Last weekend was the first time I would see Switzerland, my new home for the next twelve months.
Do you really want the backstory?
[Skip next paragraph if you know / aren't interested in / are happy to pick it up as you go the backstory]
OK, my wife, incredibly talented, intelligent and ... what's the word ... intrepid! ... person that she is, has a contract for a year based in Basel, Switzerland. It entailed considerably more wonga than her current, not-longer-extant-role. And actually more than our current combined earnings. Even taking into into account our relocation costs. Fortunately, my very accomodating and forward-thinking
employers here in the UK have agreed to let me take nearly a year off work. I'll be coming back for a couple of weeks every couple of months to keep my position available to me. In the meantime I intend to (a) write a blog about our adventures (b) write my novel (c) study and (d) get some freelance work [but not neccesarily in that order]. Now I've never been to Switzerland before, apart from skiing across the border a few times from Italy or France. Not that I didn't want to see Switzerland, just one of those things I hadn't done. Claire HAD been to Switzerland, back when she was a student, and she worked for the same company in the same city. She had no hesitation in moving. I was a little more hesitant, but perhaps feel / felt like I need something new. To be honest, this kind of opportunity doesn't come along very often and I like to think of myself as intrepid, so I didn't really have any hesitation about saying "let's go!"
[Backstory ends]
Day One
Heathrow Terminal Five is pretty awesome. Although they could do with making it easier to get around - all those lifts give me bad flashbacks to bad experiences at Covent Garden tube station. But the terminal itself is great. The BA bag drop experience was simplicity itself and the guy didn't look like he was going to arrest me for having an overweight bag, just reminded me that the allowance was [a very generous] 23kg and asked if I could move anything into my hand luggage. Anyway I'm waffling. Heathrow was mostly very good. Except for the "gourmet" burger. Don't.
Moving on, it was very emotional to see my wife again for the first time in two weeks. It doesn't sound like long, but when you're used to being with someone pretty much all the time, two weeks is a very long time. I won't dwell on the reunion details, because there's so much else to bore you with.
Noughth, a bendy bus from the airport. OK it's a bendy bus but man do the Swiss know how to do a bendy bus! Every stop told me, in German, French and English [and possibly SchweiserDeutsch but I may just have been tired - more in later posts] what stop was next and what other bus routes I could exchange with there. Oh, and there were signs telling me how long the next bus would be. Oh, and a minute was generally 30 seconds and not 90 seconds.
First, the new flat. It's a very spacious two bedroomed affair overlooking a park whose name I will be able to remember soon. The only downside is the three flights of steps to get to it. And the fact that it's illegal in Switzerland to make any kind of noise after 2200 [10pm], so I had to leave the plug in when I had a shower. SERIOUSLY!
Second, I arrived in Basel quite late, so a late supper of bread, cheese & salami was in order. One of the reasons for writing this is to log the cheeses I try, so I must enumerate. Emmental - sweet, lovely texture, very edible; Tomme Suisee - soft, stickily so once it had breathed, very light flavour, very nice. Washed down with a New Zealand Pinot Noir from Heathrow. I'll remember the vinyard one day maybe.
Day Two
A tour of the local shops was the first order of business - breakfast of black coffee and croissant at somewhere whose details I will add when I remember them, then into the city centre. Trams this time. Trams are also very good, very efficient and very long! We had a long wander in Basel; around a couple of squares - one of which had a volleyball court being contructed in it of all things! And the Marktplatz which you should be able to translate as market place, which was an absolute festival of cheeses and sausages - one guy gave me a sample of what seemed to be a truffle salami and tasted as good as that description makes it sound!
We crossed the Rhine oh here's a picture of it! And wandered around the other side, by that time looking for somewhere to eat. I wanted beer and sausage but I think Claire would have been happy with a sandwich and a coffee. However, we found a brasserie [details will follow] eventually that fit the bill beautifully. I had a veal bratwurst with a rosti and onion gravy. And two Wartecks. And enjoyed every mouthful. I did take a picture of it, but I won't bother uploading it. I suspect we'll be back there once I move here permanently.
Back across the bridge, taking in bits of the international school choir festival / competition that was going on at various points around the town [very cultural this place!]. I really wanted to see the cathedral up close - you can just make out one of the spires in the photo there - and wasn't too disappointed. Apart from the scaffolding.
Headed for home again, via "BeachVolleyballPlatz" whose real name I will write in the future and caught some of the event. Not the best weather for beach volleyball and apparently the ladies weren't playing until sunday, but it killed a few minutes nonetheless and was free!
Back home, chilled for a while and then back into town for dinner at a tapas place whose name I will put in at some point in the future. Not bad at all, although anywhere pales alongside our favourite place for tapas,
The Goose Fat & Garlic in Sawbridgeworth. Worth at least another visit. After dinner, a nightcap in the famous
Mr Pickwicks, which Claire remembers from when she was here as a student. Apparently when they first opened they had notices everywhere telling locals how to use a pub! I asked, in my bestest german, for "zwei Warteck bitte" and the barman pulled my pints and then told me "sixteen eighty mate". So I guess he saw through my cunning disguise...
Day Three
Was spent wandering around St. Albans. No
not the one in Hertfordshire, there's also an area in Basel which has a very interesting canal system and was used for a papermill from somewhere around 1638. There's also what appears to be part of a city wall down there. And also a fascinating mode of cross-Rhinal transportation which I will post thoroughly about once I thoroughly understand it but believe you me, it's cool!
Then I flew home.
[originally drafted 17th May 2010, not posted until 31st. I hope this doesn't become a habit!]
