The City of Basel

Over the next couple of days, we explored the city, attempted to adjust to the time difference (we are 6 hours ahead of Raleigh time), and looked for apartments, or as they say in Europe... flats. Fortunately, we found a great flat on a beautiful street named Friedensgasse, which we have been told means "Peace Lane." It is in a great location in the city and is just a 5 minute walk from the heart of the old town, which is my favorite part, and is only 3 blocks from the Rhine river. Besides doing all the logistical things you have to do when you move to another country (I had no idea how much there was!), Nate and I had a lot of down time to read, relax, talk, walk, and travel (more to come about these travels in our next post). We also hiked to Germany one day and to France another. If you don't already know, Basel is right on the border of France and Germany, so we are not crazy hikers (even though Nate would like me to be)!

Some of our favorite things about Basel are the famous Rhine river, rolling hills, dozens of parks, the old town with buildings that have been here since the 12th century, cobble stone streets, and beautiful old churches. The size of Basel is perfect. Nate calls it a small, big city, which is a great way to describe it. Basel is much more urban than any city in NC and the city center has the hustle and bustle feel of New York City. At the same time, we have easily walked across the city in less than an afternoon. The only thing we don't like is how expensive everything is... McDonald's is one of the cheapest places to eat and it cost about $25 for us to eat lunch there! We are hoping to find some local not-so-expensive restaurants by the time people come visit, but I think for the meantime I will be doing a lot of cooking. Hopefully, practice will make somewhat perfect!

The Old Meets New

The Munster

Out for a Walk...Only a Few Minutes from Downtown

The River Rhine