Bâlehoo

CELEBRATE SWISS NATIONAL DAY IN BASEL – AUGUST 1

Independent since 1291, it’s easy to understand the enthusiasm that our Swiss friends have for their National Day. And if you like a good party, then join them and celebrate the 716th edition this week in and around Basel.

The main attraction in Basel Stadt will, as always, be the Rhine celebration and fireworks show. This year, there will be concerts (including yodelers — don’t want to miss that), skydivers and lots more. For the newbies among you, a warning — the Basel Rhine fireworks are held on July 31, NOT on August 1. They are scheduled to start at 23:15 on Tuesday evening, fired from barges parked in the Rhine. Grab a spot on one of the bridges, find a place on the river banks, or invite yourself over to a friend’s place with a Rhine view. However you get there, don’t miss the excitement.

And if for some reason you can’t make it on the 31st, then on August 1 itself the party will move to the Bruderholz. Festivities begin at 18:00, with fireworks wrapping things up at 22:15.

For more information and a full program, please see
http://www.basel.ch/en/events/up_to_date/swiss_national_day

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CINEMA UNDER THE STARS

If it’s August, it must be time for a little outdoor cinema action. Up at the Munsterplatz, the billboard-sized robotic movie screen rises up like a Phoenix from the ashes, the projector casting a beam of magical light that overshadows even the spires of the Munster itself…or something like that.

Overblown prose aside, the Orange outdoor cinema starts on the evening of August 1 and runs through August 23. Highlights this summer include Little Miss Sunshine, Babel, Blood Diamond, The Queen, Knocked Up and The Departed.

So don’t just sit in the house — turn off that DVD player, get out, see a movie. And let mother nature provide the air conditioning. If the weather is fine (not a sure thing this summer) but even if it rains (ponchos provided), the show will go on!

For the full schedule, including trailers and show times, see the Orange cinema website at http://www.orangecinema.ch/en/basel.htm.

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ADAPTERS AND PLUGS NEED A GOOD HOME

A reader is in the middle of moving and discovered a load of electrical adapters and multi-plug adapters with Swiss plugs and English sockets (ideal for people from the UK with appliances with English plugs). There is also an ASCOM Avena 265 telephone that only functions in Switzerland.

If you are interested, contact Caroline D’Alwis in Lörrach at +49 7621 913 760 or choshosh@yahoo.co.uk.

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TOUR DE CURRY

For those nights where you just can’t face the crowds on Steine, there is hope. A new bike courier service will be starting in mid-August, delivering Asian food from the following Basel establishments: Susu’s, Jay’s, Chantaburi and Noohn. Not sure yet when it will actually be available (it just says “mid-August”), so I’ll keep an eye on the website and let you know when the service is up and the bikes are officially running.

http://www.myfood.ch/index_basel.html

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BURGER UPDATE

In the last issue of Balehoo Newsletter, we helped a reader on a quest for a good hamburger in Basel. I recommended a few places, including Paddys and Papa Joe’s. Since then, some readers have let me know of a couple of other burger joints — and so in the spirit of sharing, an update for you all.

ZIC ZAC
I can’t believe I forgot this one. Zic Zac, just across the border from Basel in Allschwil, is an oasis of American food in Basel. Big breakfasts, with French toast, omelettes, pancakes and eggs are not to be missed. And if you like “manly” portions, then the burgers here are right for you. Served with a self-proclaimed mountain of fries and a side salad, you will not, I repeat not, go home hungry.

Zic Zac
Baslerstrasse 355
4123 Allschwil
Tel. +41 61 302 12 20
http://www.ziczac-basel.ch/index.php?a=burgers

RESTAURANT AESCHENPLATZ
I have to plead ignorant on this one. I have never even given a second glance to the cleverly-named Restaurant Aeschenplatz, located — say it with me now — on the Aeschenplatz, next to the odd “Hammering Man” sculpture. But then someone pointed out that their menu had a “US Corner” and lo and behold — burgers where you least expect them. The US Corner includes classics like a New York-style Rueben, a San Francisco Club, and one dear to my own heart, a Philadelphia hoagie (my hometown. Go Eagles!), as well as two hamburgers — a BLT burger and a Mexican burger. So if you are in the neighborhood and have the urge to splurge, why not give Restaurant Aeschenplatz a try?

Restaurant Aeschenplatz
Aeschenplatz 4
4052 Basel
Tel: +41 (0)61 271 38 55
http://www.aeschenplatz.ch/

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Do you have news or information to share?
Send it to matt.meehan@balehoo.com