Basel Minster

Sunrise on the Rhine River

Guten Morgen, Danke Schön & Auf Wiedersehen

Good Morning, Thank you, & Goodbye.

The three phrases in German that helped me get by in Switzerland this weekend and I was excited to know.

I was able to use these phrases when ordering food and paying for things, simple day to day things I usually wouldn't have to think twice about doing. 

However, ordering can be more tricky. 

Embarrassing Encounter #1: 

One day for lunch I went to a specific food vendor because I wanted to try a Basel Wurst and this specific vendor sold different kinds of sausage. However, I know when people shake their heads and use the word "nein" in the sentence- it means I'm out of luck and there are none. However, I hadn't thought that far ahead. So staring at the menu and having no idea what the differences between all the sausages were, I gave up, looked at the grill and said "that one." I was only slightly judged by the vendor owner but you know, whatever works. I got my point across and it was also very good!

Less Embarrassing Encounter #2:

After being up before sunrise and walking around the city. I began to get hungry and on my way back to the airbnb I passed a pastry shop. When I went in, I looked over the pastries (that also had neat labels in front, so I knew what to call it) and I attempted saying the name of the pastry I wanted. What I said was at least close enough because the baker handed me what I asked for. I was also excited that when I asked for a donut, even though I didn't recognize the words she was saying, I had enough background knowledge to know she was asking if I wanted the jelly filled or the creme filled donut. I am an easily impressed person, so this little communication victory made my day!

Least Successful #3

My friend and I went to a corner shop on the way back to the airbnb for snacks and when we were inside she was picking out a 2 liter of soda. The man at the cash register said something to us about the sodas and it could’ve been anything. It could’ve been the price or a special deal he was offering, but we will never actually know and that’s okay.

Communication is important in any culture and there are so many different ways to communicate with others! 

Basel, Switzerland

This past weekend, I got to travel to Basel, Switzerland with a friend!

It was a wonderful trip and a beautiful city. We stayed at a nice little airbnb that was close to the city center. During the weekend, we took a historic town tour, went to the zoo, and explored Basel. Being my first time in a German speaking country, I was unsure about how my communication skills would be. Thankfully, it worked out and I was excited about experiencing Basel's culture.

For our last morning in town, I woke up at 5:40 am so that I would be able to go down to the Rhine River and watch the sunrise. It was definitely worth waking up for (which I debated for a while the night before, haha) After sunrise, I enjoyed my morning walking around and seeing the influx of people as they began their work week. Being able to experience new things and interact with people from different cultural backgrounds has been enriching. I love listening to people as they go about their day to day lives.

In our airbnb, the family we stayed with had a child who would easily go back and forth from speaking in German to speaking in English to us. If only it was that easy for me to switch between foreign languages! I learn what people call "survival skill" phrases and hope for the best. Being in a foreign speaking country has given me insight to even the simplest of things that I would never really think about otherwise.

View from the flight to Basel (Mountains below) 

Sunrise on the Rhine

"All the world's a stage"

Yesterday, my friend and I went into London to check out the British Library, Borough Market, Southwark Cathedral, and the Globe Theatre.

In the British Library, I got to see famous pieces of music such as a draft of Handel's Messiah from 1741 and other composers' works from Bach, Mozart, and Handel. There were musical works, literary works, historical works and much much more! My mom would be happy to know that there was print of Jane Austen's Persuasion from 1816 because Jane Austen is one of her favorite authors. There was also one of four copies of the Magna Carta from 1215 in this exhibit. It was written on one piece of sheepskin and contained over 3500 words! All of these amazing pieces were in one exhibit.

After visiting the British Library, we went to Borough Market, which was full of great smelling food vendors. We stopped there for lunch and had delicious burgers while listening to a street performer play guitar.

Borough Market Vendor

Southwark Cathedral is located near Borough Market and we headed there after lunch. Southwark Cathedral is the church that Shakespeare attended and there is currently a memorial inside in honor of
him. It is a beautiful Cathedral.

Our last stop of the day was the Globe Theatre. There was a self guided audio tour where we learned more about Shakespeare's plays, the history of the theatre, and other neat things. We walked around the exhibit and listened to our self guided tour until our group tour of the theatre began. During our group tour, there was a dress rehearsal taking place of The Taming of the Shrew and we were not allowed to take pictures inside of the theatre. However, it was a fantastic experience to see the history of the theatre and how it was rebuilt to keep the historical accuracy. We got to sit inside the theatre and take in all of its' greatness!

Shakespeare by James Cochran (Jimmy C)

My friend and I stumbled upon the mural above on our way to see the Globe Theatre. It was such a fun mural to see and it was created by a graffiti artist known as Jimmy C.

It was an excellent day and I learned a lot too! I am continuously amazed that I am able to be here studying, learning, and exploring new places.

Afternoon Trip

Yesterday, I went back to St Albans with one of my good friends. We explored the market, got to tour the inside of St Albans Cathedral, and later in the afternoon we got to eat lunch at the oldest pub in England. It was a wonderful day trip and the food was great!

First Established in 793AD 

Winter Snowbells

St Albans Cathedral

The Font

Above the Font

Stained Glass Window

Choir

Prayer Room

Prayer Room

Altar Area

Altar Area

Altar Area