When Abnormal becomes Normal

Here in Basel, the abnormal has become the new normal as the inhabitants of the city follow government recommendations to avoid the infection of Covid-19.

The weather throughout the last week has been fine, which is both good, and a cause of frustration, both at the same time. The good weather has meant that I have been able to go walking ever day for the government recommended maximum of two hours. But I walk through a nearly empty city. The photograph at the top was taken last Sunday morning. Yes, it was early, and yes, it was Sunday, but normally at the railway station there would be early morning hikers setting out, overnight party stragglers going home, various day trippers and others getting trains or coming into Basel. But that morning, the Bahnhofplatz in front of the main railway station was empty.

It was the same when I walked to a nearby company campus. In the middle of the day, part of the working week, the campus was empty.

But walking each morning gives hope for the future as well. The seasonal changes are small, but there to see. The magnolia trees are past their bloom. The daffodils are fading. But as one set of flowers passes out of season, another comes in. Primroses are here. Tulips are here. Spring is here in earnest.

As I walk through the city, I tend to take the side streets. It makes the social distancing easier if I avoid the main thoroughfares. This occasionally brings me to places that I had not seen before, even after more than ten years of living here. And so, one day this week, I came across a fountain I had not seen before.

There are reported to be over 160 of these fountains in Basel, some of them very colourful, some of them plain but decoratively carved, like this one, which I found at the corner of Chrischonastrasse and Peter Rot-strasse.

And then there are the other unusual things that one sees walking around. The Klybeck giraffe, is one. I have seen him before, but I just thought I would mention it anyway.

And then there are other signs of optimism. This one is a shop window in the Breite area of the city.

As yet, I am able to continue walking under the current restricted conditions that apply in Basel, and that has allowed me to accumulate 1,634,039 steps in the first three months of the year. Despite the restrictions due to Covid-19, that aspect of my life remains on track.