Fall in Basel

I know it is pretty much winter now (it's been snowing here for the past 2 days), but fall is one of my favorite times of the year, so I didn't want to overlook it! I never knew this season even existed when I lived in Texas. In my opinion, North Carolina has the most beautiful autumn season I've ever seen, but I was pleasantly surprised to see the leaves change colors in Basel as well. Most of the leaves here turn a yellow or orange, so there are not as many red leaves, but it was still very beautiful just the same.

This old street is about a block and a half from our home. It leads to some of the oldest parts of Basel. On the right is a square called Petersplatz, which holds the weekend flea markets and the Fall Fair.

Petersplatz... covered with leavesThere are about 170 drinking fountains spread out all over the city... yes, this is purified drinking water! This one is among the oldest ones and is Basel's Heraldic Animal from an old fable.They don't celebrate Halloween here, but they do put out pumpkins... and even carve them too!

Art is a big part of Basel. There are several major art museums here and as a result, there is a lot of sculptured art in the city like this wooden horse.

An art-sculptured fountain with half of that tree's leaves in it!

A beautiful line of yellow trees on a sidewalk along the river

Basel's old town walls

Baslers (that's what the locals are called) have celebrated Herbstmesse (the Fall Fair) since 1471. That was over 500 years ago! Hard to imagine what it was like back then, but now, people come from all over the area to eat good food, ride fun rides, and shop. It is similar to NC's Fall Fair except there is not as much fried food and a lot more shopping. They set up booths and rides all over the city... spread out among seven different squares and it doesn't cost anything to walk around. These pictures are taken in Petersplatz. Nate and I walked around other squares at night, but we forgot our camera! Well, there's always next year!

Me and my new friend, Mallory, who I met at church... she teaches Kindergarten in Germany and loves it!

There were so many people, it was hard to even walk through the crowds!

We ordered a crepe and they make them fresh for you...

This guy wanted to smile for the camera!

Yummm... I took a bite before Malory could take a picture... oops!

More booths... and more people...

Walking back home around the corner...

Montreux & Chateau de Chillon

Montreux and Chateau de Chillon were the last places that Jake and I visited while Nate was working in Geneva. I did not spend much time in the towns because I went to just walk on the promenade and see the views of the lake and the castle!

The city of Montreux. People jump off of this round platform and swim here in the summer... looks like fun!

A fall-colored tree and a ... palm tree? I didn't know there were palm trees in Switzerland!?


Swiss alps and the lake to look at on your left and tennis courts on the right... close to heaven. I just sat there and watched people play because I missed tennis so much!

The entrance to the famous castle on the lake... Chateau de Chillon.

And there it is.... pretty unreal to look at.
The courtyard in front of the castle.
You can see the moat here... I had never seen one of these before!

A sweet girl saw me trying to take a picture of myself with the lake in the background and she could tell it wasn't working, so she offered to take a picture of me and Jake!

The view got even prettier a little later.
This is my favorite picture...
The rest of the pictures were taken on the train ride back home. It was so peaceful as I looked out and listened to my iPod. :)