Basel, Titisee, Stuggart: Sept. 24th-26th

Monday, the 24th, was a long day of traveling. The six of us (Liya’s parents and their two family friends from Hamburg) took several trains to reach the small city of Basel. We finally arrived early evening. We were fortunate to stay with relatives of family friends. They were very hospitable, generous, and a pleasure to be around. Their house was five stories high with three generations of family living together under the same roof.

The next morning, we drove to the Black Forest, about an hour away from Basel. We stopped at one of the highest hills in the Black Forest and had a wonderful panoramic view of countryside. We departed the Black Forest and headed for a very small town near a lake called Titisee. There, we walked around and browsed in a variety of shops, all of which sold similar items (cuckoo clocks, porcelain dolls, souvenir items, clothes, etc.). We ended up having lunch at one of the shops: pork and potatoes of course. Afterwards, we walked down to the lake and took in the great view. We also enjoyed a hot cup of hot chocolate, cappuccino, and a latte macchiato. Luther experienced his first hot wine drink—very interesting and probably not a drink he would order again.

We left Titisee and headed for Basel, Switzerland. Not much to see. We just noticed how expensive it was for everything. Many high-end retail shops were located in the city center.

The next morning, we departed Basel and said goodbye to our wonderful hosts. We took a couple of trains and arrived in the city of Stuggart early afternoon. There, the 6 of us walked around the city center. We came across the shopping district, parks, the opera building, a few museums, and a number of fountains. We hopped on a train in the evening and headed for Frankfurt where we would stay for the next 3 nights.