Hi all,
I am living in the Netherlands,
End of this month I am going to visit some friends in Switzerland and France, they all have kids.
1) Question 1: Gift cards:
Since I don't know what the kids will like, so I am planning to buy some gift cards (with some amount of money inside so that kids can buy things they want).
I think of Amazon, but maybe there would be some more interesting or cheaper options (like some discounts if I buy X from Y) ?
2) Question 2: Buying tanks
Which app / website can I use to find tank stations of good price ?
3) Question 3: Driving Automatic in the mountains
I have just bought a hybrid Toyota Corolla (90 kW (123 hp), and this is my first time driving Automatic in CH. When brake it would first charge its battery then do the brake, and in B mode (if I understand correctly) it would use the engine to brake instead of the battery-generator.
Anyone else driving Hybrid in CH ?
And Toyota hybrid drivers: do you recommend buying Euro 95 of euro 98 when in CH ?
Thanks.
Don’t buy amazon.nl gift cards for people living in France and Switzerland, they won’t work. Switzerland doesn’t have an Amazon and people normally use amazon.de or amazon.fr
How old are the kids? I would buy them a gift card from a local department store like Manor or Coop
https://www.manor.ch/de/shop/geschen…ifts-giftcards
https://www.coop.ch/de/marken-inspir…ct-information
The goods might be more expensive than on Amazon but the kids might enjoy the experience of going to a store rather than shopping online.
Question 2: France is cheapest. In CH, highway is most expensive, apart from that it doesn't really matter.
Question 3: just drive down. we're not in the 1960s anymore
Thanks,
In the Netherlands, kids "earn" a salary equal their age per month, and normally a kid of 8-11 y.o. should not spend more than 12 euro per gift for a birthday of his/her friend.
How is that in CH ? w.r.t. to that "salary" and a birth day gift ? And: how much a gift card is normal, this is not for a birth day, but just to know what adults give those kids in the form of a gift card.
- Kids in CH: 2 kids age 7 and 14
- Kids in Fr: 4 kids 9 to 17 y.o.
Also don’t forget to buy the vignette for the Swiss highways. Its a sticker you have to stick to the windscreen and it costs 40 chf. You can buy it at the border (i think).
You're overthinking this, does it really matter if gas is Chf 0.02 cheaper than the next garage, relax and enjoy Switzerland.
For the kids.......maybe bring something from your country, giving money shows a lack of imagination
We spend CHF 20-30 for presents when my kids are invited to birthday parties.
How about you put together a little basket of Dutch treats for each family?
Stropwafels, different kinds of Hagelslag (chocolate and colored), Boorelnootjes, a SMALL bag of black licorice (that my kids hate ) a package mix to make Oliebollen and some Gouda.
When I was a teenager and went on holiday to Amsterdam, I bought myself some of the painted wooden clogs. I loved them (not for wearing obvs) and they were in my bedroom for years.
As journey is intra-schengen there will be limited* border controls. Autoroute crossings should have the vignettes for sale. Non-autoroute crossings usually don’t. Buy one at any Swiss petrol station or post office. Petrol station near the border in FR/DE should also have them.
Here is a list of sellers. https://www.bazg.admin.ch/bazg/en/ho…vignetten.html
*Free movement of people, not not for goods. You might be checked by customs.
I use B 24/7. Regenerated electricity and one-pedal driving, what’s not to like.
Thanks. I didn’t know that. We have a pure electric rather than a hybrid. We see a small benefit in heavy autoroute start stop traffic.
We have electric and I rarely use the brake. Even on steep roads down, it's only needed to brake when driving down on cold mornings in the winter (because regeneration doesn't work in this case).
I thought B mode is like a normal non-hybrid, manual transmission mode ? So it will mainly not use the difference in speed between the engine and the wheel to charge the battery ?
D mode is like a normal automatic, take your foot off the accelerator you just coast. B mode is regenerative braking, take your foot off the accelerator and difference in speed charges the battery. At least on my Skoda Citigo.
Corolla always charges the battery when there is a difference between the wheel speed and engine speed. So on D mode it charges while coasting as well, but I guess on B mode it changes to lower gear sooner to reduce speed faster than D mode. What I don't understand yet is whether the B mode charges battery less than D mode, while coasting downhill or not.
Question 1
Cash never offends. Even if it's €