4. Practice patience. Get there ahead of the time you'll need, and stand around feeling socioanthropologically amazed or nicely relaxed for having not bothered to engage in their elbowing, and enjoying the trust in the very likely fact that, in Switzerland, when you do finally get to the front of the queue, whatever it was that you wanted (cheese at the cheese-counter, entrance to the bus or cable-car, an exhibition) will probably still be available.

It used to bother me. It doesn't much now.

If someone pushes past me now, I just say "Frauen zuerst" - especially if it's a man.

I’ll go in there.

Yes. Swiss people are odd. It’s weird, and I’ve spent my adult life-time trying to decipher it.

I’ve even born a Swiss / UK citizen, hoping that she would be different. But no, they are typically Swiss.

You can’t change it, unfortunately.

Try mixing this with a Mom who’s come from the UK

Totally

Also odd that OP posted this and never replied

There are odd people everywhere.
There are some odd Swiss people same as there odd people in any other country but for the most part they seem perfectly normal* to me.


*Whatever normal might be, one person’s normal could be odd to another.

A massive one. People in different parts of UK have very different kind of weirdness ... and same in CH- for sure.

Stereotypes. We loves them.

When I first moved here, we lived in central Zurich, and I thought there must be a law that made it illegal to smile in public or something. It's much better now that I live outside of the city. People are more laid back. But I think that, with any culture, you will always have people at both ends of the spectrum(s). Some who are more friendly, some who are less friendly, etc. There are some aspects of Swiss culture that I don't like but there are some that I love. But at the end of the day, I do consider myself extremely fortunate to be living here.

well, it certainly is the point of this thread.

And they are often dipped in some truth

Yes, no need for stereotypes. When it comes to oddness, I am unique..

Nothing at all to do with the four or five places I am from.

Nope. They are the last refuge of the bigot.

I'm surprised you don't think so.

with a pinch of salt, and a sense of humour ...

weirdos in my part of CH are very different to those in Tom's- or yours, for that matter. Same for the Potteries, deepest Devon, Norfolk or the East end.
Influenced by geography, culture, history, and so much more.

Yes, agreed. Thanks. For me, the oddest person can sometimes be found just by looking in the mirror. And sometimes the most normal, too.

r all britishers brexiteers, or even less dear



ma cha ned the foifer unds weggli ha

i prefer schoggi brot

It's because of our deep seated ski lift trauma. If you do not fight in the ski lift queue, you will never get up the mountain. At least that was the case in the t-bar lift days without queuing lanes...

SwissBred or inbred? Decidedly odd in any case.

On EF, at least oddness is a given. The rest of Switzerland? No more odd than anywhere else.