In October 2007, I hosted Immanuel Willi when he came to the USA and now it is my turn to visit Switzerland. Flying to Basel was easy as I booked connecting American Airlines flights from Champaign to Chicago, then to London, then transferring to British Airways to Basel. The transfer in Heathrow's new Terminal 5 was seamless as all the airport personnel were extremely friendly and helpful despite being British. The British Airways stewardesses were also much friendlier than the grumpy ones on American Airlines. And best of all, there was enough time to have lunch at T5's Wagamama, a Asian noodle shop that's very popular in Europe.
My first contact with Swiss culture was arriving at Basel's EuroAirport. For the first time in my life, I did not have to wait for the baggage to arrive as they were already waiting for us at the baggage claim carousel as we got off the plane. Talk about Swiss efficiency. As expected, Basel's buses and trams ran on time. The routes and transfers were clearly marked and maps and schedules were posted everywhere. Even the money was well organized: smaller coins were worth less, larger bills were worth more. When stacking bills, one can see the value of the each bill in sequence since a number was also printed along the edge. Some sidewalks and the paths at train stations had raised grooves painted on the concrete so that blind people could easily find their way. I was also amazed at their very modern window design -- a system that allows for a window that can open from the side or from the top depending on the position of the handle. Yes, Switzerland's reputation for order, structure and precision was not exaggerated.
I was warned that Switzerland was very expensive, but it was still shocking to see the prices for myself. Even though the Swiss Franc was exchanging at 1-to-1 with the dollar, everything was at least twice what we would pay in the States. Eating out was painful: a cup of tea was $7, a plate of pasta was $30. Fortunately, Immanuel bought me a half-price subscription for transportation so taking the tram was a reasonable $2 a trip. There were sales at the grocery store, so eating in was not a terrible shock to the wallet. Wines in particular were very reasonable and very good.
Basel is a very cosmopolitan European city near the French and German border. But surprisingly, I saw a lot of Turkish and Eastern European immigrants as well. In fact, Turkish-style "döner" kebabs have established themselves in Basel as everyone's favorite fast food. Just about everyone spoke some English, so communication was not a major problem. But there were exceptions. For example, the grocery store clerks were mostly French people from Alsace which is right across the border. They commute to Switzerland to work and they spoke only German and French. In fact, one hears merci more often than danke in Basel. And at least once, a server smiled politely and offered "good appetite" in English.
To experience the local culture, Immanuel took me to Basel's Kleinhüningen 100 Year celebration festival. Kleinhüningen was a fishing village that was later incorporated into the city of Basel. Today it is a working-class neighborhood and the crowds at the festival reflected that. On Friday night, we saw Stiller Has, a local band with a very large devoted following. On Saturday night, we saw Das Pferd, an electric-drum-and-bass-punk duo that is Immanuel's favorite band. There was plenty of bratwurst and other types of sausages to eat along with lots of beer.
The Swiss are very tolerant people and Basel even has its own little red light district. In fact, upstairs in the same building as Immanuel's apartment are two brothels with fairly exotic names on their doorbell. However, panhandlers and homeless people are rare as there are numerous social services available to help the poor. Even dogs are allowed in most restaurants and on trams (but they have to pay half fare). As much as I admire the Swiss, Immanuel also admires the States. In comparing notes, Immnauel pointed out that in the US, all the doors open outwards for easy exit during emergencies. In Switzerland, there are no such standards and one can never quite predict whether a door will open inwards or outwards, sometimes causing traffic jams.
(See more pictures)
(Also see Smile Politely food column)
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