Get your motor runnin‘, head out on the highway, lookin‘ for adventure, & whatever comes our way …
Dear Auntie SAM: Is it necessary to own a car in Basel?
Seattle is a dream. Situated in a dell, it is surrounded by two mountain ranges: one rolling; one craggy. It hugs tree covered hills, large lakes, & the Puget Sound. Mother Nature bent the city to her will, and, by doing so, created one of the most beautiful places on earth.
It seduced me for 14 years.
Except during my commute.
Due to its unusual geography, I drove 11 miles (17.7 km) one way every weekday & my morning commute took nearly two hours. It was bumper-to-bumper all the way: across a hill; through a peninsula; over two bridges; around the sound, a lake, & a canal. One foot on the gas pedal; the other on the clutch; the sun beating through the windows; horns & tasteless music blaring from other peoples‘ cars; exhaust fumes; whiffs of gas & tar; frustration … madness … resignation.
I was glad to leave my car behind & come to Basel where I walk, ride trams, & commute by train.
I was so relieved to not need a car that I did not even worry when my US driver’s license got lost during the move. „Good riddance to that stress!“ I thought.
Within one year of arriving, I could have rolled it over in exchange for a Swiss license, also valid throughout the world.
Now, my transfer window has closed, my US license has expired, & I have to test to get a Swiss license … driving & written … in German.
It’s not as if you’ll need a car in Basel. Or anywhere in Europe — a billion backpacking college students have navigated without one & so can you.
But, and especially if you have kids, you might want one. Paying for multiple children on the trains leads many families to decide they’ll skip that impromptu hike in the woods. And, believe me, hauling the ingredients required for a Thanksgiving dinner from Germany on public transport in the snowy rain will lead one to consider relocating Thanksgiving to the sidewalk you’re on & trying to roast that bird over an open flame.
Plus, as with all things, eventually the pain is forgotten – forgiven, even. You’ll remember the good things: how the wind played with your hair and swirled delicately around your fingers as they surfed atop the open road; how the motor purred beneath you as, together, you led destiny to a brighter future. That road trip. The time you busted your knuckles trying to change a tire … even that will bring a smile to your face with enough distance … enough time … enough letting go.
Much like the open road, you never know what life will bring you. And, being an immigrant, you will be stripped of powers & opportunities you cannot control. No sense in relinquishing powers you needn’t.
Especially one, according to my American soul, so intrinsically linked with freedom.
XO
AS
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TONIGHT (THURSDAY) 8PM: the CRAZY PROFESSOR ROCKS the CAVE BAR! Villa Kütschlihof (Baslerstrasse 34, 4103 Bottmingen). COOL DRINKS. HOT MUSIC. Always a GOOD TIME.
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TOMORROW (FRIDAY) 8PM: Catch my FRIEND LORENZ GABRIEL AENIS at SozFest: Seminar fur Soziologie (Petersgraben 27, Basel). MUSIC. DRINKS. COLD BUFFET. GRILL (BYO MEAT).