Bleuler J L (ca. 1830)
I am ashamed that I didn’t know about the ‘Godmother of Egyptology’, as Amelia Edwards (1831-1892) is referred to, until I went searching for relevant books for my trip. She had successful careers in journalism and writing; travelled to the Dolomites with a female companion; was known for several close, controversial relationships; taught her self hieroglyphics; travelled up the Nile in a house boat; discovered a Lesko in Abu Simbel; created exquisite watercolours and drawings to complement her travelogues; co-founded the Egypt Exploration Fund, gave lectures; was a suffragette; travelled to America, and promoted responsible tourism. Amazing! She didn’t live that long either.
I started reading the short stories collection: A Night on the Borders of the Black Forest (Edwards, 2011) when I was on the plane, not knowing then, that one of the stories would be as connected as it is to a place I had planned to visit. With great flow in Edwards’ writing, well designed short story plotting and character creation, I whizzed through each one in time to have come to ‘In the Confessional’ (Edwards, 2011) before going to Rheinfelden.
It’s the ‘purely me day’ of my break in and around Basel. I encompass these types of days in to my trips away, even solo ones. Holidays are obviously all about myself, but on these days I indulge in proper relaxation with phone and camera off. Often it involves a beach, a pool or a sauna. So, I am heading to Sol Uno Wellness World in Rheinfelden. First, I took advantage of an Heimathafen breakfast where, as well as the varied continental self service with options for dietary needs, you could order your choice of cooked egg, and have as much coffee as you liked.
Herr Englander got to the Rheinefelden bridge on foot, having previously walked the whole area of the Upper Rhine. I was getting there, not as impressively, by bus to Oberrheinplatz; it is just within the KONUS travel zone which meant as a tourist I could travel free. In common with Herr Englander, wanting peace and quiet, I was avoiding areas with large numbers of tourists; the reason I hadn’t gone, like others in the hostel, to Eurovision Village in Basel, or on the Eurovision karaoke tram. I knew I would be much more content in Rheinfelden. He, strangely though, wanted to avoid spas; exactly where I was going. I can only imagine they were different in the Victorian era.
‘It was change of place, however, and not excitement, that I sought. I kept almost entirely aloof from great cities, Spas, and beaten tracks, and preferred for the most part to explore districts where travellers and foreigners rarely penetrated.’
(Edwards, 2011)
Unfortunately, the covered wooden bridge mentioned in the story burnt down in 1897. However, the new bridge I walked across does give you a good view of the Rhine River, and the houses alongside it, that have no space between their frontage and the water, making you wonder why heavy rain has never taken them away. I am thankful that it hasn’t and you can still see their porches overhanging the river which Herr Englander describes as: ‘..little built-out rooms with penthouse roofs..’ (Edwards, 2011)
The bridge still has to curve due to the small island where Castle Stein once stood. It’s now a park with a beach where you can paddle and swim in the river. I went through it, thinking that it was the park the spa was in. Corrected, by my mobile’s map, I walked along the Marktgasse; this being pedestrianised it makes it easy to imagine it in the 1800’s. You will not see an oxen walking down the street, but to get to Sol Uno Wellness World you have to walk through the archway of the tower; when Edward’s narrator goes through the arch he sees storks nesting, and they still, to this day, come and nest in the tower. Once you are through the archway there is a small, now unconsecrated, chapel in the park, Gottesackerkapelle, that has a porch like the church in Edward’s short story. You can imagine this being the place where Herr Englander gets his fright.
Now I have to admit breaking my rule of no camera on this excursion. Well, it was after truly spoiling myself: soaking and floating in the brine water of the spa; alternating between a steamy plunge and icy dip; clearing my sinuses in the salty steam room; and a semi nude sunbathe in the mid-day’s sun on a lounger in the adult only area. Nearing the Marktgasse on the way to Oberrheinplatz, it was the Albrechtsbrunnen that made me pause: I had become very fond of all the troughs and decorative fountains that seem to be everywhere in this region. Herr Englander makes light of the fountain he sees:
‘..and presently I came to a fountain—a regular Swiss fountain, spouting water from four ornamental pipes, and surmounted by the usual armed knight in old grey stone.’
(Edwards, 2011)
I learnt later, that my fountain’s sculpture is a clone with the original of too much importance to be left unguarded on the high street. The real sculpture of Archduke Albrecht V1, created by Valentin Gessler in the 1500’s, is in the Fricktal museum. Archduke Albrecht and his brother, Fredrick V were known for claiming lands in Further Austria from their cousin Sigismund, after Frederick V was given regency as a result of Sigismund being a minor when his father died. Amelia Edward’s could have seen the original, but not the clone. However, the double trough I stood by dates back to 1850, so within her era.
Having recently spent near on a month trying to make perfect, handmade decorations for my parents’ 60th anniversary, I couldn’t help but also photograph the below, similar to mine, but so much better.
Being keen to get back to Basel to make use of the Kuntsmuseum offer of free entry on Wednesday evening I made my way back, even before tasting the famous beer: Feldschlösschen.
Rheinfelden, isn’t a place often related to Edwards, with mention of her European travels usually referring to the Dolomites, Italy. However, having visited Rheinfelden, and read In the Confessional (Edwards, 2011), I have no doubt that Amelia Edwards went to this town; the narrator’s description of the place is so similar to how I saw it in 2025, even with there being over 150 years in between him and myself being there.
Like Herr Englander, I left Rheinfelden, with the sun shining on me, over the bridge, quite sure I would not return: too many other places for me to go; but being glad to have walked through it.
‘Then I crossed the bridge and, having shown my passport to the German sentry on the Baden side, I took one long, last farewell look at the little walled town as it lay sleeping in the sunshine by the river—knowing that I should see it no more.’
Edwards A (2011)
Edwards A (1873) The Drei Zinnen, A landscape painting depicting the Drei Zinnen mountains http://commons.wikimedia.org/.. Untrodden Peaks and Unfrequented Valleys
Bleuler J L (ca. 1830) between 1829 and 1836, Rheinfelden, von Westen; Rheinfelden; Aquatinta https://www.nb.admin.ch/.
Thomas P (2024) https://www.pexels.com/photo/historical-houses-in-the-old-town-of-rheinfelden-switzerland-24702919/
Edwards Amelia B, A Night On The Borders Of The Black Forest: The Project Gutenberg (ebook 37707) 2011. First published 1890 by Frederick A Stokes Company, New York. Available at: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/37707/pg37707-images
https://heimathafen-loerrach.de/index.php/de/
https://www.soleuno.ch/en/wellness-world-sole-uno/
https://kunstmuseumbasel.ch/en/visit/plan-your-visit