Tap, tapp, tap, tapp, tap, tapp,

I came home from work yesterday and it was already dark. When I got off the tram, I heard a woman running towards me.

So I kept the door of the tram open and out of the dark, a blonde woman ran towards the tram.

Just in time, she got in and she thanked me. Out of breath, she asked me "This is the tram to Basel?"

"No" I informed her, "That would be the other direction".

Out ot the tram she ran

Tap, tapp, tap, tapp, tap, tapp,

to the other tram.

Further pictures of Basel

Today I was walking through Basel and took some pictures. An old debt.

Here is the first picture taken of the Lohnhof, a part of the former town wall. It now contains the Museum of Musicical Instruments .



There is the statue of Dr. Rudolf Riggenbach, also known as "Dinge-Dinge", who was a monument conservator for Basel.



Only a few minutes walk away, there is the "Consulate Kingdom of Lepmuria", which of course is no real place just the head quater of a carnival group.



It is located in the alley of spices. Pepper and Ingwer.



On the other hill of Basel are the houses of two brothers building a white and a blue house next to each other. One of the two brothers wanted to have observatory built on the top of his house, which was not allowed by the government. So instead of complying to the rule or breaking any laws, he decided to change the use of one of the chimneys to an observatory. It is the one on the right marked with the red circle.



Here a bad picture from the front.



Next to the oldest sculptures of some elephants, not very accurate,



Here is the picture of a plate inserted into the street which can be translated to:

Here begun
on March 9th 1981
between
Harald and
Gabriele
the Love
to bloom.

I know, the translation is not too good.



I marked where you can find it here:



near the cathedral of Basel, which is constant state of repair.



There was a strange festival with stalls



and some bagpipers and some public bathing, kind of strange...



Next picutres are about a red glove is nailed to a ground near my favourite restaurant.



Here is a second picture to easier find the place.

Ups, forgot one Photo of the two Lion Babies

And here it comes:

Binge drinking

I have really little experience with drugs. I have never smoked, never used any hard drugs or even soft drugs as religion and marihuana. Alcohol is a drug I use on a weekly basis. Not every week but sometimes more than once a week.

I have been drunk about two times mostly because of love. Not love-drunk, just drunk to get over rejection. Less than once a month, I probably drink more than I should. Tilllate 7 was the last time, the last night in Ibiza an other.

As I normally drive to parties by car, I drink one unit max. Beer I don’t like much, therefore I might drink less than six a year. Gin Tonic is my poison. And I even might drink a Gin Tonic at home alone, but a bottle lasts for a very long time.

I am disgusted with drunk or intoxicated people and therefore keep excesses to a minimum.

Today, as I took the tram to work, a drunk had collapsed at a station surrounded by open and full bottles and his friends. I get a lot of cases of drug users at work and know how they end. And with their stinking breath, dirty clothes and ‚good’ company, they are nowhere where I want my life to go.

But I know I might sound old, I am also suprised how drunk young people get today. It is not as bad yet as what I saw in London last year, which was terrible, but drinking seems to be a major problem of young people. When I was younger and we experienced, we were more secret. Today it seems to be OK to get drunk in the middle of the town.

And don’t get me started on littering...

Photos from the Zoo of Basel

For the first time, I want to show you some small pictures I took in the Zoo of Basel.

Amrutham

Amrutham, Hegenheimerstrasse 14, Basel, Switzerland, (061) 381 56 86

Yesterday I ate at Amrutham, a South Indian Restaurant with my father. We were there quite early and the location was empty. The location is ok, not too great but not extremely bad either. We got two different menu-cards. In general, there are four menus, lamb-, chicken-, vegetarian- and beef-curries with dessert and a starter. We got a small glass of mango lassi followed by one Samosa, both not too bad, but not really special either. The curry was slightly hot but the quality of the meat was bad, cheapest meat one probably could get. The rice was uninspired and the portions were small. The dessert was a glob of mango ice which we had to ask the waiter for because he seemed to have forgotten. The menu cost CHF 31.00. Out for five stars, I probably would give one and a half. The food was not bad, but the portions were too small and the Indian food tasted too common, too European and had no special Indian flavour. I don’t think, that I ever will return there…

Da Graziella

Da Graziella, Feldbergstrasse 74, Basel, Switzerland
(061) 692 49 40

This is the second great place in Basel to get a cup of Coffee. Why didn't I give five stars? It was not because of the Coffee but that the location has a lot of strong smokers and bad ventilation. Further, it is not located centrally, which is ok, for a restaurant, but I won't travel 20 Minutes for a cup of Coffee. They have nice cakes!

ilcaffè - bar e caffè

ilcaffè - bar e caffè, Falknerstrasse 24, Basel, Switzerland
061) 261 27 61


The best place in Basel to get a decent coffee. It's a crime, that it is only open during the normal shopping hours depriving me of a good late night coffee. And they have the famous Zolli-Cornets, ice of Gasparini.

Tapadera im Krug

Tapadera im Krug, Innere Margarethenstrasse 28, Basel, Switzerland
(061) 281 55 11

The Tapadera is the better of the two Mexican restaurant, even though it is located close to the local prison. Not cheap and forget about coming here without a reservation, but the food is worth the price and the long time you sometimes have to wait, till you get your order.

Stadthof

Stadthof, Gerbergasse 84 , Basel, Switzerland
(061) 261 87 11

The Stadthof is one of my favourite Restaurants and is located in the Centre of Basel. It consists of three parts, on the ground floor there is the Brötlibar where you get sandwiches. It is popular, I don't think it is because of the food. On the first floor are the main restaurant with the Pizzeria in the rear and the restaurant in the front. You can get pizzas in the Restaurant so I see no reason, to eat in the pizzeria. The pizzas are as good as they get in Basel and the rest of the food is far above average. The service is excellent and helps to forget about the not to stylish location.

La Fonda

La Fonda, Schneidergasse 21, Basel, Switzerland
(061) 261 13 10

Of the two Mexican restaurants this is the simpler one. I am not too sure about the authenticity, but I like the food. I would not bring a first date to this restaurant, but I like to take lunch here. Reservation is recommended, especially in the evening.