Miscellaneous Zürich details

A few smaller things that I've noticed about Zürich that probably aren't worthy of their own posts:

• The Swiss speak many languages. English is often not one of them. Most people speak Schweizerdeutsch (Swiss German), Hochdeutsch (Standard German), a little bit of French, and an even smaller bit of Italian. Young people are more likely to speak English. I blame pop culture.
• Because everything is labeled in German, French, and Italian, it's pretty easy to make out labels. Whatever word English uses was probably stolen from or by one of those languages.
• The Swiss like steps between rooms. It's common for hallways to be an inch or two higher than the floors of the rooms around the hallway. You see this even in restaurants and public buildings. I spent the first week here tripping every time I entered or left a room.
• They seem to like slightly irregular walking surfaces, too. Even new construction features cobblestones and heavily textured walking surfaces. I cannot help but wonder whether this is related to Swiss liability laws or the lack thereof.
• There's a sort of cane or sport crutch that's very popular here. You see many people walking with two lightweight aluminum canes. I gather that these are used for smaller injuries or for older people who are a bit unsteady (in the same way that a walker would be used in the US).
• The public spaces are very clean and well maintained -- almost disturbingly so by American standards. I almost took a picture of a crushed Starbucks cup on the ground the other day because it was the first bit of litter I'd seen in days. I walked into a beautiful park with trees full of birds. There was no bird poop on the benches under the trees. Two exceptions: there is graffiti, and cigarette butts do litter the "raucherzones". I guess there are inconsiderate smokers everywhere.
• When we were looking for apartments, one was at the top of a rather steep hill. I said that I was worried about walking down the hill in the winter. Our guide was somewhat offended. She said, "This is Switzerland. We know how to deal with snow. The sidewalk will be clear by 7am."
• I cannot overemphasize how safe it feels here. People don't lock up their bikes. The honor system is a viable way to run small stands. Stores keep enough cash in the drawer (or in a hilariously large leather wallet) to make change for a 1000CHF bill with no problems. The police presence is very subtle, and they seem to prefer the English "Peel's principles/de-escalation" approach to the American "respect mah authority" approach.
• Prices are an object lesson in the difference between exchange rate and purchasing power. The exchange rate between CHF and USD is nearly 1:1, but everything here costs 2-3 times more than in the US. Even the McDonald's dollar menu items are 2.50CHF here.
• The smallest bill in common use is 10CHF. There are 1CHF, 2CHF, and 5CHF coins. That means that coins are actually worth something. 
• Parents actually accept responsibility for their children. I've seen far fewer running, screaming brats here. When kids act up, their parents -- or passersby on the streets -- will tell them "no". It's a wonderful change from the "kids will be kids" attitude that you see from so many bad parents in the US.
• Nobody gets worked up about beer. "No alcohol in school and no sales to anyone under 16" are about the extent of alcohol laws. I've seen people occasionally walking down the street drinking a beer, but I haven't yet seen anyone drunk. The price of beer might be a factor here.
• Unfortunately, men have embraced the "wear a suit that's a size too small" look. I know that Americans like their suits cut like sacks, but this European thing where the top suit button is holding on for dear life, and there's no chance of buttoning any of the other buttons just looks bad on everyone.
• Also in the "unfortunate fashion choices" category, the 1980's Don Johnson 3-day stubble look is big here, and it's considered appropriate even for bankers and newscasters.
• The trams and buses will get you anywhere quickly if you can figure them out. There's a complicated zone system, and many people (including us, now) have a half-price card. Fortunately, there are two phone apps (ZVV Timetable and ZVV-Tickets) that work together and make the process much easier. 
• In day-to-day use, nobody actually checks your tickets on the trains and buses. This makes boarding and exiting much faster. Instead, there are roaming train inspectors who will do spot checks. If you are caught without a ticket, you will be fined hundreds of dollars.
• The postal carriers use adorable electric tricycles with trailers that can comfortably fit on the sidewalks alongside pedestrians. 
• The post office is also a bank. This makes an incredible amount of sense to me. Among other things, this means that you never have to mail a check. When you get a bill, there's a card that you take to the post office along with cash or a check. You pay the post office. The post office immediately tells the biller that you have paid, transfers the money, and your account is marked as paid on the spot.
• So. Many. Sausages. Wurst gets its own section at the grocery store, and there are 20 different kinds even at the smallest stores. Strangely, though, I haven't yet found anything resembling American pepperoni. Here, pepperoni are hot peppers. There are a few kinds of chorizo and salami that use hot peppers in them, but the ANSI standard American pizza topping seems to be missing.
• Meatloaf (Fleischkäse) is a very different thing here. It's more like lunchmeat. It's common for grocery stores to sell Fleischkäse by the slice or by the loaf.
• Tables here are set with salt, pepper, and Aromat. Aromat is a mix of salt, MSG, and dried veggies. It tastes kind of like a tastier version of the flavor packet that comes with a brick of ramen noodles. It's delicious.