One week in Switzerland .. or rather, one week in Switzerland, Germany and France! In 2011, I spent the 2nd half of my exchange year in Costa Rica, an experience that was both incredible and incredibly challenging at times. One of the highlights of this experience was the amazing people that I met, both local and other exchange students; people that I continue to call my friends today. My best friend during these 6 months was Marina, a half-Swiss, half-Brazilian beauty who was just as keen to explore Costa Rica during exam weeks and bend the rules as I was! Marina has always said NZ is ‘too far’ to visit, so I have finally fulfilled my promise to visit her in Basel, Switzerland!
Euroairport in Basel is a strange airport to say the least – not a lot of security, I don’t think my passport was even checked and if you go through the wrong exit to Germany instead of Switzerland, you can’t get back in to switch to the other country. It was amazing to see Marina again, and the first stop was supermarket shopping for the week ..in Germany. At first, it wasn’t obvious when we crossed the land borders and we drove easily between the 2 countries but as the week on I became more aware of the differences. I couldn’t help with anything at the supermarket and was in a bit of a daze wandering through the vegan store with German packaging. The best part for Swiss people doing their significantly cheaper supermarket shopping over the border is the ability to claim VAT (tax) back when they pass back into Switzerland. Such a strange concept for a person from an island!!
Marina had just moved into a new apartment, just a couple of blocks from the Rhine River, and was excited to have a roommate for the week!
On our first day we took a 1 hour (and 70 Swiss franc!) train to the bigger city of Zurich to visit the Pride festival and meet some of Marina’s friends. It was an overwhelming experience with so many people celebrating in the streets for the parade, but such a great vibe to be part of. Later in the afternoon we took the opportunity to explore the city further. Although a wealthy city with expensive stores and modern architecture, a section of Zurich is still preserved as the beautiful old town it once was. I particularly enjoyed being at Zurich Lake, my first glimpse of the beautiful scenery in Switzerland. The lakefront reminded me of Queenstown, NZ, in a variety of ways. Queenstown is a wealthy town by NZ standards, but could never compare to the wealth based in Switzerland. Mansions dotted around the lake, yachts and all sorts of boats enjoying the start of summer and lakefront bars made for a lively atmosphere complemented by the beauty of the lake and surrounding hills and mountains in the distance.
Sundays are a chilled affair in Switzerland, it is a day of rest for all. None of the shopping malls are open, even the supermarkets are closed! The only exception is cafes and restaurants, which are packed out as families enjoy the day spent together and often dine by the riverfront. Marina’s new apartment is located in Kleinbasel, across the river from the city center. I was lucky enough to be visiting on the same day as the annual Kleinbasel flea markets, an opportunity to explore the neighborhood, visiting courtyards usually closed off the the public and enjoy some window shopping in the sun.
A popular summer tradition for the locals in Basel is floating down the Rhine River, quite often with an inflatable dry bag. It was a must-do during my visit, and although the water felt Arctic being the beginning of summer here, we managed brave the chill and enjoy the icy yet refreshing dip twice during my stay here, followed by sunbathing on the riverfront.
Art Basel is known internationally as one of the most important contemporary art fairs in the world, and happened to be running during my visit. Marina had made mention of celebrities in town such as Brad Pitt, but we weren’t around town long enough to spot him. Basel is already home of beautiful historic architecture and funky street art and the addition of Art Basel exhibitions and public art pieces made exploring the old town even more enjoyable.
From my first impressions, I would describe Basel as an extremely ‘liveable city’ (a current catch-phrase in NZ and Australia). Although the city is in Switzerland, the greater Basel area is made up of Switzerland, Germany and France. Efficient and plentiful public transport options, easy walking and cycling access, public parks, a friendly vibe and a general enjoyable feel radiating off of the locals makes it easy to feel at home here. One thing I have noticed since arriving in Europe is that I no longer stand out like a sore thumb, the obvious tourist, lost and just waiting to be approached for a dodgy deal. I was living a local experience whilst in Basel and no one looked twice at me, which was a refreshing change from some parts of SE Asia. The change of pace from my first week in Europe, country-hopping every 2nd day to now being based in such an easygoing city for a week was a little hard to adjust to at first, actually having time to relax and getting to know an area rather than just hitting the tourist spots before taking another long bus ride to another big city.
I have a constant desire to be moving and discovering new places, so after a few days chilling in Basel with Marina, I left her to some life admin and set out on a solo adventure to the quaint historic town of Colmar. It takes some getting used to catching trains and connections at different stations, but I enjoyed the challenge and travelled for just 1.5 hours to get a small taste of France.
