Basel and the Start of our Christmas Market Rhine River Cruise 21-24 November 2019
We landed in Zurich on Friday, 22 November, following our flight from Newark Airport.  We had left Denver in an icy, misty rain at 0540 on Thursday for our flight to LaGuardia Airport in New York.  After a slight delay for de-icing, our flight was routine and we landed at LaGuardia at 1:15 in the afternoon.  After collecting our luggage, we walked to the Terminal B garage where we were to meet our black car for the drive to Newark Airport.  I’m glad that someone else was driving as I would not have had the patience to do it.  The traffic was horrendous, but our driver said he wasn’t even fazed by it.  We finally arrived at Newark Airport about 3 PM and after a really long Pre-Check line (that did move quickly) we were through Security and at the new Polaris Club at the Newark Airport.  What an upgrade from the regular United Club!  We may have to fly business class United on all our international flights.  The wine was outstanding as was the food – and we did not even try the sit-down restaurant!  At 6 PM we boarded our flight to Zurich.  After a push-back delay due to traffic, the flight was uneventful – the flight attendants were great and the dinner of short ribs was delicious.  We then converted our seats to the lie-flat beds and tried to get about 4 hours of sleep.  The beds were not the most comfortable, but still better than economy and both of us managed about 3-4 hours of sleep.  We arrived in Zurich at 8:30 AM, to a very overcast and cold morning. 

After clearing passport control and collecting our luggage we made our way down to the train station for the ride to Basel.  It was difficult to figure out which track we were supposed to be on for our train, so we ended up back in the train customer service for additional information.  They directed us to the right track and a train to Zurich main train station arrived shortly.  We were told there was no direct train service to Basel; that we would have to change trains in Zurich.  Arriving in Zurich, passengers pointed us to the train on the next track that was going to Basel.  We got on that train, but most of the seats were reserved.  After walking through 4 cars, we finally found 2 seats that were available and we were on our way.  As it turned out, the train we took from the airport was also going to Basel, so we could have stayed on it.  But all turned out okay and an hour later we arrived in Basel.  From the train station it was a short walk to the hotel, and as we were checking in we met up with our traveling companions, the Stevens, who had been out for a walk but had forgotten their camera.  We said that we would meet them for dinner, as we were tired and needed a little nap.  As it turned out, our nap was a little longer than expected, and when they called at 5:00 we were both asleep.  We quickly got up and met them in the lobby to go to dinner.  With the help of the Basel Card, which was given to us by the hotel, we were able to use the Basel tram system free of charge.  That is a nice feature of a lot of European cities.  Dinner was at the Snobel Restaurant close to the Marktplatz.  It was a wonderful Swiss restaurant.  Bill had the wiener schnitzel and I had the rosti, a traditional Swiss dinner of fried potatoes and a topping – I had the vegetables with a mushroom sauce.  Then it was back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep.

Basel is Switzerland’s third largest city.  It sits on the Rhine River at the junction of three countries – Switzerland, Germany, and France.  Basel’s history began around 100 BC when the Celts built a fortified settlement here.  In 374 AD it became a Roman fort named Basilia and then part of the Germanic Empire in 1032.  In 1501 Basel joined the Swiss Confederation.  Today Basel is a banking and industrial center, and its pharmaceutical industry is one of the most important in the world, with at least two major pharmaceutical companies headquartered here.

St. Albans Tor

Hammering Man

The next morning we did a walking tour starting in the St. Alban section of Basel.  This area was named after the church of a former Benedictine monastery founded on the outskirts of Basel in the 11^th century.  Located within this area was one of two remaining gates of the 13^th century medieval fortifications – St. Alban Tor.  As we walked to St. Alban Tor, we passed a large moving statue, 44 feet in height and weighting eight tons, called the Hammering Man.  The hammer moves up and down systematically.  It was designed by an American sculptor to honor the working man/woman and was installed in 1989.

As we walked through St. Alban, we crossed over the canal that runs through it that used to power the monastery’s mills.  The paper industry dates back to the creation of this canal by monks in the 12^th century.  From St. Alban it was a short distance to the Rhine River where we walked across the Wettsteinbrücke Bridge to the other side of the Rhine to visit St. Theodorkirche.

