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Part 2 of 11Switzerland, 2018

Basel and the Rhine Ferry

Half a day together in Basel before my wife's work began, with a walk along the Rhine, a small ferry across the river, the Minster and its cloisters, and the old town.

By Thawaio2 min read28 January 2018 · Basel

A wide view across the green Rhine to a long row of old houses on the far bank under a grey sky, with a small wooden ferry in the middle of the river below a line of coloured ribbons.
The Rhine at Basel, with the ferry mid-crossing.

On Sunday, 28 January, we left Zurich and took the train to Basel. Outside the window were bare trees, wet fields and low hills under a grey sky.

A green field with bare trees and a line of low wooded hills under a grey sky, seen through a train window with raindrops on the glass.
From the train to Basel.

Basel would be our base for the next few days, at the Novotel Basel City. My wife’s work started the following morning. We arrived late in the morning and made our way to the hotel with our suitcases, which left us about half a day to explore Basel together.

Along the Rhine

By around one o’clock, we were down by the Rhine. The river was wide and fast-flowing. From the opposite bank, we could see the two red towers of the Minster rising above the old houses on the far side.

The wide Rhine in the foreground, and on the far bank a row of old houses climbing a steep slope, with the red twin towers of the Minster above them.
The Minster above the Rhine, from the opposite bank.

Crossing by ferry

A little further along, we crossed the river on a small ferry. It was a simple wooden boat, attached to a cable stretched high above the water, with a Swiss flag and a string of colourful ribbons tied to it. The crossing took only a few minutes.

The wooden bow of a small boat on the river, with a cable overhead carrying a Swiss flag and a string of colourful ribbons, and a long arched bridge beyond.
On the ferry, with a bridge upstream.

The Minster

The ferry brought us across to the old town side, below the Minster. We walked up and around the church, part of which was covered in scaffolding at the time. From the terrace beside it, we could look back across the Rhine, and the ferry was out on the water again.

We visited the Minster and walked through its cloisters, with their stone arches and old memorial plaques along the walls.

Looking out through a stone window with Gothic tracery from the shadowed cloister, onto a small lawn and the red sandstone arches on the far side.
Looking out from the cloisters.

In the square in front of the Minster, the two towers rose high above us.

The tall red sandstone west front of Basel Minster, with its two towers, a rose window above the carved doorway, a clock and a sundial, and a few people at the entrance.
The west front of the Minster.

The Town Hall and lunch

From there, we walked down into the old town to the Town Hall, with its bright red façade and painted decoration.

The bright red façade of Basel Town Hall, with painted decoration, arched entrances and a tall red tower, seen across a street with overhead tram wires.
Basel's Town Hall.

Shortly after two o’clock, we stopped for lunch at a table by the window, looking out onto the street. I no longer remember the name of the place or exactly what we ate, but I do remember that we enjoyed good food together.

After lunch, we wandered through more of the old town’s streets and squares, under the tram wires.

A city square with tall old buildings, a slender Gothic spire on a stone column and an ornate red building with a glass dome, under a web of overhead tram wires.
Tram wires over a square in the old town.

The evening

By six o’clock it was dark. We were near Basel’s main station, where yellow trams waited at the stops in the lit square outside.

The square outside Basel station at night, with yellow trams at long lit shelters, a large illuminated hotel sign reading “Schweizerhof” at left and the arched station building with its clock at right.
The square outside Basel station in the evening.

That evening, we ordered dinner at the hotel and ate it on trays in our room: a salad with smoked salmon, and a burger with chips.

A tray with a black plate of salad with smoked salmon, prawns and sweetcorn, and a white plate with a burger and a paper cone of chips.
Dinner in our room.

A base for the next few days

The next morning, my wife’s work would begin. While she was busy, I would use Basel as a base for day trips on my own, and the first of them would take me across the border into France.