Hopp Schwiiz!

One of many dragon fountains in Basel; most of them don't have plastic orange bits.
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Arrived in Basel late afternoon and met Astrid (my sister Kathryn's exchange partner), and went back to her apartment which is literally a stone's throw from the Rhine. It was great to catch up over pasta and Australian wine.

In the morning we walked along the Rhine, past the old wall of the city and through narrow cobblestone streets to the old town. We took the long walk to the top of the cathedral tower, from which there are really great views. The cathedral itself is also pretty great.

From the top of the Dom in Basel.
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Wandered around some cute streets to the town hall, which is very different to the norm - painted with gorgeous bright colours. We had the 'best falafel in Basel' for lunch (it was pretty good.) Then we went over the bridge to 'little Basel'. On the bridge they are setting up screens, and there is stadium-like seating on the banks of the Rhine - preparations for an influx of football fans.

After walking round a bit over the river we went home so that Astrid could sleep off a migraine. I made pizza for dinner, then we went to a nice little independent cinema to see Once.

Mt Pilatus from the apartment in Lucerne.
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In the morning we drove to Lucerne. It was a really nice drive past archetypal Swiss villages, getting closer and closer to the mountains. We had Rösti (yum) with friends of Astrid who have a great apartment with views of Mt Pilatus.

We walked around the streets, squares and bridges of Lucerne for a bit. It's a very pretty place, although a little touristy. After coffee and dessert Astrid and I headed to the gondola which took us to the top of Pilatus. Unfortunately it was very cloudy at the top and we couldn't see much, but we went for a short walk anyway and had a hot chocolate. We got off the gondola halfway down for a clearer view.

From the top of Mt Pilatus before the clouds took over completely.
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Drove back to Basel for dinner and a DVD.

On Sunday we walked over the bridge to the Tinguely Museum. It was a really interesting fun place, and the noisiest art gallery I've ever been to! Tinguely was famous for making kinetic sculptures, so everything pops, bangs, and whirrs. There was even a painting done by a washing machine (hard to explain...)

We walked up the river a bit and got a barge back across. Then it was back to the train station for my trip to Mannheim.