Bâlehoo

“VOGEL GRYFF” CELEBRATION – TODAY, JANUARY 27

Today’s Vogel Gryff celebration in Kleinbasel started at 11am with a ride down the Rhine, but even if you missed that you can still celebrate well into the night as they parade through the streets of Kleinbasel, performing traditional dances. For more information about the history of the event, visit this link.

EHC BASEL VS HC FRIBOURG-GOTTERON – SUNDAY, JANUARY 28

Sunday is hockey day in Basel. The puck will drop at St.Jakob-Arena as EHC Basel faces off against HC Fribourg-Gottéron. Check at your local Ticketcorner (SBB, Manor, some Post Offices) for tickets or see their website for more information: http://www.ehcbasel.ch/

Also, make sure to download their entire season schedule as a pdf here.

SKATING SHOES

If you prefer to be ON the ice rather than watching it, head for the local ice skating rink. There are several options in the Basel area. A friend recommended the Margarethen.
They have three outdoor rinks, one reserved for figure skating practice, one open for the public, and one for hockey. It is open every day, with public open skating all the time. When there is no hockey practice (try Sunday afternoon) you can bring a stick and puck to pass around with a friend. You can rent hockey skates or regular skates of pretty decent quality (hockey skates were CCM). Adults admittance: 7 CHF.

Visit this website for more information on this and and other skating rinks (use left-hand navigation)

Kunsteisbahn Margarethen
Im Margarethenpark
4053 Basel
Telefon 061 361 95 95

PLAY BARBIE DRESS-UP

Looking for another way to pass a chilly winter afternoon? I fondly recall the ghetto outfits I created for my Barbie out scraps of fabric and tape. For something a little more sophisticated visit the Puppenhause Museum which - in cooperation with Mattel Switzerland - is organizing Barbie workshops for children as part of their Barbie exhibition (open through April 9). Children will receive a Barbie doll free of charge and under the supervision of experts they will be able to create their own Barbie outfit!

Dates of the workshops are ongoing Saturdays and Sundays from (2 - 6 p.m.) thru the beginning of February. For more information visit their site.

IT’S DENNER TIME

If it’s coming on dinner time and you are looking for a bottle of good wine, it just might be “Denner” time. Rumor has it that for those who know their wines, the discount grocery store’s small wine selection contains some surprisingly good wines at below-average prices.

For more information visit:
http://www.denner.ch/de/aktionen/weinhit_5350.htm

ONO? OH, YES.
When I moved to Basel exactly three years ago, I looked at an apartment down the street from the Spalentor. The apartment was gorgeous, but it was on a busy corner above a musty old card shop. Faded unicorn and kitten posters filled the beautiful arched windows (just 75 CHF according to the equally ragged price tags). Our relocation person told me she remembered going to this shop with her grandmother when she was a kid and I recall thinking it was a shame that such a prime corner location and beautiful old building was home to such a stodgy store.

Well, no longer. After an ill-advised and (thankfully) brief stint as a clothes store, the space has been transformed and reopened just a few days ago as ONO, a “deli café and bar.”

When I stopped in yesterday, it was clear they were still working out a few kinks. The service was slow and my white wine wasn’t properly chilled. Their extensive drink menu features a host of specialty mixed drinks as well as wines by the glass or bottle, beer, and a wide range of non-alcoholic drinks (juices, coffees, etc).

My wine might have been warm but the atmosphere is definitely cool, with slate-grey marble floors, modern furniture and sleek lighting contrasting nicely with the building’s traditional architecture and an enormous crystal chandelier over the bar.

An inexplicable item that appeared to be a string of salamis coated in Elmer’s glue hung over the second floor’s open balcony (the bar is downstairs and food will be served upstairs) and was the only nod toward the ‘deli’ that I could find. When I asked the friendly bartender, she said the food menu will change daily and will feature a couple of different pastas and other light fare, using fresh ingredients. (Give it a try and let me know how it is or head across the street for some tried and true food at Restaurant zur Harmonie.)

While it is still early days, the stylish bar is already bustling and, if they can get past a few opening-week issues, it is clear that ONO will quickly become a popular meeting place. So, hop off the 3 tram (which stops right outside its door) sometime soon, enjoy a few cocktails and soak up the atmosphere.

ONO Deli Café Bar
Leonhardsgraben 2
Basel 4051
+41 61 322 7070