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Originally Posted by Bassic83  I kind of think the Swiss are...well...let's just say they're NEUTRAL!  |
You are correct Amir (
). Switzerland has hosted the UN since its inception yet only joined in 2002 or 2003. They are not part of the EU, though surrounded by it. Not big into doing things because everyone else is into to.
You have the French speaking part of Switzerland, the German speaking part, the Italian speaking part and finally the Romansch speaking part.
The geography is stunning.
In terms of quality of life, Geneva and Zurich vie for the top places to live in the world in the annual Mercer rankings. The analysis is based on an evaluation of 39 quality-of-living criteria for each city including political, social, economic and environmental factors, personal safety and health, education, transport and other public services.
http://www.mercer.com/referenceconte...ontent=1268710
The music stores suck. The prices of bass gear suck even harder. Live venues for gigging English bands are scarce, although gigs pay very well.
Shopping is from Monday-Saturday with stores closing at 7pm. Nothing is open on Sundays. Nothing. Drives you nuts at first but you soon love it.
No lawn mowers after 7pm Monday to Saturday. You will get reported if you do. And you know what? Sundays are nice and quiet.
More Ferrari's per capita on the roads here. If you're into cars, this is a great place to live. Lots of exotic and vintage on the roads, especially on Sundays when you can't shop or mow your lawn.
Mail service is lightening fast. If you mail anything before 3pm, it will be delivered anywhere in the country the following morning.
Arguably, the best bread is cooked and sold at gas stations.
The speed limit on rural roads is 80km an hour. Unless sign posted otherwise, the speed limit on the highways is 120km/hr.
A dinner for four people at a run of the mill restaurant with a small salad, soft drink, main course, coffee will cost around $100 on up. It's not unusual for two couples to go out for dinner as not fancy restaurant and drop $180 for dinner.
Swiss wine on the whole is low grade. Their whites can be nice. Chaselas is a white wine that is very popular here. It's nice when served cold on a hot summer day. Their pinot noir is crap. And considering Burgundy is an hour an a half away, they should just stop making it.
Chocolate is a staple in everyone's diet.
Cheese...I swear every Swiss recipe has either cheese, potatoes or ham in it.
Switzerland is centrally located in Europe. From Geneva, you can reach Paris or the Mediterranean is 4.5 hours away by car. Italy is 90 minutes away, using the Mont Blanc tunnel. Milan is 3.5 hours, Turin is 3 hours.
The country is very orderly. It can drive you crazy, but it's really nice. The people won't put up with crap.
A few celebrities in Switzerland: Shania Twain lives in Tour de Peltz, Phil Colins lives in Fechy, David Bowie lives outside of Lausanne, Freddy Mercury died in Vevey. David Niven, Charlie Chaplin lived and died in Vevey, Katherine Hepburn lived and subsequently died outside of Morges. Richard Burton and Alistair MacLean lived and are buried in Celigny. Boris Yeltsin's daughter lives across the boarder in Divonne, France. The King of Bahrain has a huge shack on the Lac Leman (Lake Geneva). King Saud (of Saudia Arabia) has a huge house on the lake. Tina Turner lives outside of Zurich. Roger Moore lives in Gstaad. Micheal Schumacher lives outside of Morges. Jacques Villeneuve lives in Villars.
..and bmc lives outside of Geneva AND LOVES IT.
