On to Basel

After spending three nights in Aarau with my cousin Walter and his wife Helen, I moved on to my last stop in Switzerland, the city of Basel.  Basel, the third largest city in Switzerland (after Zurich and Geneva) is located on the Rhine River where the borders of Switzerland, France and Germany meet.  I had never been to Basel before, and since it was on my way back to Frankfurt to take my plane home, I decided to spend a few nights there.

It was a short train ride from Aarau to Basel.  As in many European cities, the train station is a grand old building dating from the beginning of the 20th century.

The area in front of the station is a busy hub for streetcars.  Watch out when you cross the street!

As in Frankfurt, I had reserved a room at a hotel near the train station.  Unlike Frankfurt, however, the neighborhood around the train station was perfectly fine.  The hotel where I stayed is called Hotel Schweizerhof.  I am not sure if it is part of a chain, but there are hotels by the same name in other Swiss cities.  I had previously seen one right by the train station in Zurich.

My room was very clean and comfortable, although, as is usually the case in Europe, it was rather small.  I have noticed that hotels here seem to use a duvet, a down-filled comforter, with no top sheet.  When I would get under the duvet at night, I would usually get too hot and end up tossing the it aside.

The view from my window

After settling into my hotel room, I ventured out to find someplace to eat.

I ended up in the Old Town, and found this restaurant called "Zum Alten Stöchli" which had traditional food.

There were a lot of tables outside, but it was slightly chilly, so I went inside.  It was a tiny, cozy place with a bar and a few tables.  I ordered bratwurst with a mushroom gravy.  It was good, but as usual, they served French fries with it.  I wish the restaurants would do some other side... like German potato salad, which I never had on the entire trip.