A day of rest, recovery, last-minute shopping, and…packing. None of us wanted to think about the next day's departure; we weren't ready to part; and yet each of us was looking forward to getting back to "normal." It was a fantastic vacation, but life is not, should not be, and cannot be, all vacation. The pleasures and projects of "ordinary life" are the attractions that make the end of such a lovely time bearable.
This may be a good place to mention BaselWorld. If you're planning a trip to Basel in 2008, don't even think of going in the first or second week of April. When this watch and jewelry show comes to town, Basel is a different city. They create new facades for the buildings, build temporary entrances complete with cascading waterfalls, haul in trees as well as tents, and take over the world. It's a very good thing Janet's host family allowed us to stay at their house, because otherwise we'd have had to stay in Paris. Or Luzern—that's how far you had to go to find a hotel room. Actually, Porter's Diamond status with Hilton guarantees him a room anywhere, anytime—but it doesn't guarantee the price, so I'm sure it would have been astronomical. I'm told that the restaurants in Basel use a different set of menus during the week of BaselWorld, ones with much higher prices. When we went into town to one of Janet's favorite bakeries, she barely recognized it.
When Janet writes about this day, she may post a picture of us under a BaselWorld sign, which is the closest we got to a world where we SO did not fit in. I mean, if Paris Hilton is there, should I be? Besides, it cost about $37 to get in—the Louvre itself was under $12. Not my kind of place. This, by the way, was the only time we worried about pickpockets in Basel. If I were a pickpocket, I'd plan a trip to Basel during BaselWorld—if I could find a place to stay.
Update: Here's the picture:
Speaking of pickpockets, the only place we really worried was in Paris, particularly in the high-tourist areas. There were conspicuous signs in many places warning of them. But I'm told that the problem has diminished significantly because of the many well-armed soldiers now present. They're obviously there for fear of terrorism, and probably wouldn't bother to collar a pickpocket, but I can see how the sight of a machine gun might be somewhat of a deterrent to lesser crimes….
We even found time to watch a movie today: Die Schweizermacher. Otherwise known as The Swissmakers, it was a window into Swiss culture the way Swing Girls provided a glimpse into Janet's Japanese school life. Both are comedies, and exaggerated, but contain enough truth to be insightful as well as amusing. I'll write more about the movie in an upcoming post on my recent insights into socialization and homeschooling.
Today we finally managed to be together in the same room long enough to enjoy a chat with our hosts. They even showed us their bunker, part of a legally-mandated system designed to provide safe, underground shelter to the entire Swiss population in case of emergency. There's been a lot of grumbling recently, because the requirements add significantly to the cost of housing, and people are doubting both the necessity and the efficacy of the bunkers in this post-Cold War, suicide-terrorist age. But to a Floridian without so much as a basement in which to ride out a hurricane, the bunker was very impressive. If the Swiss response to potential disaster is overreaction, the American response of burying our heads in the sand cannot be any better.
You can tell it was a day of miscellanea when I'm reduced to philosophical ramblings rather than photos and stories. But it was a good day, and when it was over we were packed and ready for an early start on our journey home.
