UPDATES: Here comes the bus, the big blue bus!

Update: Sunday bus service is on its way! Price have gone up, but deals still remain! 

Distribus! It's the local french bus system that delivers you to and from Basel and hits all the little towns and villages on the french side of the border. The most popular bus # 604 goes through Saint-Louis and takes you right to the heart of old Basel leaving you at Shifflande. It runs every 15 minutes and it is also simply known as the #4. You can check out the links below for the routes and time tables for all the buses, including the bus from Gare de Saint-Louis to Bale/Mulhouse Airport (#11)!

http://www.distribus.com/fr/horaires.htm  Just click on the line that looks interesting.

I find that french web sites are rather difficult to navigate (and not just because of the French language), so I would like to let you in on all the special tariffs that at first glance are not at all evident.

Normal tarif, one way: 1.10€ 1.30
Normal tarif, one way, "aeroport navette": 1€ 1.30
NEW* Round trip, good all day: 2.20 
Bus and tram combined, purchased on bus, good one-way for 2 hours: 2.50€ 3.00, (a two zone swiss ticket works to transfer to the french bus as well, but that runs 3.40€ or 4 CHF last I checked ).

With blue card (not person specific):
one way: 0.90€ 1.10
one way, "aeroport navette": 0.90€ 1.10
* Rechargeable on the bus: 9€ 10 for 12 voyages or 18€ 20 for 24, no photo needed.

Monthly "DistriPass Adulte" (person specific): 25€ 28
This is a good option for commuters or daily travelers

Yearly "DistriPass Adulte" (person specific): 250€ 280


AND THE MOST EXCITING NEWS! 


Line 604 will start hourly Sunday service in May! Hey Basel Friends! Come visit us in Saint-Louis!

Also available is a one time pass available for 24 hours with a smaller and larger range including access to Mulhouse. See this link: http://www.distribus.com/fr/formules-et-tarifs-triregio.htm

The bus card and passes are available at the Distribus office in Saint-Louis (14 rue de Ballon, Saint-Louis, 68300). It's not far from the grocery store Géant. **A photo booth picture of yourself is necessary for obtaining a pass. Oh, and make sure to avoid the hours of 12-2pm because they are closed for lunch.  : 8h15 ndredi : 8h15 à 12h00 - 14h00 à 17h15
Samedi : 8h30 à 10h
There is also a bus and tram combined pass that is available and payable through the swiss system. But that's a whole other pot of worms.

Oh gosh, I know that's a lot of information all at once! Take a bite of it now and ponder for a bit. Feel free to come back and check out this post when you're planning some time in french TriRhena.

And a bunch of love to the man in the photo for helping me out with all the details!

Jars...

Jam jars, baby food jars, nut butter jars, applesauce jars, yogurt jars, juice jars, canning jars... Don't just recycle them, reuse them! Remember the slogan that was ingrained in your supple elementary school mind: reduce, reuse, recycle? (Well, it was hammered into mine, thanks Mr. Clark.) We can all reduce by buying less packaging, and we can easily reuse - we can reuse all of those glass jars! 

Transfer all those plastic-packed goods into glass jars to help organize your cupboards and reenergize your interest in cooking! It worked for me!

No more hassle reclosing boxes and bags, no more accidental spills, no more "where did that go?" BECAUSE... everything is in a clear glass jar! Better yet, buy bulk (hopefully using the containers you will be storing the items in or in biodegradable "plastic" bags) and regularly refill your jars.  Even if the environment is not your number one priority, these reused jars are sure to make organizing, cooking and cleaning up much, much easier! 

P.S. Make sure the jars are completely clean and DRY before reusing them otherwise your foods may become moldy and inedible and that would be entirely counterproductive, wouldn't it? It is also a good idea to reuse only those jars that will not rust.

La Fête du Cinéma à Saint-Louis

In Saint-Louis and all the rest of France June 25th to July 1st is "La Fête du Cinéma". It's Movie Festival time! This means you can watch a movie in the theatre for only a few euros. Usually, but not always, movies are dubbed in french. Look carefully for the VO or VOST which tell you that the movie is in the "version original" or "version original sous titre" (with subtitles) or go and practice your french!

La Coupole Cinéma in Saint-Louis is offering showings for only 3 euros! That's a huge saving when you consider the prices just across the border! They also have all inclusive deals. Get a movie, parking and popcorn for just 6 euros. :)

http://cinema.coupole.free.fr/index1.html
http://www.jds.fr/saint-louis/cinema/cinema-la-coupole-saint-louis-film-horaire-437_

Piles and Piles of CLOTHES!

