Eight Things to Love about Switzerland, Part II

The Frau celebrated eight years in Switzerland two weeks ago. In honor of that milestone, she’s put together a list of eight things she loves about Switzerland. Today she’ll conclude with the last four. To read the first four, click here.

Baden, Switzerland
Photo by Brian Opyd

Five: Health insurance is not tied to employment. And it’s mandatory.

What happens when health insurance is tied to employment? Well, apparently if you’re in the US and work for a company like Hobby Lobby, they can deny you your legal right to contraception in their health policy because of their personal religious beliefs. Would this ever happen in Switzerland? No way. Health insurance is private; it has nothing to do with your employer, and everyone is required to have it whether they like it or not. This does a lot for costs savings and equality, since unlike in America, the people who pay for health insurance aren’t also paying for those who forgo it even though everyone has health issues. And it also means you don’t have job stress. Swiss people often quit their jobs to travel or reevaluate their lives or start a business. All while keeping their health insurance. Which brings The Frau back to point one: Freedom.

Six: Punctuality is valued.

You never have to wonder whether someone will come on time or not in Switzerland. Ten seconds late is late. Why is this great? When time is valued, you don’t tend to waste it. The Swiss are a productive country for a reason.

Seven: It’s clean. No really, it’s clean.

Switzerland is the only country The Frau knows of where she’d actually take a shower in a parking garage. Or let Toddler M continue to eat the apple she dropped on the floor of a bus. Or find a sparkling clean bathroom in the middle of nowhere. Clean is nice. And also too easy to take for granted sometimes, especially after you’ve been living here awhile.

Eight: Towns and cities are built for walkers.

Cars are required by law to stop for pedestrians at zebra crossings. Lights are timed to make driving suck as much as possible in Swiss cities. And parking costs are high. Why? Switzerland isn’t a driving country; it’s a walking one. If the laws and hiking signs aren’t proof, then the example set by The Frau is. 

The Frau walks to buy groceries. The Frau walks to buy clothes. The Frau walks to buy electronics. The Frau walks to the train. To the bus. To the library. To the post office. To the pool. There’s almost nothing she needs that is not within walking distance. Not only are all of these walkable Swiss cities and towns pleasant to live in, but when a city is walkable, it cuts down on car pollution, congestion, and noise too.

What else do you love about Switzerland?

Oh, by the way, if you love reading about Switzerland you might also like The Frau’s book, Swiss Life: 30 Things I Wish I’d Known. Just a totally unsubtle hint.

Why not take a shower in a parking garage?

The Frau has been in Switzerland long enough now to realize something:

You can take a shower in places that you otherwise wouldn’t consider taking a shower.

For instance, in a parking garage.

The Frau asks you: Is there any other country in the world where you would see a shower in a parking garage and think, “Yes, I might actually consider using that?"

Well, that’s the case in Einsiedeln, where the parking garage comes complete with toilets, showers, and a locker room. And none of them are questionable.

Sometimes, The Frau loves Switzerland.

It’s a place where she can shower without regret not only in parking garages, but also in train stations, her office, and at the lake.

Switzerland is known for cleanliness and it is not without reason. So go ahead, yodelers, The Frau encourages you to discover all the extra special places where you can become as clean as the country you’re living in.

Only in Switzerland, Part II

Front page news. Yes.

For Only in Switzerland, Part I, click here.

Seven Things That I Should Clean

Living in Switzerland has redefined my definition of clean. In fact, after living in Switzerland, it's hard to travel anywhere at all without being utterly disgusted by so much lurking filth.

For instance, will you just look at this pollen. What nerve to just fling itself down on a Swiss street. It will be sorry. The street sweeper can't be far.

Anyhow, here is a list of seven things I never considered "dirty" before I moved here:

1. Orchid leaves (use face oil to really make shine)
2. My gutter (should have drinkable water in it)
3. Public trash can (you have seen these being shined in Zurich, haven't you?)
4. Sink spout (my relocation agent was disappointed that mine weren't cleaner before I moved in)
5. Washing machine soap dispenser (soak in vinegar for maximum gleam)
6. Planter (they get dusty without rain–no problem with that this spring!)
7. Concrete (for maximum shine, borrow my neighbor's Hochdruckreiniger. She wants you to use it.)

Oh, Switzerland. How much you've taught me.

How has Switzerland redefined your definition of dirt?

Paris: Fashion, Glamour, and Poop

I love Paris, but Switzerland isn’t helping matters. The longer I live in Switzerland, the harder and harder it is to travel anywhere, particularly a place known for being littered in dog poop.

While Swiss Tourism just ran an ad, jokingly claiming they even clean bird poop from mountains, the French, on the other hand, don’t bother cleaning much of anything—bird, dog, and horse poop included. It’s everywhere. And I find it amazing that a culture so concerned with appearances and filled with manicured people and well-maintained parks can be so passive about poop.

I like to think it’s because the French culture is so creative that their heads are simply in the clouds but really, this kind of attitude doesn’t do much for the glamour on the streets because from my experience, in under two days, any kind of footwear fashion statement will turn a dark shade of gray.

Still, a little (or even a lot) of poop isn’t going to stop me from going to Paris and they know it. Thus, the cliché of April in Paris still charmed me, dirty shoes and all. Because when one is rewarded by flowering trees, grand buildings, and colorful carousels, they have no reason to look down and think that maybe that nice soft ground they’re standing on is anything but a lush patch of grass.

Cleaning up after the Visitors

Whenever my mother-in law visits, she always freaks out about the amount of light in our apartment and what, more importantly, that light is doing to our living room furniture. So a few hours into her visit, our fine living room will look like a bunch of two-year olds have built forts, with mismatched blankets covering everything to prevent it from fading.

Unfortunately, she's been gone for a week, and thus the blankets have all been put away. So wouldn't you know it, I open the door just a crack for a few minutes to get some fresh air in here and we get another, less welcome visitor. This visitor has no shame and poops on both chairs and the carpet before trying to commit suicide by flying into glass. I finally trick him into leaving by throwing bread crumbs out the door. But he has done his damage to naturally everything but the easy-to-clean tile floor.

Since my husband is never around when shit happens, I decide what cleaning approach to go with this time as you long-time readers know, I am no stranger to poop in my living room. Since the Swiss are really fond of home cleaning treatments, and vinegar especially, I decide to try it, because who really knows clean better than the Swiss Hausfrau who cleans on average for 53 hours a week.

So I wipe some vinegar around with some paper towels and call it a day. After another day in Switzerland, I'm pooped. Literally.