Day 329 – EU – Switzerland [Oensingen to Basel]

27/02/21

46.6km

  From Oensingen (Switzerland) to Basel (Switzerland)

Europe

Bitterly cold wind on a long run to Basel, at the junction between Switzerland, France and Germany

It took me a while to warm up this morning. Though I started with a 12km uphill stretch, which normally would be enough to make me forget any sub 0 temperatures, today was different. The sun was hiding behind the cloud cover. A north head wind was blowing, bitterly cold and it did not give me a break till the second half of the run. It was a slightly longer day, but easy on the legs: 12.5km uphill followed by 34km of gentle downhill. A good day on the road.

Helvetia looking over the Rhine River, Basel

As I approached Basel, I followed the Rhine river for a while. To think that across that river was Germany, the “forbidden country” which I have been trying so many times to run through (along with Austria) but which remains resolutely closed to tourism… There are days I almost forget there is a pandemic out there. I run free on the routes I select. But on days like today, I am reminded sternly of the reality of the world we live in at the moment. I took this picture of the Helvetia Statue (personification of Switzerland) sitting down, looking at the Rhine river, pensive – I felt an air of acquaintance!

Basel is situated at the northern tip of Switzerland, at the junction with France and Germany. It is deemed the cultural capital of Switzerland but since all Museums are closed, I sadly couldn’t enjoy any of it. I enjoyed the sights though, the beautiful bridge over the Rhine, the petulant red and gold City Hall, architecture and overcrowded river banks. The wind had disappeared by midday and the sunseekers were out.

Check my daily run GPS data on or

Here is the map of today’s run: