Basel

3/15/2026

No, this wasn't in Basel, rather in front of a tall not empty ashtray and two anemic bushes that were camouflaging a ratty two star hotel, I suppose Aix' version of nature, though we did go on a multi-hour hike but I forgot to take a photo then. Isn't she just the best? That she pulled up a stool to wash dishes in the kitchen, asking Why wouldn't I? made me love her even more

Ank is not one to miss a call at an agreed upon time, but minutes after having done so, she left a voicemail apologizing, explaining that she was about to go into surgery to fix her broken right arm. Apparently her broken pelvis would have to heal on its own, but she'd get a cast for the breaks on her left arm and hand. The horse did not need surgery.

Fast forward a few weeks and there I was on the TGV, this time with a window seat! going too fast to take photographs, through Avignon, Lyon, Dijon almost all the way to Strasbourg. The hilly fields were a vibrant green, blooms of fruit trees looking like pastel fireworks, scenic livestock peppering the hills with a medieval church sprinkled in every now and then. After arriving in the beautiful Basel SBB train station, I picked up the 15 tram to Brudholz and walked a few minutes with my much too heavy and noisy wheelie.

Bad photograph of a beautiful train station

Tracks of the 15 from Bruderholz

Dear Lentil and me on one of our walks

I was warned in advance, because of my paralyzing fear of picking up warm and mushy dog poop, that I'd need to, so a few days prior, I did significant mental work, preparing for the challenge that lay ahead. Being in Switzerland, land of cleanliness and order and not so gentle reminders to non-adherents, there was no chance I could pretend I was watching one of the many raptors I saw gracefully soaring above the fields. But the screen saver scenery was a balm for my emotional weakness and eventually I managed to even tie up a bag and walk almost calmly to the nearest trash can, which was never more than 6 feet away. Lenny, or Lentil as he is most often called, and I had walks around the neighborhood, over hills and fields following well marked paths that people follow for days, hiking from village to village, as well as to some of the farms that clustered here and there. Broccoli rabe seemed the most common crop, but there were plenty of strawberries coming and other things as well, I'm sure. The residential neighborhood is also pretty, with nice gardens and very very tidy hedges, all the bulbs in bloom, most notably, because I remember their wonderful smell from my childhood in England, primroses, so many of them growing across a lawn that from a distance, they looked otherworldly.

The farms that peppered the fields were all working, occasionally with a barn where walkers could stop in to buy eggs, produce, hand made and baked goods. One had outdoor seating, where brunch is served on the weekends. In addition, it had goats and pigs, an enchanted outdoor playroom for kids and a bowling alley made out of wood, with balls that I swear were carved out of stone.With perfect weather and blooms out, it was easy to see how fairy tale illustrations are inspired.

Very very tidy hedge

Primroses

So very dear, in one of the farm barns that was selling boiled wool trivets that smelled like the sheep who had donated the wool

Children's ulayspace

Wagon where the baby goats hung out, their names on the rocks

This wooden bowling alley is the absolute best, even though I only knocked two pins over

For sale and for looking, at one of the farms

The old part of Basel is dear and earnest. It is clean, picturesque, has many independent stores and lots of outdoorsy people with messy hair and bike clips, which made me feel right at home. Not a lot of pretense. At the train station on my way back, I saw young couples heading off for the weekend, dressed in rain gear and plastic covered big packs and babies. Good for them! And much better than the man I saw here in France who was mountain biking down a steep and rocky hill with a really small baby strapped in.

'Some of the dearness of downtown Basel. Flowers are real.

This is not a movie set. Basel

And clean, clean, clean

Flowers in the lobby, Les Trois Rois

The sublime hills of Basel, and my sublime friend, walking 10,000 steps!!

I'm not sure how many bones Ank broke, but it was not a few. Over our five days together, I watched her good humored determination to get the better of her situation, working hard to do painful exercises, laughing at her inability to do certain things, gracefully overcoming what can not be much fun. While she was reliant on a wheelchair, crutch, cast and sling when I arrived, by the time I left, she needed none of them and had walked 10,000 steps, as well as taken the 15 from Brudholz downtown to a posh bar for Friday night cocktails.

We were exhausted every night from being busy all day doing I don't know what. Don't ask me to explain, maybe it can be addressed with a quantum physics framework. OK, Here are some random things we did. Drove to France to buy Swiss Vacherin (best cheese I've had in a long time, try some soon) and a puzzle. Had coffee and a marron cake at an adorable café. Went to the equivalent of Home Depot to buy the felt things you put under chairs. Went to the hospital where Ank had been treated, and downtown for various errands and enjoyments. We also did puzzles, starting with a gateway 500 piecer and graduating quickly, like the addicts we were, to a 1500 piecer. We worked well as a team, having roles that matched our personalities; me searching for shells on a Sanibel beach, and Ank project managing, finalizing and making it look good. We'd get these freaky glimpses into our future, hopefully not for many years. But I'll tell you, I know one person I'll be happy to be feeble with, someone who will teach me to grow old gracefully.