Museums We Didn't Visit and a Fountain We Did

I generally learn a lot from Jane and Chris when we travel together. Sometimes this is about what might be good value for money, but mostly I learn more about how not to spend it. For example, they won't pay admission fees to any museums. I'm fine with this most of the time, but now and then I think there are things worth paying a nominal fee to see, especially if they let me take photos and feel as though I brought something beautiful home with me.

Basel fine arts museum

We didn't visit the fine arts museum, though we walked past it any number of times. 

We poked our noses through the doorway, but stopped and
turned at the payment window.

Across the road was a very strange looking building with almost no windows.




Bill told me it was the new annex built to house priceless art works that could be displayed without danger of exposure to sunlight. I haven't looked it up to confirm this, but it is the only sensible explanation for the weird lack of windows, except perhaps a prison.

We passed by the Paper Mill museum and I would probably have liked to have visited it, but it was shut for lunch when we were there anyhow, so never mind about that. 

I snapped a couple of photos through the window. 




The phrase 'paper MILL' trips off the tongue with familiarity and I do generally know how paper is made. 




In spite of realising paper manufacture involves using a lot of water, I somehow never associated a water wheel with it. Duh. 





(According to Trip Advisor ratings, it would have been good).

We didn't go in this rather scary looking place called the Spielzeug Welten Museum. 




From the window display I thought it must be something about war, given the violent looking characters on display in the window. 




Then again, there was a sweet little carved sign outside. 





My party was advancing without me so there wasn't time to discuss. Turns out it was a toy museum.


One day on our wanders Chris and Jane took us to see something they'd discovered outside the Tinguely museum. Of course we didn't go inside it, but the water fountain outside was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. My photos really don't do it justice, so I found you a video. I'm not sure the link works properly. If not, here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gk5ck-8YTvg 



It was a great place to sit and have lunch! Almost as good as the fountain was watching the reaction of other visitors. 

My favourite.

The Tinguely museum.

 More about Tinguely later...

We didn't go into the museum of Roman artefacts either, but Chris had a look at part of the archaeological dig on display. Hilarious on several levels, but impressive; I hope I can get all the way down and all the way back up when I'm 71 1/2.