international geographic

I was bored last night so I decided to go back to the Bird’s Eye and catch the second set at 10:30pm. For some reason, as soon as I took a seat and the set started, I got really sleepy. I couldn’t stop yawning for about 3/4 of the hour long set even though I really enjoyed the music. The band this time was the Jürgen Seefelder - Ingrid Jensen Quintet and they were really quite sharp. Loud, energetic, and at times playful, it was a fantastic show. They really put the great acoustics of the Bird’s Eye to good use.

A trio of foodie tidbits…

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No, I’m not in Sweden. I don’t know why everyone keeps confusing the two. If anything, Switzerland should be more well known! Cuckoo clocks, watches, cheese (with holes in it), [hot] chocolate and, most important of all, Ricola!!

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Standing on the platform at the Peter Merian stop near our (temporary) offices. Our building is the last building you just barely see on the left in the first picture.

I found the liner notes for Cypress Hill’s Black Sunday in Restaurant Gundeldinger-Casino. Pretty random. Wish I took a picture of it, laying there on top of the booth. I didn’t actually keep it, either, so if it’s yours and you want it back, you better hope it’s still there…

This weekend was the Basler Stadtlauf, a yearly race for all ages. Children run 1K (a whole 5 minutes!!) and everyone else runs a little more than 5K. The amazing thing was the sheer number of people who turned out and the mayhem it caused! Given Basel’s small size, the short distance of the race, and the fact that the course looped around only a few blocks, a lot of people were jammed into a very small space.
Unfortunately, the thing is held at night, which makes for great atmosphere with the Christmas decorations and all, but also lousy picture taking. I’m still trying to figure out the best way to take pictures in low light situations and fast moving objects at night is just that much harder.

Jeremy and Nicol both ran in the kids division and I guess they had a really good time ’cause it seems they’re already signed up for next year! I tried to get a picture of them at the start of the race but it’s just a huge blur (with the exception of the one time I used flash in the pic above).

And just for comparison, I’ve also posted my pictures from this year’s NYC Marathon. I guess it’s just the sheer size of the thing that brings out all the interesting characters, as opposed to the Basel run which was more about a fun evening out and about.

Last night I checked out the Bird’s Eye jazz club which seems to be one of the few regular live music venues in town. Regular in this case means they have shows two nights a week, with two sets each on Fridays and Saturdays. I found this out all too late, of course, as I showed up late, about 15 minutes before the second set ended just after 11:30pm.

The set was alright but a little too experimental for my tastes. During the encore the pianist got up to pluck the piano wire directly. A little much, if you ask me. Kinda like seahorses.

The venue itself was very small. Not at all unusual as far as clubs of this sort go, but judging from the outside you expect a lot more on entering. The upside to the small size (and the semi-cylindrical ceiling) is fantastic sound that reaches every inch of the room with perfect clarity.

You’d never guess it, but Basel (and possibly all of Switzerland or German speaking Switzerland) is big on Döner kebabs, also known in various parts as shawarma or gyros.

Below are pics of Sofra and their Döner offering. Sofra isn’t the best in town but it’s one of the most convenient for me, located in the Barfüsserplatz. The chicken isn’t as juicy or tender as it is just a few blocks away but the overall offering is still satisfying.

As much as I love eating turkey on turkeday, it always comes down to the pies for me. Apple, pumpkin, pecan. I love them all. With lots of whip cream and occasionally some vanilla ice cream. Nothing beats a great slice of pie after a great meal.

And after pie? More pie, of course.

Tonight there was plenty of pie to go around. Homemade pumpkin and pecan topped with whipped cream. And a cappuccino. Does it get any better? It does! Apple crumble and brownies — they might not be pie, but you can’t go wrong by adding more desserts to the menu!

Hazelnut?! I bought a variety pack of yogurt from the local supermarket to try all the different flavors, including some rather odd ones. Like grape, hazelnut and prune! I’ve had coffee flavored yogurt before, so hazelnut wasn’t too much of a shock to the senses, though not by any means good. The actual bits of hazelnut kinda is just too much for me to handle. Prune is weird too but grape is actually pretty good.

I find it hard to imagine that there’s a huge market out there for prune and hazelnut flavored yogurt. Personally, I’ll be sticking to the tried and true strawberry and apple.