The Basel 15

One of the things people warned me about before moving was the "Basel 15", which is the equivalent of the "freshman 15" in college--basically, a surplus 15 pounds. The strange thing, though, is that after my first few months in Basel, I had actually gone in the opposite direction; despite eating lots of pastries, chocolate, and hearty German and French fare, I actually lost weight, probably because I do so much more walking than before. (It doesn't help that I put on so many inches before leaving Washington that I had to donate half of my pants to charity and buy new, roomier pants.) Anyway, I think I have a point here...oh, yeah--now that I've spent 10 days on work travel, I understand where the Basel 15 comes from. The past week or so has consisted primarily of eating a big breakfast, sitting in a meeting all morning (with a break for coffee and pastries), eating a big lunch, sitting in a meeting all afternoon (with a break for coffee and cookies), eating a big dinner and dessert, then starting over again the next morning. The longest walk is from my room to the elevator. I guess the silver lining is that those new, roomier pants I bought seem to be fitting better again. Ugh.