Europe Hotel Basel

... someone comes all the way from Australia to visit you, the least you could do was reply and say sorry not interested or something. But up until a week ago it was excitement to see an old friend. Today, I was just surprised at how careless people can be. I suppose you expect too much of people sometimes.

So I had the day to explore Basel. What another let down. The tour centre has pamphlets upon pamphlets on how beautiful and interesting ...

... gave us a lot of information not on the signs and plaques next to the paintings. It took us about two hours to go through the collection with the guide as a companion. It was a really great exhibit; very informative and interesting. We learned a lot about Van Gogh during our time there and it was so cool to see how is talent progressed over time, along with his mental instability.

After the exhibit and mom ...

... que frontalier, les bâlois rechgignent clairement à parler Français, me prenant pour une Suisse qui ne fait pas d'effort. Ce n'est qu'en parlant de Sud de la France que j'arrive à faire admettre mes lacunes en allemand et à discuter avec la dame du Musée Juif, seul Musée de Bâle ouvert le lundi. Et bien sur. faire avant de repartir sur ...

Arrivée à Mulhouse dans l'après midi après 7h00 de train assez éprouvant, ça fait plaisir de retrouver des amis pas vus depuis longtemps. Visite de la vieille ville de Mulhouse le Samedi, la Ville est Assez industrielle, ce n'est aps encore l'Alsace de Carte ...

... The street that winds behind the theatre past Atlantis to the Elizabethenkirche was shut down to traffic and absolutely overflowing with people. They were squeezed into nooks and crannies with their caipirinhas, cachaca, and beers. Holding the crowds from spilling over into the cross streets were booths selling trinkets and treasures from around the globe, food stalls of amazing variety, and ...

... a bottle of water. However there was none in sight so we considered to the ruins. They were not worth the hike! The remains of the amphitheatre are quite modest and under normal circumstances it would have probably been a delightful walk past farmers' fields and quaint village houses but today it was not rewarding in the least.

On the walk back to the car we took a different (and even longer) route past the Sanctuary on Greinmatt. This is where the ...

... 100 different beers from 25 countries. The menu is organized so that the beers are grouped by their country, although the countries aren't listed in any particular order that I could figure out. The place is called Pinguin and it is also a restaurant. It is in the Guinness Book of Records for world's largest mustard selection. I didn't try the food but I will ...

... a good meal, which we had bought back from the supermarket on the way there. The hostel had pretty good facilities which extended beyond the traditional features of shower and kitchen, meaning that we could have a game of pool while The Simpsons (in German) played out in the background. There was even a 'chill out' room, full of subtle (and some less subtle) references to Jesus, for those tourists who hadn't ...

... made a good dinner of chicken sticks, stir fry vegetables and cheese and crackers. It was excellent, it was the first balanced meal I've had in a long time. That evening we decided to just roam around Basel on the tram and walking. The hostel gave us transportation passes which were very helpful. We went to the highest building in Basel where there was a bar where the rest of our group said they were going to be. We went there all ...