Was out with my partner in summer last year and it was VERY hot, we were taking one of those public transport boats back home from Zurich and we were sitting on a bench, decided to take off my sandals and put my bare feet ON them instead because they were hurting and I was burning up. There were no people close to me at all (maybe a couple of metres away who could see me, but not close)!

Me and my partner had a huge argument about this and he saw this as barbaric and uncultural. Is this true? Did I do something out of place? He said I might get screamed at by someone and people may dislike me/think I'm weird?

Sorry if this is really specific but I have no clue what kind of things are okay or not, so did I do something bad? Would appreciate your inputs.

Sweetheart, there's more to that argument than feet on top of your sandals....your partner was trying to be controlling. Hope it was a one-off situation.

I don’t see a problem with this. I take my shoes of on planes and trains (socks stay on though). I figure if you are somewhere that flip flops would be acceptable then it wouldn’t be an issue.

He doesnt control me or anything like that but I can imagine it'd come across that way in the post. I'm just not aware of the culture differences and I get the feeling that swiss people variate between very friendly-village folks and extreme high-class snobs who'd scoff at you for any kind of action. So I'm not sure if taking off my sandals is something people would turn their heads around for and make my life a living hell for?

I never thought it as weird prior because I don't really go around sticking my feet in to peoples faces either, not appropriate on trains, buses, etc, but it was a boat! Am I really in the wrong for doing this?

I was not wearing socks, as socks with sandals is a crime!
My feet were bare, does this make a difference?

Tell him that if it was someone's own boat, it would be seen as incredibly impolite and ignorant NOT to take your shoes off when boarding.

Bare feet would be fine though and most acceptable.

Perhaps your partner is just clueless about these things?

It doesn't matter at all.

Tom

It was one of those public transport boats, not someones personal boat. Does this make a difference? Maybe I should have specified this in the post?

No - what I am saying is that it is perfectly acceptable on any boat.

(except for a formal dinner on one of those cruise-liner things I suppose)

How likely is it that someone would come up to me and scream at me for taking my shoes off? He says this will happen and I will learn from it this way since I dont take his word for it.

Maybe in some Arab, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist countries showing the bottom of your feet would get you some trouble ... But not here or most of the western world.

If you have shrek feet you may get the odd funny look but nobody would scream.

You are on a boat on the lake, it is absolutely not a problem. I think some people have an unexplainable fear or disgust of feet.
Hell, people even put naked feet on train seats and nobody ever says anything.

If you had put your feet (with or without sandals) up on the bench then he might have had a point, discreetly slipping your sandals off and placing your feet on top of your floor-bound footwear is okay and if someone was ill-mannered enough to scream at you for doing that then they would be the person being 'barbaric and uncultural'.... (although I think he meant uncultured).

You might get a swiss hard stare or a british 'tut' though!

Thank you, yeah he mentioned I could get stared at but screamed at!? That's so extreme in my opinion, if someone is not hurting you and minding their own business there should be absolutely no reason to get up and scream at someone.

Yeah, don't try showing the soles of your feet in Thailand.

I think Shrek feet are cute...reminds me of the girl in my uni dorm whose feet were little squares. She was from Biloxi.

It does look like you are planning to trigger your partner into slightly irrational behaviour this season again. Suggest you book a romantic dinner cruise and quietly heave said person overboard from the poop deck while unwatched instead…

let them breathe

Hey, I thought it was Thursday...

I know a number of Swiss people who walk around barefoot in Summer, I mean on the streets, in shops &&& not just for leisure activities.
A couple of the hardier ones walk barefoot year-round.

My Swiss brother-in-law does this. No shoes at all in summer, anywhere, even stoney paths