Random Area Sightings

It’s been three weeks since Dan and I landed in Switzerland and we’ve done a few things that might be of interest to others during that time.  There hasn’t been any one thing that I could put together for a nice page, so here’s just a mismash of “stuff” that we’ve been occupying ourselves with…

For starters, Dan and I finally took the bicycles outside and decided to see just “how good” the prices were in Germany. We’ve heard that many things are much cheaper across the border so we thought we’d check it out. It was a beautiful sunny day, but cold – barely above freezing. This turned out to be a bad choice, as it sparked a bad sinus cold in Dan and gave me a bit of a cough for the next few days.  But what is done is done and we managed to recover.

We didn’t really know where we were going, but it’s only a few miles and we were there in less than an hour (including stops to check maps and locations). This is the older part of Weil am Rhein, our German destination:

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Hauptstrasse (Main St) is much more modern and commercial – and quite long. We parked the bikes and walked up and down the street, seeing what was available. And while I had known there was a motorcycle accessory shop, I had forgotten about it until we came across it. It held an extensive array of items and was incredibly well thought out. A couple of nice touches were gear lockers near the door, the kids play area (including kids gear) and a motorcycle outside of the changing rooms so that you could feel how well the gear fit while sitting on a motorcycle. I’ll be sure to go back there again.

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The prices were indeed cheaper (even factoring in the higher cost of the Euro) and we stocked up on a few groceries before heading home. We took a different route back, getting somewhat turned around on the rural bike paths that we chose for the return. Some of them were slushy and icy, but it was still a pleasant ride.

Dan took a couple of days to recover and then went back to work. I went back to exploring more of the town. Here are some random pictures.

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Another brilliant day came around and while Dan was at work, I decided to give Germany another try. This time the weather was much better: still sunny and almost 60F. I took a different route (which I don’t recommend) but had a much better time of it.

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A few blocks from our apartment is the Basel University Botanical Garden. I finally took the time to check it out. It is bigger than it looks from the street, but still not a very big place. It is also still too early in the year for much to be blooming, but I can see that the place has promise. Besides, it also has a Giant Sequoia and an Oregon Cedar, in case I feel the need of a little bit of “home”.

Giant Sequoia

A “wild bee” hive

And there ends the current update of “Life in Switzerland”. If anyone out there has specific requests about something, let me know! I’d be happy to do what I can.

Adding some more from recent ramblings:


The Rhine level has risen with the recent rains we’ve been having. It’ll be interesting to see how high it gets!


“Contemplative Man”


Building construction takes over the street air space

*** More Pictures added February 8th ***


Basel seagulls


Martkplatz and the Rathaus


Marktplatz street scene


Fur is surprisingly popular here


The gnomes aren’t always friendly


Construction site

7 comments

  1. Dennis Jacobsen (Mercer Island, WA) says:

    Just what I needed after a miserable Friday afternoon commute on the I-90 to Mercer Island. The size of Louis and the variety is amazing. A place I’d be in far to often given the chance. I really enjoy your little news writings and hope ;you will continue., Dennis

  2. sally Malm says:

    Could crocus really be blooming in Switzerland.?..maybe they were blooming inside that conservatory at the Basel University Botanical Garden.

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