At the end of February there is a FIBA break, so basketball players can leave their clubs and go play for their national teams if necessary. We took advantage of the break, knowing it’s Brev’s last time off this season, by spending the weekend in Zurich, Switzerland.
We were surprised to say that this was probably one of our favorite trips. Yes, Zurich was a cool city to visit, but even more than that, everything just went well and worked out smoothly. It was the perfect mix of fun, sightseeing, and having some really great meals!
On our walking tour we learned that:
- While people still associate Switzerland with chocolate, cheese fondue, watches, and banking, this is an outdated image. Cutting edge healthcare is their largest industry, followed by technology with lots of their university graduates ending up at Google or Meta.
- There are three national Swiss languages: German, Italian, and French. This means that every government document, speech, etc. must be translated into all three and they spend a lot of money each year doing so. Swiss German is very different than the German spoke in Germany, so Swiss and German people may not even understand each other. For this reason, English is quickly becoming the fourth language of the country because everyone is learning it.
- Many Swiss people couldn’t tell you who their president is because there is a new President every single year in Switzerland.
- The Swiss are very proud of their free, clean drinking water. There were more than 85 drinking fountains around Zurich. Our tour guide joked to “drink up,” because water is the only free thing in Switzerland (since it is very expensive).
- Like we found while living in Denmark (or visiting other Scandinavian countries), Switzerland is expensive due to its high quality of living. Their healthcare, education, and social services, etc. are top notch so people are taxed heavily to pay for these things. Because it’s a mountainous country, agriculture is limited, and they must import many foods and goods (which are also heavily taxed).
- Zurich was ranked the world’s fourth-most expensive city to live in a few years ago, and it was estimated the total cost of living there is 80% more expensive than in Brussels. Interesting!
The Jo Show 