The night on the train wasn’t much of a good sleep especially for my friend. Before going to bed, we ate something in the dinner car and got to see some of the sights of Germany out the window. Cologne or Koln looked awesome. During the night, my friend got sick and between, she thinks, the food and the motion of the train. She was in the WC most of the night. Once we reached our stop in Basel, Switzerland. It is the hometown of my great grandfather’s grandparents. We didn’t think it would be any problem to get a hotel. It wasn’t, but you have to pay for it. We are staying in the Hotel Victoria. The hotel is three star but it is really nice. The room is big and we have a balcony with a table and two chairs. We just wanted to get in somewhere because she was so sick. I didn’t know what to do with passports but apparently we didn’t have to do anything. That caused a little delay. So we hurried it to the hotel after running into an American woman who tried to help us. We just needed something fast. We ended up at the Hotel Victoria. After getting her some water back at the train station (I didn’t yet know a grocery store was 50 meters away from our hotel). I got some crackers and brought them back for her. Then we fell asleep, she in the bathroom and me in the bed. About an hour or so later, she needed some gatorade so I repeated the trip but this time to the ‘Co-op’ grocery store next to the hotel where prices were much cheaper. Along the 50 meters back to the hotel some old man who I think was drunk was rambling on about something looked at me and called me an ‘idiot’ I don’t speak German so I don’t know what his problem was. Back at the hotel, The hotel I took another nap because I was exhausted then showered then my friend told me I should explore Basel without her. I was afraid to leave because she was so sick. She even made the comment that she hoped she didn’t have to go to the hospital. She told me she was feeling better so I should go. I got dressed ventured down to the Basel Information Center in the train center for more details. A lady told me I needed to take the 8 train from platform 5 to get downtown. It is probably a 10 minute walk (I learned later) and a 10 minute tram ride from the hotel. People look and act differently in Switzerland than in The Netherlands. Of course there is the language factor. Just think three different cultures in one week. As soon as I got off the tram I saw the Basel History Museum. The Europeans love their museums. Once inside I was excited to pay seven francs for admittance. The woman behind the desk informed me because the museum was within one hour of closing, the admittance was free. Nice! I truly wanted to find my relatives’ name on something. I asked the woman but she couldn’t provide any help. I still really enjoyed the free tour and there is a lot of history there. I then took in the city and that was the big turnaround for me. Honestly, I was starting to wonder if this trip was a mistake. Do not get me wrong the wedding part was top notch and irreplaceable but after being let loose in another country I had some doubts. One lesson to pass on… Prepare!! I didn’t have any clues where hotels were, I knew some of them but… So I continued on my trek around the Marktplatz and through the pouring rain. Yes, an umbrella is priceless right now. After doing a fair amount of people watching I realized I packed the right amount of clothes just not the right ones. I needed to bring more pants and collared shirts. You stick out wearing t-shirts over here. I have worn the one collared shirt I brought three times. I am going to buy more tomorrow they have great deals at this one store. Even with the rain, I really got time to explore the downtown. My friend said she might be feeling better around 6pm and so I decided to get on the tram. I took the 8 going the wrong way but discovered my error after just one stop. Back at the hotel, my friend was not feeling better, she was passed out and down for the count. She didn’t even know I was there, she later told me. I figured I shouldn’t lose the day completely so after tidying up my belongings, I set out to find an Internet Cafe. Not easy. No one gives completely good directions here or at least not good directions in English. It’s their country and they speak German. Someone told me there was one by the cinemas, that got me close to McDonald’s and that was all I needed. They just unveiled new Internet computers for the public. One franc for 15 minutes. I got a half hour and the clerk thought I was crazy. I got some messages and sent out a couple before my time was up. I then boarded the correct train before arriving back at the hotel. My friend was up and I shared my day and thoughts. She didn’t venture out because she was still not 100%. I got her some bread and me a baguette deli sandwich at ‘Co-op’. There isn’t too much for English only speaking people here in Switzerland so we’ve been watching a lot of “CNN World”. I did get to see an old “Young & the Restless” in French, that was cool. They renamed it something else and even indicated in the credits who did the overdubbed voices. Okay, time to get to bed. Hopefully, I will have some company tomorrow.