This side of the Rhine is known as Kleinbasel.  The first permanent bridge, the Mittlere Rheinbrucke (Middle Rhine Bridge), was built in 1226 and is one of the oldest Rhine crossings between Lake Constance and the North Sea.  For many centuries it was just a catwalk across the Rhine, but in the early 20^th century it was replaced with a stone bridge that would accommodate cars.  A small fortress was built on the far side of the river and a settlement grew up around it.  The settlement became part of Basel in the 14^th century.  Then it was inhabited mainly by the poorer sector of the city.  Today it is a very popular district with its vibrant squares, streets, art shops, and bars and restaurants.

St. Theodorkirche

Carthusian Village

St. Theodorkirche was first mentioned in 1084.  In the early 1100s, it belonged to the monastery of St. Alban.  Tombs dating back to the 8^th century were found within the church.  Today, although no longer a catholic church (it changed with the reformation), you can still see the late 4^th century stained glass windows and a bell tower dating from 1277.  Although fairly plain inside, we did see the sandstone baptismal dating from around 1500.  The area across from the church was a Carthusian monastery, Margarethental, from 1401 until the reformation in 1529.  After the last monk died in 1564, the area was abandoned until 1669 when the city founded an orphanage in the former convent.  The former monastery church was used as a warehouse and dormitory, but it has been reactivated and serves the Lutheran community today.

Fahre Crossing the Rhine

From here, we walked down to the edge of the river where we took the Munster Fahre, a ferry across the Rhine.  The Rhine has a very strong flow through Basel. so these little boats need no propulsion (other than the river) to make a quick crossing of the river with their passengers (no cars).  The little boats are connected via a long wire to a cable strung across the river.  Using the river’s current and a small rudder at the back of the boat to angle the boat into the current, basically “yawing” into the current, you can travel across the river in about 5 minutes time.  There are four such crossings in Basel.  The cost – only 1.60 euros!  What a fun way to cross the river!

The Munster

St. Gallus Door

Once across the Rhine, we walked up to the Munster, Basel’s Cathedral that is built on the top of Minster Hill.  With its two 197 feet high spires and brightly patterned glazed roof tiles, it is hard to miss.  Originally built of red sandstone from the Vosges Mountains of France between the 9^th and 13^th centuries, it was rebuilt in the Gothic style following Basel’s earthquake of 1356.  One of the things not to miss in the Munster is St. Gallus doorway on the north side of the church.  It contains 12^th century Romanesque stone carvings of angels, prophets, roses, and kings.  It is one of the oldest figured doorways in German-speaking Europe.  Depicted on the portal are Christ the Judge (with Christ enthroned above flanked by Peter and Paul), The Wise and Foolish Virgins (with the “Seducer” courting a young girl, with snakes and toads behind his back to symbolize evil), and The Resurrection of the Dead over the main vault.  Above the doorway is a large rose window.  All around the church people where constructing their little huts for the Christmas Market.  Unfortunately for us, the markets here do not open until after our river cruise departs.

Poison Sculpture

We had visited the Munster on our previous trip to Basel so we just did a quick walk through.  In the back of the church in the convent area is a sculpture of a bronze poison barrel with a skull sitting on top of it.  It is in remembrance of a large chemical spill at a Sandoz storehouse on 1 November 1986.  It released toxic pesticides into the air and resulted in tons of pollutants entering the Rhine River, turning it red.  The result was the death of much of the water wildlife downstream from the spill – a large portion of the European eel and salmon population were killed.  After a massive clean-up operation, the Rhine is now cleaner than it has ever been.

Christmas Preparations

Tinguely Fountain

After our walk ended, we walked to Tinguely Fountain to take a guided stroll through the old part of the city.  We had a very knowledgeable guide and the pace was not very aggressive.  We started the tour at the fountain, very modern and whimsical.  It contains a series of playful and ingenious water-spouting contraptions made of scrap metal.  It generally runs all year round so in the winter (January and February) these little contraptions freeze into fantastic ice sculptures.

Wine Fountain

From this fountain we walked up to a smaller fountain – the Wine Fountain.  During most of the year only water flows through the fountain.  But on a specific date (it is never published in advance), the fountain is filled with red wine and anyone walking by can take their mug and fill it up.  I guess people here must carry a mug around with them so they don’t miss the wine.  Unfortunately for us, today was not the day the wine flowed freely!

