Zurich Day 5 (Part 2)

In the afternoon on Wednesday, we went to Basel, which is famous for its many museums (and many bank regulators as well, according to my father).  We bought the Swiss Pass, which, in addition to covering all of the railways in Switzerland turns out to cover basically all of the museums as well.   So we started by ducking into one branch of the history museum.  It had TONS of clocks, watches, and ceramics.  It was in a restored home of a silk ribbon maker, and the rooms on the upper floors had been kept in "period" style (where the period in this case was mostly early 19th century).  On the top floor were exhibits of toys, games, and dollhouses.  After the museum, it started pouring rain.  We grabbed coffee/beer, then wandered the streets of old town after the rain cleared up a bit.  We had a delicious dinner at a (fancy) restaurant in Basel before heading back to Zurich.

A map of some kind in the history museum.

Reflective art.  The painted picture has to be viewed using the cylindrical mirror in the center.

Various clocks and pocketwatches.  This detail was through a magnifying glass.

A rocking swan (mostly for Maya).

Rocking horses... for Maya, too.

Some puppets.  Creepy, no?

Dollhouses

The church across the street from the history museum.

The Rathaus (city hall) from a distance.

The Munster.

Munsterplatz

Basel from Klein Basel.  It's across the river. There's apparently something of a historical rivalry between the two cities.  It involves mechanical statues that stick their tongues out in the general direction of the other city or a mechanical chicken (I think I'm remembering this correctly) that wanders half way across the bridge and then moons the other side.

A more modern take on Helvetia.

In and around the Rathaus.

A piggy bank tram?  I don't know.

Yes, we know this sign is in German.  We laughed anyway.

This rooster headed dragon seemed to be a city symbol of some kind.  It was everywhere.