I was thinking of spending my 36th birthday in Basel, Switzerland, this year.

It also coincides with This Symposium (http://lsd.info/symposium/home-en?set_language=en&cl=en) celebrating Albert Hoffman's 100th Birthday. And he will be speaking on the subject of his creation too. (if you don't know what his creation was, this will not interest you)

Of course, any forummers who could make this meet, would be showered in kudos. Tickets for the Symposium are €280! But on a more practical level, I'm looking for cheap ways to get to Basel, cheap places to stay and any general advice that might come in handy.

Anyone able to give me a lift, or put me up? It's a million to one chance, but worth a shot huh?

hmm Flights from East Mids airport to Basel? £700!

Maybe the train is what I need.

Air Berlin (http://www.airberlin.com/site/index.php?LANG=eng) will get you to Zurich for less than £100. Train to Basel from there shouldn't be too stressful (? about 3.5 hours). The train to Basel only takes 5 hours or so from Paris as an alternative.

Strongly urge you to have a look at British Airways (http://www.britishairways.com/travel/home/public/en_gb) Seems they can do Manchester - Basel via Heathrow for less than £200.

Basel's a right sh*t hole - drove through it recently - lots of dodgy looking people out late at night.

Originally posted by Internetowl
Basel's a right sh*t hole - drove through it recently - lots of dodgy looking people out late at night.

Keep the informed comment coming, all good.

Don't really care what the place is like.

Anyone ever been camping in Switzerland in January? Any tips?

Eurostar to paris, and then onto Basel seems like a very civilised way to travel; has to be better than being herded onto planes like animals, I must say.

Samscam - had a look at those Air berlin flights - Manchester to Zurich for £76 return. Now we are talking.

Anyone else fancy going to the Symposium? Should be a trip! (already have one recruit) Although a 3 day ticket is nearly £200... Hence having to save on the transit so much.

Originally posted by Phanerothyme

Anyone ever been camping in Switzerland in January? Any tips?




Brrrrrrr find a hotel room :)

Basle is a bit lively at night, and noisy.

Originally posted by Internetowl
Brrrrrrr find a hotel room :)



Well, seeing as I am paying £200 to hear a bunch of luminaries talk about LSD, I'm trying to save on the accomodation costs as much as poss.

I have a 5 seasons sleeping bag, and a trangia, and my friend (who is determined to come) has a Super Techno Tent rated down to -10 degC.

I also have an old (30yrs) snow tent with proper igloo entrance and everything.

Anyone have any friends or relations in Basel who might put a couple of friendly forummers up in exchange for expenses and a restaurant meal?

That sounds like a pretty damn good birthday party to attend. Bare in mind it's the kind of party that just doesn't stop giving :cool:

Anyone fancy a trip?

Just found the list of confirmed speakers! And what a list...

Some highlights from that list - my bold indicates speakers of special interest indeed.


Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Albert Hofmann (CH)
Chemist, Discoverer of LSD

John Beresford, M.D. (CAN)
Psychiatrist, Founder of the Agora Scientific Trust, the world's first research organization devoted to investigating the effects of LSD, Founder of the Committee on Unjust Sentencing

Rick Doblin, Ph.D. (USA)
Founder and President of MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies)

Bruce Eisner (USA)
Psychedelic Activist, Editor with High Times and Omni, Writer, President of Island Foundation

Dr. Jochen Gartz, Ph.D. (GER)
Chemist, Mycologist

Dr. Charles S. Grob, M.D. (USA)
Psychedelic Researcher, Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at the UCLA School of Medicine and Director of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Editor of "Hallucinogens"


Dr. Stanislav Grof, Ph.D. (CZ/USA)
Psychiatrist, Founder and President of
the International Transpersonal Association (ITA), Developer of Holotropic Breathwork

Dr. John Halpern, M.D. (USA)
Associate Director of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Research at Harvard's McLean Hospital

Dr. pharm. Felix Hasler (CH)
Neuropharmacologist, Hallucinogen Researcher

Michael Horowitz (USA)
Co-director of the former Fitz Hugh Ludlow Memorial Library, Bookseller “Flashback Books", Editor of Aldous Huxley's "Moksha"

Dr. Ralph Metzner, Ph.D. (USA)
Consciousness Researcher and Psychotherapist, Pioneer of Psychedelic Research at Harvard, Co-author (with Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert) of "The Psychedelic Experience"

Dr. Michael Mithoefer, M.D. (USA)
Psychiatrist, Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Medical University of South Carolina

Amanda, Lady Neidpath (GB)
Consciousness Researcher, Founder and Director of The Beckley Foundation

Dr. David E. Nichols, Ph.D. (USA)
Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Co-founder of the Heffter Research Institute (HRI)

Jonathan Ott (USA)
Ethnobotanist, Writer, Translator of "LSD - My Problem Child"
Werner Pieper (GER), Publisher of The Gruene Kraft
Dr. Christian Raetsch, Ph.D. (GER)