I really enjoyed Colmar – it was different from any town I had been to so far on my travels, and although quite touristic in the main centre, easy enough to follow the winding streets and escape the crowds. I had decided I should probably do a little more in my travels than just wander by foot, and discovered a canal-way fondly named by the locals as ‘Little Venice’. For just 6€ I gatecrashed a group of travelers over 50years my senior on their mini gondola ride through part of the town. An entertaining guide who spoke English just for me made the experience all the more enjoyable as we learnt a little more about the history of the area, disputed over by several countries over its varied past. I found it especially interesting that the different colored houses used to reflect the occupation of the person who lived there – I can’t remember all of them, but the pink houses were from prostitutes. I assume this may be a similar system in neigbouring towns and countries!
It was lovely to have an insight into a French village, and it is definitely a country I would be keen to explore more of in the future.
The other country just a 10 minute train ride from Basel is Germany. After being surrounded by people and cities during my European experience so far, it was important to reconnect with nature, and along with Marina we took the 2 hour train ride to the Black Forest in Germany. It was a beautiful view as our train emerged from The hillside with a view over the stunning glacier lake of Titisee. Our journey continued a little further until we arrived at Schlusee, our destination for the day. It was also Marina’s first time in this extended part of her backyard, and it was awesome seeing her appreciation for the backyard right on her doorstep! Traveling during the weekdays as opposed to weekends, especially in towns popular with local tourists, is crucial and we were treated to a quiet town centre on the hill (with half of the cafes closed as a rest day) and a great view of the Schlusee Lake.
The day was spent walking around the lakefront and onboard a paddleboat we hired for just 8€ an hour, which we spent a little longer on than expected! After a cool dip in the water we had a wee snooze in the sun and didn’t realize quite how far we had drifted … I felt like I was reconnecting with a little bit of New Sealand here, and really enjoyed the opportunity to experience a piece of the Black Forest’s magic. I did try a little piece of the other magic of the Black Forest, the Black Forest cake, however it was far too sweet for me and the idea was greater than the taste!
The highlight of my trip to Switzerland was our last couple of days where we had the opportunity to explore more of this stunning country and travel to Bodensee/Lake Konstanz, a jaw-dropping lake on the border of Switzerland and Germany. Marina has a close family friend Victor, who lives the majority of the year in Ipanema Beach, Brazil, but is spending a few months in his family lake house at Bodensee this year. We were both so grateful to be hosted by him for the night and get to experience a slice of his paradise.
Driving around the lake, there seem to be hundreds of tiny towns and villages around the lake, broken up by fruit orchards, vineyards and churches. There are even several castles here, mostly privately owned with people living in them! We were rewarded with amazing weather, albeit a little cold and windy on day 1 with kite surfers out in full force, but the cooler weather and cloudless blue skies made for excellent sightseeing and the opportunity to visit both the German and Swiss sides of the lakes. There are several scenic cycle tracks around the lake and through vineyards here, which would have been an excellent addition to our stay if we had stayed longer. Some of the villages made me feel as if I were in a fairytale, and magical creatures might pop out at any moment.
On day 2, we braved the cool weather for a swim in the lake (just at the end of the garden), always a perfect way to start the day. No day can be perfect really, and we were nearly attacked by a territorial duck after climbing onboard a pontoon to dry off.
Bodensee was the best way to end a wonderful and relaxing stay in Switzerland and I’m so happy to have experienced it. It was an awesome chilled week catching up with Marina, her family and getting a local experience of life in Northern Switzerland.
Top pointers for my next visit will be a rail pass to explore more of the country without breaking the bank account, and heading south to explore the mountain ranges and Italian part of the country, and of course fitting in some hiking!
An update from the Cali – at the time of posting, Luke and the Creekside Clique have officially completed their first week of cycling on the East Coast of the USA! After meeting Zac, Phil & Jackson in Bangor, Maine, their week has been filled with adventure and generous hosts as they got used to the weight of their panniers, navigating highways at times, avoiding mishaps and taking in the beauty of this amazing section of the USA. They have now entered their 3rd state of the journey, and are close to arriving in Boston for a short pitstop before the adventure continues. Somehow ‘social media guru’ Luke has taken the Marketing Director title of the crew and has set up his first Instagram to keep those interested up with the fun. Check them out at @creeksideclique on Insta as the embark on their 2nd week heading south!
I’m writing this blog from Fez, Morocco, where I’m 3 days into a tour of this amazing North African country. Catching up on this blog post is an excellent way to escape the 40 degree heat, but I’m loving it so far and can’t wait to write the next update from the Sahara Desert!
Until then, A Kiwi xo
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