If you want to keep track of Santa Claus/Father Christmas this month you must add this website (www.noradsanta.org) to your favorite’s list! On the 24th December check the website on a regular basis to see where Santa has been sighted. Your kids will bubble with excitement! Don't forget that there is still a lot to see on the website before Christmas.
Note: The website also has delightful stories about Santa, full explanations about how they do it (NORAD uses four high-tech systems to track Santa - radar, satellites, Santa Cams and jet fighter aircraft), a countdown from now until Christmas eve, videos, games, and songs.
Based on historical data and more than 50 years of NORAD tracking information, we believe that Santa Claus is alive and well in the hearts of children throughout the world.
Santa Claus is known by many names, including Saint Nick. Historians claim that the history of Santa starts with the tradition of Saint Nicholas, a 4th century Christian priest who lived in the Middle East in an area of present-day Turkey who became famous for his kindness. He was known for giving gifts to the less fortunate, sprinkling gifts of gold down people's chimneys and hiding surprises in their stockings.
Track Santa on the fly with mobile apps for Apple and Android telephones as well.
As we approach the holiday season, many of you will be out and about, dining with friends, partying in town, or having a drink after work with colleagues.
If you’re planning to have a drink, be sure to plan ahead and make arrangements for your return home — if you’re driving, then you need to remain below the legal limit (Swiss limits and French limits) and if you’re not, then you need to make sure you have a sensible means of transport back home.
If you can’t rely on friends to give you a lift home, and if public transport is not an option, think about putting some extra money in your wallet for a Swiss taxi or French taxi home. At this time of year, fees can be extremely high, so be prepared.
When your plans change, and you find yourself in the middle of nowhere, having set out in your car but having drunk more than the legal limit, DO NOT be tempted to get into your car and drive home. Instead, call up Nez Rouge, a volunteer organization set up in 1990, which will arrange for a driver to come out and meet you, and drive your car home! In French, Nez Rouge translates as Red Nose... a double meaning for a drunken person's red tinted nose and the Christmas story of Rudolf, the red-nosed reindeer.
When you call up their free number, 0800 802 208, Nez Rouge will send two volunteers to drive your car home (one driving and one assisting at the back of the car), both of whom will be followed by another driver in a Nez Rouge car who will return all volunteers back to base.
image © https://www.ch.ch showing the 2025 sticker and e-vignette versions
The autoroute vignette, which is necessary for those who travel on any portion of the Swiss autoroute (highway/motorway), will be available at gas/petrol stations, shops, supermarkets, tabacs/kiosks, border crossings, post offices, and other locations as of 1 December 2024. The price is once again Fr. 40.- for the calendar year, and you have until 31 January 2025 to display it on your windscreen. The 2024 version is still valid until end of January as well. Once the first of February rolls around, anyone not displaying the 2025 vignette or have their vehicle registered online by the e-vignette will receive a fine of Fr. 200.-.
Drivers must remove expired stickers from the windshield to avoid obstructing visibility. Kits with a scraper are sold separately or with the vignette to help remove the old stickers. The best time to remove them is when the weather is cold so the glue doesn't stay on the windscreen. However, if some glue remains, just cover with the new vignette.
Electronic e-vignette
The electronic e-vignette was established in 2023. The e-vignette can be an alternative to the sticker version, says the Office fédéral de la douane et de la sécurité des frontières (OFDF). The e-vignette will be available through this website as well as many others from 1 December 2024. But check that the price does not exceed the recommended price of Fr. 40.- as we have noticed extra fees (up to Fr. 55.-) on some sites.
When you register your car's number plate into the system, the e-vignette is valid for that vehicle.
Discounted vignette price
Take advantage of the first days of December to buy discounted vignettes at certain supermarkets while stocks last:
- Aldi: If you buy Fr. 100.- worth of goods from Aldi on Monday, 2 December 2024, you can purchase the vignette for only Fr. 20.-. This is NOT valid on purchases of spirits (hard alcohol), mixed alcoholic beverages, autoroute vignettes, anything bought through the online shop, gift and prepaid cards, cell phone offers, and taxed garbage bags.
