We left for Basel, Switzerland today at 13h and arrived five hours later. The bus ride wasn’t bad at all. After we all checked in, we took the tram over to the Marktplatz and then took the Jacob Burckhardt walk around the older part of town to orient the students. Burckhardt was Nietzsche’s colleague and friend at the University of Basel. The city was in the process of putting up their Christmas markets, but had already strung Christmas lights across the streets. So naturally the song “It’s beginning to look at lot like Christmas” began to loop in my head.

Between traveling and walking all day, I was glad to go to sleep. The Swiss should be famous for their mattresses. I’d probably have to sell my car to buy one, but they are so comfortable.