Fasnacht in Basel, Switzerland

Fasnacht (also called Carnival) is an event that is celebrated throughout Europe to scare away winter. In Basel it is a traditional ceremony that begins with a parade on the Monday after Ash Wednesday at 4:00 AM. It is musical mayhem with over 10,000 people in costumes, drums and piper troops. When the church clock strikes 4 all the lights in the city go out and the masked torch lit parade begins.

So we decided to check it all out and made the trip into the city along with about 100,000 other people. Picked up Zach (Stryker colleague from Nice) at the airport at 11:00 PM, then had some really yummy Lebanese food, stood out in the rain in the dark, finally got to observe the most random and bizarre conglomerate of costumes and chaos first hand from the sidewalks of the Marketplatz.

It was totally cool.
T&M

Paul's Bauernbratwurst...the best in the market.

Mmmmmmmm....soooooo good!!!
M&T

Slippers Anyone?

You can buy these at the Munster Market every Saturday! Can't say they're the most comfortable looking things I've seen.

T

My Birthday Present....well not really but it came on my birthday

One of the things I was most looking forward to here in Germany was getting a new car....when in Rome...do as the Roman's do....so we have been checking out the German car companies for a new ride. Buying a car here is a completely different experience than in N.A. The Germans are very hands off sales people and this makes the experience much more pleasant when you are in a car dealership (but harder when you are looking to get the bill at a restaurant)...you just wander around, look at cars, and if you have a question the sales person gets an answer for you and that is that...no hounding. They also give you a demo car for a while..no going around the block with the sales person in the back. This is the car the BMW dealership dropped off yesterday for us to drive for the day...After checking out our options I think BMW is the winner. You have to concentrate to drive this car at first...you don't know when to shift because you can't hear the engine or road noise...and it is the smoothest shifting manual I have ever driven...the germans do know how to engineer cars. We should have our new car in a couple months. Our ride won't be as nice as this one though...one sales tactic that is similar here to everywhere...they give you a much nicer demo car than the one you plan to buy.
M

Happy Birthday Mike!

I got Mike some fancy new wheels for his birthday. It was the best city bike money could buy......at Walmart.
T

Intermarche

Today we drove into France to do our grocery shopping at the Intermarche. Loved it. Discovered a lot more variety than in the German grocery stores (not all sausage) and also chocolate crepes...mmmm. Found it much easier to communicate in French and to understand food packaging and cooking directions...must take German lessons!
T

A most momentous day! We got closets!

Bicycles

By Teri

Strasbourg, France

We went to Strasbourg France this weekend to do some shopping. Only a 45 min drive from home...going 160km/hr on the autobahn that is. Ironic part, going at 160km/hr we are almost the SLOWEST people on the road! The city was beautiful, a lot like Freiburg, just bigger. It was nice for a change to be able to communicate. It became obvious to me that I am much more proficient in French than in German. T

Konichiwa!

Traveled to Japan for a week for work. Stayed in Shinagawa, a prefecture of Tokyo. Loved it. Some of the things I noticed - everyone is overly polite, crowded is an understatement, the amazing buzz of the city, the most delicious sushi I've ever had, almost all the women are knock-kneed, and incredible ancient architecture amidst ultra-modern buildings.

It was hilarious when everyone automatically spoke Japanese to me, only to hear me respond in English. To confuse customs even more, they couldn't understand why this Japanese looking, English speaking woman lives in Germany!

Here's just a few photos I took in the little time that I had off. I will definitely go back to visit and enjoy a holiday there one day.
T
http://picasaweb.google.com/Mike.Canadianexpat/Japan

Around the Neighbourhood

Check out the pics on this link. Went for a walk around the neighbourhood...Freiburg is a beautiful, quaint little city.
T
http://picasaweb.google.com/Mike.Canadianexpat/AroundFreiburg