Since we'd finished exploring Strasbourg rather quickly we woke up a little early the next morning and drove the roughly 1.5 hours into Basel's city center. We had a flight booked that evening from the Swiss side of the Basel airport anyway so it just made sense.
As soon as we got to town and saw the prices for parking we remembered by Switzerland is always good for short trips-ha! It was over $36 to park for about 5 hours WAY outside of city center. Such is life. We were ready to stop driving and the town was ready for us to park, too. To say that their roads were a little confusing would be the understatement of a lifetime.
We walked into town and across the bridge and noticed people floating in the river. Then we remembered we'd seen a special about it once on a travel show and instantly Jackson started plotting whether or not he could partake.
Floaters in the river
You can hear Jackson at the end say, "I've got my suit out in the car!"
Jackson "needed" sausage
I was able to keep Jackson on land long enough to find a snack at the outdoor market (sausage for him, of course) and to go tour the cathedral. I had read that this was a great cathedral to tour because for a small fee (by Swiss standards) you could climb the spires and tour it yourself with no guide. We really feel like guides cramp our style so this was super appealing.
Visiting the cathedral
I love a church,
Looking up.
Jackson beat me to the top!
These stairs were...worn.
Looking out over town.
Chanting "this won't fall down during
your brief visit" to myself
More views from the top
I loved the green roof!
Petefish.
Looking at the next spire
The bell wasn't small!
One last look at the church...
The guidebooks were not wrong. We really did climb the entirety of the cathedral without a single bother from an employee. Amazing. All that climbing made us hungry for a real meal so we did the normal thing we do in Switzerland and hit the grocery store to assemble our own picnic lunch. We got some ham, potato chips, rolls, cheese, beer (for Jackson) and water then headed to the riverfront to nosh.
Picnic!
As we were eating I looked up and noticed that the windows facing us were open and inside was a very fancy dining room. Then it hit me: we were picnicking outside of the Grand Hotel Les Trois Rois which is home to Cheval Blanc by Peter Knogl, a 3 star Michelin restaurant.
If you're like me, you don't know much about the Michelin rating system. It is actually kind of fascinating. Information from Lookers:
Michelin Stars originated in a country best known for its passion for cuisine – France. Originally they were a feature of the Michelin guide books published in 1900 by Andre and Edourd Michelin - the founders of the Michelin tire company.
Having started the company in 1889 the brothers were looking for a method to compel the then limited number of drivers to make more journeys and by extension, buy more tres. The guide listed a wealth of information for motorists which included where to find the best meals and accommodation whilst touring in their cars.
As the business grew, so did the guide, becoming so popular that a charge was introduced in 1920.
By then, the dining element was in such high demand that Michelin decided to set up a team of inspectors whose job it was to visit – anonymously - and rate restaurants on a 3-category basis. The rating systems – still in place today and with more than a passing nod to its motoring roots - was referred to as ‘Michelin Stars’. 3 stars being ‘exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey’, 2 stars ‘excellent cooking, worth a detour and 1 star, a very good restaurant in its category’
So this restaurant is one of the best in the world, according to these rankings. We found that it books out years in advance. Hilariously we just had our grocery store picnic out front. It was lovely. ;) When you randomly use this Michelin knowledge and win a trivia game please thank me-ha!
Once we'd finished lunch Jackson decided he just could not take it and HAD to go for a float. This girl is not a strong swimmer nor is she good with cold water so she opted to sit on the water's edge and just soak in the sun and atmosphere of a bustling Swiss city.
Enjoying the chilly water!
There he goes!
Jackson waving as he floats by me
Jackson is out there somewhere!
Most floaters had these little bags they floated with, but Jackson just had himself. He didn't mind. He would float down a decent distance, hop out, walk back to the platform and go again. He probably floated for an hour before joining me in the sun to dry off.
We were able to exit the city breaking only about 789,425 traffic laws and made it safely to the airport. Their airport has two sides: one in France and one in Switzerland. If you return your car to the wrong country it can cost you hundreds of dollars. Isn't that wild? Luckily we both returned our car to the Swiss side and had a flight leaving from that side so it was not as bad as some travelers experience. The airport had a really nice lounge that we had access to (thanks, Chase for the priority lounge pass!) so we hung out there having snacks and waiting for our flight to Lisbon, Portugal.
