Excursions around Basel

There hasn't been too much going on here recently, just getting settled into our new apartment. It is nice to have a regular sized kitchen to cook in, and I have been making good use of it. I just yesterday made a couple of apple pies to bring to a dinner we were invited to, and made a very tasty pumpkin cake last week, and cranberry bread the week before. We'd better figure out some more good hiking trips to walk off all this tasty food!

We have gone biking the last couple of Sundays, but I didn't take many photos, it's much easier to take photos when you're hiking. I have included a couple photos from the little town of Istein, Germany, that we ended up in one day.


The town was partially surrounded by hills with vineyards, and had a pretty little church. It was so quiet on this Sunday afternoon, you could hear someone cough in their house as you rode by. Even the trains that went through the town, up behind that pinkish house on the hill didn't seem to make much noise.

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Through Centrepoint I have met a couple of other expats, and we took a drive out to Ribeauvillé and Colmar in the Alsace region of France on the 25th of October. Ribeauvillé was a very cute little, easily walkable village, where I took the photos below. There were a lot of wine stores there, and vineyards all around the hills outside the town. Colmar was much more a city, and we only walked around in the center of town area where there were a bunch of shops. I didn't get any photos there. I'd like to go back to Ribeauvillé at some point and check out the castle we saw on the hill over the town. Maybe one weekend I'll have to rent a car so MrB can go with me.

Here is a view up the street as we entered Ribeauvillé .

and a close-up of the interesting store front on the right.

Another view up the street with a castle on the hill overlooking the town.

Close-up of the castle.

Brightly colored houses.

Old house being renovated. It was neat to see what it looks like underneath the bright paint. This one had an area on the ground floor that was originally used to stable animals in the winter - their body heat helped keep the upper floors warmer.