Expensive Museums Make For a More Pleasant Visit

Today we visited the Kunstmuseum in Basel. I was shocked to find that the entry fee was 15 swiss francs per person (slightly over $15 US), not including the visiting Andy Warhol exhibit which would have cost us at least another $10+. We both agreed to skip the Warhol exhibit. Sorry but I find his story far more interesting than seeing his art. 


I was surprised at the cost of the museum. Maybe I just don't go to enough museums these days or I got spoiled living in Washington, DC for so long with all its free museums. I am used to paying to see special shows - we just paid quite a bit to see the Gauguin exhibit at the Tate in London - but I am not used to paying such a high fee to simply see the main collection.


That being said I will say that the Kuntzmuseum Basel does have a really good collection of 20th century art, including some great works from Picasso. It also focuses on artists from the Upper Rhine region with works from the 1400s onward. An interesting fact is that  most of this early work belonged to the collection of a Basel lawyer and was purchased by the city in 1661, forming the world's first public municipal museum. 


It was also a beautifully peaceful, quiet, uncrowded museum visit. It was fantastic. It is a week day which does make a difference, but I realized the other reason why it was so quiet and uncrowded - at $15+ per person you are not going to see the crowds you do at free places like the Tate and National Gallery.

http://www.kunstmuseumbasel.ch/en/home/

Hotel Krafft, Basel

It is nice when one's Scenic Byway leads one back to favorite places with beautiful sites and memories. So here I find myself back in Basel, Switzerland and back at the Hotel Krafft exactly one year from last being here. 

My husband had stayed here and loved it and brought me here a year ago. We had a magical time and it holds powerful memories. It is pricey, but most decent hotels in these larger cities are. This is the kind of place to come for a special occasion like a honeymoon or an anniversary. A dear friend bought us a room here as a wedding present and we are making it our home base for a few days to recover from the hectic pace of the first part of our honeymoon. 

This place is relaxing and it feels like home. It feels like a honeymoon. It is in a beautiful old building and sits on the Rhine River. It is small and quiet and nicely decorated. They have a beautiful dining room with large windows where you can sit and stare at the Rhine and people strolling along the river. Or you can sit in the outside terrace in the afternoons and have coffee or a drink. The view outside looks and feels like a fairytale. The rooms feel airy and clean and the beds are really good. The best I’ve had in Europe. 

We arrived here yesterday at 6 am on the night train from Dusseldorf and they graciously allowed us to check in at that time. We slept until 12 recovering; then sat on the outside terrace for coffee then went next door for a long, long Italian lunch; then went back to the room where I napped; then went back out to the terrace to sit for hours people watching and wasting time on the computer. Now THAT is a honeymoon! 

One of my favorite photos that Paul ever took of me (and he has taken quite a lot) was on the balcony of this hotel about a year ago. See I look like I've stepped into the pages of a fairytale! It is a magical place.

Rheingasse 12

4058 Basel, Switzerland

061 690 91 30

http://www.krafftbasel.ch

Window Shopping in Bruges

Does this make you want to buy baby clothes?! Mannequins made to look like real babies (with mean old man faces) are creepy.