All things Swiss

This morning while walking along the river with Luke and Afton an old woman stopped us and vehemently shook her finger at me. I didn't understand a word she said, but based off of her gestures, I gathered she was mad that Luke was not wearing a jacket.

It's hard not to laugh when someone is yelling at you because your kid is not wearing a coat in 65 degree weather.

The fact that older Swiss women will openly criticize you is just one of the many cultural discoveries we have made so far. Our observations in Switzerland have been both fascinating and amusing. I've yet to be horrified or really frustrated, which is a good thing. Below are some of our Swiss observations* thus far...

*I maintain the right to rescind any of these points at any time.
We've only been here for 2 1/2 weeks after all.

J-Walking Madness! Here the majority rule, and the majority travel by foot. I've seen groups of people stop bikers, cars and even trams to cross the street (see above picture). It's pretty remarkable. There are crosswalks, but many people do not bother to use them. The good news is that unlike the US, city traffic is sparse and goes very slowly.

No checks. After opening a Swiss bank account we discovered that the Swiss do not use checks. Cash is generally used, but for big expenses (like paying your rent) you either transfer the money online, or you go to these nifty little kiosks where you can transfer money into the desired account (like your landlord).

Amazing Playgrounds. Honestly, the playgrounds just might be my favorite aspect of Switzerland. Here, the playgrounds are all about creativity, physical activity and encouraging the children to use their brains. Safety seems to fall at the end of this list (according to US standards anyway). The pictures below are from a playground which is a block away from our apartment. It has a big aqueduct where the kids (and Andrew) can control the water flow and play in it.




Swiss Efficiency. In our bathroom, their are two buttons to flush the toilet- one for a "big flush" and one for a "small flush". There are street sweepers (shown below) that tirelessly rid the city of street clutter. The trams are freakishly punc. There is no thermostat in our apartment. Instead, there is a thermometer outside which takes the temp and triggers the heat if necessary. It's madness I tell you!

street sweepers

Big button= big flush, Little button=little flush

Shopping in Germany or France. Everyone here seems to do their "bulk" grocery shopping in German or France. The reason? Food products in Switzerland are smaller and cost more (Swiss agriculture is highly protected and regulated). We went grocery shopping in Germany this past week and we were amazed! The store was enormous (even compared to a US grocery store) and we paid a fraction of what it would cost us in Switzerland. Another cool thing is that we were able to walk there from our apartment. It only took us 15 minutes to walk to the German border- how cool is that?

The Public Toilets (Lori this is for you). I was shocked to discover that you have to pay to use many of the public toilets here. We were at the train station a few days after arriving and Luke really had to "go". When Andrew realized you had to pay to use the bathroom, I think he considered letting Luke wet his pants. The public bathrooms are nice, but at 2 francs/entrance, they should be.

Fashion Staples (for women): Skinny Jeans and Flats. I don't think that I'm going to be jumping on the skinny jean fashion train, but I do, however, love the flat shoes. I haven't noticed a whole lot of sneakers, but that is also a trend I am more than willing to start.

And Lastly, The Food. Basel is right on the boarder of France and Germany, so the cuisine is a blend of these different cultures. All I have to say is that is it amazing. There is lots of cheese, lots of bread, lots of meat and of course, lots of chocolate. There is also another vital component to the Swiss diet: Red Bull. Maybe this is a European thing, but seriously, have you ever seen an entire refrigerated section of energy drinks?