Memos From Switzerland

Fabio is flying back from his week long trip to Switzerland today. He was able to find us a furnished apartment from September on (YAY!), open some bank accounts, take care of his resident permit, get us cell phones, get public transportation passes (NOT CHEAP!) and many, many other things. Every day I would get lots of emails from him, many of them titled, "Memo about __________". In the blank he would put things like, "phone", "food", etc. It was cute. Things are different in Switzerland, and every time he would notice something he thought I should know, I'd get an email. Here are some of the memos I got...maybe they will help all of you who will come visit us too!

Cheese Memo:
My goodness, these people know how to make cheese…I bought some cottage cheese today (Hüttenkäse)…..it tasted NOTHING like American cottage cheese. This cheese was to die for. Ok, here is the end of my “cheese memo.” More to come…

PG Memo:
So, I went in to Partners Group today. They showed me the building (which is BIG and incredibly nice…., you could eat on the floor for how clean it is). They showed me the dvision of the departments and where I’ll be working. They said that there are currently five lawyers at their Zug office (one from China, two from Portugal, and two from New Zealand) and that I will be the sixth. They all sit in a team in a conglomerate of desks with nice computers, chairs, big desks, etc etc

Food Memo:
When it’s Saturday and it’s 4 pm, don’t do what I did today and wait to go buy some groceries….go QUICK because after 4pm, it will all be like midnight on Christmas Eve.

Phone Memo:
When you call offices or people and you don’t get an answering machine…that’s normal. People don’t have answering machines. When you call a cell phone and you leave a message, don’t expect that people actually check it because it costs them to check their phone messages. So, a lot of people don’t even check them.

Shopping Memo:
When you use a shopping basket, don’t put it on the cash line. They won’t empty it for you. They expect you to empty the basket. Also, don’t expect them to bag your groceries. They won’t. Also, you won’t get plastic bags. You need to ask for plastic bags and they cost anywhere between 50 cents and a dollar (yes, it’s a ripoff). I guess the idea is that you should bring your own bags. So, when you come here, pack a couple of sturdy shopping bags to bring with you. Today is Saturday and there are LOTS of public markets with 5 blocks from the apt. You will love them. There are lots of tourists lots of people on the streets. Weekends will be definitely fun and I can’t wait to go around the country with you. Each weekend will be different.

Commute Memo:
You’ll be taking bus 21 directly at the Railway station, right outside. It’s right in front of the huge post office. See photo. (Click on the photo to see the instructions he insterted himself!)