Basel; Saturday, 29 August, 2015

The plan of staying overnight in an airport hotel so that I didn’t have to rush in the morning went out the window when I woke up a few minutes before 7 to find the plug was charging my phone, and consequently alarm, from wasn’t working and therefore rather than getting up at 6 for a leisurely shower and then getting the bus over to terminal 5 I was forced to very quickly get up, get out of the hotel and get over to the airport.

With nothing quite joining up, and no working phone to be able to check on time, I was quite stressed by the time I finally made it to bag drop, with a little over 20 minutes to spare before it closed.

Once through the airport things calmed down, and after a very smooth and comfortable flight I touched down in Basel, went straight through the airport onto a bus into town and by the time I got to the hotel my room was ready and I was able to check-in.

Having dropped my stuff off I headed on into the centre of town to have a look around, firstly by heading down to the river and taking in the views from the main bridge linking the two central parts of town.

I headed up to the Münsterplatz and had a look around the cloister and the views from the terrace at the back of the church before heading inside the Münster to look around. It is possible to climb the tower to take in the views, but you have to be in a group of 2 or more, so being by myself I wasn’t allowed to go up.

Back out of the Münster I headed across the Münsterplatz and visited the Museum of Cultures on the opposite side of the impressive square. I had a long look around the museum, only leaving because they were starting to close the building as it was already closing time.

Back at the Münster I took the steps down to the riverside and crossed using one of the four different pulley ferries that operate across the river.

On the opposite bank I stopped off for a quick drink in the baking sun, watching the locals swimming down the river (less swimming more just being carried along by the current).

Drink completed I picked up the tram out to and across the German border to the small town of Weil am Rhine where a bridge crosses the Rhine over to the French town of Huningue. From the centre of the bridge it’s possible to see Germany, Switzerland and France at the same time, though to actually reach the join you would need to be on a boat as it’s in the middle of the Rhine.

Having crossed back into Germany I picked the tram up again and headed back over into Switzerland and the centre of Basel for dinner, a very nice Italian meal to finish off the tour of major European nations of the day, before heading back to the hotel.