Miscellaneous Switzerland info

Just thought I'd add some miscellaneous info that didn't seem to fit into any of my previous posts.

Roads/ travel
*Speed limit on highways- 90 mph
*“Round-abouts” (traffic circles)- are magic.—No need for stoplights and delays, whenever a vehicle has entered the circle, it has the right of way. Kurt said he’d never seen a wreck at a round-about—and he drives for a living.
*Traffic lights a little different—yellow (caution) is between red and green, not like ours between green and red.
*Young people do not get driver’s license until 18 years of age.

Shopping
Chocolate, Swiss Army knives, linens

Food
*Unusual tea bags, have a little cardboard hook on them to attach to tea pot
*Menus have lots of sausage, cheese, ham, potatoes and green salad.
*Each hotel has about the same breakfast buffet consisting of various breads, cereals, fruit, cold sliced meats, undercooked bacon, sausage and unappetizing looking scrambled eggs.
*Most milk is "whole milk" and very few places had "sweetners". All had white sugar and some had brown sugar for sweeting coffee, tea or cereal.
*Coffee- depending on how it was made, my traveling companions either liked the coffee, or disliked it immensely. Some was made with a powder, while other was made in a Bunn type machine.


Hotels-
We stayed at 4 hotels on our 10 day adventure- all hotels had “European style bedding---Bottom sheet, no top sheet and a duvet (comforter)
1. St Gotthard- a very comfortable older inner city hotel in Zurich. Had the most space of any of the hotels. Within walking distance of lots of shopping and the really interesting train station with many shops
2. Bad Horn Resort- - View from the window was an amazing vista of Lake Constance. Very nice bathroom with separate shower. Maybe the smallest room we had. Reception staff really helpful. I bought my 3 hrs of internet here and used all but 13 min throughout the rest of the trip.
3. Linder Grand Hotel Beau Rivage- (in Interlocken)—very attractive facility, nothing spectacular, but quite comfortable. Within walking distance of a really good restaurant, which I couldn’t pronounce and didn’t write down, so I can’t spell it either.
4. Raddison Blu- attached to airport in Zurich is ultra modern, convenient and had free WiFi. My favorite of the 4, but inconvenient for touring because it is at the airport.
All but # 2, the resort, had the really deep style of bath tubs which I dread. I have broken a toe on one of these tubs on a different trip, so I am very cautions and tried to be sure I didn't slip.

Money Prices—
We had 3 coffees and a tea at one tea shop and the cost was $19
At one place, 2 soups, a salad, 2 coffees and water= $43
In interlocken complete meals with salad for 3 =$120
The currency I dealt with (very comparable to US dollars)
– paper money--100 Swiss francs, 50 franc, 10 francs
– coins- 5 franc,, 2 franc, 1 franc, ½ franc,
– coins-Rappen (like pennies)- 20, 10, 5

Sights
*Flowers everywhere n yards and in window boxes

*Houses looked freshly painted, didn’t see many shabby ones.

*Fields looked manicured--very little scrub brush anywhere.

*We continued noticing that people take their dogs to the top of mountains, to shop, just waling around, and as previously mentioned, to eat dinner in 5 star hotels. B said that next time he comes, he'll need to rent a dog to fit in with the everyday folks

Words- I collected interesting words just because of their look or sound.
Bahnhofstrasse- major street in Zurich
Fraumunster- convent (women’s monastery)
Achtung, kinder!—Careful, children
Krankenhaus- hospital
Backerie- bakery
Rhinefalbecken- the falls on the Rhine river
Naturschauspiel--- no clue, I was just collecting long words when I saw this.
Einfahrt- entrance
Exfahrt- exit
One of the longest words I saw--stresseninspektorat

Stories

Some previous clients of our guide were always late. They had $20,000 watches, but never seemed to care about what time it was or what they might miss because they were not on time to leave for a tour. He seemed pleased that we were prompt.

Cow fights- an entertainment in the farming areas of Switzerland. The cows “butt heads” until one quits—natural activity for them, they aren’t prepared or coached. Farmer with the strongest cow can brag all year.

Heard in the Atlanta airport—Child “No, no, not the train! Don’t make me!!
I went on my merry way trying to find my gate, so I don’t know whether she was put on the train or not.