Basel and the Christmas Market

Yesterday, Wednesday, Basel was on the agenda.  We have had enough Christmas Market experience that we have begun to rate them.  More about that in a moment.
Basel is about 30 miles south of Freiburg, and the drive is very nice along the French border. Switzerland does not belong to the EU, so there is still a border crossisng with other countries.  Of course, I forgot my passport, so on entering Basel, I asked the customs officer about a day visa or such.  She just looked at me like I was from another planet. Long story short, nobody cares.  You just drive through and that's it.
After parking near the train station, we walked across the Rhine into the old city.

Basel along the banks of the Rhine

The skyline is marked by numerous steeples of both Catholic and Protestant churches.  Since Switzerland was neutral in WWII, their buildings were not destroyed by bombing, so unlike Germany, their buildings are quite old.

Rathaus (City Hall)

The Market was very nice, built along many streets with very unique and high quality goods.

Glassblower

A group of young mothers gather to enjoy the goodies, their charges bundled against the cold.

Overshadowing one of the streets was a Weihnachtscarusel.

Weihnachtscarusel 

and a Gothic style Catholic Church.

And what is Switzerland known for if not the cow bell.

A cow bell bigger than Michael's head

Several streets away was another Market in the plaza of St. George's Catholic Church.

St. George's Cathedral

St. George slaying the dragon

This one had a very special section for children. They could try their hand at blacksmithing,

Blacksmithing

candlemaking,

Dipping candles

making an advent calander

Advent Calender

or riding a self propelled train.

All in all, a very good day.  We now rate Basel's market at the top with Stuttgart and Freiburg.