The amazing Swiss
I spent a few months in Geneva some years back. Among the lesser known facts about the Swiss and Switzerland.
The principal social concepts are cleanliness, neatness and order. Switzerland is squeaky clean ..much cleaner than neighboring Germany or France. Most of this adherence to cleanliness and order is self-regulated.
You will rarely find littering anywhere .. be it city or countryside. Residential areas follow strict waste segregation with as many as 5 categories of waste.. all wonderfully colour coded. In every office you will find a box where people drop used batteries (dry cells/ flashlight batteries). The Swiss claim that they re-cycle 70 % of batteries… and I utterly believe them.
The Swiss love their quietness. Windows in Swiss houses have “shutters” mostly in steel ..in addition to the normal glass windows. These are called “Store” in Switzerland and are like the rolling steel shutters we see for shops in India. Some may be hand cranked and some motorized. Come 10 pm , by some unwritten but inviolable law, millions of windows across all Swiss homes get Store-d. After that no loud music or talking. Most apartment complexes also advise you not to run the washing machine after 8 pm , in order to not disturb the neighbors. If you hear anyone talking loudly on the mobile phone, you can be sure it will NOT be a Swiss citizen.
Dogs: In keeping with the Swiss social concepts, dogs in Switzerland do not bark. They are trained to be non-barking . If you have a dog that barks and do not send it to an obedience school, the neighbors are most likely to complain to the civic authorities who will then fine you and force you to send the dog to an obedience school. Of course , in true Swiss fashion, an obedience school has to be certified by the government and the dog-trainers have to receive a diploma recognized by the government. Trains allow small dogs free and for half-fare for larger dogs.
Nuclear shelters: Swiss law requires that all residential building should have nuclear shelters. Buildings that did not have shelters when the law was passed are required to contribute to building community shelters. Typically the shelters are in the basement of houses and apartment complexes. In many cases the basement also has the apartment’s common washing machine and clothes drying lines (no where in Switzerland will you see laundry hung out to dry in public view.) Now here is the clincher. In the event of a nuclear attack , while the rest of the world will be getting fried, the Swiss will be walking around in clean, freshly laundered clothes !!
Neutrality.The principal of political neutrality , especially in case of wars , is enshrined in the Swiss constitution. It has served the Swiss well. They managed to stay out of the 2 world wars and also gained handsomely with lot of money (legal and illegal) flowing into Swiss banks. Switzerland is one of the very few countries which still requires 2 years of compulsory military service for all adult males above 18… and then one month every alternate year till the age of 40. The one months service is paid for by the employer. There s a joke going around. What is the standard issue weapon for the Swiss Army ..? The Swiss Knife !
For many years Switzerland did not join the Schengen scheme (an alliance of 20 plus European countries that allows free movement of people on a single visa) . Then in 2008 or so the Swiss joined Schengen. Ever since there have been complaints of rising crime rates across the country, especially theft and burglary. It has been attributed to the people coming in from east European countries like Poland and Romania. And the Swiss police have no experience in dealing with crimes. All they had been doing till 2008 was managing traffic !!
I spent a few months in Geneva some years back. Among the lesser known facts about the Swiss and Switzerland.
The principal social concepts are cleanliness, neatness and order. Switzerland is squeaky clean ..much cleaner than neighboring Germany or France. Most of this adherence to cleanliness and order is self-regulated.
You will rarely find littering anywhere .. be it city or countryside. Residential areas follow strict waste segregation with as many as 5 categories of waste.. all wonderfully colour coded. In every office you will find a box where people drop used batteries (dry cells/ flashlight batteries). The Swiss claim that they re-cycle 70 % of batteries… and I utterly believe them.
The Swiss love their quietness. Windows in Swiss houses have “shutters” mostly in steel ..in addition to the normal glass windows. These are called “Store” in Switzerland and are like the rolling steel shutters we see for shops in India. Some may be hand cranked and some motorized. Come 10 pm , by some unwritten but inviolable law, millions of windows across all Swiss homes get Store-d. After that no loud music or talking. Most apartment complexes also advise you not to run the washing machine after 8 pm , in order to not disturb the neighbors. If you hear anyone talking loudly on the mobile phone, you can be sure it will NOT be a Swiss citizen.
Dogs: In keeping with the Swiss social concepts, dogs in Switzerland do not bark. They are trained to be non-barking . If you have a dog that barks and do not send it to an obedience school, the neighbors are most likely to complain to the civic authorities who will then fine you and force you to send the dog to an obedience school. Of course , in true Swiss fashion, an obedience school has to be certified by the government and the dog-trainers have to receive a diploma recognized by the government. Trains allow small dogs free and for half-fare for larger dogs.
Nuclear shelters: Swiss law requires that all residential building should have nuclear shelters. Buildings that did not have shelters when the law was passed are required to contribute to building community shelters. Typically the shelters are in the basement of houses and apartment complexes. In many cases the basement also has the apartment’s common washing machine and clothes drying lines (no where in Switzerland will you see laundry hung out to dry in public view.) Now here is the clincher. In the event of a nuclear attack , while the rest of the world will be getting fried, the Swiss will be walking around in clean, freshly laundered clothes !!
Neutrality.The principal of political neutrality , especially in case of wars , is enshrined in the Swiss constitution. It has served the Swiss well. They managed to stay out of the 2 world wars and also gained handsomely with lot of money (legal and illegal) flowing into Swiss banks. Switzerland is one of the very few countries which still requires 2 years of compulsory military service for all adult males above 18… and then one month every alternate year till the age of 40. The one months service is paid for by the employer. There s a joke going around. What is the standard issue weapon for the Swiss Army ..? The Swiss Knife !
For many years Switzerland did not join the Schengen scheme (an alliance of 20 plus European countries that allows free movement of people on a single visa) . Then in 2008 or so the Swiss joined Schengen. Ever since there have been complaints of rising crime rates across the country, especially theft and burglary. It has been attributed to the people coming in from east European countries like Poland and Romania. And the Swiss police have no experience in dealing with crimes. All they had been doing till 2008 was managing traffic !!
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