Basel, Switzerland

It would be fair to say that Basel is a crossroads city. Switzerland is something of the middle of Europe. Once those in southern Europe figured out how to get through the Alps, they brought good along to trade. Then they reached the city of Basel, right on the Rhine - Europe's Mississippi, and those goods could be moved north. Since Basil already was on the border with France and Germany, it was well-suited for the role of trading post. 

Helping the situation was that the Rhine took a turn at Basel, and thus it was relatively easy to build a bridge on that spot because the current wasn't as fast. And so, the first bridge ever constructed to cross the Rhine was built here. The Middle Bridge, shown here, stands on the location of that first bridge. It continues to link the two sides of the river, although not it is only for pedestrians. We spent about 25 minutes sitting on the bank on the right side of the river (as shown here), watching ships and people float by. Very nice.

Basel is still in the middle of money matters. It's quite a banking capital. Based on the number of big foreign cars on the streets, someone is doing well here. There are a ton of museums around the town, and art seems particularly important to the residents. It's a good place to visit, but perhaps not a great one. Then again, maybe a day and a half wasn't enough to explore the place. I will say that the amount of graffiti around town was surprising and perhaps a little discouraging.

Here's more on Basil, with a most interesting soundtrack behind it: