August 2, 2019 friends in Basel, Switzerland

We enjoyed another wonderful breakfast.  This hotel had a warm water bath that you could lower a raw egg into and decide how long you wanted to leave it in.  I loved the little things like that. 

Today we went our separate ways from out Danish friends.  Torben and AnneMarie drove us to a nearby town to catch a train to Basel.  We really enjoyed our time together.  They are the kind of friends you see once every few years, but pick up right where you left off.  We had many laughs together, and many new experiences.  It will be interesting to see where we meet again. 

We boarded the train in Bulle about 11:30am and arrived in Basel about 2:00.  We planned to visit Swiss friends for a few days.  Christine and Hanspeter Streich owned a Bed and Breakfast near Rapid City/Hill City, SD for many years.  We spent many weekends at their B&B over about 10 years.  They needed dental work and we liked a local weekend vacation.  They even refer to our son, Peter, as their American son.  They sold the B&B and moved back to Switzerland about 2-3 years ago. 


Christine picked us up at the train station and took us back to their home for lunch and to get settled.  They live in a 2 bedroom apartment near a park and beautiful neighborhood.  They are walking distance to a couple bus lines.  So we took the bus into the city of Basel. 

 

welcome refreshments

 During the summer, there are several weeks where there is live music on the Rhine River every evening.  There is a stage on the water just offshore from seating along the bank.  Shortly after we arrived, we ran into their son, Stephan, his girlfriend and other friends.  He moved back to Switzerland after graduating from college, since he wasn’t a US citizen.  So it had been a few years since we had seen him. 

 

Basler Münster Cathedral

Friend, Hanspeter, Stephan, Christine, 2 friends

We found a table at a restaurant with outdoor seating and within earshot of the music.  We also watched people swim in the Rhine River.  There is a place where people enter the river with a dry bag holding their belongings.  Then they drift down the river up to about a mile, or shorter, where they get out and have their towel and clothing with them.  It looked like fun.

This video was made to say hello to our son, Peter.