To say that we had a good night’s sleep last night would be a gross understatement. We went to bed around 6 PM and none of woke up before about 7:00 this morning. Donna Jo did have some coughing spells to deal with during the night, but she reported that she was in “good shape” for the day’s activities, so we forged ahead.
We had breakfast at the bed-and-breakfast where we had spent the night, and met lovely couple who were visiting from the French-speaking portion of Switzerland. They were interesting to talk to as they had traveled extensively, including a back-packing trip through South America. They were familiar with many of the places in Ecuador we had visited.
On the way to the train station we passed by the fortress in Shaffhausen once more, and took photos from a slightly different angle. As you can see, the weather is still not fully cooperating with our plans, but we are optimistic.
We took the train from Shaffhausen to Zurich, where we got on an express train that had us from Zurich to Basel in less than an hour. We were fortunate enough to locate a private compartment on the train that was not reserved, so we traveled in style.
Once we arrived in Basel we went to our hotel, which is in a perfect location…once we found it. We had previously contacted Holger, who preaches for the church in Basel. We got information on where the church meets on Sunday and the time of the services. He volunteered to meet us on Saturday and show us around Basel, and we enthusiastically accepted his gracious invitation. He met us at the hotel and helped with the German-English language barrier as we checked in the hotel. Out hotel is the one with the blue awnings beyond the street market in the photo.
Even though is drizzled rain…and sometimes rained a bit harder than that…Holger shared his city with us through a well-thought-out walking tour. In the photo he is showing Jack, Donna Jo and Olen a portion of the ancient city wall.
We went to the Munster (extremely large and ornate church building). We walked around it, and behind it where there was a view of the Rhine River. Inside there was a choral group practicing for a concert to be held there this evening.
As we walked through historic areas in Basel, Olen got a text message and we all feared it was bad news. Thankfully, it was just a friendly message from our nephew, Cody. Cody wanted to know where we were and where we were staying.
We walked up and down quaint little streets with old buildings on each side. Holger took us to see a house that dated from the year 1300. (And I previously thought my grandmother’s bowl was old!)
We ended our walking tour at the place where the church will meet in the morning. They have a lovely place to meet, and it is immaculate and well-thought-out, as are so many things in Switzerland. He showed us his method for preparing lessons on Revelation, the classrooms, room they use for worship, etc. The work of remodeling the building to be used by the church was done by the members. The four of us spent several hours in the late afternoon and evening visiting with him at the church building, and discussing his work.
Franzi, Holger’s wife, joined us later, and we all went to dinner together at a local restaurant and had more time to visit. Holger and Franzi are lovely people. Their children had “other plans” for the evening, which is to be expected of teenagers, but we look forward to meeting them tomorrow morning at the worship service.
After dinner, they pointed us in the direction of our hotel and we walked less than a block to get there. The meeting place for the church is a 5-10 minute walk from our hotel, so we will walk to worship in the morning…backpacks on our backs.
It has been a busy day today. Tomorrow is the Lord’s Day, and we are so happy to be able to join the worship with our brothers and sisters in Basel. It is our prayer that your plans include joining the Christians in your area for worship, also.
We had breakfast at the bed-and-breakfast where we had spent the night, and met lovely couple who were visiting from the French-speaking portion of Switzerland. They were interesting to talk to as they had traveled extensively, including a back-packing trip through South America. They were familiar with many of the places in Ecuador we had visited.
On the way to the train station we passed by the fortress in Shaffhausen once more, and took photos from a slightly different angle. As you can see, the weather is still not fully cooperating with our plans, but we are optimistic.
We took the train from Shaffhausen to Zurich, where we got on an express train that had us from Zurich to Basel in less than an hour. We were fortunate enough to locate a private compartment on the train that was not reserved, so we traveled in style.
Once we arrived in Basel we went to our hotel, which is in a perfect location…once we found it. We had previously contacted Holger, who preaches for the church in Basel. We got information on where the church meets on Sunday and the time of the services. He volunteered to meet us on Saturday and show us around Basel, and we enthusiastically accepted his gracious invitation. He met us at the hotel and helped with the German-English language barrier as we checked in the hotel. Out hotel is the one with the blue awnings beyond the street market in the photo.
Even though is drizzled rain…and sometimes rained a bit harder than that…Holger shared his city with us through a well-thought-out walking tour. In the photo he is showing Jack, Donna Jo and Olen a portion of the ancient city wall.
We walked up and down quaint little streets with old buildings on each side. Holger took us to see a house that dated from the year 1300. (And I previously thought my grandmother’s bowl was old!)
We ended our walking tour at the place where the church will meet in the morning. They have a lovely place to meet, and it is immaculate and well-thought-out, as are so many things in Switzerland. He showed us his method for preparing lessons on Revelation, the classrooms, room they use for worship, etc. The work of remodeling the building to be used by the church was done by the members. The four of us spent several hours in the late afternoon and evening visiting with him at the church building, and discussing his work.
Franzi, Holger’s wife, joined us later, and we all went to dinner together at a local restaurant and had more time to visit. Holger and Franzi are lovely people. Their children had “other plans” for the evening, which is to be expected of teenagers, but we look forward to meeting them tomorrow morning at the worship service.
After dinner, they pointed us in the direction of our hotel and we walked less than a block to get there. The meeting place for the church is a 5-10 minute walk from our hotel, so we will walk to worship in the morning…backpacks on our backs.
It has been a busy day today. Tomorrow is the Lord’s Day, and we are so happy to be able to join the worship with our brothers and sisters in Basel. It is our prayer that your plans include joining the Christians in your area for worship, also.
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