My new friend and the Ettenbühl gardens

I have a new friend. She's a German woman (living in Basel), quite a bit older than me, and she loves to share all her knowledge about possible excursions in the greater Basel area. She and her husband (who are both retired) spend a lot of time exploring the area, on foot, on bike, with the train, in their car, you name it. Over the last several weeks I've joined her on a number of walks, some of which are more like what we would call hikes, the but the Swiss call everything a walk. She's also suggested dozens of fun places to walk or to take a bike ride, as well as charming small towns and good restaurants. As an American, sometimes it's hard to believe that there are people out there, like this new friend, who are just genuinely nice and enjoy sharing their fun experiences with others. Sometimes my cynical side comes out and thinks why is she so nice? Does she really want to show me all this stuff just because she enjoys doing it?

This afternoon, she took me and another American woman to the Ettenbühl gardens in Germany. It is a beautiful place, not far from Basel, with literally hundreds of roses as well as many other beautiful flowers and trees. They also have a restaurant and a B & B on site. It was a lovely afternoon (albeit incredibly hot) and it's definitely a place I never would have discovered on my own. I can't resist sharing. Here are a few of my flower photos from Ettenbühl.