- The bureacracy in aggravating. Back in August I turned in all the paperwork they requested in order for us to get our
visas to stay the year. Now, they say our marriage certificate is not valid in Switzerland! Yes, according to the Swiss, Rick
and I are not married! They only will recognize a civil ceremony and we were married in the church. We are still trying to
resolve this problem - I can't believe they haven't come across this before! Rick and I are wondering if we should take advantage
of the situation --- just kidding!
- Everything takes 2-3 times longer to do. When you need a simple item, you often can`t find it - they don`t always
have the same products, or they are probably sold in some store you`ve never seen before, so you have no idea how to obtain
it.
- They don`t sell simple two-pocket school folders. Nowhere. Nada, niente. I have to put papers into a plain file folder
- where they can fall out.
- No garage door opener. Have to get out of the car and open the door the old fashion way! (although there are a few
rare people who have them)
- No kitchen garbage disposal. I have yet to find any European who even knows what it is.
- No dryer. Very few people have dryers since they use up too much energy. This means washing and drying clothes is a
long process and I have to iron everything since it's all very wrinkled!
- Can't find just a simple broom in the stores. They are all the long, wide type which I don't like to use.
- Not a feather duster to be found. How do they dust the little delicate areas?
- Restaurants are smokey. It's getting better though. In Ticino they just passed a law which mandates a non-smoking area
of a restaurant - although at this point it is just a few tables. In other parts of Switzerland all restaurants are all smoking.
- The house we are living in does not have any carpet anywhere. No place to just sit on the floor.
- The car we use only has 2 seats, which becomes a problem if we have a guest. Renting an automatic car is extremely
expensive.
- The washing machine takes almost 1 1/2 hours to do one load.
- Everything is closed on Sunday. You better plan your weekend meals ahead of time! Nothing is open on Sundays.
- Apples don't look bright and appealing like they do in the states.
- If you miss a turn while driving, you often have to drive for so long before finding a place to turn around - and sometimes
you don't - because the roads are so narrow.
- Rush hour traffic is heavy because there is often only one way to get over a mountain.
- You often have to pay to park anywhere - even at many grocery stores.
- During the week all the stores close by 6:30pm.
