Dear Basel,

We only got to hang out for a bit and I might not know you too well but I'm glad we met. Basel is the city that I arrived in upon finishing the Westweg and it's where I'd relax until my flight to Budapest. I spent two and a half fun filled days being lazy here.

As I mentioned in a previous post after arriving I headed for a campsite just outside of town. From the German train station I first took a bus to the Swiss/French station which many of the town trams arrive outside of. There's something about public transport that I love. It's so convenient, and after walking so long it was a nice rest. The bus took me through town and over the Rhine. The whole trip I'd be fascinated by the architecture and life in the city. Often I'd find myself wondering about the people I saw and the lives they live. And I was always envious of those on bikes who seemed so at home going in and out of traffic. These cyclists were a different breed. They didn't appear timid at all, they knew that they owned the road just as much as a car driver. And they were so fluid, looking at home on a bike. Often I saw elderly folks hop on and off their bike like a pro cyclocross racer. And everyone had such interesting bikes. Mostly old, rarely new. Everyone on the road did respect the dinosaurs. The busses and trams. After I hopped off the bus I hopped on a tram. It was just as much fun, if not more, as the bus. Like a train that uses the roads. What a great thing. Luckily I was never in a rush so I hop on and off whenever I wanted. Miss one? No problem, I could wait for the next. Often I'd see folks in a full sprint only to have the ruthless Tramlord shut the doors and drive away. Good thing trams arrive often.

After hopping off I had to try and find the campsite. After spinning in a few circles I noticed a sign with a tent pointing down a dark street. I'd follow this street until it hit an end with no signs. Time to choose left or right. I picked right and luckily a young couple that passed would ask me if I needed help. I had picked the wrong direction. After a bit of walking and talking, the woman exclaimed that she loves the USA, they pointed me down a staircase assuring me the campsite was there somewhere. I would find it, reception closed, and have to pitch my tent in the dark. In the morning I'd find out I had pitched my tent in a place designated for a camper. Oops. After moving my tent and doing a bit of laundry it was time to see the city.

On tram 11 at the Gartenstadt stop there was a Co-op, a swiss grocery store. This is where I'd be buying most of the things that I ate. Stopping for breakfast and dinner each time. In Iceland I acquired the taste for Skyr, a delicious yogurt, and the store had a great bakery. Most meals I ate included Skyr and baked goods. It wasn't the healthiest but I loved it. Switzerland is also quite an expensive country so it wasn't too cheap either. Most of the money I saved by sleeping in a tent went to food. Once I made it into town my goal was to try and reach Augst. A small town outside the city. Home to the largest Roman theatre north of the Alps. After a short walk and long bus ride I'd arrive. Two ladies also got off at this stop and like me began to wonder where the ruins were. Turns out they're a couple of New Yorkers in Basel on a work trip. They work with dancers to help them recover. We consulted a map and then took a walk eventually ending in Augusta Raurica, tiny Rome. We walked around admiring the mostly reconstructed ancient ruins. They seemed a little underwhelmed by it all, one claiming she had seen better, but I was a bit fascinated. Here were the remaines of a theatre, bakery, amphitheatre, temple and walls. All built so long ago! How cool it all was. Except the temperature, it was actually a very warm day. After looking around we'd head back to catch the bus back into town. Off the bus we said our goodbyes and I headed back to the campsite.

The next day my mission was to send a few postcards and maybe see a museum. I headed back to the station at the end of the Westweg for postcards, free internet and free bathrooms. I ended up also having a nice conversation with the woman that sold me my postcards. She was very interested to find out that I'm an American. Saying my English was "very good". She usually has a problem understanding folks from the US. This got us into an interesting conversation about language. I was unaware that there really isn't a Swiss language. She said it's mostly dialects of French, German and Italian. Once our conversation was over I headed for the Kunstmuseum which I had seen outside of the window from tram 2. Having sent my brother a postcard with a picture of it I figured I might as well visit. And so that is how I'd find myself wandering around halls filled with art from Van Gogh, Picasso, Magritte, Dali and Monet. Plus a lot of other names I didn't recognize. A few I knew I should have from an art history class at App. Surprisingly I found myself enjoying quite a bit of it. Maybe I didn't "understand" it all but it was nice to look at. There was of course only so much time I could spend looking at it all so I was soon back out on the streets. Here I stumbled across Basel's downtown shopping area filled with lots of shops I mostly hear about from rappers. I passed most of these and opted to buy food instead. I'd eat some form of roasted acorn like thing and a Swiss Quesadilla, I enjoyed both. The only shop I spent much time in was a Gamestop. Here I was nostalgic over good times back home having my adventures from the comfort of the living room. I do miss playing video games and I've spent some time talking with Will about them. But, my love for games and explanation of it is for another time. It was horrifying to see that a new game here costs almost $95. See Mom, I could have wasted more money! We've got it easy back home.

After exiting the Gamestop I was off to find a tram stop and a way back to the campsite. Last night was my last night in Basel. Currently I'm sitting in the Euro Airport on the corners of France, Germany and Switzerland. At 2:10pm (here) I'll be flying off to Budapest. There I've got a campground space conveniently close to my friend Camille's university. From there I'll be spending the next while exploring Budapest and the surrounding area. Can't wait. Hope all is well for all who are reading this, and thanks for reading! Until next time.

