Ill in Basel

I'm typing this in a very dazed manner in my hotel room, where I've been holed up (except for a daily walk to Aldi) since Tuesday night. I've been ill all week but was only actually off work yesterday and today.

I felt absolutely fine on arrival on Sunday, when we went out for pizza in the evening, and during the couple of hours of prep I did afterwards. But the moment I got into bed - literally the first time I swallowed after lying down - I noticed that I had a sore throat. This had got worse by morning and over the course of the day on Monday I also developed a very chesty cough, a headache and aching knees. My head felt very heavy.

I went to work on Tuesday despite not feeling any better in the morning. The non-teaching Director of Studies offered to take my classes in the afternoon if I wanted to go home at lunchtime, but as I did feel a bit improved by then, I said I'd be OK to stay on.

On Tuesday evening we went back to school for a dinner some of the staff put on for us - it was very convivial. The Home Economics department had made lasagne and a salad buffet for us, with really good coffee and a selection of muffins for after. The staff were all really nice, and I got a recommendation to visit Augusta Raurica, the largest Roman site in Switzerland, which is about 10 miles from Basel. I'll have the full day on Saturday, as my Flixbus doesn't leave until 11pm - I can't decide now whether to go to Augusta Raurica or to explore Basel further and go to the museums here that I really want to go to... a good problem to have, I suppose!

The reason why I was recommended this place was because I was chatting to the French and Latin teacher and found out that she had been to St Albans while on holiday in London! I'm not used to people knowing about St Albans when I mention where I'm from when abroad. She said she'd been there in order to go to Verulamium Museum, and that she'd also walked round Verulamium Park and seen the Hypocaust. When I mentioned the Roman theatre, she said she hadn't known about it, but would love to go there in the future!

Although my sore throat and aching knees had improved by yesterday morning, the rest of me felt worse, plus I felt unsteady when I stood up and had started feeling sick on and off, so I finally succumbed and said I wouldn't be able to make it to work. The others were all very supportive. The DoS and one of the other teachers knocked on my door later in the day and gave me an orange and some cup-a-soups. One of the other teachers was also off work sick on Wednesday, but it sounds like they managed OK without us.

I hope to be better enough to go to work tomorrow and be there for the Show, which is going to be quite a big event apparently and will be in the evening. All the parents will be invited. It's also my birthday tomorrow so it would be nice to be at least somewhat improved by then!

Update from July 2022: Looking back now, I wonder if this was Covid. I would have to have caught it in the UK, on around the 21st, but the first official cases weren't confirmed there until 31st January... No temperature or loss of taste or smell, either... but I wonder if it had been in circulation unofficially for a while before then. I'll never know.