Some truisms from this morning’s Daily Cruiser:
- When traveling, always say “yes” to chocolate
- On long flights always smile at parents with screaming children
- If flying, sharp objects (samurai swords, chain saws, etc) should be stored in your heavy luggage
Alas, today is marked by the “D” word - disembarkation. We have an overnight here in Basel, and leave tomorrow afternoon from the Basel International Airport, which, curiously enough, is in France rather than Switzerland. We are currently sitting in the AmaCello (I always think lemoncello when I hear the name) lounge, awaiting our noon pickup to go to the Basel Airport Hotel. Once we check in, we plan to do some traveling on foot throughout the town, so I’ll probably have lots to chat about tomorrow. It does look like Indian food is on the menu for dinner tonight, but I think I’m looking for a curry wurst and frites for lunch. Bad for me, yes, but I’m ok with that!
We docked in a fairly industrial part of Basel, which makes sense since it is a center of commerce in Switzerland. Basel is Switzerland’s's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany. With 830,000 inhabitants in the tri-regional area as of 2004, Basel is Switzerland's second-largest urban area. Basel functions as a major industrial center for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. The Basel region, culturally extending into Germany’s Baden Wurttemberg and France’s Alsace, reflects the heritage of its three states in the modern Latin name: "Regio TriRhena". It has the oldest university of the Swiss Confederation, and is German-speaking, which leaves me in a very comfortable place. I’m looking forward to our next 24 hours.
Watch this space for more tomorrow on our exploits today!