Unfortunately home (Florida) was bracing for a hurricane. Aunt Kathy had MacKenzie and was afraid of running out of food for her so I was coordinating with Chewy.com's representatives from Switzerland to get food to North Ft. Myers, Florida. MacKenzie eats a special prescription food and deviating it from it makes her very sick so I was pretty concerned. I cannot say enough about Chewy.com and their service. They waived shipping fees and had more food there for her the next day! What a relief. I'm also thankful for technology and the internet for assisting in my puppy parenting!
We finally got to Lisbon pretty late in the evening. We got a hotel in the city just for one night so that we didn't waste money on a resort by arriving so late. We got to our hotel and pretty much crashed right away. We were excited to explore another new city the next morning!
We made it fairly easily (a bit of traffic) to Strasbourg. We got there just after hotel check-in so we dropped off our things, freshened up a bit and then headed into the city center to see the sights.
Strasbourg looking adorable
What's a new city without a cathedral tour?
The architecture was stunning
Looking up is my favorite
I wish we could get remarried here!
Beyond gorgeous.
The real focal point of the city is its cathedral which was stunning both inside and out. This little town screamed Beauty and the Beast to me. I actually played this song a ton during our visit. Jackson really loved that. ;)
My French reading skills from high school are actually pretty good. Speaking is pretty rough, though. We are able to order at bakeries like real pros, though, which is a true life skill. :)
French pastries? Oui, SVP!
We finally saw a little schnauzer dog which meant I had to brush up on a new French phrase:
A schnauzer!
The only French I needed to know!
Once we'd filled up with carbs again (France is SO CHEAP compared to Switzerland so we could afford a snack before dinner later--a real miracle) it was time to explore the rest of the town.
How cute is this little town?
Petefish.
Jackson looking handsome in an adorable village.
If this isn't where Belle lived in Beauty & The Beast I don't know what is!
I cannot stop taking photos of the cuteness.
Honestly.
The old royal quarters.
My friend from work, Carol, used to live in this peach house
when she was in graduate school so I stopped to take photos of it for her!
I had always seen glory photos of Strasbourg in guidebooks, but never thought I'd find my way here. Then my dear friend at work, Carol, lost her husband to cancer. She studied in France many years ago (like 35-40 years ago!) and always talked so lovingly about this little town. When I figured out that we'd be close and could work in a side trip I decided we just had to so I could take some photos of Carol's beloved village to bring her back some happy memories. She sent me the address to her home and we found our way there. It was SO fun to be able to take some photos to bring a smile to her face.
She reported that the neighborhood had changed some! HA!
Petefish and Carol's old home!
It was really neat to see her old place and report back all the changes from how she described the area. It used to be by a fish market and now was in a very trendy, pricey part of town. If only she'd bought it back then she'd have a golden holding now!
We made our way back to the little river going through town and decided to have dinner at a very happening spot. It was so fun to sit outside surrounding by folks carrying on in various languages and just soak in the entire atmosphere.
Dinner by the water
We finished dinner and then walked around a bit more before hailing an Uber to take us back out to our hotel which was kind of a long walk from city center. We're not huge fans of wandering through strange alleyways at night time no matter how cute a town looks!
Once you are in Europe getting from place to place is as easy as crossing state lines. We booked a quick flight (just under 2 hours) from the island of Mallorca to Zurich, Switzerland. We love Switzerland so much and have made it a priority to be here so often over the last couple of years that I know loving refer to it as a second home. I cannot afford for it to be my first, second, third or any home so this is said strictly in jest. We can only stomach/afford to be in the country for a few days at a time.
"Let's go!"
It always feels good to the be "home" in Switzerland
We landed in the evening, grabbed a rental car from our regular spot and got on the road. Flying was not great for my head cold so we had to stop along the way for tissues and Ricola cough drops. As you can imagine, Ricolas are quite easy to procure around these parts.
The drive from Zurich took about two hours. I knew we were doing some mountain driving but it was dark out so I didn't have the chance to lose my nerve. Yes, Davos is across the country from Zurich, but Switzerland is not large. Fun fact: Switzerland is nearly the size of Vermont and New Hampshire combined, but not quite that large even.
We wanted to come to Davos to stay at one of Intercontinental Hotel Groups' premiere properties, but since we were arriving late we booked a less expensive hotel for the first night. It turned out to be really nice, too, and right in town. We pretty much just slept there, but we woke up to a pretty view of the village.
