Day # 52. Rest day in Basel.

It's a tough life..........

            What a beautiful day. Constant warm, golden sunshine of the October variety. A great day to wander into the city old quarter, camera in hand, ever ready to snap the picturesque and quaint. Up one street and down the next. With an absence of pubic conveniences in the central city, was forced as a refugee, to Star Bucks, for the price of a $5 cup of regular coffee---it was worth it!

           The Saturday crowds were out in force and on the surface, one would have to say that the shopping masses were not hurting too much. Prices in Switzerland are very high and noticeably higher than euro denominated Germany, just about 4 kms away from central Basel. The price differential created by the strength of the Swiss franc, especially along the border regions, has apparently created a difficult situation for home grown Swiss retailers. Local residents are always very quick to border hop if they sense a  better deal on the other side. About 3 months ago, the Swiss pegged their franc to the euro in an effort to control high Swiss prices. Having said all this, Swiss chocolate is still a tremendous bargain—I bought a 400g bar of excellent quality milk chocolate for just 2.60sf---about $2.00 Cdn.

           As I had a free 3 day city bus pass, courtesy of Swiss youth hostels, I decided to ride a couple of routes. A chance to view the new ‘European’ airport, shared by three countries, Switzerland, France and Germany servicing dense local population centres in nearby regions. An excellent example of multi-national cooperation.

             Tomorrow, Sunday my least favourite day on the road, as a support services like shops, etc are closed, I shall resume serious walking for the final week, with my target being the river town of Rheinfelden, due east of Basel and directly inline with my walk goal of Lake Constance, aka Bodensee.

Type of overnight lodging: Basel youth hostel.
Cost of lodging:  45E.