Ah clothes! Piles and piles of clothes! I suspect you have a closet full waiting for a new home.  I have an even stronger suspicion that you would LOVE some "new" clothes, right?

Well how about hosting a clothes exchange?? Also known as "bare naked lady party," though you don't really need to strip down to your skivvies. I've done it myself a few times (not the striping down) and had a blast! Get all your friends together and make mountains of clothes on the floor. Pick and choose and help support your friends all with a glass of wine in hand.

All you need is a place to host, a day or night of the week, good friends and LOTS of clothes! I also enjoy sorting through accessories. Try exchanging kids clothes and toys too. Give it a go and get some "new" clothes for FREE and feel way good about recycling!

Animals! Animaux! Tiere!

If you live in the TriRhena area you've probably heard about Basel Zoo, but do you know about the special discounts? Have you heard of Lange Erlen? What about the Mulhouse Zoo? Monkey Mountain? How about a shopping trip in Germany, animals included?

At the Basel Zoo the entry fees are quite high, so buying a Family Pass is recommended. What many people are not aware of is that the Family Pass doesn't run from March to March, but rather from November to March, meaning you can get FOUR extra months out of your pass! You may think, why would I go to the zoo in the winter? There are quite a few reasons: the fish, the great ape house (opening July 1st!), the amphibians, the café - all inside!



Also try the zoo in Mulhouse! Or see MONKEYS at Monkey Mountain not far from Mulhouse. Try getting a group together for a cheaper rate!

More animals! Try Lange Erlen not far from the Badischer Bahnhof (German train station in Basel). This is an outdoor park with many animals, a kinder autobahn, the Wiese River nearby and different activities throughout the year. Entry is FREE!

You can even head over to the Rhein Center in Weil am Rhein for your weekly shopping trip and at the same time take a tour of the large pet shop on the 2nd floor. Free is a very good price and you can get a look at little creatures that aren't considered zoo-material like bunnies, mice and koi fish! You can also head outside and pass over the pedestrian bridge to get a look at the swans and ducks on the french side!

Check out the links below for more information:

http://www.zoobasel.ch/e/index.php
http://www.zoo-mulhouse.com/
http://www.montagnedessinges.com/anglais/index.htm
http://www.erlen-verein.ch/
http://www.rheincenter.com/

Thank you, Easter Bunny

;

Here he is! The Easter Bunny! A bit creepy to me, but a whole lot of fun for the little ones. This Easter we were very fortunate to be able to take part in the AWC (American Women's Club) Easter egg hunt! Oh what fun and... oh my... that was already two months ago? And we STILL have chocolate in the house!

We'd better get rid of it somehow before it goes bad. In your house this may never happen, but in the land of CHOCOLATE (yes, all capital for a reason) there is always a forgotten stash or bunny somewhere in the house. So, I'd like to share with you an idea: use those leftover chocolates to make cookies! 

Take that old chocolate bunny and those eggs and just chop 'em up. Throw them in with your favorite cookie recipe. Yum! This works with all holiday chocolate (and just plain chocolate bars as well) - Valentine's day, Christmas, Mother's day, Labor Day - okay, so all holidays are chocolate days over here! 

Enjoy! And thank you, Easter Bunny!

And here's a link to the AWC: http://www.awcbasel.org/

Tried and True: The flea market

Last weekend when coming back from a friend's birthday party just on the border of France and Switzerland we ran into (actually drove past and turned back around to attend) a Flohmarkt in Fluh! Now these flea markets are HUGE in Switzerland (and in Germany as well) and are quite easy to find in many towns and villages. They are often repeating weekly, if not daily. In Basel alone there is the Bicycle Market at Petersplatz, the Food and Plant Market at Marktplatz and the Antique and Goods Market at Barfusserplatz and more!

Also, much like the American garage sale there are more local sales where individuals set up a table to sell their goods. Most of the time these occur on Sundays. Keep your eyes open and you'll surely find one near you!

My daughter was most pleased with her latest purchase in Fluh - an old-fashioned rocking horse. Tried and true a wonderful toy for only a few swiss franks!

It's just wonderful to be able to help someone get rid of their junk and at the same time turn it into something "new". Happy flea marketing! Reuse and Enjoy!