Follow the rules people, follow the rules, and stay out of trouble. Do they have a course we can take at Migros Clubschule for RULES TO FOLLOW IN SWITZERLAND? I might have to sign up for it, just incase.
...as for the flushing after 10pm in my building, I never asked, everyone seems to do it, so we just " go with the flow " ...we can even hear our neighbors 2 floors up having sex after midnight (well, I assume that's why she's screaming "Oooohhh jaaaa!" at the top of her lungs ), but I haven't complained about that to anyone either, I'll chalk that up along with peeing in the "natural urges" category and let it slide
My husband who is a swiss plumber was astounded with the amount of gurgling 'drainage' noises in Australia when we lived there.... I think it is just what the people here are used to and whether they are bored or not. Most people are fine. Out next door neighbour is a great guy and doesn't care what we do, but I have heard that the people who lived in our apartment before moved out because their 10 year old made 'noise' and the woman below used to bang on the walls too. I didn't know about the after 10pm shower thing either, but I have only ever disobeyed that rule when I've been out in a smoke filled environment and HAVE to have a shower cause I stink of cigarette. Swiss buildings are built much better and the noise is quite minimal, but people will be people no matter where you go in the world and there is always someone willing to complain. My advise is apologize with a nice letter and a box of chocolates and simply explain that you didn't realize it was a problem until you asked someone.
Trace
I finally decided to ring the bell of my neighbour and introduce my self (after living there for 6 months )
Best part was that he speaks only german and my conversational skills in german have (frankly speaking) a long way to go.
After that fiasco of an introduction I have not managed to muster up courage to introduce my self to other people in the appartment(who are not on my floor
I was in an apartment block constructed in the 1950s and you could hear people sneeze in the next apartment.
I have lived in this apartment for about 3 years now, in the town centre of oerlikon (zurich). It's a very noisey apartment generally, especially outside because trams go past right outside the window every few minutes. Also above me is a single old guy who occasionally gets smashed and plays alsorts of music full volume in the middle of the night (like 2am ) Personally, I couldnt care less and sometimes hum along to the tunes whilst in my sleep.
So basically, Ive never had a problem with noise in this apartment because it's noisey outside and I have some noisey neighbours.
Well, in the last week or so, there must have been a new neighbour moved in on the same floor, because now when I try to watch the tv late at night, he immediately bangs (REALLY HARD) on the wall. Clearly his bedroom is right on the other side of the wall where my TV and speakers are.
The thing is, the point at which he will stop banging on the wall is the point that the TV becomes inaudible to me (and my ears work just fine).
But still, nearly every night this week he's been banging on my wall at some point and I really do try to be as quite as possible. I hate confrontation with neighbours and prefer an easy quiet life.
So having read this thread, I decided the most prudent course of action would be to swallow my pride, eat a huge piece of humble pie, and go introduce myself and apologise like crazy.
So thats what I did at 9:30am this morning. I knocked on the door, asked if he spoke english (which he did, a bit, i dont speak german too good yet), and then gave him my most sheepish look and apologised profusely, in both english and bad german.
I didnt want to apologise tbh, because I never have the TV on loud. Basically, he hits the wall as soon as the TV is audible to me sitting just a few meters away from it. The TV volume is always as low as I can get away with anyway and he STILL bangs on the wall.
Anyway, Im buying expensive wireless headphones today and plan to use them as soon as I watch TV in the evening.
I'd rather adjust my practices, even if it means I'm giving in to his unreasonable demands, than have an all out war with my neighbours.
Funny Ive not had this problem before now. I always thought I was as quiet as a mouse until this fussy git with what must be superman-like ears, moved in next door. The sound proofing in this apartment I would say is pretty good. I only generally hear excessive noise from other neighbours, so how he hears my TV when the volume is really low, I don't know. He must be the lightest sleeper on the planet!!
Anyway, he accepted my apology gracefully and even looked a bit guilty for having bashed on the wall several nights in a row. But I apologised repeatedly and explained I'm going to use headphones from now on and finished the conversation with both of us smiling and being friendly towards each other which I take as a good sign. If I can resolve this amicably, then I will be happy.
Whilst I appreciate your decision to capitulate on this matter in the interests of good neighbourliness, you should realise that you have now put yourself in the position of submitting to this guy's (on the face of it) quite unreasonable expectations. You can probably expect many more incidents in the future of this neighbour making unreasonable demands of you.
In my place, I have a Portuguese family above me with kids that run around and play ball (my windows rattle), on the ground floor is a Turkish Jazz musician that smokes his inspiration weed so intensely there's a perpetual smell around the house, opposite me are two young guys, below them a Swiss guy that fights with his Russian wife so bad the cops get called, immediately below me was a young Italian guy that played guitar and sang his "Amore" songs (I joined in on Bass guitar from my flat occasionally).
Basically, everything was great. People did what they wanted.
Then the Italian guitarist moved out and a retired Swiss guy moved in, and everything changed.
He banged on walls and complained to the Treuhand that rent out our apartments. Soon, everybody was compelled to comply to the terms of the contract.
A real shame.
It really depends on the neighbors, and the building. We are pretty lucky, very quiet neighbors.
If I listen to my TV through the headphones from now on at night, then if he still finds fault, he'll be introduced to the less charismatic side of my personality. I'm willing to fight against someone taking the ****, but only as a last resort after friendly means of communication have failed.
One of the things that always disappointed me about Switzerland was that tolerance and consideration just wasn't ingrained in the psyche of society.
Unwavering adherence to the rules - sure. But acting in a manner that showed human empathy for others and a bit of tolerance - generally not. The rules were what counted. Any dispute about something that fell outside of the rules boiled down to a question of who had the stronger will and people could have entirely unreasonable expectations.
A lot depends on your neighbours. I had quite decent ones around me so for the most part I had an easy time. There was one old Swiss woman in the house who made life hell for everyone else though but luckily she didn't live anywhere adjacent to me so I didn't come into conflict with her that much. A mate however lived in an apartment block more or less surrounded by old people and a totally intolerant tw@t downstairs. His 'apartment life' was considerably more fraught with irritations.
but last aprt i faced a little bit of problems in washing on sundays and talking a little bit louder on the corridors on sundays..ma god...little bit of fussy rules around here in swiss..no hurt feeling maa swiss friends out here...i still love swiss a lot....
The are a bunch of reformed idiots, especially in the german speaking part.
I'd complain about you too if you were disturbing me with late showers - and through the correct channels like your neighbours.
What's a "reformed idiot" - one who is no longer an idiot?