After the madness of Streetparade Zürich last weekend, it was interesting to check out Stadtfest…read moreBaden for the first time. Not quite sure what to expect, but not quite what I expected. For starters, there were TONS of people. Mostly young to middle-aged adults, some older folks, and a few kids... all filling up the streets and makeshift booths throughout the old town. There was a plethora of usual suspects for sale -- cotton candy and assorted sweets, sausages, Bretzels, lots of alcohol, Dönner kebaps, trinkets, and a surprisingly large number of crepe stands. The All-American hot dogs were a hit at CHF 7 each. I was tempted to try one but then decided not to get ripped off for something that only costs $0.99 back home. I was a bit annoyed with one temp bar that put a Japanese flag next to a Taiwanese bubble tea drink on the menu, plastered Japanese anime all over the walls, and then hung Chinese lanterns from the ceiling. I guess that's what the Swiss consider Asian exotica. :P All-in-all, the event was ok to check out, since it only occurs once in 5 years. But there isn't so much to do except stand around and drink, eat crappy street food, and try to talk to others over the din of music being piped over the speakers. After about 2 hours of watching drunken bozos staggering around, I had enough and was ready to go home.

I loved the Munchen Market…read more Traditional food and great prices. I had a fish soup and bread and a bretzel here. If you love beer plenty of different beers and awesome food here. Would definitely come back

The Street Food Festival was a much needed addition to the city of Zurich! I must say, the…read moreorganizers have done an incredible job with the set up. Venders and selection of food + drink were on point. Looking forward to round 2 starting September 8

Loved the airplane flight show, all the drinks and all of…read morethe food- but there were too many people (and some of them were rude)! The fireworks were fab loved the colors in the sky- and for a whole 1/2 hour, I couldn't believe my eyes! There was music everywhere and lots of Toi Tois too, but to avoid brawls with teenies I'd recommend a better queue...

I'm really happy, because my mom was here when Zueri Faescht was going on, and I was here, so we…read moreboth got to experience the crazy-ness. It's awesome. Go early (like 4 or 5 ish in the afternoon) so you get your fill of it before all hell breaks loose. It's a lot like a state fair (yknow, like back in the states) except way bigger, and instead of it being in a closed off field, they bring it to the middle of the city, roller coasters and all. So you can still enjoy the beautiful buildings, river, and all the roads are shut down. One tramstop was even transformed into a bar, that was cool looking. They shot off fireworks to beautiful music for 30 MINUTES! There is SO MUCH FOOD. I loved it. You can try everything. It's like Swiss Fair Food! And it's awesome. Sure it ads up, but it's not bad, maybe 7-15CHF per plate. The only downside is the cluster fudge of people. That's why you might wanna peace out around 10 or 11. My mom left before the fireworks, and that was probably a really good decision. There was one point when boyfriend and I almost lost it because we were smashed against people. It gets a little crowded. A teenage boy took advantage of the mess and held my hand for maybe 2 seconds. See, people get a little crazy. The good thing that came out of it was boyfriend and I eventually got smashed against the barbeque stand, so we actually got to skip the line and eat bbq. That was fun. It's an experience. If you have an open mind and avoid the scary mass of people, it's pretty awesome. AND IT'S ONLY EVERY 3 YEARS!

We recently went on a Viking cruise, which embarked from Basel. We decided to go in a couple days…read moreearly to adjust to the time change, and to wander around the city of Basel. And in a stoke of luck, it just so happened to be during their annual Autumn Fair. We learned that it's the oldest fair in Switzerland, and has been running since the 15th century. It was awesome. They actually hold it in several different areas of the city (6, I think), but we only visited three of them. Tons of local things to eat, handmade crafts to buy, entertainment here and there, and plenty of carnival type rides. If you plan a trip to Basel, plan it around the beginning of November so you can check this out. It may just be on our list for a trip to Switzerland that we would start or end in Basel....during this fair.

I happened to be in Basel for work in early November, and happened upon the Autumn fair. I learned…read morethat this is an annual tradition that has been going on for hundreds of years. I am rating this fair 'five stars' primarily due to all the foods I've tried. While many cuisines from around the world are represented, I just loved trying out some of the Swiss snacks! There was this small raclette stand at the messeplatz that I must have visited 4 times in 2 days. Then there was the sausage stand and the risotto and sautéed mushroom stalls. Also for the first time, on a super cold sprinkling night, I tasted warm sweet Gluhwein and it definitely made me feel toasty inside! The fair is literally everywhere throughout Basel. You can literally just walk around town and find yourself running into different squares and streets blocked off with stalls, booths and stands. Other than food, you can pretty much find all sorts of craft items, books, kitchen stuff, etc.. I really enjoyed waking through the different areas throughout my two nights there and would so recommend it for people to visit if you happen to be in Basel during that time of the year.

I have been to the Black Forest Christmas market a few times over the past decade. I was lucky to…read morego right before COVID destroyed the world. This market is one of the most unique because it's set around the waterfall. They have fire dances, lots of food and drink vendors and a huge fire pit where you can buy stick bread to roast on the fire. It's pretty amazing. Not to mention, you're in the black forest, so it's a short walk to all the Cuckoo clock stores. This one is a MUST do if you have limited time or haven't been.

if you are in Basel during the summer, you MUST swing by this outdoor event. "Chill on the Rhine"…read moregoes on from the start of July through the end of August. you've got DJs playing music outdoors. not raging party music, but more lounge/chill stuff, jazz, blues, and more. of course, I'm sure that just experiencing it one night means there could be different music on other nights, so your mileage may vary. projectors and concert-quality lighting rigs illuminate and highlight the old buildings along the Rhine in unique and awesome ways. of course, what would a festival be without alcohol? there was plenty of beer! and it's not expensive either - just remember to redeem your tokens at the end to get your deposit back (it's to prevent people from throwing cups all over and making a mess). crowds vary - there's a big college-age population in Basel, so you get the students, but you also get all kinds of random people who come out to enjoy the good weather and positive atmosphere. no one's raging, people are just hanging out, enjoying some food and drinks. just an FYI - their website is no longer active - they had the event when I was in Switzerland back in 2008, and my research on the interwebs shows they've had it every year up until 2011, so perhaps the domain expired or something. check up before you go to verify if they're still having this - and if so, definitely attend!