Driving in Switzerland

A new resident of Switzerland has one year to obtain a Swiss driving license. 

 

Before you can apply for the driving license, you must have your "Ausländerausweis" or your residency card - the Swiss version of a green card. 



The license process begins with passing a simple eye examination at any optician of which there are many. (there is a fee involved). The next step is to take the completed optician's form along with a passport size photo to the Gemeindehaus (town hall). At this point, you must also relinquish your previous license and pay another fee.  

The materials I had read warned me of this. Trying to prepare in advance, I went to New Jersey's DMV, told them I lost my license and paid for a duplicate license.  I'm not sure about other states, but each time you renew your NJ license, it says it was issued that year. I've had a NJ license since 1976, but there is no way to know that from the license itself. The duplicate license had an issue date of August 2012. I didn't examine the license closely and gave my duplicate license along with the application.

A few days later, I received a letter in the mail (in German, of course). Since there was no Swiss license included, I knew it was not good news. Tom translated it for me and we learned that they thought I'd only been driving for 3 months and weren't going to give me a license. If I had proof that I'd been driving longer, I should send it to them. 

I made a copy of my other NJ license (effective 5 years ago) and also my Belgian license (issued in 1997 and permanent) and sent them to the Swiss DMV. A few days later, another letter arrives with no Swiss license. This time they asked me to send in my original Belgian license. Do I have a choice? I send it along with a note requesting it be returned. (I think it's a pretty cool souvenir.) A few days later, two more envelopes arrive. One has my NJ duplicate license complete with a "not valid in Switzerland" sticker. The other envelope has my Swiss license! Yay! A week has passed and my Belgian license has not been returned. I might get it when we leave the country - or I might not. Next time, I shouldn't try to outsmart the Swiss. From Tom's experience, I know there will be one more fee to pay. Sometime soon I'll get the bill in the mail. 

It was a hassle and frustrating, but I'm just glad I'm not from China, India or South Africa. Those people have to take driving tests. I don't know why.

With or without the Swiss license, I have been very careful with my driving. I have learned from others that the Swiss give speeding tickets when you're only a couple km over the speed limit. I know someone who got a 250 CHF fine for stopping beyond the white stop line. (this actually happened to her twice - ouch!) We put snow tires on the car not just for bad weather. We were told if you are involved in an accident in wintry conditions and you don't have snow tires, you will be declared at fault. I have an appointment for next week to take the car in and get Swiss plates. Once I have Swiss plates, I hope people will no longer stare at the car when they see it.

Zug

Zurich International Women's Association (ZIWA) organizes hikes. Last week there was a hike scheduled in Zug. The plan was to take a 45 minute train ride from Zurich to Zug. From there, we were going to take a funicular up near the top of the "mountain" and hike around there. November in Switzerland is very foggy and the hike was cancelled because there wouldn't be much view. I would have been happy to walk anyway for the exercise, but I wasn't in charge. I had purchased my ticket ahead of time and they are only valid on the date shown. A new friend also had her ticket  so we decided to take the ride to Zug anyway and explore the "old town" of the city. (Next time, I will wait to buy my ticket.)


  






Before we made it to the "old town" we happened upon this little church. It looks normal enough from the outside, right?

Look closely at the interior. I've been in a lot of churches and this is the first one I've seen with chaise lounges.

Here at the edge of Lake Zug, you can tell what a pretty place this would be on a clear day.

With no agenda, we just wandered around. There was no limit to the interesting buildings and pretty views.

 

Does this look like a police station?

clock tower

 

raised sidewalk - lower part is a road!

why is there a nose on this tower?

stringing Christmas lights on November 14

Here is what I've labeled a tree of life inside the church. We were visiting shortly after All Saints Day. The red apples recorded deaths over the past year. The others record births and have baby faces on them. Cool!

  more interesting buildings

The wooden walkway leads to the art museum.  Stripes are painted on the wall surrounding the building.

