Ein Architekt in der Schweiz

OK, I'm off to Switzerland to do an extremely interesting project - which is of course, as we know the Swiss, ultimately confidential and therefore you will not read much about it.

If someone knows an address where I can buy a copy of "Asterix chez les Helvètes", I hold myself recommended. Still need to buy my half-fare card as well.

Just a few general opinions on the cultural differences I have noticed till now. Most of the clichés on the country appear to have some truth to them. In quite a few business letters I received till now (mostly to arrange a few private affairs), I am treatened with all kinds of consequences in the second last sentence if I do not comply with procedures within a defined period. As in "if you drop your piece of bread in the fondue for the third time, you will be thrown into the lake". Not that any of these consequences would be less grave in Belgium, but we usually do not feel the need to mention them explicitly on the first business letter.

I am very impressed by the efficiency of business processes (which seem to be well thought through in advance of operating them) and the high quality of service I generally receive, for example the service I get from my Swiss bank. Swiss banks truly operate in another league in that field. I don't see a lot of difference in the front-office, in both countries front-office staff will do whatever is in their power to help their customers, but at my Swiss bank, the back-office seems to be much better aligned. And even construction workers have delivered on the promised date (twice already). Flexibility in responding to unanticipated customer requests is a bit less, though.

The way politics are close to life has impressed me as well. Although I obviously have no right to vote, I receive about 10 times as much leaflets from political parties and initiative committees as I do in Belgium, where only the extreme right party goes through the trouble of writing and posting leaflets instead of limiting themselves to group-chats in their local café. These leaflets explain the stakes really well if you combine the for and against arguments from different parties. The direct democracy seems able to make though decisions, reinforces the sense of community and if you gather enough signatures within a defined time period, any group of people can launch their own political initiative. The opposition parties have a more active role than just decrying shame on the coalition in force. Subsidiarity between gemeinde, cantons and bund is a frequent topic of debate, though. Seems like a nice idea for my country as well, as it forces politicians to explain their voting recommendation clearly to the public instead of cooking up ugly compromises among themselves in some secluded chateau. For which they know they won't be punished until the next election, when everyone has forgotten the stakes and the stands. I learned that the local Jean Marie DD is called Christoph Blocher.

More impressions will follow as I go. I hope I will keep noticing the differences.