Anthropologist, Ethnopharmacologist, Author of "Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants"

Prof. Dr. Carl P. Ruck, Ph.D. (USA)
Mythologist, Co-author (with A. Hofmann, R. G. Wasson) of "Road to Eleusis"

Dr. Andrew Sewell, M.D. (USA)
Research Fellow in Psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School, studies for treating cluster headache patients
with LSD

Dr. Alexander T. Shulgin, Ph.D. (USA)
Pharmacologist, Chemist

Ann Shulgin (USA)
Psychedelic Researcher, Therapist

Dr. Carlo Zumstein, Ph.D. (CH)
Shaman, Psychotherapist, Founder and Director of the Foundation for Living Shamanism and Spirituality (FLSS)

Somebody quipped (you know who you are) that at €280 a ticket, those tickets have to be special. Sadly I doubt it.

I'm wondering initially, barring any other solutions, whether it would actually feasible to camp in Basel? Is it extreme? :)

But don't fancy attending each days conference in wet clothes smelling of ashtrays and chemical toilets either!

And like you said earlier, it'll be difficult NOT to pack an autograph book, given the speakers.

So - to reiterate the theme, tips on flats in Basel, or cheap hotels would be much appreciated...:)

OK, this is kinda spooky but I'm sat in a hotel in Basel right now, I log onto Sheffield Forum and this thread was on the first page!

Are you spying on me? :?

Not really cheap but the Radisson Sas is a great hotel and does the best burger in the world (bar none).

We came by train. It's a long long journey. Had to leave Sheffield at 5am (UK time) and didn't get to basel until gone 8pm (Swiss time). It's nice and scenic though.

I actually think Basel and Switzerland is really nice. There's a lot of graffiti around Basel which is maybe why somebody said it was a dump, but not as much as Paris or London.

Food here is VERY expensive, you're going to be paying around £20-£30 per meal (at least) if you eat out. Beer is about the same as UK prices. Clothes are very cheap, so don't buy any clothes for the next 4 months :)

We've spent most of the time in the Swiss alps with a stop over in Basel while travelling to/from Sheffield so we've only really had a couple of half days here. We've only really been to the zoo here, which is really good (especially if you have kids with you).

I really have no idea if you can camp here, it's not something I've looked at doing, sorry.

Hilarious - thanks. And yes, we have spies everywhere...:)

But that's great info and much appreciated - I just found this on camping in Basel - not much, but I like the sound of 'spotless':

http://switzerland.isyours.com/e/guide/basel/camping.html

Even funnier, this official tourist guide specifically features Albert Hofmann amongst it's notable attractions...:)

http://switzerland.isyours.com/e/guide/basel/lsd.html

Originally posted by punk
OK, this is kinda spooky...

Food here is VERY expensive, you're going to be paying around £20-£30 per meal (at least) if you eat out... I really have no idea if you can camp here, it's not something I've looked at doing, sorry.

I just knew it! Someone had to be there.

Nice sitrep on Basel there, particularly interesting is the part about food being so expensive. Thank you very much indeed.

A weather check says it's going to be about 0 deg C in january with lots of precipitation (snow, sleet, rain).

There's a modern VW campervan around the corner that will hopefully be for rent by then. I'm thinking maybe camp in the van, drive 10km for breakfast, return again in the evening (or just use the convention centre car park and facilities).

It's an idea, the VW is £100 a week to rent. The convention centre hotel is €300 pp for 5 nights in a twin room (€600 in total).

It's a 1500 mile round trip, but I'm not sure what the mpg will be on it (it's being converted to LPG).

Personally I like the camper van idea for obvious reasons.

"Are you on the bus?"

Even funnier, this official tourist guide specifically features Albert Hofmann amongst it's notable attractions...

There's a page devoted to him in the Lonely Planet travelers guide too. Speaking of which I have it in my room, I'll look up what it says for camping in Basel when I go up and post some info (if there is any).

Sounds like you've got yourself a bit of a road trip forming here matey.

If this thing is going off in Switzerland, can you explain to me why the prices are in Euros? In my experience they are very funny about accepting anything that isn't Swiss Francs .

Don't forget to budget for insurance on the VW and also AA membership!

An up-to-date road map is also a must, when I passed through earlier this year our 2003 map was well out-of-date, what with all the new tunnels.........

I think the booking is done outside Switzerland, hence the Euro thing.

I think Swiss francs are about 2 to the pound, so shouldn't be too much head work if we get there. We'll have enough on as it is...:)

In my experience they are very funny about accepting anything that isn't Swiss Francs

Indeed, a few of the bigger attractions list prices in Euros and Francs but most of the smaller places will accept only Francs.

I haven't sat and worked it out but I would imagine that most of the prices are also much cheaper to pay in Francs than Euros (they are bound to add a safety margin to prices to allow room for currency conversion fluxations).

Two more things I've just thought of that might be helpful...

