#16 Basilisks in Basel
That last weekend we had I decided to pull up my britches (hah)
and make my first solo journey in Europe. I’ll admit I was nervous, heading to
hauptbahnhof I kept thinking: you can
always just go home and get under those covers and sleep the weekend away (in shame). If my roommate hadn’t been
going with me to pick up her sister (an unlikely coincidence) I probably would
have. The train station at night isn’t the friendliest place. I found myself
jumping at the most innocent of advances: an old man asking for directions. He
was probably a pickpocket, I tell myself. Then the train was late (joy) and I
was sat there at 1AM wondering what in the name of Earth’s blue skies I’d been
thinking. The train did finally come and then, I suppose, I was off. No turning back now. I’d like to say I
thought that confidently, but truthfully, the only thing stopping from tearing
the door open and jumping back into the safety (?) of Bonn Hbf was that the
train started chugging forward. What an exciting, adventurous life I lead.
Trying to sleep was hellish but I eventually managed, even if it was fitful. I
was in a constant state of panic every time the train jolted me awake at the
idea that I’d missed my stop and was half way to Johannesburg (not that trains
in Europe go that far, but still).
Basel was incredible though! Wandering around I felt so free and
capable. Really, everything went without a hitch. The rain poured and the
chocolate shops were closed, but the old town was charming and the museums were
vast and warm. The Basilisk originated in… guess where?? Basel! Well, maybe it
didn’t originate there, but the idea
of that mythical beast has played a big role in Basel’s history, and more
recently (as in the past few hundred years), has come to symbolize power rather
than terror. There are little winged snakes dotted all over the city, and in
one of the museums I visited there was a paean to the young woman of yore who
was said to have defeated the basilisk of Basel by placing a polished bucket
over her head. She approached the well where the basilisk lurked and as it
turned to devour her it caught sight of its own reflection, causing it to turn
to dust and perish. I love mythology.
That same weekend I stumbled across one of the houses that
Paracelsus resided in during the time he spent in Basel, now a pharmacological
museum. It was closed, sadly, but I snapped a photo of the plaque, thinking of
Dr. Wasser’s lectures.
That’s it for now! More on my day trip to Colmar in my next post!
Ashleigh
PS: School! So finals passed without too much drama. I did better
than I thought I would on the finals that made me the most nervous. So all in
all not bad! It’s weird, but when I think back to Bonn, I even miss lecture.
Who ever would have thought that?
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