Sincerely,
Zeb

Dear Westweg Pt. 2,

Stage 7: Hausach - Brend 33km
Or something like that. I told myself I was done walking more than that day's stage, but I lied. I reached the end of stage 7 around 2:00pm and didn't feel like stopping. So I continued on. This stage started out straight up. When cycling I generally enjoy climbing and tend to think of it as something I'm decent at. New roads with new climbs would often get me a bit excited. Since travelling I've seen and walked on quite a few roads that made me wish I had a bike. The start of this trail was wide enough for cycling, but I didn't wish for a bike. In fact I wished I was somewhere else. The grade was at points outrageous. My nose was almost in the grass in front of me. And it continued like this continued for many kilometers. Eventually flattening out and weaving through the Schwarzwald dairy land. It was a nice change of scenery from the trees that had become the norm.

That night I'd make it to a hotel found in the back of the Westweg brochure gifted to me by the two friendly Israeli guys. The Goldener Rabe. If I could read German my brochure may have said something like "Warning: may contain vampires." It's a large old yellow building that looks friendly enough from the outside but was dark on the inside. I opened the front door and walked into an empty dining area with no lights on. A door to my left slid open and a woman with dark circles around both eyes came into the room. I'm not sure what century she's from but it pre-dates the USA as she looked confused when I said that I'm from the United States. She did however speak a bit of English and soon I was being taken through a dark stairwell down a dark hallway to my room. I opted to pay a few extra euros for the one with a toilet and shower attached so I could stay in the safety of my own room. The next morning I came down to the dining area for breakfast. Population: Me, an orange cat that licked my butter, an old black lab, and the vampire and her sister.

Stage 9: Brend - Titisee 30km
I set off at a good pace eager to put some distance between myself and the Goldener Rabe. While it was nice enough, I couldn't shake the gloomy feel. Once again I'd walk a little more than I had too. This stage was fairly uneventful aside from a lovely family that offered me sweets along the way. Some sort of cakes, whatever they were they were delicious. I'd make it to Titisee, after getting lost for a bit, and settle into a small guesthouse. The night before I didn't have much for dinner so this night I treated myself to a whole pizza. And it was so good. I'd go to sleep full and happy to know that I only had three more days of walking left.

Stage 10: Titisee - Wiedener Eck 35km
Titisee was about 5km from the real end of stage 10 so I had some catching up to do. But not until I bought some bread and cheese to help me through the day. 5km into the hike I met a feline friend who I stopped to talk with for a bit. He followed me a while before the trail met a road and the cars scared him off. Hope he is well out in the world. The halfway point of stage 10 is the top of Feldberg, highest point in the Black Forest, at 1495m. The hike up was much easier than expected and was a well populated area. I ran into a friendly group that asked me if I was Irish. I'm an American in disguise over here. They were however happy to hear that that is what I am. And one from North Carolina too, a state they had just been talking about. They let me know that they had met very friendly folks in the states and wished me the best of luck on my journey. After Feldberg I found a much appreciated resting spot. It was a large tree that had been cut down with places to lay down added on. I sat there for a while before continuing. Just before reaching Wieden I'd run into another man from Israel. We'd finish the stage together. He was hiking with his brother who got tired and took a bus ahead to the end. In Wieden we parted ways as I attempted to find another guesthouse. The first I found wasn't open but the owner let me take a short cut into town through his goat herd, even cutting off the electric fence for me. In town I'd find Haus Barbel where a friendly lady and I battled through the language barrier to get everything in order. After dinner in town I returned and after getting inside after believing myself locked out I hopped into bed to prepare myself for the second to last day.

Stage 11: Wiedener Eck - Kandern 33km
What a day. This stage also started out steep and hosted some of my favorite views of the whole Westweg. It was however also fairly uneventful. At Haus Barbel I drank my first cup of coffee in years and I credit that to helping the first half go quickly. Unfortunately though the last 10k would probably be the hardest of the Westweg as I hit the wall and had to hobble into Kandern. Quite literally hobble as my left leg decided we were no longer friends. In Kandern I stuffed myself full of kebab and pizza in one of Europe's wonderful kebab and pizza places. They seem to be widespread like fast food joints and very well priced. Afterwards I'd limp about in the rain searching for the cheapest place to stay that I could find. It was however the most expensive place (and least nice) I'd stay the whole hike at €45. In my room I'd find a pair of pants left behind with €70. Was it immoral for me to take the money? Probably. Do I feel bad about it? Honestly, not too much.

Stage 12: Kandern - Basel 26km
This stage was... well... extremely uneventful. Almost downright boring. Also it rainded hard the first 13km. My leg was also still very much not on good terms with the rest of me. In Basel the trail was not very well marked and often I wondered if I was still following it. Eventually, and not soon enough, I'd find myself in Basel outside a train station. There I was unsure if I had really completed the trail until seeing a small sign that let me know I was at the end. No grand finale, no applause. Inside the station I'd find my friend, Cedar, and his brother Thunder. I don't remember their names, only the English translation. We shared similar thoughts of being underwhelmed at the finish. Cedar believes only 6-7 stages were really worth doing and looking back on it maybe he's right. But here I am in Basel with the trail behind me. And glad to say it's something I've done.

Upon arrival I sat in the station and ate a lot of food. Eventually I'd make my way to the tram station and head for a campsite just outside town. Currently I'm sitting on a bench somewhere in the middle of town writing this. Soon I'll head back toward the campsite. On Sunday I've got a flight to Budapest to see my friend Camille and the city. While I'm excited to do so I'll first be enjoying my time here in Switzerland, or at least a part of it. Basel is lovely so I'm sure to post about it soon.

Goodbye Westweg! Goodbye Germany!

Sincerely,
Zeb