First day in Basel

I just finished my first full day in Basel, though I'm not sure it counts considering that I slept through most of it. The long flights and time change really hit me hard! It is a little weird to be in another country, especially dealing with the language, but so far all is well.

My apartment is pretty good - the location is awesome. I'm facing a quiet street with hardly any traffic except pedestrians and the nearest trams are a few blocks away so that helps with the noise. The ground floor of the building is home to a Spanish restaurant/wine bar. It hasn't been open at all since I got here but it looks cute and it has a nice terrance:

That should be a plus in good weather, since I don't have a balcony or anything in my apartment. Here's a picture of the building:

This isn't the side I live on - my windows face the other way. It's weird, but I guess because the blocks are so narrow, many of the buildings face two streets and have openings on both sides. I forgot to take a picture of "my" side of the building, but it's basically the same, except without the cars (the street is too narrow for parking).

The inside of the apartment is pretty nice, although the furniture isn't necessarily what I would choose. It's basically all one room:

The bed"room" is off to the right, through an opening:

The bed is pretty small! It's fine for me, but it should be interesting once Patrick gets here. Luckily there's a pullout couch in the living room (so I have guest quarters if anyone wants to visit!). The kitchen is kind of off to the left and behind the perspective of the first picture:

Notice the lack of dishwasher and the dorm-sized fridge. The window above the sink looks out into an interior airshaft-type deal, not sure what that's for except peeking into other people's kitchens. Here's the best part of the apartment:

Yes! A washer and dryer! This is better than my apartment in St. Louis! I can't wait to try them out. First, though, I need to figure out the extensive German instructions.

I went walking around the city today but I forgot to bring my camera, so no pictures of Basel for now. I'll make sure to bring my camera tomorrow though!