Good morning, Davos!
We had a bit of time before we could check into our new hotel for the evening to so we went down the lake to sit and read for a bit. This is a lie. I went to sit and read a book. Jackson doesn't sit still much so he wandered around. We initially tried to get into our hotel only to be thrown out by security as they were ending a Swiss banking convention and these are more highly guarded than Area 51/ Fort Knox/ The White House. We now believe that Swiss bankers are the root of all evil. I'm kidding. Kind of.
Not a bad spot for a read!
The road into town is covered so snow doesn't stop traffic. SMART!
An aerial view of the hotel
(not our photo, of course)
The hotel's exterior from the parking lot
We eventually were able to check in and the hotel was pretty much empty. Since they'd had the ultra-secret banking convention book the entire hotel for the days before we were there only about seven other rooms occupied in the entire hotel. I thought that was kind of awesome. It also meant they gave us a nicer room with an amazing view.
The view from our balcony
That is not fake!
We settled in for a bit then went into town. The cool thing about visiting a ski town during the summer months is that even in Switzerland things are on sale. We got a pass good for transit up any mountain train, tram, elevator, you name it while we were there just for staying at a local hotel. This saved us a ton of cash and built-in things for us to do. Naturally it was me who had to face her debilitating fear of heights and go to top of each mountain. I did it. As I always do.
Sitting on top of the world!
Somehow the wind never messes with Jackson's hair?!
Views for days!
This does not justice for how steep this was
I need a better camera to show downward slope.
Our hotel is that little gold blob on the left
After all that excitement we hit the pools and steam rooms at the hotel (our own personal place, really) and then retired early.
We learned the next morning at breakfast (Jackson had finagled both club room access and free breakfast due to his status with IHG hotels) that BMW uses a local road as their winter test track for new vehicles. Obviously this meant we needed to test out our rental car (categorically not a BMW) on the same road.
They don't test BMWs in an ugly environment
The locals are a little fierce
We pulled off to hike around a little
You guys. This is just a random road in Switzerland. I cannot.
Jackson, naturally, climbed on top of a large rock
How cute is this little chapel?
Once we'd finished milling around the windy test track road we headed back into the village to ride more terror machines trams to the top of the mountains.
Looking back at the village
JAKOBSHORN!
The area at the top of this mountain was stunning
THE WINDOW OF THE TRAM WAS WIDE OPEN
JUST WAITING FOR ONE OF US TO FALL THROUGH IT
The safety standards in other countries are amazing to me. We were seriously 56 miles from the ground and they had the windows of our tram wide open. Have we no sense, dear Swiss folk? We made it back. Somehow.
We heard that a local spot had killer cordon bleu so we made a reservation and went there for dinner.
A little piece of Grant County in Davos!
We love this stuff!
I can hardly contain my excitement!
Luckily the food was delicious because for the two of us it was well over $100. Yep. YEP. Welcome to Switzerland where everyday is like fat camp because you cannot afford to eat. HA.
An interesting thing we noticed about the other visitors to Davos was that we were pretty much the only non-Haredi Jews in town. Since their families are generally large and the summers in Israel are quite hot the idea that Davos is "on sale" in the summer with favorable weather means that large populations of these folks come to town. The city really caters to them with increased kosher offerings and it seems to be a mutually beneficial relationship. Interestingly, most marriages are still arranged and the women have to wear hair coverings but they do this via wearing wigs instead of scarves as done by many Muslim women. We did not know about the wig rule at first and once we learned it (thanks, Google) I found it FASCINATING. Honestly the people watching around town was incredible and we learned some new things about people with whom we'd not previously interacted.
Haredi Jews have a large presence
The next morning we again had a private breakfast in our now even more empty hotel. It was amazing to us that they still put together an entire breakfast buffet when we only saw two other guests dining. What a waste! I actually do not love most of what they eat for breakfast (think deli meats and runny eggs) so I ate the Asian-style food they made. Now that was a real treat!
Top of the morning to 'ya!
Trying a little Asian food for breakfast
We filled up since we wouldn't be able to afford food again until dinner (I'm not kidding this time) and then got on the road to France. It would take about four hour to get from Davos over to Strasbourg, France where we'd be staying for the evening.
Also, I am adding a video that I just found because I liked it:
