Is Basel going smoke-free?

I read a very exciting thing in one of Basel's free newspapers today. Starting today, the restaurant in Manor, one of the big department stores downtown, will be smoke-free. This may not seem like a big deal to some of you, but there are very few smoke-free restaurants in Basel, and even when they have a "no smoking" section, smoke seems to be everywhere you eat. I only recently discovered the Manor restaurant, and it's a really nice place to stop in for lunch or even just a dessert or coffee. It's funny how many of the big department stores and/or grocery stores in Basel have restaurants, and what's even funnier to me is that they're always really busy! While I don't care much for the Coop and Migros restaurants, Manor seems to be a notch above and I especially like their salad bar. Now I can go there and enjoy a smoke-free atmosphere! Let's hear it for Manor!

But wait, it gets better... after getting together this morning with the ladies from my prenatal class at Starbucks (which is also smoke-free), two of us (plus a baby) went on a search for lunch. (For those of you who are keeping count, 3 of the 6 women from our class have already had their babies, one didn't show up today because she thought she was in "early labor", and 2 of us are due in 3+ weeks) It's no surprise that we ended up at McDonald's. Fast food has been my weakness during my pregnancy, and apparently that is also the case for many of the other new Moms or Moms-to-be! As we walked into the big McDonald's at Barfüsserplatz, we were pleased to read a sign on the door that said something like this: "Our customers have indicated to us that they would prefer to dine in a smoke-free environment. Starting today this McDonald's location will be smoke-free." This must have been our lucky day!

Sorry, all you smokers out there, but there are many of us who are very happy about these changes and are hoping that the current trend continues!