anyone with an interesting fact/story about SWITZERLAND

[kakapo]

Hello all

It looks like we might be moving to Switzerland soon, and I'm pretty excited about it

I was wondering if anyone has any interesting stories about Switzerland to share, so I can get even more excited! Or even just more informed about the place and culture.

For example, have you been to an interesting place on holiday? What are some of the major differences from living in the UK?

Thanks in advance!

You're not allowed to pee standing up after 10pm............ (that might just be an urban myth)

You're not allowed to wear your shoes indoors if you live in an apartment.

If you accidently reverse into someone else's car it will cost you a lot of money.

Troti Biking down the mountains is great fun.

Toblerones do not seem to be any cheaper in Switzerland.

Are you from New Zealand Kakapo ?

We went to Zermatt on holiday and it was totally gorgeous. Traffic free, we camped just outside and got dropped off at the edge of town my a mini bus that zooms up and down the valley. Took cable cars and trains up the mountains and then walked down (my kind of walking).

Expensive to eat out but lovely food.

We had a day to Leukerbad - to the spa pools there and it was lovely.

The village we regularly visit has a 'Miss 'insert name of village' competition on Swiss national day. The winner wears a wonderful tiara made of pine branches and flowers and then parades through the village at dusk whilst the villagers light her way with flaming torches.

I should of course mention, this being Switzerland, its a competition for cows

The rules are unbelievable. The cost of living is ridiculous. The people are miserable (at least in the part we lived in). Racism was acceptable, if not encouraged (at least in the bit we lived in). Plus points include the skiing, DD went from never having done it to whizzing down mountains in about three weeks.
The scenery can be breath taking, particularly where we lived. The Gemiende offers a lot of things to do. DD had heavily subsidised piano lessons for example.
I am so glad we left though. All the piano lessons in the world couldn't make up for the pervasive feeling of doom.

I believe the actual rule (at least in Geneva canton) is that you can't do anything that involves large quantities of water going down pipes after 11pm - so no putting on dishwasher or washing machine - I guess could also be extrapolated to cover no flushing toilets! And no washing your car on the street and definitely not on a Sunday.
I found the area to the far east where they speak Romansch really interesting - but quite hard to get to!
Everything that is produced in Switzerland is incredibly expensive bacause of the cost of labour and due to highly protectionist rules so is any product which competes directly with items produced in Switzerland. So because they don't produce cars, for example, cars are relatively quite cheap in Switzerland.

There are a list of "essential" items that are still produced in Switzerland in case they ever need to be self-sufficent. This list includes cigarettes even though the climate is terrible for growing tabacco.
Food bought in the supermarket is mostly pretty reasonably priced - except for things like milk products and meat grown in Switzerland. Despite this eating out is expensive - again because of the labour cost.
Ummm that's all I can think about for the moment!
I'm a kiwi too...

Noise rules vary canton to canton. We were in Zug and quiet time was 22.00-07.00, 12.00-14.00 and all day Sunday.
One of the more frustrating aspects was the bills. If you had your car seen to mechanically, you got an orange payslip, if you go to the doctor, you get an orange payslip, if you get some number plates, you get an orange payslip.
Public transport is brilliant, trains come when they say they will and are always timed to coincide with buses. You can get a half tax card, which costs, IIRC 120 chf and entitles you to half price public transport. It pays for itself within about a month.
Most houses and flats have nucelar bunkers built underneath them and recycling is taken to the nth degree.
Have a look at englishforum.ch

All Swiss people have a place in a nuclear bunker. Indeed many have a basement with a very thick door - that's their bunker. They have to keep them stocked with essentials. Add to this national service so all men keep a gun at home, and you have the ultimate place in which to bolt down in case of zombies.

Omicrom, it was only a couple of years ago that the keeping of bullets at home was finally stopped. It seems a lot of Swiss men whose dinner wasn't ready waved their guns around.
OP, find out which canton you are going to be moving to. A friend lived in Schwyz and her electricity in the house was turned off around lunchtime to everywhere except the kitchen. Gotta keep those laydeez cooking.
Be aware that school hours are not conducive to working. One canton didn't give women the vote until 1984 or something ridiculous like that.
Once you know you are going, get your DH started on his mullet growing.

