There is a version of every city that only shows up when a friend walks you through it. The bench they actually sit on, which end of the river to get in and which ladder to get out at. Homeward is that friend, in app form: hand-written outings, told the way someone who has lived here ten years would tell you. Basel first; Zürich, Bern and London are being written behind it.
Up the hill for the long light, down through the gardens after dark. Start at Heuwaage around half past seven in midsummer, climb out through the Vorstädte, twenty-five minutes of steady uphill that warms you without breaking the conversation. One of the few benches in Basel that actually looks back over the city. A summer route; in winter you'd be climbing in the dark.
A long walk in a park that happens to have lions. Go in the morning while everyone is fresh, one slow loop, then a long picnic on the central lawn around lunch. The café is fine but not great; the picnic is the better answer. Smaller animals and the playground after, and you leave before the meltdown, not after. You know your timing.
You leave the house with vague intentions, end up browsing three bookshops, drink a coffee in a courtyard, and come home carrying something you weren't looking for. Start at Bider & Tanner on Aeschenvorstadt, where the upstairs handles concert tickets and vinyl and answers to nobody. Bring your reading list. Leave without crossing anything off it.
It never asks where you are; there is no location permission in the app at all. It never asks for your email; an account is a username and a password, and one login covers the whole household. No ads, no feed, no messages from strangers, and nothing counts the days you stayed in. You don't need an account to browse any of it. The app has done its job when your phone is back in your pocket and you're standing somewhere good.
Homeward is on its way to the App Store and Google Play. Free, and browsing stays free. If you'd like a note when it's there, write to hello@gethomeward.app and you'll get one email back when it lands. No list, no follow-ups.
Made in Basel by one person who wanted this to exist. Good to see you.