Breakfast in the youth hostel was cafeteria style, and a muslim chap was giving grief to one of the serving ladies because there was no alternative to ham. I set off about 0830 through the city on good cycle lanes. Once through the city centre I kept to the North side of the River Limmat to Brugg, then it was a big climb over to the North West, then fairly flat. At one point I came across roadworks in progress, and was rather shocked to see that the JCB was digging a trench across half the road but with no cones, signs or any other form of safety equipment. I thought the Swiss would have been hot on H&S but obviously not. Approaching Basel I left the main road to follow a small road then a bridleway beside the Rhine where it loops round. I entered Basel past chemical factories. Once in the centre by the river, I got a bit confused trying to find the way to the prebooked accommodation. However I got there on the dot of 1800, as arranged, and met the owner/manager. It was not really a hotel, (no food) but a multi-occupancy house. Payment was cash in advance, and included a modest City Tax which, the owner explained, entitled me to free public transport. So after installing myself in my apartment I used the tram to get to the North side of the middle bridge in the city centre, where there were lots of restaurants. I managed to find one that didn't cost a fortune, and was served by a very hard-working waiter (in his 60s I would guess). Walking around the city later I saw a jewellers shop with the intriguing sign 'Christ Schmuck' in the window. Back in my apartment I discovered that the walls were paper-thin, as I could hear two Italian women in the next room talking all night.