Basel Next

Once we arrived in Basel, we walked to our hotel: Radisson Blu Basel. For the record—it was not a 6-minute walk from the station but it may be us taking the wrong way. Try closer to 15 minutes, especially when you’re rolling luggage.

This was our first check-in with 5 rooms and 10 people, and yes, it got a little chaotic.

Pro Tip: Have one person check in with all the passports organized by room. It’s smoother and saves everyone time.Bonus tip: There was no issue at all with minors staying and checking into their own rooms.

The hotel itself was great. Clean, good location, and surprisingly accommodating for American travel quirks. The restaurant was fine, nothing to write home about. But—if you’re an American longing for ice, the bar staff happily gave my sister-in-law buckets of ice for free.

My son said the indoor pool was the nicest he had ever seen. I didn’t make it down there myself, but he was glowing about it.

We woke up in the morning and had a great breakfast at the hotel before heading out to explore. We drove into Old Town Basel and parked by the art museum, which was absolutely stunning. Right away, the architecture and charm of the city drew us in.

We wandered into the church on the town square—incredibly historic—and when we walked around to the back, we were rewarded with a panoramic view of the city and the Rhine River. It was one of those spots where you just stop and soak it in.

We walked down to the Rhine, and the kids were immediately interested in swimming to cool off—it was a record heat day, after all. And then we saw it.

Fun Fact: In the summertime, people working in Basel bring a waterproof bag called a Wickelfisch, put their stuff in it, and literally jump into the Rhine to float downstream.I didn’t believe it either—until I saw hundreds of people doing it. It’s a whole scene: people floating together, gathering on the sides, having drinks, eating, and enjoying the sunshine.

Before that, back in the town square, we popped into a few buildings and were in awe of the architecture. We even saw a family swimming in one of the fountains. Yep, in Basel, people swim in the fountains.

Another fun fact: There are public water taps all over the city with fresh Swiss water. Perfect for refilling water bottles and avoiding buying bottled drinks all day.

For lunch, we went to Coop, which had been recommended on several travel sites. The food was actually great, but here’s my tip:

Don’t do what I did—grab your tray and get overly excited.Take a minute to understand what they have and how it works so you don’t miss something amazing!

After lunch, we went back to the hotel for a quick afternoon nap, but not before the kids went and bought their own Wickelfisch bags—they cost about $20 each. They texted us once they found a spot to jump in and started floating down the river.

Of course, the adults couldn’t resist. My sister-in-law, brother-in-law, and I jumped in the car to try and catch up with them. We drove over the bridge, but it was packed—we got stuck in the middle of a parade walking along the Rhine!

Meanwhile, my husband had the smart idea—he just walked from the hotel (much easier without needing parking). He actually spotted the kids floating, got a video, and then found us by the riverbank.

We all sat together and waited for the kids to finish their float. And afterward?

They said it was the highlight of the trip.So funny how the free stuff (besides the bag) always ends up being the best.

My nephew Jaitan had found an amazing historic fondue restaurant and we made our way there to check it out—it was called Restaurant Zum Torstübli. Unfortunately, there was a few hours’ wait, so we had to pivot.That’s something else we learned throughout the trip: the spots you see on every website are tourist traps, and it’s nearly impossible to get in without a reservation.

But we still had to have cheese fondue, so we wandered around the corner and found a place called Sam late Schluuch, where a couple of locals were sitting and having a beer. The owners seated us and went above and beyond to serve us. Their English wasn’t great (honestly, even in touristy areas we struggled a bit with the language), but the food was amazing. Fondue in Switzerland is a little different than what we’re used to at The Melting Pot. We got a big basket of bread and a few pots of cheese—and that was it. But it totally filled us up.

The server came over and tried to explain that we were doing it wrong—she couldn’t get it across in English, so she grabbed my niece’s fondue fork and showed her how to press the bread along the sides and bottom of the pot. Believe it or not, it had so much more flavor that way.

The owners kindly asked us to leave them a Google review—and we did, with five stars.

As we were walking back to the car, we finally found a picture of Roger Federer—for my brother-in-law, who had been looking for one the whole trip.We also kept seeing witch hats with a star hanging all over Basel. It is their sign that stands for…

We wanted to get to the monument for the three borders, but we couldn’t reach it. The police stopped us and said we couldn’t go any farther, and we’re still not sure why—they couldn’t explain. That was a disappointment, for sure.

Pro Tip: Most places do not have an English menu, so get familiar with the Google Translate app. It has a scan feature where you can hover over the menu with your camera and it translates everything live—a lifesaver before you go.