Basel Expositions

No Problem!

31/03/2011

So I got back into the swing of things today. I took the train to a town in Switzerland called, "Basel". I'm not entirely sure what was in Basel, but I thought I'd give it a try. The train ride into Basel was nice and clear, but once I arrived it started to rain. Today I thought I would seek shelter indoors for the most part. But what to do? I headed to the Tourist Office and the lady said that Basel is plentiful in it's museums. Again, while most museums aren't really my cup of tea, she did mention a couple that seemed to suit my interest. First, I was off to the Cartoon Museum just a short walk away from the train station. Sadly, when I arrived they were closed so I would have to go back later. No problem!

I made my way toward the Old Town and found the "Munster" which is old looking church. Sadly, it was under construction so I could only catch a small glimpse of it. No problem! I headed to the Marketplatz which is the main square of town. This is where most of the activity was for the day. Even in the rain the food vendors were out. I decided that this would be a prime opportunity to have lunch. I found a stand that was cooking these fat juicy sausages so I decided to have that. I got one sausage, a small piece of bread, and an iced tea. It cost just under 10 Francs.....that is A LOT! I knew it was expensive here, but WOW! When I was looking at hostel reservations it was going to cost me about 30-45 Euro which is much more than the 15-25 I have been paying in other places. The cheaper you sleep the more money you have for other things. However, you don't skimp on cleanliness and safety for a cheap place to stay. Anyway, I'd have to watch my spending for the day. I walked around the Old Town quite a bit and eventually made my way to the Spalentor which is part of the Old Town wall. Cool little structure! I walked around some more and found my way back to the Marketplatz. In the Marketplatz is the Town Hall building. It is a cool looking building that you could tell a lot of time and effort went into. Upon reading some of the provided material the people of Basel didn't want to spare any expense in it's construction as a way to signify it's importance in the community. Pretty cool!

Town Hall

After visiting the Town Hall I was on a new quest. Find chocolate! I found a nice little chocolate shop that made their own treats....mostly truffles. Yum! The lady in there was nice and she let me try some for no charge. I then found my favorite Swiss Chocolate, "Toblerone". I bought a couple and also a bag of chocolate covered raisins. I was in the shop for about an hour just drooling over the freshly made chocolate. Also, I was avoiding the rain. I spent most of my money for the day on chocolate. It was worth it!

Swiss Chocolate

I then decided that it was time to head over to the Comic Museum since it would be open. When I walked in the lobby was covered in comic postcards. Most of the comics I had never seen before, but there were a couple of familiar ones. I cringed when I found out the cost of admission. It was 10 Francs. Wow! I thought, "A little steep, but it must be good!" I enter. Nope, it wasn't. Some rooms were really cool with comics painted onto the wall, but it was nothing overly exciting. Most of the rooms were all white with a single line of comics stretched along the wall. They did provide you with magnifying glasses to get a closer look which was fun. The other cool room was a library of comics where you could pull up a bean bag and read. Sadly, most of the comics were in German. I just like the ones with the pictures. Ha! At one point I just making up my own captions.....mine I'm sure weren't as good. But, they sure were creative....and sometimes inappropriate. Athem. Sadly, this place was not my best use of my Francs, but I was going to an even better place next!

Comic Museum

When I was at the Tourist Office the lady said, "We have a toy museum that is very popular". I looked on the map and it read, "Puppenhaus Museum". So, in my mind I think, "Toys....Puppenhaus......House of Toys & Puppets! I was so excited! I was going to a Puppet Museum! I felt like Cesar (Dom DeLuise) in the movie, "History of the World" when he is gifted treasure and a bathtub. "Treasure.....bathtub.....Treasure Bath! I'm going to have a Treasure Bath!" Anyway, I was bound and determined to find this place. When I arrived I walked in and they charged me 9 Francs which is still a little steep, but for Toys & Puppets I'll pay it! Well they way the tour works is that you start at the top floor and walk the stairs down as you cruise each floor. I start on the fourth floor. This floor was dedicated to Teddy Bears. Ok, not exactly what I was thinking, but I still have three more floors of puppets and toys. I walk around and see all the old teddy bears in their various costumes. They are all over the place. It reminded me of the Larkspur Saint Clair in Downtown San Jose when they have their Teddy Bear display in one of their rooms for each Christmas. The place is just packed with bears. After looking around a bit I head to the third floor. Ok, this one is full of dolls. No problem! I have two more floors of puppets and toys that will fill my hearts content. I look at the dolls.....but not long. (Heather please tell Abby and Lily: "Uncle Matt was in the doll room for hours looking at all the dolls from all over the world. I was over joyed! My nieces would have loved to be here to play with them all. Maybe they will let me take some home!!!) Seriously, it sucked! I head to the second floor thinking, "Okay, Puppet or cool toys....which one first?" I get down there and this one is dollhouses! What the hell? Ok, no problem, one floor left....plenty of fun to be had. I look at the dollhouses for a while. (Heather, for the girls just read the part above and replace the word "doll(s)" with "dollhouse(s)"). They had some crazy dollhouses in various themes: Frankenstein, bakeries, junk car lots, soda shops, etc. Shit! I'm boring myself. Seriously, there were fathers in there who were bored to shit. They would just stare at the houses, bears, and dolls as if to say, "I don't get it" or "please shoot me". Okay, the grand finale! The first floor. Oh, I'm so excited. Just steps away and I'll be singing Rainbow Connection with Kermit, Greg the Bunny, King Friday, and Grover! Yay! Athem....NOPE....more dolls, teddy bears, and dollhouses. I was like, "What gives?" As I'm cruising around all bitter I remember one last thing. "Wait a tick! In Europe the first floor is the America's second floor. I joyfully skip to the stairs. I hop down each step with excitement. I made it to the bottom as my heart fills with childhood glee. I open the magical door and.....FUCK, GIFT SHOP!

So, it was a hit and miss with both of the museums. You know, this is why I hate museums! Not my thing! However, I think I made the best two choices for museums out of the selections that Basel offered: (1) History of paper. (2) Mills & Cereal Processing. (3) Pharmaceutical History. (4) Funeral Objects. (5) Shipping & Transport. Yep, not the greatest selection of fun to choose from! Even though my choices of museums was poor, I really enjoyed Basel. It's a cool town especially in the Old Town with it's cobbled streets and tiny shops. I dig it! Even the rain all day didn't bother me too much. The important thing is that I got chocolate.

I hopped on the train and ate some of my Toblerone and chocolate covered raisins. I looked out the window and thought, "Hmmm, a clear sky."
Back in Strasbourg Deb and I went out for dinner and then called it a night.
Entertaining Day!
Teddy Bears