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LIVING IN SWITZERLAND

Eight ways to annoy your Swiss friends

From dropping by unannounced to not mastering wine etiquette, here's how to annoy your Swiss friends (although we advise you not to!)

You need to master the wine drinking etiquette in Switzerland. Photo by Zan on Unsplash
You need to master the wine drinking etiquette in Switzerland. Photo by Zan on Unsplash

You may want to think twice about annoying your Swiss friends, as Swiss friends are very difficult to find.

In fact, it probably took you 150 arduous steps to get Swiss friends in the first place, and it takes only eight to p*ss them off.

But if you are really committed to doing do, just for the fun of it, here are some ways that are sure to make many locals wonder why you were allowed into their country.

Drop in without prior notice

The Swiss are very organised, live by the clock, and tend to micromanage everything around them.

Popular lore has it that this habit is not as entrenched in Italian and French-speaking regions as it is in the Swiss-German part.

But if you want to irk people, regardless of the geographical area, drop in announced. Don’t call or send messages telling them you’re coming — just show up at their doorstep.

And if you do tell them you’re coming….arrive late. Few things irritate Swiss people more than tardiness.

READ MORE: The pleasure of punctuality’: Why are the Swiss so obsessed with being on time?

Insult their national pride

If you tell a friend they are not really ‘Swiss’, but German, French or Italian (depending on the region in which they live and the language they speak), you will annoy them terribly.

The Swiss are very patriotic and proud of their country (sometimes even to the point of arrogance) and they will not take to this remark kindly.

Make fun of their army

To tell a Swiss person their military is not a ‘real army’, is sure to rub them up the wrong way.

They regard army service not only as their patriotic and civic duty, but also as a rite of passage of sorts.

True, not every country’s military has army knives, cutlery, watches, travel gear and fragrances attached to their name, but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t fight if they had to.

They probably could fight if they had to. Photo by Fabrice Coffrini / AFP

Laugh at their language(s)

One foreigner we know told a Swiss-German friend (now an ex-friend) that his language sounds like “bastardised Dutch”.

Let it be a good lesson: making fun of someone’s native language is a definite ‘nein-nein’.

‘Just so fun to say’: Are these the best Swiss German words to learn?

On the other hand, if you learn to speak it, even imperfectly, you might just make a friend or two.

Not master the proper wine etiquette

Switzerland is a nation of wine drinkers. To Swiss people, French wines are, needless to say, inferior, and don’t even try to sell them on Italian or Spanish wines. They will, literally and figuratively, turn up their noses at them.

Also, if you drink with a Swiss friend, you don’t unceremoniously chug your wine down and ask for more. You have to hold your glass by the stem, look into your friend’s eyes, preferably without blinking, for at least five seconds, then clink your glasses.

Only then can you sip your wine, praising its fragrance, aroma, depth of colour, and the Swiss region it came from.

Not appreciate Aromat

The Swiss love their Aromat seasoning and there’s hardly a household that doesn’t keep it on their spice rack.

It goes on everything from boiled eggs to meat and fish, and some people even carry it with them when they eat out or go on holidays.

As a foreigner, you may not understand what all the fuss is about, but to say outright to a Swiss that Aromat tastes awful or that it shouldn’t be sprinkled on everything is almost as offensive as criticising their language and army (see above) .

Disrupt peace and quiet

If your Swiss friends are also your neighbours, you are sure to irritate them by being loud on inappropriate days and at inappropriate hours.

READ MORE: Nine ways you might be annoying your neighbours (and not realising it) in Switzerland

All apartment buildings in Switzerland have a noise ordinance in place, which bans loud noises after 10pm. You might have heard that you are not even allowed to flush your toilet after this time, but in most buildings this is not the case, unless your toilet sounds like a jackhammer.

However, loud music, TV, and other noises are strictly ‘verboten’.

And Sundays are considered rest days so your neighbours’ peace and quiet should not be disrupted by a sound of a lawn mower, hedge cutter, or nail being hammered into a wall.

Never on Sunday. Photo by Greyson Joralemon on Unsplash

Not support Swiss national football team or Roger Federer

When it comes to sports, the Swiss are firmly behind their teams and champions.

If you tell a friend you are a fan of another team or tennis player, expect to become an outcast in your social circle and maybe even the whole country.

