Back to School

Opening welcome presents

After a night of much needed rest, our group headed back to Gymnasium Leonhard for a tour of the school and a "crash course" in Swiss culture with a reading of a classic tale, "A Bell for Ursli."
Students also were given gives of Basel hats and lanyards.  The Swiss have been extremely accommodating in many ways. 

Dr. Inglin teaching about Swiss culture

 Dr. Inglin was kind enough to share with us his plethora of knowledge on all items Swiss, and the students did their best to soak it all despite being still a little blurry-eyed from jet-lag.  Students then were able to shadow their Swiss students for the rest of the morning. 

Dr. Inglin explaining about architecture

View from the bell tower at school

Touring the library

Some of the highlights among the group was being "American models" for other Swiss students to paint in art class, playing and singing both Swiss and American songs in music class, and even answering a question or two in math class correctly.  The students liked the collegiate feel of the school with its open campus and its location right in the center of Basel.  Many of the students ate at the cafeteria and were treated to a delicious lunch of fresh, healthy food.  A few students opted to head to the Rhine and enjoy the sunshine while the ate their lunches. 

Tinguely Fountain

After feeling full and energized, we had a wonderful student-led walking tour around Basel.  Swiss students stopped at various landmarks and important sights to provide our students with a bit of history about Basel.  We started our tour with sunny skies, but then the clouds came in and the wind picked up, forcing us to cut our tour a little bit short, getting to briefly see the vicinity of "Three Country Corner."

Ferry ride across the Rhine

Having fun along the Rhine

Students then headed out with their Swiss hosts back home to prepare for our next day.  Hopefully by tomorrow, all will be refreshed and ready to encounter some of Basel's finest museums.  Unfortunately, tomorrow is supposed to be a soggy day, so we have switched our program and will not be headed to Zurich tomorrow.  Instead, we will encounter some of Basel's finest museums, before students have some much needed rest time over the weekend. Until then!

Architecture along the Rhine