Feldschlossen Offers Online Beer Retail; Federal Elections Go To Second Round; Basel Building Boom Goes On; Parking Prices Rise

The Feldschlossen brewery, located just outside Basel has announced its intention to begin home delivery of its beer products later this month.  Starting October 26th, customers can order their favorite beer made by the brewery on-line at the web address Beer4you, and can expect delivery within 2 days.  Feldschlossen, owned by the Danish beer giant Carlsberg, intends to offer any of 60 local and international beers for delivery, and hopes the service will improve its economic fortunes by reducing its reliance on retailers.  Company director Thomas Amstutz said the service is a natural response to economic circumstances resulting from a strengthening Franc that has reduced tourism to Switzerland and the consumption of beer purchased in stores and restaurants.  Let the clicking and sipping begin!   ****************************************   The second round of voting in Switzerland's Federal elections is set to happen on November 22nd.  Unlike last Sunday's election which increased the representation of the SVP, or Swiss People's Party, to close to 30% in the lower house of the Federal Parliament, the upper house, or council of states, consists of representatives from each of Switzerland's cantons.  The 46 seat upper house gets 2 representatives from twenty of Switzerland's 26 cantons, and 1 each from the smallest cantons.  The lower and upper houses of Parliament share power 50/50, so political maneuvering is already underway to shift the balance of power in the upper house to reflect the results of the various parties in last week's election.  The SVP is hoping to increase its representation in the upper house from the 5 seats it already had at the expense of other parties that did not do as well in last week's election.  The SVP party's success seems to reflect a growing concern amongst Swiss voters that the country is besieged by uncontrolled immigration.

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Kleinbasel is not the only Basel quarter that's experiencing a massive corporate HQ sponsored construction project.  On November 2, the Basel-based insurance company Baloise, is set to begin the next phase of its office-park expansion by beginning to dismantle the landmark Hilton Hotel near the SBB railway station.  In its place, the insurer intends to expand into what's being called Baloise Park, with the construction of two office complexes and a new hotel tower.  The hotel building will be the centerpiece of the construction -and will house a 5 star, 260 room facility operated by the Movenpick Hotel &  Resorts Group .  Planned to reach a height of 89 meters, the tower will once again alter the city's skyline.  A public space is planned to connect the railway station, Elizabethan Park, and the streets on the perimeter of Baloise's offices. 

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News Magazine "The Local.ch" is reporting that the cost of parking is increasing in many Swiss cities as municipalities struggle to deal with rising traffic and clogged roads.  

Nyon, a city 26 kilometres to the east of Geneva in the canton of Vaud, made headlines recently after it decided last month to hike its annual street parking pass to 960 francs.

That’s almost five times the rate in Geneva and more than three times the 300-franc fee in Zurich, Switzerland’s largest city.

The municipality is having to deal with an influx of commuters from the region who park in the city all day so they can take the train to locations such as Geneva or Lausanne for work.

Nyon appears to have one of the highest annual street parking fees, if not the highest in the country.

But other municipalities in the Lake Geneva region have also raised their rates.

In the municipality of Gland, the rate is 840 francs, for example.

In Lausanne, an on-street parking pass will set you back 500 francs for the year.

Owners of motorbikes have been able to escape parking fees, although the city of Basel in 2013 introduced fees for the two-wheelers and other cities are following suit.

It is still possible to park on the streets for free overnight or on Sundays in most Swiss cities — if you can find a space — but otherwise the days of free car parking are long gone.