Monthly Archives: July 2014
Good news for fishing expats: you can now take the test in English too
Expats who fancy going fishing in the Basel area now face much lower administrative obstacles, thanks to Oliver Streuli. By Martin Pütter Previously, expats keen on fishing in the Basel area had few opportunities. This was not because of a lack of fishable waters – there are plenty of those around, as The Basel Journal reported in a recent print issue (No. 11, September/October 2013). But the Swiss seem to love their life highly regulated, so a few years ago they introduced a fishing test that you have to take before you can apply for a fishing licence. And in
The little differences: 6. Bare facts
Peel all their layers of clothing away, and you will still find quite a difference between locals and expats – in their attitude towards being exactly what they then are: naked. By Martin Pütter Recently, while fishing not far from Basel, I had an unusual experience. I had been working my way downstream, wading through the river, when all of a sudden a stark naked woman appeared on the bank opposite me and stepped into the water. Instead of screaming and disappearing into the nearest bush (which is what I would have expected) she just stood there, up to her knees
Praying machine
Another first for Basel and Switzerland: a Pray-O-Mat in the entrance hall of the Spiegelhof Customer Centre of the Justice and Security Department Basel near Schifflände. By Shirley L. Kearney, German by Martin Pütter We are familiar with automats which dispense food, drinks, cigarettes, personal items, and more, but prayers? And not just a few prayers in one or two languages – programmed in this automat are 320 prayers in 65 languages, a number which coincidentally mirrors Basel’s ethnicity. Acknowledgment and thanks for having this unique “art” object in Basel go to German artist Oliver Sturm (*1959), who created three
InterNations Basel: Global Network for New Arrivals
PR/by Internations Switzerland is an attractive location for industry, business and research, which enjoys immense popularity among new arrivals from abroad. A job in Switzerland often turns out to be a major career boost. Basel, the biggest city in the “tri-country area”, where Switzerland borders on Germany and France, is no exception to this trend. According to the canton’s statistics office, every third resident of Basel-Stadt was born outside Switzerland. Basel thus exceeds the average national demographic for non-Swiss residents, which is 24 per cent. Those newcomers who have just moved to Switzerland and now need to get connected will
Basel Tattoo tickets: a few still left…
By Stéphanie Erni It’s now or never: tickets are still available for the Basel Tattoo (July, 18 to 26). You can buy them here. Read the interview with Erik Julliard, founder of the Basel Tattoo in our next print issue. Subscribe to the The Basel Journal now.