- Lidl: If you buy Fr. 70.- worth of goods only 2-4 December 2024 and have the Lidl Plus App, you can buy the vignette for only Fr. 24.90 (without the Lidl App it is Fr. 29.90). This is NOT valid on purchases of spirits (hard alcohol), mixed alcoholic beverages, infant formula, firecrackers and fireworks, tobacco, trash bag stickers, travel, gift and prepaid cards, cell phone offers, taxed garbage bags, and hot beverage dispenser products. Not cumulative.
- Denner: If you buy Fr. 100.- worth of goods from Denner, you can purchase the vignette for only Fr. 35.-. instead of Fr. 40.- while stocks last. This is NOT valid on purchases of spirits (hard alcohol), online wine purchases, Bordeaux 2019 and 2020, tobacco products, autoroute vignettes, taxed garbage bags, etc. However, wine counts! So stock up on a couple cases of wine for the holidays and take advantage of this deal.
- Migros Vaud: Make five purchases of over CHF 100 each, in one of the 5 participating addresses listed on the Migros Vaud website, and get a free 2025 motorway vignette! This offer lasts through Saturday, 30 November 2024. Ask for your stamp collection card at the checkout.
Read below more information supplied by the Swiss Customs Website about the vignette protocol and validity.
Where do I have to affix the motorway charge sticker?
Affix the motorway charge sticker directly to the vehicle as follows:
- In the case of motor vehicles, on the inside of the windscreen; do not mount the motorway charge sticker in the tinted section.
- In the case of motor vehicles without windscreens, trailers and motorbikes, on an easily accessible and non-removable part.
Upon entry into Switzerland, can I use the motorway up until the first exit without a motorway tax sticker?
No. In order to ensure equal treatment, the motorway tax has to be paid in any event, regardless of the distance travelled.
Can the motorway charge sticker be transferred in the event of a change of car?
No. It is forbidden to peel off motorway charge stickers and transfer them to other vehicles. Detached motorway charge stickers are invalid.
I drive two vehicles with an interchangeable number plate. Do I require a motorway charge sticker for each vehicle?
Yes, both vehicles require a motorway charge sticker.
I will be visiting Switzerland only once this year. Do I nevertheless have to buy an annual motorway charge sticker?
Yes. At present, no motorway charge stickers are issued for shorter periods of time. Unlike other European countries, Switzerland has only an annual charge.
Will the motorway charge sticker be replaced in the event of a broken windscreen?
Yes. The motorway charge sticker will be replaced free of charge in the event of a windscreen replacement. In the case of foreign vehicles, customs offices issue a new motorway charge sticker upon presentation of the old motorway charge sticker (even if it is torn) and the invoice for the replacement windscreen.
A replacement sticker is organized by the insurance company in the case of Swiss vehicles.
On the afternoon of Friday, 27 October 2023, the TPG (Transports Publics Genève) and the AGMT (Association genevoise du musée des tramways) will exceptionally open the doors of their exhibition "Mobility at the heart of Heritage" that is running through 5 November 2023.
It traces 120 years of public transport history in Geneva (from CGTE to TPG), from the construction of the Jonction building to the present day, and also sketches out the future of mobility, through various cross-cutting themes (changing working conditions, the social dimension of the company, crisis periods, women's careers, public transport as an urban planning tool, etc.).
Aimed at a wide audience, the exhibition is rich in iconographic elements, archive documents, oral history testimonials from pensioners and films.
Silent procession on Sunday, 10 September 2023 at 15h
PRO VELO Genève is shocked by the accidents that have claimed the lives of three cyclists in just four months. The association is calling on the public to take part in a silent bicycle procession, and to make a solemn appeal to the authorities, who have so far remained silent.
Since the beginning of 2023, 6 people have died on Geneva's roads, half of them cyclists1 2 3. PRO VELO Genève calls on the authorities to take the measure of these disgraceful events, particularly two caused by rodeo riders or those heavily intoxicated. In 2022, alcohol-related accidents increased by 15% (Road Police report). The association has been fighting for years, constantly alerting the communes and the Canton to ill-conceived or unsafe development projects.
PRO VELO Genève is calling on the new cantonal authorities to draw up an action plan to protect cyclists, with campaigns to prevent and punish road users, and an ambitious policy of continuous, safe, segregated lanes.
