Bikes are big in Basel. In fact bikes are big everywhere in Switzerland - and Switzerland has hills - mountains. It surprised me. These bikes are ordinary bikes. They are not the amazing sporty things we see all across Australia, they are just normal bikes. They have gears and they have baskets to carry stuff. And joy of joys, they have dynamos for the light kit. I recall the joy of getting my first dynamo kit for my bike as a kid. It meant freedom to be out late at night. Of course in winter in the north of England, late at night meant 4.30pm but  I still see the dynamo as a mark of freedom.
In Switzerland a bike is a tool, it is not a fitness statement or a recognition of sporting prowess it is just a tool to get from here to there efficiently. Families are out on bikes at all ages. Bikes with trailers behind to drag the youngest along. The youngest progress to bikes with no pedals to scoot along and get good at balance. Then kids graduate to small genuine bikes and head out riding. 
Everybody rides and locks their bike to the nearest fence, gate or traffic pole. Bikes need to be secure, it needs to be waiting for you as you head home.

I am a total aircraft nut. Today I made the trek out to Basel EuroAirport of a spot of spotting. It seemed like an ordinary trip. There was not much happening. Just the regular run of travellers at a smaller regional airport. The airport reminded me lots of Adelaide airport. It has a ramp up to the top deck like we do, but they use their ramp still. 
It is an interesting airport because it lives half in Switzerland and half in France. 
They joke that you need to show your passport as the plane rattles down the runway. 
Certainly inside the terminal there is a French side and a Swiss side. You do not need to show your passport to cross. Big concern is that coffee is paid for in Euro in the French half but Francs across the boarder.
The airport has three airport designators. It is known as BSL for Basel but since it also serves Mulhouse in France and Freiburg it has other codes. MLH is the French code for Mulhouse and EAP is the code for EuroAirport. If you ever want to fly to Basel it is an idea to try all three codes you may find extra carriers that way. 
It was quiet this morning as I was there with only a few flights due in or out so I wandered about the Swiss side and out onto the wonderful viewing platform. There was very little to view - until…

Eating in Basel, indeed all Switzerland so far, has been wonderful. We loved the Turkish place we found in the old city especially. A wholesome rich mix or food that left us feeling cared for and well fed. 
We were certainly not intending to do Italian any time on this trip but did find ourselves in a wonderful pizza place one evening. There is a place that I must talk about. It blew us away. 
We were invited to join a group of ex pat Australians here in Basel at a place they like to frequent. This was so good we just had to go back to be sure. It is Italian and it is just excellent.

There are many stories about Switzerland and the military. I had forgotten all the stories till my trip to St Moritz. The stories suggest that 
- the alps have enough space inside them to house 140% of the swiss population in the event of an invasion
- all the roads and bridges are layed out in a specific way to be rendered useless with explosives if needed
-tunnels in the alps can be closed off with explosives so the swiss could live out a nuclear conflagration
-the swiss hide their airforce so they can use roads to take off as needed.
I don’t know about the truth of any of this but it is certainly out there on the internet if you want to look. I know what I saw today from the train. 
I saw numerous lengths of bitumen that looked like runways in the middle of the alps but with no airport around them. So I checked on google maps and yes they are there. Some are runways and are marked with appropriate numbers. Some are just there. Look for yourself at the google map references here. Then there are the bunkers I saw. I did not get any pictures but they are clear to see in the google images. Take a look. It is quite something to see. 
The first one is an airport a home for Air Zermatt
Here is Münster airport
This is a funny one. Notice the strange markings at the end of the - runway.
When you zoom in close to this one you can see the bunkers I noticed as we trained past
My guess is that it is all just common knowledge and people will see this and think me so silly for not knowing. But is nice to notice something yourself with no prior knowledge.

Swiss trains are a worth the visit in their own right. I heard an apology over the PA in the train in 5 languages because we were held up with a slow train on the track ahead. 
We were going to be 2 minutes delayed and they needed to apologise. The apology took longer than 2 minutes. 
Then we made up the 2 minutes in the next 15, before the next station. It was only our departure that was delayed. 
The trains are fast when the need to be and the intercity trains are so smooth. The regional trains are slower but have a watchmaker precision about them. 
The announcements are perfect so you know exactly where you are and when you need to change. Well that is as long as the Chinese business man in the seat next to you stops getting angry and yelling down his phone all across the announcements. 

I always thought I made it to Zermatt in 1980.  I am sure I remember Istanding on the station looking up to the mountains before jumping back on the train to places I could afford to visit. 
No Way!
That was the station at Brig and Zermatt was the place I could not get to. I am here now and I love it. It is one big tourist shop I know but it has a charm about it too. 
It is a stepping off point for the Matterhorn and other nearby mountain spots. It is also the start for the Glacier express which is why I am here but that will be tomorrows adventure.
Today:

Today was a big day. Travelled many miles. Walked a huge distance and according to my fitbit, climbed 109 flights of steps. The way my legs feel right now I believe it. I was, at times, the coldest I can remember and I currently have the nastiest burnt nose and I did have a hat. Just forgot what snow can do. On top of all that I have walked through miles of snow for the first time in… hmmmm… 50 years give or take a little. So let me tell you what it was all about today.

I  am in Lauterbrunnen now for a couple of days. Arrived soon after lunch yesterday with plenty of time to do a short venture in the mountains. 
Cable car up a hill, 
train across the top of the valley 
and into Mürren. 
This is another picture postcard village where every house looks like a cuckoo clock. 

So now I am on the train to my next stop - Lauterbrunnen. This train is so so smooth fast and efficient. Why would you consider anything means of travel? I think it is the smoothness that impressed me most. So I thought it was time to jot down my impressions of Geneva. Bit unfair perhaps after less than 48 hours, but these are impressions not a definitive exploration. So - Impressions of Geneva!

Day 2 in Geneva and I begin again in the breakfast room. Similar to yesterday but I need to update you on a few extra observations. It is fascinating to sit drink coffee and observe a busy bustling dining room. Bit of a privilege really.
So… extra observations.
And I do so hope that my observations are not derogatory or insensitive in anyway. They are certainly intended to be just observations. What I see!