Today (Feb 9) we finished our first week of German classes. We’ve done a lesson a day, which is a fairly good clip. At home I did two or three lessons a week, so five in a week is quite enough for the brain to handle. Unfortunately I’m not enjoying our first teacher of the morning too much. I’m hoping that will change since she’s still a bit sick and so teaches with little energy. All the normal tricks students play on teachers to make them think they understand work very well on her. I’m trying to avoid them, but it’s such a temptation to mumble when you don’t know the answer and she’ll somehow hear the correct answer. I also find her hard to understand and hard to follow, but I’m hoping that will changed with her improved health. The second teacher we have I continue to enjoy. She is clear, energetic, interesting, and helpful.
It was a beautiful day so I decided to walk home. I slanted the wrong way at Wettsteinplatz, but I keep my sense of direction and ended up coming fairly directly home and clocked in at 40min. On my way I took this picture of the Basel seal held by some creature at the end of Wettsteinbrücke (brücke means bridge).
I also took the opportunity to record one of the many incidences of graffiti in Basel. I don’t know how it compares to other cities of its size, but after hearing so much about how clean Switzerland is I’ve been surprised that there seems to be graffiti everywhere. Of course it’s not in the main squares, but the alleys off of the main squares are full of it. There’s no graffiti on the trams, though! Maybe it’s the fact that everything is so nice that the graffiti is really jarring when I see it.
This same bridge provides a nice view of Switzerland’s pride and joy: the tallest building in all of Switzerland, the Basler Messeturm. It’s an amazing 32 stories high.
After lunch and some homework I went into Germany with Stephan and Tamino for a shopping trip at yet another store. This was by far the least pleasant of stores in Germany, but it illustrated very well the business of Swiss shopping. We took the bus to the last stop before Germany and walked down the quiet streets of the outskirts of Basel to the German boarder. This time the station was manned, but we walked right past. Unlike in the states, there aren’t great bit “Welcome to . . .” signs, but the official border is marked in the cement with the Basel seal. Remember that from the bridge picture?
Right after your enter German territory you come upon a huge parking garage that even makes the Tokyo Costco parking garage look small.
Naturally, right next to the garage is a huge shopping center. After you cross the four lane entrance to the parking garage you enter the large, but not spacious store. I would never want to be there on the weekend. It felt like a madhouse as it was! Before shopping we stopped to look at the pedestrian bridge over the Rhein to France that is nearly complete.
I forgot to mention before that I’ve actually been in France! The Basel Airport is located in France and the Swiss exit to the airport opens up to a fenced road that goes directly to Switzerland and that whole stretch is somehow technically Switzerland. Look to the left, France, to the right, France, but you’re still in Switzerland! I’m looking forward to a more interesting second visit.
I’d read how the Swiss love to gather around and look at construction holes, but it seems Baselers are too busy for such nonsense. However, when the Swiss go on a shopping trip they must make an outing of it since many were watching the backhoes work under the bridge.
The shopping was tolerable. There were more choices and shelves than I’ve been confronted with in a long while. Traffic jams involving large carts and people of all nationalities clogged the narrow isles. Somehow we managed to stay together and get the goods we needed. They waste no space and on the ramp escalators (with magnetic locks to hold your cart in place) between floors they pile the space between escalators with goods they hope you will buy.
After paying (credit cards accepted) we took our receipts to the service counter to get a green sheet for our VAT refund. We filled out our address on the sheet that had the amount we paid for and the amount of tax collected on it along with our receipt stapled to it. We then took this to the border where we presented our Auslander (gaijin, or foreigner) cards to get an official stamp to prove that we indeed live in Switzerland and we indeed exported said goods. Actually, we had a snack before crossing the border, but luckily he didn’t match our bags to the receipts. He had quite a line to deal with . . . (see the shopping center in the background)
Next time I go to that shopping center I can get 1.23 Euro back. Yippy!
I wish I could take my nephews on this walk. As we crossed the bridge a barge carrying scrap metal came in under us.
I turned around and on the other side of the bridge there was a huge machine moving great big cargo containers around. I don’t know the words for those things, but I bet at least one nephew does.
Last night it was rainy and cold and I didn’t want to go out, so tonight I hope to get to McGuinness’s pub for the Irish band.
That’s the news for today folks. Drop me a line sometime!
