Swiss National Day

I was supposed to write something for the 1 August, but as you can see I'm a few days late.

The 1 August is Swiss National Day (which is a public holiday, similar to Australia Day). It marks the independence of the country from Austrian rulers, which started all the way back in 1291 (read more here). However in Basel, the action started on the, 31 July. In Basel it seems that the 1 August is to absorb hangovers and loss of sleep while the rest of the country are less civilised and celebrate properly on the day.

Everyone (its a big family thing) hits the parks, bridges and river banks to let off fireworks. Anyone can buy and let off fireworks and since Ben was in London and didnt get back until late, I didn't brave the crowds for too long and retreated to the safety of hanging out my apartment window to take some photos. Unfortunately the images aren't that great, but hopefully you get some idea.

We celebrated the 1 August by having a little picnic in the park (with friends JB + RM) and it was such a beautiful day! The photos may tell a different story though - it was a classic case of take the camera and forget to use it.