Hello everyone and welcome back. Im back dating these blog posts a little so Im starting in December last year to try and catch up a bit…so here we go! Annie and I headed to Basel for an early birthday (for Annie) and Christmas trip. Neither of us really knew what to expect apart from what a google image search showed us…hello adventure! Everything was booked two days before departure, which is becoming more and more common for us…we think it adds to the fun.
We were heading away for the weekend and therefore had an early departure to get the most time we could in Basel. We touched down into Basel international airport, which oddly, isn’t even part of Switzerland. It is right on the border of France and you drive across into Switzerland. Not sure if i’ll fully understand that one? Anyway, we got to our hotel just after lunch and after connecting to the wifi, went to check out the city. Basel is just as beautiful as the pictures we searched for. The view as you walk across the main bridge at sunset is gorgeous and with the added beauty of Christmas the city seems to come alive even more. The streets are dotted with Christmas trees, lights and (in certain parts) outdoor stalls on the side of the road. The Christmas markets themselves were everything you would expect if you picture them in your mind. Fairy lights laced though the trees, mulled wine and a chill in the air…simply beautiful.
There was two of them in Basel, both in the cobbled main squares. Christmas markets will aways have an air of magic to them and these were no different. One of the markets was on the top of the hill with the perfect view of the city. The ideal location for a little shopping and sightseeing. The other was the main one was in the square near the main shopping streets. I was totally fine with the discovery and we ended up looking in most of those shops as well…a great use of time! One of the great finds of the trip was the amount and range of design stores. From stationary to homewares, I was in shopping heaven. if you have a stationary addiction like me there are two main shops you must check out when visiting Basel. Firstly, interior butik for great design/different homewares, and secondly, bookbinders design. Now, dear friends, I cannot be held responsible for your purchases when in that shop. They have gorgeous journals, notebooks and a great selection of washi tapes. Lets just say I needed the biggest size shopping bag when we eventually left. Yes, I have a problem. We finished up the evening the way we usually do on trips; local food and local beer. We found a place called Restaurant Fischerstube near our accommodation. It was relaxed with big open tables and the food was really good too.
Our main sightseeing day started with tea at Spigna cafe for breakfast before visiting the Christmas markets for lunch and more shopping before we went on a walking tour of the city. I will always recommend these tours to people as they are a great way to see the mains points and get some local insight too. Another fun point to these tours is a game I like to play called ‘guess the accent’. Obviously, the kiwi and aussie accents are the easiest to pick and a bonus of this is feeling like home isn’t so far away. It happens every time I travel and I love it. We met this amazing couple who were on a cruise going around all the main Christmas markets in Europe before heading back home to the southern hemisphere for Christmas. The tour we did was english and french, so the guide swapped between the two for the three hours of guided sightseeing around the cobbled streets. Our tour ended down from a cupcake shop…I like to think it was meant to be. With cupcakes in hand we made our way back to the accommodation for birthday bubbles, a wonderful combination.
The final day in Basel was surprisingly relaxed, mostly because…everything was closed on Sunday. Yep, anyone going to Basel for the weekend make sure you get an early departure back on Sunday morning. As a result of that our day was spent chilling in cafes around the city before we needed to depart back to London. It was a good problem to have and turned out to be one of the easiest travel days ever!
Sending hugs and smiles,
Vanessa
