- be careful at train crossings! In many places in Switzerland, there are no gates at train crossings. You have to pay attention for flashing lights next to the tracks!

 

- most hotels in Switzerland offer breakfast in the morning. We've noticed that there is always some sort of little bucket on the tables. I finally asked what they were for. They are to put your garbage in! Like papers from jelly and butter packages, etc.

 

- many Swiss drink bottled water. In restaurants, they always order bottled water and don't think anything of paying sometimes 6 francs or more for it. Although you can ask for tap water (which is very good in Switzerland!) hardly anyone ever does, so we've often felt stupid and cheap to ask for it! (but we don't buy bottled water! - we choose something else to drink.)

 

- certain cars in Switzerland have just one white back-up light on the right side.     

 

- If any of you have ever watched TV in Europe, you will know that there is not as much restriction on the showing of sexuality as there is in the US. I know Germany is the most liberal of them all, but since I've arrived in Switzerland, I have found Swiss TV to be not so shocking. Until the other night!

  I was watching a commercial for Migros, a Swiss grocery store chain. They were advertising how they check all their products so that they are "perfect". They showed Migros inspectors dipping into customer's carts, opening a package of yogurt, for example, and tasting it to make sure it was good. But then, I just couldn't believe my eyes! They showed a woman rolling a condom off of a banana - she had just "checked" to make sure the banana was a good size!!!!

 

- we can't buy a frozen pizza - and probably many other people! Our freezer is so tiny it won't fit - unless we cook it immediately. They do sell packaged fresh pizzas, which give us a couple of days to eat it.

 

- lunchmeat can be purchased fresh at the deli counter, but they also sell sliced deli meats pre-packaged. We noticed that the freshness dates all expire in just a couple of days, so they must not package them with preservatives like they do in the states. Everything seems to expire quickly!

 

- Laundry assigments: In most appartment buildings in Switzerland, there is one central laundry room, with one washing machine and maybe a dryer (if they`re lucky). Each resident of the building is assigned a time in which the laundry room will be theirs. If you are not able to do the laundry on that day - tough - you`ll need to wait until your turn the following week! And you better not leave even the smallest piece of lint in, on, or around the machine or you will be notified!

 

- speaking of dryers, in some apartment buildings they have what they call a "dryer". But what it actually is is another machine which just continues to use centrifigal force to extract the moisture from the clothes. I haven't heard of anyone who even likes these, as they say it takes about 3 hours to somewhat "dry" a load!

 

- Almost all washing machines are front loaders and they are very small. In addition to being small, they are very expensive, ranging in price from maybe $700 being the cheapest of the cheap, but most in the range of $1,200 to $2,200!

 

- there are not many birds in the Ticino area - at least not like back in Illinois.

 

- The only shelled walnuts I've ever found are only in little packages, where the walnuts are entire halves. I cannot find chopped walnuts to buy. When purchased as halves, they are more expensive. I wonder what they do with all the pieces that break and don't make it into the package of walnut halves!

 

- We've noticed that many restaurants will have some kind of photograph of New York City - many with the twin towers still standing. We don't know why, but my theory is that there are many Italian restaurants in NY, so I think someone here always has a relative in New York!

 

- I am usually cold, but I think all Swiss homes, stores, and other businesses are kept too warm! The Swiss are concerned about conserving energy, yet the inside of every building is sweltering hot!

 

- When the Swiss address an envelope, they write it in the very bottom right corner of the envelope. I've been told not to write it in the middle of the front! But if I start it so low and to the right, I often run out of space! Doesn't seem logical!

 

- in the grocery stores, the cereal aisle is very small - just one little section - not one long, long aisle like in the states.

 

- in the grocery store, the area with cookie or cake mixes is very small - maybe about 8 products. Obviously most things are homemade here.

 

- curbs along the street are made from blocks of granite. You rarely see a cracked or deteriorating curb!

 

- it seems that astrology and following ones horoscope is very popular here. Everyday you can hear your horoscope on the radio or the TV.

 

- some of you may have heard of Panettone, an Italian cake that is very popular in Italy (and here in Ticino!) for Christmas. Rick and I were told by a teacher/baker friend that this cake is made from a starter dough (like an Amish friendship bread), and usually has a long shelf life. This type of dough was used during the war so that bread was always available, because yeast was not always on hand. There are so many brands of Panettone in the stores right now! I've been told it's a typical gift to bring to someone around the holidays.

 

- brown sugar as we know it does not exist in Switzerland. An American woman I know has to bring hers from the US, so it probably does not exist in either France or Italy. 

