- 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!