Europa Park, Germany

Mari and Liam, friends from school, had a friend Andy visiting for a few days and invited me along on a day out.  In an attempt to show him a lot of Europe (this must be the reason as he was not so keen on roller coasters), they took us to Eupora Park, an amusement park in Germany.  We walked across the continent several times (although not sure they were too accurate as we had Thai food in Russia), enjoyed the rides (brought me back years), the sunshine and the company.

Our first ride

Liam was like a little boy, Mari was not so sure...

But she did it, and look how happy she looks!

The entertainment

There was a lot of queuing involved

some high fiving from the not so confident riders,

and so there was a little for everyone, we had a 

go on the not so scary rides

and of course a little vino!

Summer of Firsts

Yesterday I had a day of firsts, which is really what this summer is turning out to be all about.  Lola and I travelled to Solothurn to have lunch with a friend of  mine in the Maths department.  I thought it was a lovely little city, with a bit of a tropical feel, we had a great lunch and an even better catch up.

I love this photo, it is almost impossible to get one so imagine this may end up in a frame

After battling traffic back from Michelle's, I then headed to France to try a kayaking course.  It was great, and I wouldn't like to brag, but I did not tip over once (unlike some of the other people with me!).

The pictures of the course do not really do it justice, it really was brilliant.

Resolution #2

On the first day of every year, I make a list of ten positive things I would like to achieve in that year.  This year, I am on track to complete almost all (I will certainly miss one!), and yesterday my package arrived that would help me achieve resolution #2 which has become summer goal #3.

This is going to be tough, as learning German in Switzerland is like learning German in Greece (except hotter there).  Apparently Swiss German is very different.  As an example, recently my German flatmate, Suzanna, was in a waiting room with just one other Swiss girl for two hours.  As much as they tried they could not communicate at all, as the girl did not know High German and Suzanna does not speak Swiss German.  Luckily I live with Suzanna, whom I am hoping will help me along the way :)

Swiss vs German Shopping

There is no getting around the fact that Switzerland is expensive and that if I did not live on the border of Germany and France it would be even worse.  I do all my shopping in Germany and have told people how much cheaper it is but I am not sure everyone quite understands to what extent.  Today I went food shopping in Germany, and when I returned I realised I forgot a couple of items so thought I would just nip to the Swiss store across the road.  The Swiss shopping bill was 5 Francs (3 pounds, 5 dollars) more expensive, and the shops are 5 minute drive a part..

30 Francs: prawns, fresh fish, frozen fish, 5 cucumbers, peppers, lettuce, carrots, eggs, radish's, prunes, basil plant, 3 pots cottage cheese, 3 jars pasta sauce, 4 cans tuna, courgettes, green onions, flowers

35 Francs: 2 yoghurt's, coriander, radish's, lentils, veggie hot dogs, capers

The Three Castles, Alsace

Today Suzanna, Maria, Lola and I went to the Alsace to try and work off Saturday night's girls night out and have a little lunch.  It was a beautiful day, we managed to make it to the three castles, and then back down for a lovely French lunch (where believe it or not my main course was cheaper than a double scoop ice cream cone in Switzerland). 

The start, the castles are way in the distance :)

My Beach in Basel

Every morning I watch BBC morning before starting my day and for the last few months I have heard the same bad news about the weather.  Day after day about how it has been the worst April, May, June, about the horrible floods and the general frustration of the public.  And then on Monday morning, after a beautiful weekend in the UK, I listened to the same broadcasters complaining about the heat, that plus thirty is just unbearable, blah blah.  Now although I always want it to be hot and would never complain, I did sympathise a bit with the woman complaining.  As when it is baking hot, it is hard to get relief, there is very little air conditioning, homes do not have ceiling fans, there are very few outdoor swimming pools, so really unless you live by the water it can become fairly uncomfortable.  Which brings me to the purpose of this blog, the last week has been boiling here in Basel, and I think people here would suffer the same fate if it were not for the Rhine.  It is just magical in the summer, I love going to sit by it, dip my feet in it and if feeling really brave swim in it.  It really reminds me of being at one big beach party (minus the sand, salt water and palm trees of course).  There are hundreds of people floating down the river, or suntanning on the side, loads of BBQ's, the bars are full, they have a stage set up in the water for bands to play, and a really vibrant atmosphere.  So last night, when it was still 33 degrees at 8 at night, a group of us naturally headed to the Rhine.

Black Forest and Bubbles

This week hikes has taken me, Asa and Lola to the birth places of the Black Forest Gateau and then the yummy bubbly Cremant.  As in most of Europe it has been scorching hot, with clear blue skies that left us with beautiful views.  We managed to find loads of geocaches in Germany, have a lovely lunch in the Alsace (where Asa's husband joined) and then finished up properly with a little wine tasting :)