Hotel White Horse Basel

so... es nochet... no die letschte Sache schnäll erledige.. ond scho gli stoht d'Sabine do zom öis abhole! - be dene doch öppe 7 Grad ond dem Räge verosse eschs om so schöner chöne mer ed wärmi! Es sett aso am Mettwoch doch 37 grad warm wärde en darwin.... :O)

so... i ben no a de letschte Vorbereitige ond denn esch es bald sowiet ond mer chöne go. Es esch chum z'glaube aber de Roger esch ab 7ni uf ond no es Gschäft go die letschte Sache erledige... - hoffe er chonnt bald weder hei ond helft mer nochli....
Bes Bald!

... fairgrounds to check things out.

In Münsterplatz we rode the big wheel and got a nice view of the city lights reflecting on the Rhine. After our ride we just hung around a stall selling gluwein, drinking and chatting. Everywhere we went was crowded with people in good spirits and children full of sugar and excitement. Herbstmesse is a fun time in Basel!

... and are less adventurous. So as we were standing by the exit waiting for them to drive past, I heard my mom shout "Laura!". I turned around and there they were, going deeper into the parking garage instead of towards the exit. We all laughed and I joked about how it's already begun.

Finally they drove past us out the exit and we waved goodbye. I felt a bit sad the rest of the day. It was such a great visit with my parents and a wonderful road trip through Austria!

... have the best view of the fireworks that would start five hours later. We decided to enjoy the celebration instead. We walked around and drank beers out of someone's backpack, ate sausage and pizza and rösti, and indulged in a few caipirinhas from a Brazilian booth along the river bank. Once night started to settle we walked along the Rhine trying to find a spot to view the fireworks. We eventually found a spot under a bridge. I knew the view wouldn't be great but it wouldn't be obstructed ...

... and hid Wolfie behind a huge lorry in the lorry park. Their were two exits, so Kipster and Sloan Ranger took one each, leaving Plonky to stay at the car shouting at both of them to hide. As he did, a big sleepy trucker opened the door. Had we just woken him up, or was it time for him to leave anyway? We looked the other way as if not to even recognisewhe had just woken him up ro and that we were attempting to disguise a Merc as an lorry ...

This was what I really came to Europe for. Freiburg was just the beginning of an awesome adventure for me. The mountains and the forest and the cake. We caught a cable car up to the top of the mountain and wandered in the snow. Got some great photos. We made Freiburg our base and toured a fair bit around the region. Spent a night here and there and came back to Freiburg for the festival. Took about two hundred photos in two hours one day; they had a ...

Diesmal bleibe ich definitiv nur elf Wochen! Ich weiss, fuer das "nur" moechte mir manch einer das Maul mit Schneematsch stopfen - tut mir leid. Ehrlich! Da ich anfangs alleine unterwegs sein werde, genehmige ich mir mal den Luxus der zaehen Entscheidungen. Jetzt muss ich erstmal den Zirkus um ...

My experience in Europe has taught me many things, one lesson being the shameless begging for free lodging. I put this theory into praxis not only in Strasbourg, but also in Basel, hitting up Linda (a friend of my Dad's from high school and college) for accommodation. Switzerland doesn't have one official language and the local lingo depends on where you are-Italian, German and French are all spoken. Basel is in the German ...

Lost one backpack - we realised when the train was just entering Switzerland!! Nothing valuable except for the travel docs - and the traveller's guide. An my contact lense pack!! Full day of reporting to the police, contacting embassies, back and forth to the station's lost and found (well, i'm an optimist by nature! Maybe tomorrow). Oh, and optometrist to get lense cleaner (this one is easy) and the -suction to take the hard-lense off (now this is a challenge).