One of Many Fountains

We then walked through some of the old streets with their beautiful old homes, and, of course, more small fountains.  Basel is a city of fountains with over 300, large and small, and all squirting water.  Just on this short little walk we saw four.

Our last stop was at the Rathaus (Town Hall).  It dominates the Marktplatz Square with is bright red sandstone walls and colorful painted façade.  The Gothic building dates to the early 1500s, but the wing to the left and the bell tower to the right are 19^th century additions.  The clock is the original dating back to 1511.  The façade is full of many symbols, including the 12 coats of arms of the Old Swiss Confederacy.  Inside the Town Hall was a Statue of the Roman soldier Lucius Munatius Plancus.

Rathuas

Courtyard of Rathaus

For dinner we had planned to go to a restaurant that Patrice had found.  We had to take the tram and then walk about 6 blocks, but when we got there, they said they were full and could not take us.  It was still rather early – about 5:30 and there was only one table occupied at this time.  So we walked further down toward where we knew the tram stopped and took it back to Marktplatz.  There we found a nice little bar and restaurant.  We both had their French Onion Soup (very good) and split a hamburger.  Then it was back to the hotel for an early night.  We must have walked about 4 miles today.

The Dreilandereck

Last Day in Basel

The next day we boarded our ship, the River Rhapsody, for the start of the Christmas Market Cruise.  After breakfast at the hotel, we finished packing and took the tram to the closest point to our ship.  It was about a three block walk from the tram to the ship.  We stored our luggage and then had lunch on the ship.  After lunch we walked along the river to the point where three countries, Switzerland, Germany, and France meet – the Drelandereck.  The actual meeting point is somewhere in the middle of the Rhine River, but they have a monument to that point on the land.

Back on the ship, we unpacked and I then went into the lounge area to meet some of our new travel mates.  The first group I ran into was from Hammonton, NJ – several were wearing their Eagles sweatshirts.  (I can relate to these people as I grew up in South Jersey and am an avid Eagles fan.)   I then met a woman and her husband.  Somewhere in the conversation, she said her husband at gone to Rutgers.  I said that I had gone to Glassboro State.  She got all excited and said that was where she had gone.  She had graduated in 1964 so we were there together for one year.  What a small world!  Every time we saw each other we called us “Glassboro.”

We finally met our trip leader Stefen, who is from Antwerp, Belgium.  Although he has been with Grand Circle for six years, this was his first time on the Rhine River Christmas Market cruise.  We have 44 in our group, so his job is cut out for him – cat herding 44 people won’t be easy, and a few are not very mobile.  But he seems very knowledgeable and funny, so we should have a great time.

The crew is great – friendly and hardworking.  By the second day, they knew us by name.  Of course, for the bar attendants that was easy – we always seem to gravitate there!  But the wine and beer were free.  Dinner this evening was Cordon Bleu.  There are almost always three options – meat, fish or vegetarian.  There is also an appetizer, soup and desert.  You will not go hungry on this ship.  The ship will not leave Basel until 6 AM tomorrow, but no one was interested in going back into Basel.  Time for a good night’s sleep as the adventure starts tomorrow.

Just a few interesting facts about our ship, the River Rhapsody.  It has 70 cabins and can accommodate 140 passengers. It has a crew of 38 international members.  It is 360 feet long and 37 feet wide.  It entered service in 1999, but unfortunately, as we learned during the cruise, Grand Circle is selling the ship and the Christmas Market cruises will be its last for Grand Circle.  That is a shame – she is a lovely ship.  We have sailed on her twice and thoroughly enjoyed it.

On board the ship, the ships cook staff, with a very small galley, will prepare three meals a day.  Two are buffet-style (breakfast and lunch) while dinner is a sit-down event.  On this cruise we will consume 3000 fresh eggs, 177 pounds of cheese, 43 gallons of milk, 40 gallons of ice cream, 188 pounds of fish, 662 pounds of meat, 110 pounds of butter, 155 pounds of flour, 165 pounds of sugar, 1230 pounds of fresh fruit, and 2275 pounds of vegetables.  But I saved the best for last – 40 gallons of beer and 201 gallons of wine!  No wonder we all gain a little weight.