Stickin' Close to Home

On Saturday, May 28th, we were planning on another day-trip (possibly to Interlaken), but it was the A-team's 8th full day on the road, Sarah and Katelyn were sick when they got here, and Iz and I had come down with the same upper respiratory crud.  We were all bushed.  So we decided to use it as a day to get caught up, do some laundry, rest our bodies, and take a walk in Basel.  Instead of going down our "normal" side of the river (the east side), we walked down the west side and didn't get many pictures (the buildings are newer and not so interesting, etc.).  I did click a few shots of things on the other side of the river (you may have seen different shots of the same place).



Sarah or Israel got this shot looking towards the old part of town.

After we had walked into the "old" part of town, we stopped for an early dinner at one of our favorite Italian places overlooking the Rhine.  Of course, I took pictures of our special little guest at dinner who was totally animated and then started hiding her food under the placemat:

After dinner, we walked to the Marktplatz where the Rathaus (court house) is located:



Then we meandered through some of the adjoining streets:

We made a visit to the Munster on the top of the hill.  Like half of the buildings in Europe, it is under renovation, so look beyond the scaffolding.  The coolest thing is the sun dial on the clock tower along with the clock.  We have seen this on several large church buildings in our travels.  They're usually pretty close minus the hour for daylight savings!  I just love all the intricate details on this old, old church:

In direct contrast to the Munster on the west side of the river, I took a quick snapshot of this building, the Basel Messeturm across the river on the east side.  It is the tallest building in Switzerland.  Quite the difference, huh?

After walking part of the way back home, we decided to take a tram the rest of the way.  It was Katelyn's first official tram ride (she thinks it was a train---it's on tracks, right).

We needed to get home and get to bed.  Church was the next morning and then we were headed to France for the afternoon.

Hangin' Out on the Farm!

Friday, May 27th, found us on our way to Germany.  DJ was able to take a day from work, and Sarah wanted to go to an Open Air Museum in the Black Forest near Gutach where they show how life was on the farm!  They have brought homes, barns, mills, etc. from all over the Black Forest into one small area and created a wonderful space to see the animals and gardens as well as the old-time farming equipment, furniture, and transportaion.

Here's what the website says about the place (I'm lazy):

"Six impressive, fully furnished Black Forest farm houses built from the 16th to 19th century, representing the typical architecture of their area of origin

Exhibitions in the farm houses highlight special features such as weaving, clock-making, and straw-plaiting

Outbuildings used as storehouses, mills, saw-mills, hemp presses- Collection of furniture, traditional costumes, articles for daily use, tools, and mechanic devices from the 17th to the 20th century

Old breeds of cattle and pigs in the stalls of the Falkenhof farmstead.

Events: Annual special exhibitions, regular demonstrations of old crafts, bread baking and preparation of regional pastries, guided tours, folklore demonstrations."

I loved the quality workmanship in these old places.  I really enjoyed the perfectly laid-out vegetable gardens and the gorgeous flowers.  It was interesting to see everything "old" from the school desks and the abacus, to the vintage sewing machine and looms and spinning wheels, to the churns and butter presses.  I loved the woven bee hives lined up on a ledge.  The animals were even fun to watch, but I must add that the stench from the barn where the pigs were kept was not so inviting!  I loved the thatched roofs, some old with mosses growing on them, some new.  Most of all I enjoyed sharing it all with my cute family.  We found Katelyn a darling little German doll with cherries on her hat, just like the girls in the Black Forest wore back in the day.  We lucked out because though we felt a sprinkle here and there, the downpour didn't occur until we were making our way to the parking lot!  A few miles down the road, we found a wonderful restaurant in a quaint little village for dinner.  Another great day.

So without a lot of description, here's a few of the things we saw that day and in the order I saw them: