2013-08-06: Hello Madrid!

Dude, Basel (though a short visit) was awesome.  And beautiful!  But holy crap, expensive!  You have no idea.  An ice cream cone was $8.  A fajita was $25.  And that's just with chicken.  Maybe it was magical Swiss chicken?  As you can tell, I'm trying to stay neutral (har har). 

Anyway, I don't know what they make for salaries here, but it better be good.  Because I saw a lot of people buying things, and it wasn't just for show.  Money was actually changing hands.  The Gnomes of Zurich strike again!

So although we were sad to leave the land of gnomes and gnives, we are also very excited to see Patricia and her family in Madrid.

!Vamos!

We play Dominion in airports, yo.  'CUZ THAT'S HOW WE ROLL.

Taking the bull by the horns, so to speak.  Although this is a cow.  Ahh well, I tried.

And coming out this Autumn - Chupa Chups INSULIN!  Eat sugary things the size of your head with impunity!

Yes, we fit it all when we're done. 

Basel airport is quite nice...

easyjet rawks.  So - dare I say it - EASY?

I thought the monkeys were in cargo.  Wait, WE ARE IN CARGO.

So, a little reminiscent of the Shatner "there's a monkey on the wings!" moment in the Twilight Zone, both Amy and I were like "holy crap - that's another plane right over there, our same altitude and everything..."

In Basel, HEAD LOSES YOU.

Fast forward about 1.5 hours, and BAM!  Instant Spain.  Patri and her father Jose Luis (Pepe) are there to pick us up at the airport.  It seems as if Pepe and I are cut from the same cloth...

Now that's a good-lookin' crew.

At the airport, it seems like so long since we've seen Patri!

Hamsters wish they could be this adorable.

After the girls were done being sleepy and adorable, we headed to the town.  Here's the thing you need to know about Spain - you've heard it before I'm sure - they really do consider 1.00p the "late morning", 5.30p the "afternoon", and the evening is a little undefined.  From the best I can tell, it's basically from something like 10.00p until 3.00a or later.  We will do our best to adapt to the new schedule, I suspect it will be easier for some of us than others (says the guy typing blog posts at 2.30a before a 7.30a airport pickup).  

It gets darker and the city gets livelier.

There are many buildings that *almost* remind us of Vienna.  But they "feel" Spanish.

Spaniards like to be outside, and they like to be by other people.

Delicacies abound.

This is the Palacio Real, which is easily the most amazing palace we've ever seen (we tour it in a day or two of  "blog time").  The only thing more extravagant is The Vatican.

This is the "new" cathedral.  There were people doing skating tricks (jumping over people laying on the ground, etc.).  This cathedral is a bit controversial with Madridians - "too colorful", "too new", etc.  But Amy and I loved it.

I mean, you know, if you're into that sort of thing.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Spain, there are a lot of pigs learning how to hop.  The little cups under there are for the "sweat" of the ham.  Although in this case, sweat = grease.  Sweet, sweet grease.

C'mon man!  It's beautiful - it's like pig-sushi!  The white specks are actually acorns that grow IN THE MUSCLE (I still have a hard time understanding how this works, all I know is that it's delicious).

DAAANG!

All roads in Spain depart from this very point.

Yes, this feels very Spanish.

MOAR SPAIN.

I AM DELICIOUS - Please, come in and [m]eat my friends.

HEY OCTOPUS, WHATCHA DOIN?  NOTHING MUCH,, JUST TRYING TO COUNT TO FOUR.

I bet this made you drool, if even just a little bit!

So, I don't think we got to bed tonight until about 2.30a - Ella was totally digging it, the city, the vibe, the energy.  We all had a great time, but I think it's safe to say that Ella is the most complete combination of city girl and late-night girl.

Excited for what tomorrow brings!

2013-08-05: Hello Basel!

Today, we leave the quaint badassery that defines St. Anton, head to Basel for a day, then to Madrid.

As always, sad to leave, but eagerly anticipating what's next.  Interestingly enough, although there were no signs to that effect, there was one point on the train where Amy got a little sad - she didn't know what the cause was, but we found out in about 10 minutes that it was almost exactly where we crossed the border from Austria into Switzerland.  Weird how that works sometimes... 

The ladies and Christopher, one of the owners of Alkira where we stayed in St. Anton (he did the massive road race the day before - like a boss!).

This is inside the Rathaus of Basel - super-cool old building.

One thing I was NOT prepared for was the fact that people SWIM in the fountains.  It was super-hot, but still - it seems like such a rule-abiding populace/reputation (not to stereotype too much?)

Just imagine how much could be accomplished in the world if we funneled all of the energy used to build these AMAZING cathedrals into something like, say, taking care of the sick/poor?  Or science?  Or...

Lots of doors from about 700 years ago.  Seriously!  This one has a dragon on it (which may have existed back then it was so long ago).

Really cute town. 

Fit THAT in your pocket, Mr. Eagle Scout!  If this doesn't have it, you don't need it!

8-bit art is quite welcome!

Before entering the Rathaus.

Important people use this door.

Sorry ma'am, ignorance of the law is no excuse!

More interior of the Rathaus.

This is titled "The Prophet".  For obvious reasons.

Quietude.

These are probably for "venting", but I prefer to think it's a special portal to the underground crypts so that the spirits can have their little parties at night.

Open up and say "AHHHH!" 

After walking the city, we were on a mission to put our lock on a bridge.  On the way to the middle of the Mittelbruekke, we saw these crazy people CRUISING down the Rhine.  The current was easily 10 mph. 

People cruising down the river, next stop the North Sea!

Perfect spot for it!

YES!

This is the face of a man that knows he's completely out of his league.  She's wonderful.

Right before we chucked the key over the side.

"Sorry officer!  Didn't mean to bean you with a key from 25 meters!"

Rick and Amy, 2013 - quite possibly the only love lock in existence adorned with...

...its own custom Unitato!

I don't remember exactly why I put this one in, other than I remember going "they let their DOG swim in the fountain?"  Also, this boy was teasing his sister, she was really upset and crying, but it was so obvious that this was simply what they did every day.  The boy clearly won this exchange.  I hope the girl either figures out his little game and either completely disengages from it, or [briefly] goes all in and smacks the kid.  Either way will likely work.

From the year 1280 - I know she looks fancy, but we were barely cave-people at this point.  Seriously.  Bunch of crazy, superstitious, largely-uneducated people that were ruled by the incredibly wealthy and well-connected, where the vast majority of resources were owned by the tippy top of the social strata, who passed laws in order to preserve the status quo.  We've come a long way since then, haven't we?  HAVEN'T WE?  << rocks self in corner >>

Indeed.  Tryin' to keep a good man down!

Oh, also, our hotel is air-conditioned!  Hotel Rochat, if any of you are in Basel - very nice, so happy to be here. 

We also saw a beach volleyball tournament, and Maya answered a ton of German trivia re: organics and won fabulous prizes!  We got a bunch of food at the market and ate in the room. 

Tomorrow, Madrid!