Before I talk about my wonderful trip to Basel, I have to mention yet another Swiss curiosity. Because there are 4 official languages, the Swiss believe that some places should have more than one name. For example: Geneva, as we know in English, is actually Geneve in French, and Genf in German. (This example also supports Frederic's idea that German in the ugliest language on the entire planet. Genf? Gesundheit!) And so, yes, I spent the day in Basel, but I had to buy a ticket to Bâle to get there!
Armed with my large German vocabulary, consisting of "Flughafen", "zug", and "erste klasse", all of which I learned by spending a lot of time at train stations, plus the one phrase, "Das ist ein ____" followed by either flughafen or zug, depending on if I'm pointing towards an airport or a train, I crossed the Roesti border. I left home before the sun rose, and took the train to Neuchatel (Neuenburg in German...), where my mom-in-law joined me. 
From there, we stopped in a few unpronounceable Swiss German cities, then finally arrived in Basel- 2.5 hours from Lausanne. We arrived about the time I am normally contemplating getting out of bed. We were greeted by my new aunt-in-law, Malou and off we went to get a nice hot chocolate in the museum café. There, we were joined by Angi, my other new aunt-in-law, where we had an animated conversation in which we all spoke in bad French, with English and German thrown in for variety and to add to the general confusion.
From there, we stopped in a few unpronounceable Swiss German cities, then finally arrived in Basel- 2.5 hours from Lausanne. We arrived about the time I am normally contemplating getting out of bed. We were greeted by my new aunt-in-law, Malou and off we went to get a nice hot chocolate in the museum café. There, we were joined by Angi, my other new aunt-in-law, where we had an animated conversation in which we all spoke in bad French, with English and German thrown in for variety and to add to the general confusion. 
And then, on to the Marché du Noel! The Christmas market is held in a large square of the city, where street vendors open small stands and sell all kids of handmade things, like ornaments, toys, sweaters, candles, cookies, etc. I couldn't resist buying a little wooden hedgehog, who waddles down a wooden path without needing any motor or batteries. I have not decided yet if I should give it to Frederic or the baby. After the Christmas market, we wandered over to the cathedral and had a nice lunch (I ate my first strudel!). Malou's husband Rolf joined us for coffee, except instead of coffee, he just finished all the chocolate cake at the table, kicked me (accidentally), and made me feel quite at ease, since his French is as bad as mine! We then walked through the cathedral and the square behind it, 
which Angi tells me is the most beautiful square in all of Europe. We also toured around the Hotel de Ville, which is not really a hotel but the seat of local government.
which Angi tells me is the most beautiful square in all of Europe. We also toured around the Hotel de Ville, which is not really a hotel but the seat of local government. Next, we crossed the river on a ferry! Like the hedgehog, these ferries are totally unmotorized, and cross the river using the force of the current and the angle of the boat. It only takes five minutes to cross by this method.
We made another hot chocolate stop, then went to the train station to catch our zug. It was a wonderful trip that really put me in the Christmas spirit! p.s. If you look closely at the first photo (click to expand), there appears to be an angel holding up an enormous golden hot dog towards heaven. I guess this is some weird Swiss German homage to sausages?
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Why couldn't you have gone to Basel a week ago and blogged about it then? That way you could have saved us several moments of panic as we sat in Strasbourg wondering why the train we thought would take us the Basel ended in some place we'd never heard of called Bale...
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