Wine is also VERY expensive, we ordered a couple of bottles shared between 6 of us. They charged us per glass even though we ordered bottles and the glasses here are more like spirit glasses than the wine glasses the rest of europe serve. I think it worked out close to £25 a bottle for the house wine!

Also the Swiss rail pass is very good value and if you are planning on seeing a lot of switzlerland it can't be beaten. The trains here are fantastic. But be aware that if you plan to travel up the Jungfrau (the highest peak in Europe I'm lead to believe), it will cost you about £50 or so. I got altitude sickness and got sent back down again :(

WELCOME TO THE YOUTH HOSTEL
BASEL, ST. ALBAN
Rates for members per person/night, including breakfast
buffet and bed linen

Single room from 80.- Fr.
2-bedded room from 42.- Fr.
3-bedded room 40.50 Fr.
4-bedded room 35.- Fr
5-bedded room 33.- Fr.
6-bedded room 32.- Fr.
8-bedded room 31.- Fr.

£15/per night B&B?????

Originally posted by SHarper
Sounds like you've got yourself a bit of a road trip forming here matey.


I hope so.

Sending a Sheffield Delegation to an international event like this would be a real coup.

We could do our own bit of consciousness raising, about how the landscape is psychedelic, how the water is pure, and how the people are cool as f~~~.

Hand out "come to Sheffield" leaflets to the international psychedelic cogniscienti hehehehe.

Punk, point noted about the wine. Just stay off the wine I guess. Did you manage to find any campsites closer to Basel than 10km? Or any prices in the lonely planet. Might have to take a trip to Waterstones tomorrow.

Since Switzerland is not in the EU, can we still just import booze and fags willy nilly, or is there some kind of limit. I used to think that Switzerland was a country full of staunchly conservative and wealthy bankers, gold, cheese and bureaucrats, but the more I find out about Switzerland, the more I like it! (http://www.sacred-mushroom-church.ch/web/english/index.php?s=index&wer=)

Did you manage to find any campsites closer to Basel than 10km? Or any prices in the lonely planet

Not yet, I'm still "sampling" the range of local brews in the bar downstairs

I used to think that Switzerland was a country full of staunchly ..., cheese

You just reminded me of one more tip... Don't stay anywhere that serves fondue. It stinks. The first time I walked into somewhere that served it I asked my son if he had an accident :)

Originally posted by pwhole
Hilarious - thanks. And yes, we have spies everywhere...:)


well we do now

Originally posted by punk
Not yet, I'm still "sampling" the range of local brews in the bar downstairs

So what's the beer like tonight in Basel?

Originally posted by punk
You just reminded me of one more tip... Don't stay anywhere that serves fondue. It stinks. The first time I walked into somewhere that served it I asked my son if he had an accident :)
Raclette is more my thing. More Apparatus, Heightened amusement.

Originally posted by Phanerothyme

Raclette is more my thing. More Apparatus, Heightened amusement.

I can feel a Raclette evening coming on, nowt better then food you can ar$e about with......

Do you have the required equipment SHarper?

something like this (http://www.coker.com.au/~russell/travel/bord-2001/raclette.jpg)?

I do indeed have the required equipment and the where-with-all to operate it. When the aformentioned soiree takes place you will be furnished with an invite up to SHarper towers.

Just seen the picture of the contraption you are meaning, mine aint owt like that. Mine is an electric hob/grill type thing, too difficult to try and explain at the moment.

Why not try a package ski holiday or one of the overnight ski coaches from London?

Mikey, I've think I'm tending towards the Camper Van idea, because of its resonances (Merry Pranksters) with the Final Destination - Albert Hoffmans' Birthday Party and LSD Conference.

And it functions as transport and accomodation for £100 a week!

Unfortunately, and I have checked, we won't be able to paint it up in freaky colours, or have a massive soundsystem on the roofrack. Pity.

SHarper, is it the kind of one that melts triangular slices of cheese on little teflon cake slices nestling under a tabletop circular grill/heater? Can you get the cheese?

Originally posted by Phanerothyme
Mikey, I've think I'm tending towards the Camper Van idea, because of its resonances (Merry Pranksters).

Oh well, bang goes the Camper Van Idea. It gets 20mpg. It's 1500 miles there and back. That's 75 gallons...or 284 litres. Would need 3 passengers to make it competetive...

Your bike looks fast SHarper - any chance of a lift?

Originally posted by Phanerothyme

SHarper, is it the kind of one that melts triangular slices of cheese on little teflon cake slices nestling under a tabletop circular grill/heater? Can you get the cheese?

Yes it is, better described than I could.
Have mananged to get the cheese before now, not my department, will source some.

The bike would have been an option, had it not been in January (not these days anyway). 80 miles to Hull, overnight ferry to Zeebrugge, 438 miles to Basel, just under 5 hours averaging 90mph, could be there for lunchtime the day after we set off!

I make that 1036 miles.

We've bought the cheese from Aldi before now.