 

sculpture outside art museum

 

Near the lake we stumbled upon a small aviary. Not associated with a zoo - just out there for anyone to enjoy. The red ibis cooperated and gave me a beautiful pose.

















On the way back to the train station, we stopped to look at a shop window. I'm guessing these are gingerbread flavored. No free samples.

  

The witch's house stood no more than 10 inches tall. Could be yours for 110 CHF!!















Marisel and I had a fun day of exploring. We agreed to go back on a clear day - maybe bringing the husbands. 

Raebechilbi Richterswil ...

the largest turnip festival in the world! Villages all around the lake have their own Raebechilbi, but only in Richterswil can you witness a festival of this magnitude. Not wanting to miss an opportunity to experience Swiss culture first hand, we hopped on the train in Horgen for a short 15 minute ride to Richterswil. We joined some other folks I'd met through the Living in Zurich (LIZ) class for this unique event. As soon as we exited the train, we were accosted by kids anywhere from 10-15 years old selling cardboard discs on a string for 8 CHF (over $8). I was reluctant to buy one because it seemed a bit steep for what it was. But alas, Switzerland is expensive and we were told these discs were obligatorisch - in other words, our entrance ticket. I now have a Christmas ornament that none of you have. Actually, we have two! 

We're guessing the evening's parade might also be a competition and this lady last year's winner. The panda is from the brochure we received with our "ticket" purchase.

This one is for Lynn, Kim and Alicia!

 

The allure of this festival was the display of carved and glowing turnips. They were  decorating windowsills, dangling from arches and lining sidewalks like luminaries.

Some turnips were more intricately carved than others.

Children carried their own lit turnips.

 
The main event came at exactly 6:30 pm. We heard a bang and the lights of the town went out - the only light came from the glowing turnips. For one hour, we watched the turnip parade. Can anyone else say they've done this? We watched groups of children carry lit turnips on planks and many floats go by. You might say it was the Swiss version of the Rose Parade. 

turnips on plank

 

this one is for Sarah!

the windmill was actually spinning!

people climbed up on the floats to relight turnips

view from the side to show the individual turnips

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 Please excuse the amateur videos.

Euro with a lightning bolt - you decide what this means

my personal favorite

The parade ended with two London floats in honor of the 2012 Olympics.

London Bridge

As soon as the parade ended, we headed back to the train station. On the way, we passed the street cleaner already out cleaning up after the festivities!

Expo Vina 2012

Welcome to the wine ships!

Locals and expats alike look forward to the arrival of the wine ships. Zurich has hosted the wine expo for 59 years. The ships are lined up at the end of Lake Zurich and tethered together. Guests can walk from one to another.

Entrance is not free unless you arrive before 1:00 pm or if you are given free entrance tickets from a wine distributor. Books are given at the entrance listing all wines that will be available for tasting along with a layout of the ships and booth numbers of the distributors. There are a few restaurant ships to help with wine absorption. We started with food first, tasting some Swiss specialties.

grapes hanging for decoration

  

I had the ever traditional fondue - lots of precut bread provided. Sometimes fondue is served with a whole baguette and you must break it up yourself.

Another traditional dish is raclette. It tastes like grilled cheese without the bread. Here it is served with potatoes, onions, pickles and a slice of pineapple.

Even the napkins were pretty and theme appropriate.

Zweifel provided beverages at two of the Living in Zurich events I attended. With a little effort (going to their shop), they gave free entrance tickets. We also ordered some of their wine.

There were so many choices to taste! Wines from all over the world including Switzerland. Some of them are quite good and not readily available in the US.

Swiss wine

Some of the ships are very old which is evident here by the wood and brass interior.

Yes, we went twice. Too many  to taste in one day. Of course, we did not come close to tasting everything. We placed our orders and  some have already been delivered. We're set until next year!

I know some of you stateside would love this event. You can consider it when you choose when to visit. It's always in early November, but the weather isn't so beautiful then.