A peak into my neighborhood

 I thought I would show you some of the neighborhood where I live and what it looks like. It is an area of Basel that I already like a lot. Streets are lined with cute colorful small garden homes.

Switzerland consists of Cantons (it is very much like the states of the US). There is a total of 26 cantons in Switzerland. A few of them have been divided, and Basel is one of them. Basel therefore consists of Basel-Stadt and Basel-Land. We live in a neighborhood called Allschwil which is just a few steps really from Basel-Stadt into Basel-Land. We had no idea how all of this worked when we signed up for the apartment but we have discovered that there is quite a tax benefit living on this side. This was a nice surprise. 

The people of Basel like to grow things it seems. Those that do not have a yard that is big enough for growing and planting get themselves a patch of soil on these common gardening areas.

 Beautiful modern homes mixed with older homes. There is some pretty cool architecture in the city. These houses across the street shown on the picture above are some that I really like.

 I find our neighborhood very cozy and charming. It is like a small city within the city of Basel. Even if we per definition live outside the city it takes no more than 10 minutes to bike to the very city center. It takes about 30 minutes to walk home from the central parts of town.

 I love that our neighborhood is so full of color. The area consists mainly of various small townhouses. No high rise buildings. Not many apartment complexes. It is a quiet area and it is also easy to park the car. Finding parking for the car without having to spend  a lot of time was important to us. There are garage spaces to rent but so far we have not found the need for that. Parking on the streets here is free as well.

 Well kept yards, cute houses and small sheds for parking the bikes outside each home is what you see.

 Something that is absolutely everywhere in this city are pharmacies and hair dressers. I can't believe that they all survive and that is a market for all of them. There seems to be at least one of each on every street here. 

 This is a store I would like to get more familiar with. Looks like they would have a lot of good stuff in here. The area is mixed with houses and small shops here and there which is also something nice.

This is the Allschwil square that I often pass as I bike to the city. You have a tram stop in the center of the square and some shops.

Some houses like this one certainly has some impressive vines growing on the outside. This house is probably covered in green later on during the warmer months.

More of those grape vines climbing up the walls.

Just around the corner we have this bakery. I haven't had the opportunity to try it out yet but look forward to. That sign about Apfel strudel is something that seems to call out to me every time I pass.

There are lots of bakery's around the city in general. I am delighted that you can find very good bread here.

Basel is unique as it is located on the border of three countries. Signs like this one is something you often see here. I think we have no more than two or three kilometers to both the border of France or to the German border. You can easily find yourself passing the border more than once in just one day.

So this is a little piece of my neighborhood. It is a very nice area to take a walk around on a sunny day. Yesterday the sun was shining so I decided to go running. I did some exploring and found a beautiful area on top of a hill not far from us. I did not have the camera with me yesterday but I will bring it next time and show you some of those really big beautiful homes located up there.

Today is cloudy again. I am heading in to the city at noon to check out the final parade of the Fasnacht.