Last night I enjoyed Swiss Experience #1: Going to IKEA.
I realize that IKEA is really not a purely Swiss thing, but the way that IKEA manifests itself in Switzerland is definitely Swiss. The most noticeable example (at least to me) is in the bedding section, where I spent almost an hour trying to figure out my options. Can you guess the item that you cannot find? Flat sheets! The Swiss way of doing bedding is to have a fitted sheet and then a duvet with a cover. You change the duvet cover the way you would change sheets. Since I can't imagine that changing a duvet cover is on anyone's top 5 list of things to do, I'm not quite sure how this whole system developed. I certainly am not super adept at wrestling a large, pillowy blanket into a soft "envelope" where the corners never match and all of the duvet filling usually ends up all on one side or falling out the opening. Between the lack of sheet sets and the different sizes, I really did spend an inordinate amount of time in this section, and still managed to get the wrong size of duvet. Good thing IKEA is really relatively close to my new flat!
This morning I had Swiss Experience #2: Laundry.
If you are not so blessed as to have laundry in your flat, the system of laundry here can range from strictly regimented to kamikaze madness. Some flats will simply assign you a time slot every week, and you must do your laundry during that time, or you are out of luck. One person I know has Friday night. Every week. Another variation is posting a sign-up sheet with slots that one can sign up for up to two weeks in advance. This is the system that is used in the flat where I am moving, thankfully. The flat where I am living now definitely falls under the kamikaze madness, in my personal experience. I have been stalking the machine for a few days and have never seen it free, even close to midnight. Finally I decided to get up insanely early (5 am, anyone?) to do my laundry. So, this morning I got up at 5 am and did laundry, which involved traipsing up and down 6 flights of stairs approximately 10 times. And, the sad thing is that someone else wanted to do laundry about half an hour after I started! Too bad for them... I am really happy that I got this over with and now have clean clothes and sheets for my move next week! I think the early morning definitely contributed to my current headache, though.
This afternoon I had Swiss Experience #3: Opening a Swiss bank account.
Today I opened my very own Swiss bank account- at Credit Suisse. It required quite a lot of information from me, but I believe I was successful. I feel so legit! Me and my Swiss bank account....
