We arrive in Switzerland

 We are in Switzerland; a new country for us.  Basel is where we were supposed to leave the ship but instead we will be in a very nice hotel for the next 2 nights.  We were all amazed at how quickly our Program Directors, along with the Grand Circle Regional Directors, were able to secure hotel accommodations and restaurants to accommodate 46 people with only a day's notice of the need to leave the ship.

Basel is located on the Rhine River and borders with France and Germany.

Our Program Director always starts out our arrival in a new city with a guided walk, giving us the opportunity to learn a little bit about the city's history and present-day facts.

We head to the Old Town of Basel and walk over to the Tinguely Fountain.  It's an unusual-looking fountain where the artist created sculptural machines merged with water.

It is a large city with a mix of historical and modern architecture.

It is a city of museums...about 40 of them.  This is the Museum of Art

 Circle of Life statue

The fall color is beautiful

We walk toward the Minster, Basel's cathedral and most prominent landmark.

Built between 1019 and 1500, the cathedral was originally Catholic, but today is Reformed Protestant.
 

The walls are red sandstone.

On the cathedral's facade is the statue of St George and the dragon.

and this statue of a lady draping cloth over what is now a tree stump....it was originally a beggar.

Inside the cathedral

More beautiful stained-glass windows

The tomb of Erasmus of Rotterdam; he was a great scholar of the Renaissance and the first editor of the New Testament.

Some plaques of cemetery stones.

In 1986 there was a chemical explosion which dumped toxic waste into the river severely damaging the river biology and killing fish.  The artist made a powerful statement with this sculpture showing the effects of the chemical disaster.

We then walked over for a view of the river.

The symbol of Basel is the dragon

And drinking from the fountain is said to ensure a return visit to Basel

Getting closer to the bridge, we learn about the witch tower on the bridge.

Those suspected of being witches were held here.  Then they were tossed into the river. If they lived, they were then declared witches and would be sentenced to death.  If they drowned, they were not witches.....huh??

We ended our walk at the Marktplatz.

 

The Basel Town Hall is the very eye-catching 500 year old red building.

The hotel provided us tickets to ride the bus system,  so we hopped one to head back to the hotel.

On the bus we decided to get off at the bridge and walk the rest of the way to the hotel.

A beautiful day to enjoy the city of Basel.

That evening we said goodbye to those travelers who would be heading to the airport early in the morning.  There would be about 12 of us who will continue traveling on the post-trip to Lucerne, Switzerland.

To continue reading, scroll down and click on "Newer Post".  We're off to the beautiful city on a lake, Lucerne, and what we think is the most picturesque portion of this entire trip.