We actually did it. With C, C, C and M in Switzerland and low airfares to Europe, 2024 was the year to do it!
First stop, Basel for Fasnaacht or Basel's Carnival. Katherine met us at the train station to take us to our apartment rental. We then stretched our legs along the Rhine.
We crossed the river via a boat dragged across by the current.
There we found ourselves at the steps of Basel Minster (home to the tomb of the widow of the first King of Germany from the House of Hapsburg... OK!)
After a simple dinner we made plans to touch base at 2:30 in the morning(!) for Morgestraich.
At 4 am exactly, the cliques (long-standing social groups around which Fasnaacht is organized) start their procession with floats, drums and piccolos. So many piccolos. It's been weird since the 14th century, and it helps us understand what court jesters might actually have been like. Ha. Ha. Ha?
After that we took a nap and headed out to Riehen, Georg's hometown. His family is renting a house designed by a prominent local architect, Silvia Gmür. It's dramatic and slightly confusing, unlike the Swiss.
Riehen is also the home to the best museum I've ever been to: Fondation Beyeler. Seriously. So many masterpieces, so much personal space.
The next day we were off to the Alps. Before then, we stopped by the recently built (by Basel standards) town hall. It's about 500 years old.
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