As I stepped off the train, I checked off another country to visit while studying abroad. Not only is Freiburg near France, it is also near the border of Germany and Switzerland. Despite COVID, it is still easy to travel among most of the countries in the Schengen Area. To enter Switzerland, I only needed to fill out a short entry form and have a valid vaccine certificate or negative COVID test. Switzerland does not accept US vaccine cards, but I was able to use my US vaccine card to get a EU digital certificate in a German pharmacy.
With the student monthly transportation ticket, I can travel in the region around Freiburg as well as a few neighboring transportation regions on weekends and after 2pm on weekdays. The city of Basel, Switzerland, is less than an hour train ride from Freiburg, and some friends and I took a day trip there on a Friday with no classes.
In Basel, the Rhein River runs through the city. To get to the Altstadt (old city), we crossed over a bridge with a beautiful view of the city.
We walked around the city and went inside an old church.
After marveling at the architecture of the church, we walked further into town. We ate dürüm for lunch, a Turkish street food common in German-speaking countries.
Then, I went to the Kunstmuseum Basel (Basel Art Museum). The museum had special exhibitions on Kara Walker, an American contemporary artist, and Camille Pissarro, a French impressionist painter.
Basel was bustling with people, especially around a convention center with the international Art Basel exhibition (separate from the art museum). The weather was sunny and the perfect temperature for walking around outside. On our way back to the train station, we walked into the Basler Rathaus (Basel Town Hall).
