Well we made it safely to Basel! Not much sleep on the plane and the buses were stuffed to the rafters...we managed to fill all the under carriage compartments plus two trailers! The drive to Basel was a bit of a blurr...but I did notice the countryside was lush and green with huge castle type structures nestled up on the hills.
Basel is amazing! A quaint little town (the third largest town in Switzerland apparently). On our first night we did a walk down to the Rhine and let the kids have some down time...trying to keep them up until 10 at least! It was spectacular...people floating down the river with their clothes tucked into dry packs and
used as flotation, people drinking wine while sitting on the river bank purchased from the cafes along the river and people having picnics. It was all very romantic! The kids ended up sitting along the river as well, enjoying the ambiance.
The next day we were up and out for our first rehearsal in the Messe...a very large buildin
g just across the street! From there we went down to the Tattoo site for lunch and then had four hours of free time. The band dispursed...some went shopping, some went to Starbucks, and some stayed back at the hotel and caught up with their sleep. I took a group of kids and headed to the swimming pool. OMG...what a facility! There were two 50 m pools. One was for splashing and playing in and one was for lap swimming. They had 3 different diving boards in a diving pool, as well as ping pong, basketball and a kiddies pool. The kids mucked around and I swam 3000 m and got a work out in! It was very refreshing!
After supper that night we did a tour of the Tattoo stadium! It is difficult to believe the the Swiss army came in on July 4th and built the stadium and had it ready to go for us to have our first rehearsal in tomorrow! It is quite the facility!
From there back home and a bit more free time for the kids before bed time.
Basel is amazing! A quaint little town (the third largest town in Switzerland apparently). On our first night we did a walk down to the Rhine and let the kids have some down time...trying to keep them up until 10 at least! It was spectacular...people floating down the river with their clothes tucked into dry packs and
used as flotation, people drinking wine while sitting on the river bank purchased from the cafes along the river and people having picnics. It was all very romantic! The kids ended up sitting along the river as well, enjoying the ambiance.The next day we were up and out for our first rehearsal in the Messe...a very large buildin
g just across the street! From there we went down to the Tattoo site for lunch and then had four hours of free time. The band dispursed...some went shopping, some went to Starbucks, and some stayed back at the hotel and caught up with their sleep. I took a group of kids and headed to the swimming pool. OMG...what a facility! There were two 50 m pools. One was for splashing and playing in and one was for lap swimming. They had 3 different diving boards in a diving pool, as well as ping pong, basketball and a kiddies pool. The kids mucked around and I swam 3000 m and got a work out in! It was very refreshing!After supper that night we did a tour of the Tattoo stadium! It is difficult to believe the the Swiss army came in on July 4th and built the stadium and had it ready to go for us to have our first rehearsal in tomorrow! It is quite the facility!
From there back home and a bit more free time for the kids before bed time.
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