From today's Sunday Newspaper - the NZZ Am Sonntag;

The Top-10 Things Foreigners find Remarkable about Switzerland......here we go:

1) How early people get up, even in the weekends.
In the weekends I haven't noticed that at all...how come?

2) That nobody complains, even when he/she can wash only once a month. The ever so-Swiss washing plan...so glad we have our own washing machine. After all...we do live in the 21st century or do the Swiss live a few decades back?

3) That no Swiss person understands that people eat cheese-fondue other than in winter.
Hey hey neither do we ... here we score we're-integrated-in-society points (only 10 though)!

4) That Swiss people always dress up..even if they get some milk (?)
Is it just the environment in which we live (Zürich) where people don't have any sense of fashion

5) That entire Switzerland finds it normal that there are lots of traffic congestions in summer due to road works. Uh..well sure..don't know - like any other country.

6) That after 6 months in CH you are annoyed if your neighbours flush the toilet after ten pm. Luckily we don't hear any of this noise..or is it just us?

7) That Swiss parties end 11.30pm latest. That I can fully imagine - without doubt - no desire to experience it though!

8) That Swiss hosts start cleaning up during the party! Ditto - see comment above.

9) That Swiss hosts expect guests to help with washing up. Well...we haven't had the pleasure yet to be invited to any Swiss home for any party - of course we have "only" been in CH for 2 years.

10) Swiss really like if you are spontaneous-as long as it planned.
Nothing new.

So...let's see if the EF can add to this list... who is the first one to add numbers 11) , 12) , 13) , ... .

11. Swiss disco's .... man, i've never seen such a sorry bunch of dancers in my life. Half the people are standing on the dance floor drinking their beer.

12) The Swiss know that when you go to a dance club you shouldn't expect to hear an entire song and that it's totally normal to here either the Beach Boys or Chubby Checker at some point in the evening.

13) That chillies are not required in the preparation of 'spicy' food.

14) Curry comes from Switzerland and has nothing to do with India

15. The Swiss don't have patience to stand in line at a ski lift. It's every man for himself!

You can`t just turn up at your friends or family home you have to ring and give advance notice that you will be coming over (best is a good few days)

17. To elaborate / sum up the previous post: you have to make appointments and plan an after work drink weeks in advance.

I think this is so stupid, in england everybody just turns up when they want i have a big family and lots of friends and we were always turning up on the doorstep i miss that

or simply sitting...and looking at the foreigners actually dancing on the dance floor as if they were part of a gig arranged by the club

it depends. I mean,I don't think so at all... even when it's not about shopping...
And about getting up early - true, even on Sundays - our neighbours get up around 5.30 every day, and let us enjoy all kinds of natural noises they make...

19. The Swiss ability to block paths, entrances and pedestrian thoroughfares just to stop and talk to each other - totally oblivious to anyone else who might want to get by...

Yes. Oh yes. Or get out of the tram and just stop. Or stand in front of the tram door and not move when you indicate you wish to get out. Or use the escalators wrongly.

Here's my proposal: The entire population gets tested for intelligence AND common sense. The top quartile is issued with mini-flame-throwers (so as not to harm, just slightly inconvenience), while the rest gets a book with guidelines on what is efficient, sensible and considerate behaviour. Classical conditioning will do the rest. I considered Tazers at first but since they are not a very visual tool and the desired outcome is to have people think sharp without actually harming them, I rejected the idea.

I may have mentioned this whole plan before but as it's the first thing I'll do when I take over the world and the mental image is a source of great solace when the people around me are particularly numerous and bovine, it pops up every now and then.

Official trash bags. Very expensive. Very....unique (to me, anyway).

Do your recycling properly and you will dramatically cut down on bin bags. I know it's a bit confusing at the start and some people just never get it (our German flatmate still puts newspapers and cereal boxes in the "Hausmüll", which is odd as there is recycling in Germany) but if you divide between paper, cardboard, tin, glass, PET and compost, you won't have that much going in those bags after all. And you're saving the planet.

I never understand why the streets aren't filled with rubbish, and the public bins aren't always rammed, buy fewer bin bags, chuck all your stuff in the street...

A variation on this.

The Swiss ability to stand or pass so close to you that you feel you need to move to get out of their way. I often feel that people are trying to squeeze between me and an empty space.

That's one thing that troubles me - I've got so many scuffs on my shoes from people actually stepping on my feet and I've lost count of how many times my handbag has been knocked from my shoulder when they've passed me by whilst I have been, for example, waiting for a tram.

I'm not a stickler for the "personal space" rule but, bloody hell, there's a whole pavement there - why do you want to walk on my bit???

Interestingly, a Swiss friend of mine just returned from a shopping trip to NY and said she was amazed at how nice it was to walk down the road, even in the middle of town. No-one bumped or barged her like they do in Zürich and if they did happen to brush your arm, they'd immediately turn around and apologise.

Forget any pre-conceived notions about New Yorkers being unfriendly, and particularly after living the Zurich, New York is a marvelously friendly place.

Last time I was there, 3 separate times my suitcase was basically taken from me by somone wanting to help me carry it up the stairs from the subway.

Compare this with yesterday, where a well-dressed elderly lady was standing on the corner near a busy intersection repeatedly asking the people walking by if they would help her cross the street as she was not steady getting down off the curb, and the passers-by just consistently ignored her. Cue my ever-helpful flatmate.

__________________
Everyone needs to believe in something, I believe I'll have another drink.

I certainly can relate to that. In Auckland I bumped into a guy (and it was entirely my fault, I just didn't look where I was going ,being the silly tourist) and the guy actually turned around and apologized to me

something completely different: In Switzerland, a Peperoni is a vegetable and it's not the spicy one....