Weil am Rhein

"He was as fresh as is the month of May."
Geoffrey Chaucer

We woke up to the news of the Texas school shooting. As a former teacher, a father, and a grandfather, I have no words other than a feeling of deep despair and anger. I was haunted by that notion as I watched every parent on the streets of Basel today. As we made our way over to Basel's Altstadt GrossBasel (Old Town) we paused to watch elementary aged students play a game of Kubb, a game that is a hybrid of bowling and horseshoes. I loved watching the collective joy of the students engaged in this competition, and I couldn't help but think of students deprived of that joy and future promise. I hope that we figure out a better solution soon. Kids deserve to get to be kids.

We took the time to tour the Basler Munster, a historical and strking sandstone cathedral that was once Catholic and ultimately became a Reformed Protestant Church. The church was originally built in the early 11th century and it was destroyed in an earthquake about three hundred years later. There were several modifications of architecture and style over the centuries.

It was fascinating to tour the crypt and see the remains of the original cathedral with an integrated multimedia production that outlined the timeline of events in the church and society at the time.

Among the famous people buried in the cathedral was Queen Anne of Habsburg and her son Charles; Erasmus, a Catholic priest whose writings has great influence on the Reformation movement; and Jacob Bernoulli, a mathematician known for his contributions to calculus.

In the 1500's many of the paintings and statues of the original church were destroyed in rebellions against what was viewed by Reformists as idol worship. In the 1850's New stained-glass windows were installed. They were quite beautiful, particularly in the light of this sunny day.

I've been meaning to share about one of the prominent icons that we have seen all over the city. At first I thought they were dragons, but we learned that they were instead the baselisk, In medieval animal books, basilisks are often depicted as hybrid creatures with the torso of and head of a rooster, and the abdomen of snake. A basilisk's gaze petrifies or kills. Its breath is deadly poisonous. The legend in Basel was that a jet black rooster laid an egg the size of the rooster and the townspeople must destroy it to save themselves from the hatching of the baselisk. The basilisk has remained an important symbol of Basel over the last five hundred years, and is now depicted carrying the town shield and coat of arms. Harry Potter fans might also recognize the reference to basilisks.

After this visit, we took the light rail to see if we could locate where our river cruise ship was moored. We found it, and we learned that we would be able to board early although our cabin wasn't due to be ready for hours. We returned back to our hotel to retrieve our backpacks, and we made our way back to our boat.

For the remainder of May (thus, my chosen Chaucer quote), we will be aboard Riviera Cruise Lines' MS Geoffrey Chaucer as we make our way up the Rhine from Basel to Köln, Germany. This boat is beautiful and new; it was commissioned in 2020 and Covid limited its use over the last two years.

For the first several hours, we were the only passengers on the boat, and our room was readied for us early. The staff have all been very lovely and welcoming.

We settled into our cabin, Room 222, with visions of the old TV show in our heads. We had a nice nap in our cabin and we then relaxed in the lounge and on the deck. We learned that there will be about 94 passengers on the ship, At first glance at our fellow passengers, it appears that we are on the younger side of the spectrum. Most of the passengers appear to be from the UK. I imagine that we'll have plenty of opportunities to meet them over the next week.

We enjoyed a great dinner, and then we attended an obligatory safety briefing and an overview of our itinerary tomorrow. We feel very fortunate to have this experience. 💞Read more