Welcome back to my Very Merry Christmas in Europe round-up! First up was Germany and France. Today, we move on to Switzerland!
Basel, Switzerland was about an hour and a half drive from our Airbnb in Germany, and although we only planned for two nights and one full day there, we had the best time! Switzerland was a new country to me, and color me obsessed. The neighborhood of our Airbnb was quiet and residential, but super close to a bunch of fun restaurants, bars and stores, and the train made it very easy to get into the city center. Our Airbnb host even hooked us up with a BaselCard, which got us free transportation and discounts at certain places throughout the city.
On our day in the city we got coffee at a local shop, rode the train into the city center, visited the Toy Museum (which was SO MUCH FUN!), walked passed the super cool Tinguely Fountain, saw the gorgeous City Hall all decorated for the holiday, went on a wild goose chase for fondu and ended up with (still delicious!) Italian for lunch, walked over the Rhine River, bought a fancy bauble at a local jewelry store and, after the kids were home, fed and bathed, Chris and I had wine at a neighborhood wine bar.
We sure can pack it into a day.
Here’s what it looked like!
We arrived after the sun went down and our neighborhood was lit up and pretty.We went for a walk when we first arrived to pick up some essentials. We bought cheese, pastries, milk, pouches and local wool socks, and I knew this was a special place 😉Poppa having brekkie with the kiddos in our cute little kitchen.Our neighborhood in the morning.The coffee from that local shop was out of this world!Notorious for their neutrality, the Swiss people had lots of “No War” signs hanging from windows.Riding the local transport, when it was available, was such a highlight for the girls!And off we went!On our way to the Toy Museum we walked through the Christmas Markets being taken down, and we could tell how magical they would have been.The Toy Museum! And I mean … COME ON. Europe is SERIOUS about its holiday decor!This place was great! Our host had told us it wasn’t worth going, but based on some of the details he shared, I have to think they’ve remodeled recently. There are four floors with thousands of toys in intricate scenes behind glass (so no worries about touching!), and they give you an iPad to put around your neck. There are scanning codes throughout the museum and when you point the iPad at them, virtual tour guides pop up and tell stories about what you’re viewing. So much fun!We accidentally hopped off the train one stop early, but that was awesome because we just walked right over the glorious Rhine!Chris did some googling and found an awesome-looking fondu spot that was too awesome for its own good … aka PACKED TO THE GILLS. We eventually found an Italian restaurant that was right on the river and gave us everything we needed.My girl — in the scarf she bought from the Christmas Market in Baden-Baden — exploring the Rhine River. I hope these girls never stop exploring and never lose their curiosity about culture and the world.This City Hall is to-die-for!Inside was even prettier!They had a guest book you could sign, so you know the girls took advantage of that <3Walking back home we came across some street performers playing music. Emilia’ delight was palpable 😉
And that was it for Switzerland, loves! We had to leave super early the next day to get back to the airport to fly to our fourth and final destination … ICELAND! Switzerland, you were an absolute delight, and something tells me we will definitely be back.
Bis bald friends! Until tomorrow, and the last of our European adventures …