 

- grammar school children go home for a 1 to 2 hour lunch break. If the mother works, they go to a friend's house. So schools don't have an in-school lunch program because lunch is a large, hot meal and they don't have the facilities, and even if the children "brown bag it", it would dirty their floors! School ends at 4 or 4:30.

 

- Swiss homes rarely have closets. Clothes are stored in an armoire.

 

- In Ticino, many TV stations are from Italy. You can always tell the Italian stations because they have what's called a "Veline" on the screen. A Veline is a scantily clad beautiful woman (or a number of them) who's only job is to be there and look sexy - probably to attract more male viewers. The goal of many young Italian girls is to become a Veline. This is pretty sad!  

 

- all cars have to go through periodic, complete inspections. It's after 4 years for a new car, then 3 years later, then 2 years later. It costs about $85 and they try hard to find the tiniest little fault, which you must get fixed and bring back the car for another $85 inspection.

 

- it's against the law to have rust on cars. You could be pulled over for it. You could also get a ticket for excessive dents on your car. Thus, all cars here look new and clean!

 

- although it's winter here, many trees are still green and many flowers are still blooming. We still have roses blooming in our yard, and new flowers opening on bushes. So some trees lose their leaves and others don't, so it's still very, very green here.

 

- dogs are allowed in many places - restaurants, stores, etc.

 

- on the local Ticino TV news, the male and female newcasters look exactly those on Saturday Night Live!

 

- it has been a crazy mix of languages when we travel here. Of course there are the 3 main languages of German, French, and Italian, but many people don't know all those but may know English, and even if a person knows German, it doesn't mean that he knows Swiss German, which, from what I've been told, is almost totally imcomprehensible to a High German speaking person. So everytime there is a problem communicating, the people start listing the languages they speak to find a common language with whoever they are speaking to!

 

- I've mentioned before that the grocery stores all have a large chocolate section. Well, you should see it now with Christmas approaching! The chocolate section is really HUGE!  

 

- there have been lots of great movies on TV here, but it seems like every single one has been a movie with either Richard Gere or Julia Roberts. I'm amazed at how many movies they've made!

 

- most of the towns in Switzerland have 3 names, one for each of the 3 languages. You better know the town's name in the local language or you may have problems following directional signs.

 

- cows are brought into town to eat the grass in certain open areas, or if people have a large yard, the farmer will lend them his cows for a few days. We've seen the cows in several places in town, and they are apparently very well behaved! When they need to be moved the farmer just walks them over to the next field.

 

- church bells ring everywhere. In Bern, the bells of the French church rang for 15 minutes before the service began! Forget about sleeping late in that town!

 

- I've noticed that in the Swiss German part of Switzerland most people say "Merci" for thank you instead of in German. I've heard it's their way of separating themselves from the actual Germans!

 

- in the "Christmas supplies" area of one of the stores I noticed long, brown hooded robes for sale. At first I thought "do people dress up as monks around Christmas time?" Then I remembered that St. Nick, or "Father Christmas" is more popular than Santa in Europe. So instead of Santa costumes they were Father Christmas costumes!

 

- standard Christmas colors are not necessarily red and green. Blue is a very prominent Christmas color. It seems that most of the Christmas wrapping paper is blue! A friend of mind here thought it strange when I told her about the green!

 

- many guys are named Fabio. Could you believe that girls? Unfortunately I haven't met one that looks like the "real" Fabio!

 

- most of the mustard and mayonaise comes in tubes.

 

- in the grammar schools the children keep a pair of slippers at school. They will wear them at school because the custodian doesn't want to get the floor (that they just cleaned) dirty!

 

- The Swiss are told to turn their car engines off while waiting for stoplights or for anything else that would keep their car running without moving for more than a few seconds. This is really quite ridiculous, and most don't do it, but some do! I was in a downtown parking garage which was full. The line to get in inched its way forward as other cars left. Some of the cars in front of me would turn off their engine, turn it back on to inch forward a bit, then turn off again! (doesn't that use more gas?)

 

- paper clips are a bit different in Switzerland. They are a different shape and more "heavy duty". The problem this causes is that they are so strong that they don't move apart to "clip" the paper!

 

- The Swiss (along with other Europeans) are conscientious about saving energy. All bathrooms in public places have their lights on timers, so if you find yourself in one with your pants down, you need to find the tiny little light glowing on the switch to turn it back on!

 

- even in the hallways of the schools, the lights will be turned off while the students are in their classroom. It can be totally dark in the hallway during classes!

 

- Rick and I were in a parking garage in Tasch, where one needs to leave their car before going up by train to Zermatt. When we came back to get our car, the entire parking garage was in the dark - we had to find the light switch!

 

- Swiss interesting fact: Switzerland covers an area of 15,943 square miles (41,293 sq km). It is 135 miles from north to south and 220 miles from east to west.  Lake Michigan covers 22,400 square miles (58,016 sq km) and is 118 miles wide and 307 miles long.

