it is a Protestant church.
The "Münster" was begun in 1019. The original Romanesque structure was destroyed in the 1356 Basel earthquake, the worst earthquake in central Europe in recorded history. It was rebuilt in Gothic style and completed in 1500.
The plaza in front of the "Münster"
Street scenes in Basel's "Altstadt" or Old Town
A couple of the fountains in the Old Town
As mentioned before, you can drink the water from any of the fountains in Switzerland.
A view of the Rhine River from the Old Town
You can see the cable crossing the river where the ferry boat runs. From the other side of the river there are nice views of the "Altstadt", however, the ferry did not seem to be in operation on this rainy day.
One of the Basel's medieval gates survives from the days when the it was a walled city.
That concludes my trip to Europe!
It was a very interesting and enjoyable journey, and I hope to return in the future to visit my cousins again and to see new places.
Stew and I spent a few days in Basel including Christmas and we attended the midnight Christmas Eve service at the Munster, which I expected to be a joyous affair. Instead it was a starchy liturgy and music.to match. No laughter or joy. Not exactly a frolicking congregation!
ReplyDeleteReminds me a bit of what I have read about Geneva in the 1500s under the rule of John Calvin... quite puritanical.
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