READ MORE: ‘We don’t like France, Germany or Italy’: How linguistic diversity unites Swiss football fans

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For members

ECONOMY

How the strengths and weaknesses of the Swiss economy will impact you

While the economies of many countries are struggling, Switzerland’s is doing well in comparison. What exactly are its strengths and weaknesses? And how will they impact you?

How the strengths and weaknesses of the Swiss economy will impact you

In its new analysis published on Tuesday, the Swiss Economic Institute (KOF) lays out the forecast for Switzerland’s economy.

Some of it is positive, and some less so.

On the whole, however, and given the difficult situation of the past two years, the outlook is promising (read more about this below).

Things are not always what they seem

Economists, like KOF’s director Jan-Egbert Sturm, point out that though the public’s perception of the current economic situation is skewed toward the negative, it is not necessarily so.

“The increase in prices in Switzerland was significantly lower than in neighbouring countries,” he said in an interview with Blick newspaper. 

So is inflation: even at its height in 2022, when it exceeded the 3-percent mark (a very high figure for Switzerland), it was still well below the EU average.

Today, the rate stands at below 2 percent — still lower than elsewhere in Europe

READ ALSO: Why Switzerland’s inflation rate has stayed low compared to elsewhere

 Another ‘misconception’ is that consumption habits in Switzerland have been impacted by inflation.

The general view is that “there is some reluctance to buy new, larger goods like washing machines or cars. But if we look at the figures closely, we see that consumption is evolving in a relatively stable manner,” Sturm said.

“The Swiss economy is generally quite solid,” he added.

Another plus: “the labour market remains robust, especially thanks to the services sector,” Sturm pointed out.

Companies are more reluctant to let employees go not only because there are not enough qualified workers to fill job vacancies, but also because employers “learned during the pandemic that they must be careful not to lay off workers too quickly,” so as not to create shortages when the crisis passes.  

Why does Swiss economy generally fare well in crises — and in general?

There are several reasons for that: 

Low unemployment / high employment

This dynamic fuels economic prosperity because it means that as people earn income, they not only spend more (thus boosting consumption), but they also pay taxes which fill up the government’s coffers.

And when that happens, everyone in Switzerland benefits: the cantons and their finances profit from the strength of the Swiss economy, as the federal government distributes some of its profits to cantons.

The government’s role

The Swiss are financially-savvy, which bodes well for the economy.

Take the debt brake, for instance.

According to the government, it is a mechanism designed to “prevent chronic deficits and keep federal debt from soaring”.

Just as it is for private spending, the government must be careful not to exceed the set ‘expenditure ceiling.’

“With a debt ratio of around 30 percent of gross domestic product, Switzerland remains in excellent shape by international standards,” the government pointed out. “The debt brake has not only significantly helped Switzerland to overcome multiple crises relatively well; it has also allowed for a considerable reduction in federal debt.”

According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), “Switzerland’s public finances rank amongst the best in terms of solidity.”

READ ALSO : What is Switzerland’s debt brake and how does it affect residents?

All these factors combined have kept Switzerland’s afloat (or at least from drowning) during various global downturns, including the Covid pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine which sparked spiralling inflation in many places. 

But there are weak points as well

One of them is the strong franc.

Actually, its strength vis-à-vis the euro and US dollar is a double-edged sword.

On the positive side it benefits the import industry and, ultimately, the consumer.

But it is quite the opposite for exports.

Switzerland relies heavily on trade with the EU, mainly Germany, but when the euro is weaker than the franc, Swiss goods are too expensive abroad — especially if countries concerned are in recession and simply can’t afford to buy from Switzerland.

For this reason, Swiss industries that depend on exports, usually feel the ‘crunch’ more than import-based sectors.

Also, the strong franc may very well enable Switzerland-based earners to enjoy numerous stays abroad, but it also makes holidays in Switzerland very pricy for overseas tourists. This, in turn, has a negative effect on the Swiss economy as well.

Therefore, the state of Switzerland’s economy is not entirely in its own hands, but depends on forces beyond its control.

As KOF puts it, “the sluggish global economy is slowing the growth of the Swiss economy” as well.

What can we expect ahead?

This is where the good news comes in.

“Real wage increases are expected following the declines of recent years,” KOF says. “This will boost purchasing power and, together with population growth, should support private consumption.

Therefore, “households’ spending is expected to increase in the coming year. This trend will be supported by a gradual levelling-​off of inflation and a sharper rise in disposable incomes.”

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