Impressions of Switzerland
Last week I took up on the generous and hospitable offer from Jeyanthi, Dinakar, Pallavi and Sruthi to spend a short, yet sweet mini-vacation to Switzerland. Thank you all very much! The Panyams currently live in Vevey, the home city of the international food giant, Nestlé. During the course of the trip, I managed to visit Lausanne, Geneva, parts of the Swiss Alps and the beautiful almost-Mediterranean town of Montreux that is internationally renowned for its Jazz festival. I also managed to squeeze in some typical Swiss foods like Roesti, Raclette, fondue and Rivella.
I will not bore you with the history, geography etc. about Switzerland. You can read all relevant information here. Needless to say it's a beautiful country, no matter what time of the year. It's impressive that the lack of natural resources, with the exception of the Alps of course hasn't stopped the Swiss from doing quite well economically. What makes the country tick (cue in the Swiss watches here)? It's the people and their perseverance that permits them to enjoy one of the highest standards of living anywhere in the world. Most Swiss are well educated, well informed, environmentally conscious, fiercely patriotic and hard working. They have made a judicious habit of avoiding wars with neighboring countries over the past 100 or so years, and oddly enough maintain a standing army that can be called into action at a short notice. (As an aside, this was the first time in my life I saw anyone carry guns openly -- actually two well-scrubbed Swiss youths while taking a train en route to Vevey.) Incidentally, of course, they profited from both sides during World War II -- so that can't hurt their economy either.
I thought I would not have any problems conversing with the locals there, given my language background, but I was in for a rude surprise. Speaking French was relatively easy, because it doesn't differ that much from standard French. However, Swiss German gave me all sorts of trouble. The many dialects of German (variously spelled as Schweizerdeutsch, Schwyzerdütsch, Schwiizerdütsch, Schwyzertütsch, Schwizertitsch) spoken in Switzerland are not easy for someone used to Hochdeutsch or standard German. It's a lot more guttural and it varies from town-to-town and village-to-village. Unlike the Germans, however, the Swiss use their dialect in all situations. The written language, on the other hand, is only mildly different than the German used in Germany or Austria, and therefore, reading the newspapers and directions was no problem at all. I tried to converse with many Swiss Germans during my trip to Zermatt and I can honestly say, I understood 50% of what they were saying. Maybe if I spent 5 years there!
In Geneva, of course, they speak French and I had no problems whatsoever. An interesting aspect of Genevans is that they freely mix English words with their French and it's humorously known as Swinglish. Their French confrères resist the preponderant English language in everyday life. It's also very weird to hear about many people who live in France, but commute daily to their jobs in Switzerland. Imagine their tax situation! English is widely used in advertising and you can see billboards that will be quite familiar to most English speakers. Most Swiss people I spoke to, did speak English quite well and it is in fact the lingua franca of Nestlé.
The public transport system is fantastic and everything works with a Swiss watch-like precision. Their attention to timeliness must give the Germans a fit I imagine and that -- is not easy. How expensive is Switzerland, you ask? Simple, very. Food, public transportion, gasoline, dining, shopping -- everything. The only thing that's free is the air. I wouldn't be surprised if they find some way of charging for that too!
Most Swiss I met were cordial, if not friendly in their disposition -- perhaps due to their dependence on tourism and Gastfreundlichkeit. Most Swiss believe that their products are superior to everyone else's and are often right. Just go to a grocery store and see the natives buy Swiss produce in spite of their cost. As I mentioned earlier they are environmentally conscious and you can see proof of that in their daily newspaper reports, where air quality is a major discussion area. But, man do they smoke! Everywhere. I understand that only in the past couple of years have they made more public areas smoke-free. This is the surprising part though -- no fat people! Given their predilection for outdoor activities and use of public transportation, they are generally very fit and fit looking. And I thought San Francisco was a very healthy city!
If you need to see wealthy folks, go to Geneva. I did, and never have I seen so many Ferraris, Maybachs, Lamborghinis and Aston Martins in one single day! The Genevans are truly loaded. As an aside, you see very few SUVs on the roads or even on the mountain roads inspite of deep snow accumulations and steep streets. You would assume it has something to do with gas prices or "safety", but I doubt it. They already lead expensive lifestyles and a paltry $5.00 per US gallon at the pumps is not going to deter them from buying gas guzzlers. I could go on, but that would only bore you to death. Ciao and merci vielmal!
PS. For a more humorous and enlightened treatment of the Swiss, try to get a hold of a book called "Laughing Along with the Swiss", by Paul Bilton. You will not be disappointed.