You can't wash your car (apart form at a designated garage car wash) or do gardening on a Sunday or bank holiday. Each canton takes different bank holidays. Swiss "cusine" is a bit limited but they do some great salads! On the spot fines are just that and £££.

Seriously, if you are planning to move to the Confederation, ensure your DHs employers either pay or make substantial donations to your health insurance. It really is eye wateringly expensive for some things, yet weirdly cheap for others.
Have your teeth seen to prior to moving out there and get help finding somewhere to live. Very tough to do that.

You might enjoy the book "Swiss Watching" swisswatching.wordpress.com/
We've been here 2 years and all the stories in the book ring true with me!

Wow, thanks everyone

Yes, I am a kiwi Horopu. Sounds like you are too? Hi buzzybee!

Kreecher, we will be in Basel. We'll be going for both my and DH's work, so thanks for the tips on sorting out my health/dental insurance. Is there a specific reason it is difficult to get housing? German is DH's native language, and I speak a reasonable amount. We both have European passports .

Will have to remember to flush the toilet early then . Actually I seem to remember a Swiss work colleague moaning about that, and me thinking she was just winding me up!

That made me laugh follyfoot!

I've just been looking at that website beresh, thanks it looks great!

My DH used to live in Basel and I'm sure he said you couldn't flush the loos after a certain time. It was also illegal to mow your lawn on a Sunday. There are loads of crazy rules about noise and yet it is acceptable to take your dog to a restaurant . DH didn't have any problems finding a flat, maybe it depends what sort of place you need and how long you need it for.

I speak very basic German and I found the Swiss German very confusing but I was only there for a short time so I didn't have long to get used to it. There are loads of English-speakers in Basel, probably because of all the big pharma companies.

This is hardly relevant to your future quality of life there, but there is a wacko sport in German-speaking Switzerland that's a bit like sumo wrestling, but they do it outdoors and everyone takes part, including the women and children. I can't remember what it's called, though.

Another thing you can't do on Sunday: hang washing out on a line.

Zurich has just passed a law (or at leased the referendum has been passed) banning standard German in nurseries and junior schools - everyone has to use the Swiss German dialect (which is incomprehensible to non Swiss).

Oh yeah, it's called Schwingen. The Swiss are a load of swingers.

I always smile at all these activites which are banned on Sundays. I know many of them are but I've never actually known anyone be held to them. Guess it depends on your local area/community. We and our neighbours garden/cut lawns/hang out washing on Sundays. Some of the older residents frown but that's the worst I've come across.

You get used to the electricity for washing machines/tumbler's going off over lunch time. When it automatically switches back on the machine carries on and personally I rarely notice. What's more annoying is if you live in an appartment block which has shared laundry facilities so you can actually only do your washing in the communal machine on a pre-determined day. Am guessing that most modern places have their own facilities in the flats but that is not the case everywhere.

Love it MMG

Washing mashines on separate circuits so that they can be turned off centrally in the lunch hours, when Swiss men come home for lunch. Though that might be only in some smaller places.
The most ridiculous school hours, nonestly it can make you weep with frustration. unless your DCs go to an International School.
Lovely seasonal fruit and vegetables in the supermarkets though.

and the children come home from school for lunch too. no school lunches where i went to school.

How bizzare MMG!

I was hoping never to have to share laundry facilities again, after sharing them currently. Does anyone know if shared facilities are just in older buildings?

I'm baffled by the laundry circuits being switched off centrally at lunch time. Why does it matter if the washing machine is going while people are eating lunch??

I think the laundry circuit switch off is to there is enough electricity available to cook lunch, esp. where no gas is available for hobs/ovens. I know in my grandma's day it was a real problem but am not sure how much of an issue it actually is these days or if they're just stuck in their ways and that's the way things are. Have personally never bothered to check the national demand vs. availability levels of electricity :o

Only know people/have myself lived in older buildings so can't help you there.

There isn't any gas so if you are planning to take a gas cooker, think again.
We shared laundry facilities and our flats were only about 10 years old, it wasn't too bad though, we got a whole afternoon a week.
Also, bear in mind, the houses or flats have sweet fanny adams in them. When we moved into ours, we had to buy everything, from light fittings to well, everything. It was a shell. All it had was a dishwasher, a fridge and a built in electric oven.