Wild & Windy Here Today

Blimey it's really blowing a gale here in Kaiseraugst today and glad that I'm not in the mountains as most lifts seem to be closed. However, there is fresh snow up there and Claire & I are off to Lauterbrunnen (for the first time) to ski Murren/Wengen this weekend. Forecast is looking okay for tomorrow and iffy for Sunday but it's the mountains so you just never can tell.

Claire Off for a 40th Bash in York

So I'm all alone here in Kaiseraugst this weekend as Claire is seeing old University friends in York for a 40th Birthday party. She is flying from Geneva to Newcastle with a load of Geordie kids she says!

We had a great night yesterday evening at the Restaurant Kunsthalle with a work dinner from one of her business groups and partners were invited which was fun. Met some interesting colleagues of hers and another cyclist for some trips once the weather improves.

Ice Age Thawing..

We've had our fair share of snow here in Basel and it's thawing a little this week as this picture of the Tinguely Fountain clearly shows.

Pancake Day Arrives!

I love pancake day as it's a day for which there is no real difficulty in choosing a menu for the evening and the ingredients are always to hand. Today I did a savoury pancake with peppers, pancetta and onions followed by bananas, coffee ice cream & chocolate sauce pancakes. That all went down well on a day that I picked up my birthday present - these skis!

An Enjoyable Walk in the Snow

Yesterday we went out to enjoy the recent snow even if we were a little too tired to ever have a chance of getting to a ski slope! There is a good website for local walks and we took on the Liestal - Kaiseraugst route (see picture). It was about perfect aside from the steep start to the walk. Then I made Roast Chicken with Sticky Toffee Pudding to follow with Cremant to celebrate Valentine's Day....

Enjoying Kaiseraugst's Fasnacht Celebrations - Saturday Night

I'm not sure this sort of thing happens anywhere in the UK these days. We live in a tiny town called Kaiseraugst and like many other Swiss towns it's carnival time (Basel's Fasnacht takes place next weekend for three days!). Here local groups of friends dress up in outlandish costumes and have a parade - nothing surprising there. But in the evening groups then go round various meeting points (some of which are obvious like hotels but some are mysterious cellars that only act as hosts on Fasnacht night) and sing, do satirical sketches (on world wide and local issues) or, as this group shows, play music (the young lads seen here at Gasthof Adler) - still in their costumes. This went on all last night and in a town where everyone knows everyone else who has lived there all their lives it's when you realise you're a visitor, even when you've been here three years. Great fun though!

Birthday Skis Already!!!

It's been a grey day here in Basel and looking at the sun in the ski
resorts I wish I was there. However, have been cheered up by Claire
and I going into town to look for my birthday present. It resulted in
my getting a nice new set of Rossignol all-mountain skis! Will put a
picture up once I collect them on Tuesday. Watching some great rugby
today from the six nations and then we're off to Kaiseraugst's own
Fasnacht celebrations later.

Kaiseraugst Fasnacht this Weekend

This weekend will see the local Fasnacht celebrations here in Kaiseraugst. Here is the local "Plakette" (Badge) that are produced annually for such events. The picture depicts the strange moving of a railway building at the Bahnhof (a listed building) whilst development work was carried out.

More Snow Arrives

We've had a few more inches of snow here in Kaiseraugst and it's looking good for the skiing holidays to come later this month!

A Lovely Gift At The Door

Last weekend was the start of the Six nations tournament and to help watch the Rugby I needed to visit our new local shop for supplies. The new store which is at least 10 yards from our apartment's entrance is The Beer and Wine Store, opened by the daughter of our amiable Landlord, Werner Schmid. Now having an off at such close proximity could be dangerous, especially as Milan (Karen's other half) has decided to stock "London Pride"! However, on Saturday when needing such beer poor Milan had to tell me that an Englishman from Augst had bought his remaining stock!

Such an incident could scar a man but this morning I had the wonderful gift of a single London Pride bottle left outside our apartment with a note saying, "It's Back!" That's what I call customer service...

Cold Bike Ride & England to Play Switzerland!

Claire and I went out on this bike ride today - the mapping (see above) is all provided by a recently acquired App for my iPhone, iMapMyRide. Proves quite a useful little tool for recording cycling (or walking) routes. Weather turned out to be a little colder and wetter than expected so we only managed a short loop to Basel and back. On our return I saw that Switzerland have drawn both England and Wales in the next European Championships qualification campaign that starts in September! No idea if I'll be able to get any tickets though.