After an extended winter hibernation, one tends to forget the sullen, almost depressing expessions people drape over their faces. Yesterday, was a brilliant day, the last of 3 days of glorious sunshine, we spent the day at Halbinsel Au, Zurich, at the water's edge, there were 4 other families there, and not ONE, could muster up a smile.
WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE???
After 7 years of living here, I still cannot understand why, almost everyone has to so grumpy. Why does the effort of using one's facial muscles to procure a smile so difficult.
grumpy, grumpy, grumpy

it is a Swiss thing...looking pissed off or sad is the thing to do here ...if you are too happy than you are basically a bloody foreigner and need to be hated

...welcome to the club.

What exactly is the point of a thread like this? How is smiling any better than not smiling? Why don't you start smiling at people and maybe they'll start smiling back...

do u really think, that i did not smile, at them?? do not assume that i am so egotistical as to expect ppl to smile at me first

And this thread is about the consistent unfriendliness that you have to encounter here, maybe that doesnt bother you, or maybe you are swiss

I honestly am confused at this as I rarely see it... although some folks give me a blank stare when I smile at them, most often they smile back.

Of course, part of the reason I smile at them in the first place is that they're staring at me...


Maybe Baslers simply are more friendly and cheerful than folks in and around Zürich?

I think he is swiss as it seems he got offended .

I wouldn't necessarily equate not permanently smiling with actively being "consistently" unfriendly. I don't go round grinning like a cheshire cat either and, quite honestly, I doubt that many people do.

yes, Baslers r a bit more friendly, and Halbinsel Au is a bit snotty, it was the first time we went there

We had guests staying with us over the weekend, our son's friends from University. One of them (muslim) the other ( Jewish) both absolutely charming, funny and polite 19year olds studing Law/ architecture. Well dressed etc. etc. not a 'yob' in sight.
We arrived at the spot where they had decided to spend the day and the faces of the locals was something to experience, they looked as though they were sucking on lemons. Hilarious.

They all had a great day anyway, You have to laugh, It isn't a totally Swiss thing though as it is not the same in the Italian or French parts where the locals are so much more laid back.

On a daily basis though, I find the Swiss Germans very nice. I tend to smile a lot and they always respond and I can't fault their helpfulness when you need it, I'm sure It's just their way, we too have our funny ways personality traits.

I am half swiss but have lived in three different continents and over 10 countries. At the end of the day I don't find the swiss any less friendly but I admit that's open to interpretation.




Maybe Baslers simply are more friendly and cheerful than folks in and around Zürich? [/QUOTE]

Yes indeed they are

Offended isn't quite it, I just think this thread is superflous. If you want to blame that on me having a swiss passport, go ahead.

word!

here we go again, a few swiss do not smile so therefore lets generalise that all swiss are grumpy and miserable

Generally speaking, the Italians wear the nicest accessories, the French smoke a lot and are (generally ) aloof, both are passionate about their own cuisine, the Spanish chatter constantly but are usually very friendly, the Americans are loud and complain the most about security at airports ( it was their lax security ( 911) that required it let's not forget, The English like to party and have a few drinks ( as do the Scotts and the Irish, YEY!) The Russians are not very smiley..................I could go on, but generalisations usually paint a very honest picture of a country and It's people.

If lots of people notice the same stuff, there must be some truth in it eh?

As far as generalising goes, i did include the word, ALMOST.

i do know many friendly Swiss, but on average, and maybe its my dumb luck, i encounter unfriendly, unsmiling people.
I'm not comparing Switzerland, though my home country everyone is usually, mostly friendly, well, at least they return a smile. A country where there is so much of crime and poverty and Aids, but they can still return a smile.

The atmosphere yesterday at the lake was so weird, 4 families, sitting on a stretch of sand 15m long, and each of them trying their best to keep away from the other.

Think yourself lucky! From what I have heard on the forum you were lucky that they were not trying to share your beach mats, given that their concept of personal boundaries is somewhat lacking.

It's true that usually people don't smile. Personally I like to smile, even
if it's not always easy when your mood is not really a smiling mood....

When you walk, smiling in a non-smiling crowd, you can make some nice encounter; some people smile back at you when the others ignore you, I
even started some nice chats on the street or in the bus, but only with older people; they always said they were happy to see somebody smiling.

It's also a nice way to stay anonymous, as others just don't look at you, as if they were embarrassed to see such an horrible thing.

Smiling is like open the door to the other, and our society don't like opened doors. Quickly close it and lock it.....

not sure which is worse, here or london. i remember it being something of a shock when i moved to london for the first time from the north of england.

Don't know if I agree... I hiked up one of the peaks in Schwyz over the weekend and was surprised by hiw many people (the vast majority) greeted me on the way up and down. Every time I started hiking behind somebody slower, they'd get out of the way politely and smile after thanking them. The small hotel at the bottom of the peak had lots of smiley people since it was serving lots of alcohol but that's a different matter.
I think it has a lot to do with where you go and what sort of vibe you give off. At any rate, I saw much less smiling and greeting in my hikes in the US...

Yeah, I'm sort of amazed at this too... whenever I'm out walking people say hello all of the time. It took me by surprise at first...in the US it never happens.


Now, if you put a group of English, Italian, American, French whatever people in the same room and none of them spoke, how would you tell them apart? That would be the real test.

ha ha - yes, good point! There are threads on how to spot the Swiss and English (some of it being uncannily accurate ...) but how to spot the others is open to debate.