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A cultural morning, followed by a
very special
dinner hosted by Edith & Gregor at their home.
Sunday 15th September
2024
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After our busy day yesterday,
we had decided to have a quiet morning. Looking out of our
window, the sun was starting to make an appearance and we
didn't want to squander what looked like being a beautiful
day, so we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and then set off
for a stroll. Were were due to go to Edith and Gregor's
apartment for a meal later, but we had plenty of time to
spare before we were expected at around 3:30pm. |
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At around 10:00am we
walked down the hill into town. There were very few people
about, which was perfect for us. |
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The shops all seemed
to be closed and we appeared to have the place to ourselves. |
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Although we had taken
several photos when we walked around this area two days
ago, the sunshine today made such a difference and we ended
up taking the photos all over again. Basel
Minster ("Basler Münster") looked especially
good today. |
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Münsterplatz,
one of Basel's oldest squares, was almost deserted. |
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Another visit to the
viewing area overlooking the Rhine... |
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...with another view
of the ferry we had used on Friday. |
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After a bit of a wander
through the shopping area... |
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...we made our way back
up to our hotel. |
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Next to our hotel is
the Basel Music Academy. We liked the handle on one of their
doors! |
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Gregor contacted us, asking if we would
like him to accompany us to the famous Kunstmuseum
Basel. Of course, we said yes! (Edith was, in the
meantime, hard at work preparing for our arrival later.)
At 12 noon he arrived at our hotel and we set off.
The gallery, established in 1661, houses
the oldest public art collection in the world and is generally
considered to be the most important museum of art in Switzerland.
This is one of the buildings housing the works of art.
It opened in 2016 and is linked, via an underpass, to
the main building.
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We entered via the main
building, which opened in 1936. |
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We got our tickets for
half price, thanks to our Basel Card, which we had used
a lot during our stay. |
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We loved everything about
the museum/gallery. The grand staircase and its light, airy
interior is beautiful. |
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The collection itself
is amazing. We took photos of a few of the exhibits that
made an impression on us. |
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After the visit, which
we both really enjoyed, Gregor led us down to the river... |
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...and along to his pre-planned
refreshment stop... |
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| ...where Geoff and Gregor
enjoyed a beer... |
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...while Bruce settled
for coffee. |
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There was a special
exhibition called "When We See Us - A Century of Black
Figuration in Painting". The tickets we had purchased
earlier covered both venues, so we were happy to go in and
have a quick look. |
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We were both so pleased
that we went in. We loved it, with many works by South African
artists featured. The works were all put into historical
context, with timelines providing historical context over
the past century. Once again, we took photos of some of
our favourites. |
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| We both liked "Ceremony". Click on
the link for more information about American-born, South African
Thenjiwe
Nkosi. |
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We spent much longer
than anticipated in the exhibition, after which Gregor suggested
that it was time to make our way to their home, to see what
Edith had been preparing for us. |
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As we walked towards
the tram stop, we chanced upon a group of singers who were
giving an impromptu concert, so we stopped to listen to
them. |
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When we arrived at around
3:30pm, preparations were well underway. Stefan and Rita,
who had also been on the remote Atlantic islands cruise
with Bruce last year, were there already, having taken a
train from Zurich earlier. Edith had everything under control.
We were well supplied with arrival snacks and drinks, later
followed by pre-dinner snacks and more drinks. There was
a lot of cruise talk but Geoff, who hadn't met Edith or
Gregor until a few days ago, and had only just been introduced
to Stefan and Rita, took it all in his stride.
The main course was a really delicious dish featuring rock
lobster tails (which we knew as crayfish) imported from
Tristan da Cunha, where five of us had eaten them on the
ship. We were amazed that Edith had managed to find them
in Basel. We all really appreciated her efforts! |
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We didn't take many
photos because we were all so busy chatting, but we really
enjoyed everything about our visit. |
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It was 9:30pm by the
time we left and took the tram back to our hotel. We were
due to fly home tomorrow afternoon and we were conscious
that Edith and Gregor must have been quite tired after all
their efforts, so we said our goodbyes, with the promise
that they would come and visit us in London in the near
future so that we could return their kindness and hospitality. |
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