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Published: April 8th 2013
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Greetings! We have spent the last 5 days in Schönenbuch (France) and Basel (Switzerland) with Martin and Jill, soaking up the European lifestyle... enjoying beautiful food and copious amounts of wine (clearly making the most of it before India...)! We wanted to jot down a few of our refections before we head back home to the UK tonight... Firstly we've been struck at how incredibly efficient Switzerland seems to be. From the - always on time - exceptionally clean - public transport, to the - extremely - well-behaved dogs, who are mostly off lead and allowed in any restaurants and/or shops (including, much to our amazement, very posh department stores). Having always hated public transport in the UK (the crammed, sweaty tubes, buses and trains which nearly always seem to be late... never fail to increase my frustration)! The trams and buses co-incide with one another, so when you step off a bus - your tram is waiting patiently (and vice versa). There are also ticket stations at EVERY stop, so everyone purchases their tickets before they travel - the driver is thus not hassled, which makes for a far more pleasant journey. It's interesting how trusting the Swiss appear to
be too - we did not get stopped once to ask/see our bus or tram tickets! Ultimately, this all makes for much easier travel; people generally appear far less stressed than they do in the UK and no one appears to be rushing. Walking around Basel you rally notice the laid back atmosphere; after visiting a museum and returning home in rush hour, we were amazed to find we could still get a seat (easily) on the bus and tram. It's noticeably far less chaotic than UK cities, which might have something to do with the fact that there are far fewer people residing here. Possibly because people simply aren't allowed into this country unless they can contribute something.
The other interesting point about Switzerland is that each canton/county is self-governed. Which basically means each canton decides its own rules. So education and taxes etc can differ dependent on where you live. For example, in one canton you can be taxed 15% and in another just 3%!! We were continually amazed at how low taxes are here... and yet despite this, Switzerland's roads, cities, public transport etc are all significantly more efficient (and cleaner) than in the
UK!?
Another point to make everything appears more regulated here. For example in order to drive a boat, you need to first take a test and exam (and pass) before doing so. We wondered if there were similar regulations to owning dogs (see above) ... which would certainly not be a bad thing to introduce to the UK.
Switzerland also appears to advocate a much healthier lifestyle, although there is a lot of very tasty cheese and wine here(!) the cities and rural areas are much more 'cycle' friendly - there are even rollerblading signs up all over the cities for skaters. I was also interested in the fact that teenagers appeared to wear less make up than they do (in general) in the UK. Clothing appears far more relaxed here too, which probably has something to do with the active lifestyle. This also got me thinking about the impact 'TOWIE' has had on our country's teenagers?! The 'orange' look, which I know I have succumbed to myself on many occasions... yikes. Good to personally reflect on!
Switzerland is also very 'holiday friendly' being central... I love the fact Martin and
Jill can simply hop in the car and drive a few hours one way and holiday in Italy, drive the other way and end up in France, or, Spain, or Germany, or, Austria... which ultimately makes for very quick and easy access holiday opportunities!
Anyway a bit of our itinerary; over the past few days we have visited a beautiful little French village, in the middle of endless vineyards. We sat outside a quaint little bar, in the sun, with a glass of local white wine. Picture perfect - very beautiful. There were a couple of people near us (amongst cyclists), reading their books, in the sun and also sipping wine.... the laid back, yet, active lifestyle seemed idyllic... We enjoyed eating the wondrously stinky (yet gorgeously tasty) Münster cheese and had a lovely cheese fondue night one evening. We also went for a beautiful walk in Fülu, up to a ruined castle, stunning winding roads taking us through vineyards and past a church where people visit on pilgrimages (it's predominantly Catholic here apparently). We also travelled down to see Martin's place of work and flat in the week, down in Lucerne. Again, despite the mist, very
pretty villages (unfortunately we could not view the apparently spectacular Alps due to the very heavy fog!) - still, extremely pretty all the same. We visited a gallery and museum in Basel - we'd forgotten how much we enjoyed doing this actually.
I suppose the only down side is just how ridiculously expensive Switzerland is. But I suppose this is largely due to the - extremely - poor exchange rate...
We have been so lucky to have stayed here with Martin and Jill, who have been incredibly generous and kind. Words cannot describe how grateful we are. It's been an absolute pleasure and has certainly reminded us of how special the rest of Europe is and just how much there is yet to explore... But for now, next stop, India. See you soon, thank you for taking the time to read this :-)
*Since returned, just out of interest have looked into Switzerland's animal welfare legislation... since 2008 dog owners have to undertake a written and practical test in order to own a dog! And those who already own dogs... have to take the same test. Also, the legislation stipulates that animals such as rabbits,various
birds and goldfish etc have to be bought in pairs - as they are lonely on their own! I wish the same legislation was brought here.... *
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