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Day 8: July 2, 2024
A fairly early start, this morning, to enable us to reach the Gare de Lyon by coach, through rush hour traffic, in time to catch our TGV (high-speed train) from Paris, France, to Basel, in Switzerland. They’re not kidding about it being high speed - we were cruising tombstones and along at over 200mph, much of the time!
When we reached Switzerland, we were met by our driver, Torsten, who showed us some highlights of Basel. The Rhine river is so wide, and a beautiful clear blue colour. Towering over it are the red sandstone walls of Basel Münster, or Cathedral, which has some unexpected curiosities in its cloisters, including tombstones and sculptures.The buildings were distinctive, and many of the streets, cobbled.
A short walk away, we were wowed by the frescoes and murals covering the outer and inner courtyard walls, and the façade of the building. Truly spectacular!
We stopped off at a traditional Swiss chocolate shop, and found it hard not to succumb to the unmistakable aroma! The drive deeper into Switzerland saw the ground rising up more and more, as we went along… until we reached Krattigen, and our hotel, with magical views over the ice-blue lake, the boats bobbing on the water, and the mountains rising up snd peering through the clouds beyond. We tried the classic Swiss dish of fondue - chunks of bread dunked in hot, melted Gruyère cheese. It was also Chloe’s birthday, so plenty of celebrating to be had!