Monday July 4 - Munich to Basel

Carla wanted to check out a local grocery store, so we did that before checking out of our hotel at 11 AM and walking to the train station for our 11:30 departure. The walk on the platform was almost as long as the walk from the hotel. 

 

We rode on an Intercity Express electric train at speeds approaching 220 km/hr. The ride was very quiet and smooth, much more comfortable and spacious than flying. We rode about three hours west to Mannheim, passing by the Mercedes Benz manufacturing complex at Stuttgart, then changed trains to go south to Basel arriving about 5 pm. Carla figured out how to ride the tram to our apartment hotel. We had some cheesy traditional Swiss dishes at a nearby restaurant for supper and then returned to do some laundry. With a limited number of coin operated machines, it took the whole evening to get everything washed and dried and it was midnight before we got to bed.