The Basel Ferries

We knew nothing about these little boats until we spotted one of them just outside our window and watched it as it went to and fro across the river all day. Looking at a map, we spotted four of them, small, frequent and as well-patronised as the traghetti of Venice, they are attached to an overhead cable - just as well bearing in mind the strength of the current downstream. But then we read more about these "Basel anachronisms" and discovered there's more to them than meets the eye!

Powered across the river simply by the flow of water, the ingenuity of the system is just brilliant. We had to try it for ourselves, so this morning, we set off downstairs and along the river bank a couple of hundred metres and stepped on board. At CHF 1.60 per person, this was a bargain ride.

As we arrived at the jetty, the little boat was on the opposite bank for the river, but no sooner had the ferryman spotted us, than he was heading over in our direction. We were the only two passengers on this occasion, but except for seeing us on board safely, sliding the rudder into the opposite direction and giving the boat a push off, there was nothing for the "Faehrimaa" to do. As we crossed the river, we enjoyed the little rhyme in Schwyzertuetsch - especially with the little mention of the "Faehrifrauen" too!  
(If my command of Schwyzertuetsch was rather better, I'd attempt a translation, but suffice to say, be patient and hang on tight!)
  

So, with the boat angled at 45 degrees to the flow of the river, we were gently pushed to the other side where the ferryman of the Vogel Griff could follow us up the wooden jetty and resume his coffee break!

A day of culture

Have you guessed where we are yet?

A clue - the red sandstone City Hall dominates the market place and has the most wonderful painted walls in a small courtyard. We spent quite some time there this morning as we walked around the Old Town in the spring sunshine. The weather forecast was none too good for later so we tried to make the best of the day.

We pottered around one or two shops along the way, amused by the sight of this book, a German version of the one being chatted about by some friends in the last couple of days!


This statue of Helvetia will settle any doubts about this favourite of ours. We love the way she's resting her shield and spear, putting down her suitcase and making the decision to go no further!

After a morning walking around, we too were feeling a little footsore, so around lunchtime, we hopped aboard a tram and headed to the Fondation Beyeler

Reminiscent of the Burrell Collection, situated in parkland with large plate glass windows, this is a fantastic gallery of modern art. Sadly no photographs allowed inside, but you can imagine the wealth of treasures inside by Picasso, Mondrian, Van Gogh, Monet, Rothko, Kandinsky,
Giacometti...the list goes on. The special exhibition on right now is of Action Painting - with several pieces by Jackson Pollock amongst other artists of whom we'd never heard. All used some kind of energetic way of creating their art and the results were....well, "interesting"...It's worth following the link from the main Beyeler website to find out more about this fascinating show.

Back into town then, to buy sock yarn and other essentials - and of course, you've worked it out by now, haven't you? We're in Basel, Switzerland, and very nice it is too!

We are in...

...I'll let you guess.

If you have visited my 365 blog, you'll have suspected that we've hopped off to a concert, tomorrow night. But we couldn't resist an extra day in one of our favourite places and though we don't know this particular city as well as other parts of the country, it's lovely to be here.

The view from our window is of the mighty Rhine, in full flow and proving quite a challenge for the smaller boats as they struggle upstream. The huge barge that just went past had no problem!

To Switzerland

We took a boat along the lake to Switzerland today, had lunch and came back again. We imagined ourselves on a wood-panelled steamer, chugging away as we sat in comfort gazing at the beautiful scenery through the windows.

 

We did not expect an old car ferry! Throughout most of the journey, this vessel was crammed with what seemed like the population of France and Italy combined, but eventually we found our niche in the diesel-scented air under the canopy at the stern of the ship, from where we watched the weather go by.

 

 

Don't you love it when it rains bubbles?

Home again

On our last night in Luzern, we booked a table on the "Raclette boat" and enjoyed melting cheese whilst sailing around the lake - more fun than it sounds, I assure you! This morning was my first day in the office since mid-December and I think tomorrow just has to be spent sorting out some of the piles which have arisen about the place.

I guess life is getting back to normal.

It's good.

In answer to Phil's question, below, the raclette pans we used were small, individual ones, shown in the photo above, which were placed one per table. They were "fired" by three nightlights underneath the pan, and we soon realised that it would have been better to have it all lit and hot well before starting. Being non-smokers, however, the lack of a light on our table meant we had to rely upon our waitress to light it for us, and I think we must have been the last on her circuit. The first few slices of Kaltbach cheese melted very slowly indeed, so as there were four on our table, we asked for a second pan. There was an ample buffet table with constantly replenished supplies of potatoes, mini corn, tomatoes, pickles and cheese In no time at all, we were melting cheese faster than we could eat! We drank Fendant wine, from Valais (delicious), enjoyed the "Gemuetlichkeit" of our fellow diners very much indeed and very much recommend these "Fondue- u. Raclette- Schiff" trips as a great way to spend an evening.