Rude Swiss Award Nomination goes to... a completely rude arrogant idiot who kicked my bag in the crowded tram as he couldn't get in comfortably during early morning rush hour...
Rude Swiss Award goes to the guy who, in true Swiss fashion, barged through me when getting off the bus (no, I wasn't standing in front of the door) and used "I'm just trying to catch my train as an excuse". I nearly got in a fight but managed to restrain myself.
It is unbelievable. I was standing with my back against a pillar so it was pointless for him to barge me. It happens a lot here. People don't seem to realise that sliding sideways through a gap is possible. Now I just stand (when I know I'm in a reasonable position and not blocking access) and give them the hard shoulder. I might go back and see if he gets off the same bus tonight.
Bestest I saw this week was a chap way too old to look good in the cycling garb he was wearing telling a five year old and his polite mummy that he wouldn't move his bike which was blocking the "exciting-to-a-five-year-old seats" at the back of the Cobra tram I was in.
Miserable git. The look of disappointment on the face of the five year old was heart breaking.
The little boy didn't kick off or cry or protest and which made him the bigger man.
Pleased to say that the miserable old b*tch who serves at the till in the big Kiosk off the main hall in the Zürich Bahnhof got a right earful from me after being a cow (in german) to my wife who was dithering a bit over her chewing gum selection.
My wife's german is limited, mine is not. Luckily for me I work with a Basler, who regularly turns the air blue in Baslerdeutsch, to who I owe my entire vocabulary of Schweizerdeutsch swearwords.
Gotverdelinomal!
If you spot this particular woman, spiky, tall, bottle brass blond, in her late 40's / early 50's with over-tanned skin, throw something at her for me.
I'm frequently amazed at the gaping chasm of cultural differences with etiquette and common courtesy etc. Some make me smile but others are down right irritating and more difficult to ignore ......my pet hate is Q jumpers (yes I'm a brit) and I can be found regularly in Basel territorially marking my well ordered Q position....low and behold anyone that tests me on that
I remain in ignorance what my sins against swiss culture are
The Swiss answer: You made a fuss in the city's busiest kiosk. How many seconds was your wife looking at the chewing gum and did she make way for the next customer in line?
I would guess the biggest bugbear is when we introduce ourselves with the first name.
When I first got here I constantly did this as I couldn't get used to just saying my last name to people.
Swiss people, on the other hand, would do this and I would go around calling them "Mueller" or "Lüdi" all night thinking this was their first name. Probably highly irritating for them as they didn't know my last name and were forced to call me by my first name...
Sorry, Nathu, I have to disagree. The other kiosk round the corner by the platforms is equally busy but manned by lovely sweet people. The kiosk Velofellow is referring to is indeed "guarded" by people I would guess have been thrown out of anger management courses for being aggressive.
Hover anywhere near the magazine rack with a coffee in your hand and one of them will bark at you from the counter in German "If you spill that coffee, you pay for the magazines!"
I wonder whether this isn't something we all face, being in a foreign country. When I go elsewhere I usually feel a bit lost about how to ask for things, or how to behave in a Shop or at the Hotel reception. Isn't this just normal ? As soon as we feel a bit insecure, it seems, nothing goes the right way. I feel at times like a lost idiot when traveling...