Fleurs à Couper

When I was little I would go out to the field two blocks from our house and pick some pretty purple flowers and "catepillar white flowers". They were a surprise for Mom. When I got a bit older I would venture to a neighbor's house around the block to clip some roses. Pinks, reds, yellows, whites - every color you could imagine! Leave the money in the mailbox; it's only "25 cents for short stem and 50 cents for long". 

Twenty-ish years later I go with my daughter to pick some flowers from the "Fleurs à Couper" about three blocks from our house. A farmer has planted sunflowers, gladiolus, dahlias and margaritas. A strangely  welded metal "caisse" acts as the no-change cash register. There is, or was, a knife meant for cutting the flowers which has gone missing.

The prices range from 0.10€ for a margarita to 0.60€ for a gladiolus. 

We found a few gladiolus to take come with us. The folks in the background of the above shot took tens of sunflowers as if they were decorating for a wedding or some kind of festival. 

When is your next party or dinner with friends? Think about going out to the local farmer's market or directly to the fields to get some freshly cut flowers! 

Sunday's Riddle

Remember the books? Which one did I choose?

And the answer is:

The Book Cupboard @ Voltaplatz

A bit more about books, books for adults...

Need a good summer read? Already finished your good summer read? Look no further than the Buecherschrank at Voltaplatz in Basel. (It's the first of it's kind in Switzerland! How exciting!) The book cupboard is sponsored by the Christoph Merian Stiftung and is meant to support St. Johann's literature-minded community. The book cupboard is essentially an anonymous book exchange!! Super (spoken with a Swiss accent, of course)! Take one and leave one!

http://merianstiftung.ch/buecherschrank-basel/

The book cupboard is located at the new paved pedestrian area at Voltaplatz (the intersection of tram 1 and tram 11) not far from the Florida Café.

 

I took a look inside a few days ago and it was overflowing with potential summer entertainment. I found books in German, French, English, Japanese and many other languages I wasn't sure of. I found one for myself! (Can you guess which one it is?) Next time I pass by I'll donate one of two. What a wonderful concept!

I would recommend taking larger donations of English books to the AWC library at GGG Basel West or to Centrepoint.

http://www.centrepoint.ch/
http://www.awcbasel.org/

Happy Summer Reading!!

JUKIBU!

JUKIBU? An exclamation of hope? A kind of animal? A foreign word for sure!

Well... it's the children's library in Basel! JUKIBU means "Interkulturelle Bibliothek fur Kinder und Jugendliche"or in English, the Intercultural Library for Children and Young Persons. Easily accessible by tram 11, the blue french buses, on bike or on foot this library is amazing! It touts a collection of children's books in 50+ languages!!

Photo by Geoff Parks Photography

Along with books, there are also DVDs, CDs, bilingual book readings and culture events!

The volunteers (no, they are NOT paid so be nice:)) are very friendly and ready to give you a tour or answer your questions. Try using your German skills, but don't worry if English is all you've got. 

If you are a member of the BCT (Basel Children's Trust - recently changed from Basel Childbirth Trust) you will receive a free membership. Non-members will pay a minimal fee.

http://www.jukibu.ch/

** Summer hours: from July 2  to August 15 open the following Wednesday afternoons: July 6, 13, 20, 27, August 3, 10 from 15:00- 18:00. 

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_