Stephen's first week at school was a success and he's settling in well! Whew, that's a huge relief.
David also had a big week at work with a full team kickoff/dinner. To cap it off, we had a weekend that was the perfect mixture of adventure and relaxation.
Saturday, we decided to head into Germany to scope out the shopping. Many Baslers as well as the interwebs tout shopping over the border in Germany or France as a necessity to stock up and save money. Not only are items cheaper, but you also get your VAT back at the border (you have to stop at the little kiosk office at the border and show your receipt with your items, and then you get to take the validated receipt to get a rebate credit the next time you shop). We took a bus since we don't have a car (won't consider purchasing one until we have our 'permanent' housing). We scoped out clothing, shoes and groceries as well as having lunch at Herman ze German where we had vegan curry wurst, a vegan burger and some beer battered onion rings.
We only bought a few things this trip since we had to carry them all, but the savings would be significant, and the selection is much larger. We will likely shop there one to two times a month, and ideally not on a Saturday as it was so busy! We had some issues navigating home, though, because the German bus stops aren't nearly as organized and marked as the Swiss ones, and it took way too long to get back! Oh and we found a shop called TK MAXX which turns out has to be connected to TJ MAXX because the logo is similar and the shopping format (discounts on designer fashions is similar).
On Sunday, it was a little cooler FINALLY, so we took Rey down to Arlesheim, an area south of Basel to explore some old castles and hiking trails. We visited Birseck Castle which was built in 1243 by Prince-Bishop Lüthold II, damaged by an earthquake in 1365, expanded into a Baroque castle by later owners, destroyed during the revolution in 1793.
Later in the afternoon, we took a tram to the area where the Birs river runs into the Rhine. It's a large recreation area and would be ideal for picnics/games. Many were on the shoreline at small beaches or makeshift beaches on the rocks enjoying the Birs. We also walke over the bridge where the hydroelectic power dam sits.
We had reached out to a few football (fussball) AKA soccer clubs about Stephen training with a team. We've heard back from one, BIFC and he has been invited to tryouts on Wednesday and next Monday! He and I rushed out Monday to buy cleats and shin guards since his are packed in our sea shipment (one of the many small errors we made in packing!). Wish him luck.
I've started learning German via Duolingo, Rosetta Stone and the books Irene gifted me :). I will sign up for the official language classes soon but it seems they start at the beginning of the month and are also regional meaning it would be ideal to be in our permanent home first. I will also look for a few conversation groups to help but I need some vocabulary and basics first and I'm getting that now.
I will also embark on finding doctors (might wait until perm house), hair dresser (my color can't likely wait that long!), nail salons, etc. I will also work on some travel plans! Looking at a day trip to Zurich likely this weekend and exploring options to go to Oktoberfest in Germany this fall! Will start to work on booking the boys a trip here for Dec/Jan break and our trip back to LA in March for Jenna & Sam's B'nai mitzvahs!
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