Wednesday, February 25, 2015

A Sunday in Basilea -and more-

On Sunday morning we visited Basel. As you'll see on my face it was so cold! 
All the city was decorated for the event happening that night, called the MORGESTRAICH, it was a pity we couldn't stay till the festival but my flight took off early in the morning and we both had to work on the following day :(
Despite this fact, we enjoyed the nice bridges, churches and narrow streets of the city together with the ancient Plätze that Basel has. Then, taking advantage of the time of the year we are, we ended with the desire to attend a carnival, we were previously told that towns give much importance to these kind of events, so our decision was to drive to Weil am Rhein and see how they celebrate it.
Both costumes and masks were beautiful, accompained with music and loooots of confetti. The streets dressed up into a funny and joyful party mode. Children and also ancient people, all were involved in that kind of tradition.

Finally, I've posted a collection of phone pictures taken along the trip, hope you like em :)

I am aleady waiting for the next visit to Germany... in two weeks!!












































· iPhone shots ·














Tuesday, February 24, 2015

When ZURICH happenz

This has been a fast and intense weekend. My boyfriend is staying some months in Germany so, as always, I took the chance to visit this country with him.We planned to drive to Switzerland and spend the whole Saturday in Zurich, taking advantage that he has the car with him there, and we would improvise the rest of the weekend. But well, taking into account that there still were carnival celebrantions nearby, we supposed that we would end in some of those festivals. And so we did.
Then, thanks to a University friend that frequents the city of Zurich, I was informed of the main traits of the place before visiting it. This helped me a lot, because I didn't have to do the usual previous and intensive research of the place. Anyway, in this post I am disposed to share with you all I have discovered about Zurich. Here it goes:

1. If you travel by car, I recommend you to park on the blue zone of the street. You can get an all-day ticket permission that costs 15CHF. And, believe me, it is "relatively" cheap. On Sundays it is free.

2. Do not forget to take with you an umbrella!

3. If you want to see nice views of the city, you can go to The University of Zurich, which is located in the north-east of the city. Also, you can pay 4CHF to go upstairs inside the Grossmunster.

4. Yes, the Grossmunster offers appreciable bird views of Zurich, and in addition, it is the most famous "icon" of the city.

5. The language widely spoken is German, but everyone has more or less knowledge of English (much better than in Spain...).

6. Some say that Zurich is the most expensive city in the world... Well, I have not traveled that much, but I can promise that is the most "exclusive" place I have been to.

7. If you want to explore the essence of the city, save the mony for the public transport ticket and move through the narrow streets on foot. One of the features that has fascinated me the most is the specialisation of the shops all over the city. They care about every detail and, I promise, they reach perfection. (I have fallen in love with a shop which sold teddys, it was adorable).

8. Must see avenue: Bahnhofstrasse. It is the Swiss "Passeig de Gràcia".

9. Our hotel was above the Main Station, so we walked down the city until the shore of the Lake. My advice is to follow this itinerary. From the Station to the Opera House and back.

10. Remember that in Switzerland they have a different currency that in the common Europe. But don't worry for the money exchange, there are many points through the city where you can get CHF. However, do not trust in the Credit Card way of payment, they do not accept it in many places!

If you want to follow my trip, it is not finished yet! Soon, I will post many more photos and information of the following day.