- I was told by a Swiss who lives in Lausanne that every town in Switzerland is prepared for a major disaster. All large apartment buildings are built with an underground shelter which provides food and a bed for extended underground living. For houses that do not have underground shelters, each town provides this protection to all its residents. There are enough beds and food underground to shelter the entire country! So if a large meteorite hits the earth and everyone goes underground, you`ll find Rick and I wandering around wondering where everyone is, since we have no idea where this "shelter" is in Comano!

 

- Most of you know there are 4 official languages in Switzerland. Traveling to other parts of the country, we have experienced the changes in languages. All you have to do is go over a mountain or further down the road and the language abruptly changes. And not everyone speaks the other language that's down the road!  

 

- there are so many vines here, and they all look so perfect. They look like the fake ones you can buy at a Michael's Craft store!

 

- In the mornings there is a TV station that goes from camera to camera on the tops of certain mountains, and in cities like Zurich and Geneva. This way you can see what the weather is like at the top of the mounains before taking the hike up! It's funny because sometimes it's just a white screen - when the mountain in is the clouds!

 

- It's typical for someone's age to be marked on any type of document - bus pass, hotel reservation form, etc. I don't know what the deal is - why they have to always know your date of birth! And then, it seems that with everyone we meet, they usually tell us their age within 5 minutes of the conversation!

 

- Every large store has a "chocolate" department. It's usually an entire aisle or section of the store - all with Swiss chocolate!

 

- Many women are wearing a teeny tiny diamond on their nose - only on the right side, at the crease above the nostril.

 

- It is very rare to hear a car honk. Other drivers are patient. One day, while waiting for the bus, we watched a line of traffic at a stoplight. While waiting in her car at the light, a woman started reading the newspaper. The light turned green, she wasn't paying attention, never budged, and nobody honked - they all just sat there and missed the light!

 

- The trains and buses are SO on time you can set your watch to them.

 

- you always say "buon giorno" or "buona sera" to everyone you pass, unless you're in a crowd. These can also be shorted to "giorno" or "sera".

 

- In a restaurant, you need to ask for your check. You're never rushed - it's your table as long as you want it. Great when you have a good view! 

 

- Milk is only sold in 1 litre paper cartons. It's specially packaged to last several months before it's opened, and doesn't need to be refridgerated until it's opened.

 

- The cheapest I found milk was on sale in a bulk package of 6 - 1 litre cartons. It was the equivalent to about $4 a gallon. It's usually about $5 a gallon.

 

- In many stores eggs are not refridgerated - only found on shelves near the refridgerated section. Apparently that part of the store is "cool" enough for the eggs!

 

- There are many water fountains (to drink) in towns and on hiking paths.

 

- gasoline is going for about CHF 1.43 (Swiss francs) about $5 a gallon.

 

- it's hard to find chicken breasts - with or without the bone, in any grocery store! Legs and wings are abundant - So I'm wondering, if they cut up the chicken to get the legs and wings, what did they do with the breasts?

 

- at fruit and vegetable markets, don't touch the fruit yourself. The salesperson will do it.

 

- At supermarkets, fruits and veggies are self-serve, but use a plastic, disposable glove or one of the plastic bags provided there to touch the item. Don't touch them with bare hands. (The Swiss are very clean!)

 

- All women are beautiful and thin!

 

- Most people seem to marry later, so we see many older couples with young children (couples in their 40's or even 50's)

 

- you rarely see people chewing gum. And the name for gum? Gomma americana!

 

- restaurants don't rush you - you can stay as long as you like. You need to ask for the bill.

 

- Baggy capri pants are in style - and all the guys are wearing them too.

 

- shopping carts are kept in order since everyone has to put in a 2 franc coin to release shopping cart. To get your 2 francs back, you bring the cart back to the storage area, hook it to the next cart and get your money back. Now, why can't we do that in the US?

 

- you should bring your own grocery bags to the grocery store, or else you have to pay for them. Not necessary at other stores.

 

- everyone bags their own groceries

 

- the checkout clerks get to sit down

 

- basic, plain old pencils are hard to find, and the ones they do have are about 1.50 francs each, about $1.20!

 

- a small pork roast costs approximately $32.00!

 

- Blankets are extremely rare. They don't use a top sheet. They have a light quilt in summer and a thicker polyester or down comforter in winter, but no top sheet or blanket.

 

- when driving, the person on the right always has the right of way, even if they arrived at the intersection after you.

 

- when a stoplight is red, it doesn't go immediately to green. It turns to yellow and then green - for those with a stick shift to get ready to go!