Stranger in a Strange Land – Part 1 (of Many)

I live in Switzerland.

Even now, that seems like a dream sequence and not me writing it. All my life, I lived in Canada. But now I am here. And I am loving it.

Yes, there is a vast difference being here than in Canada. I jokingly say its warmer here, but it is. Funny, you would think there would be more in a common winter between those two countries. But that is just the start. I have discovered so many differences, yet similarities between the two. Enough that some make you wonder, if this is the old part of the world compared to North America, why we are not following examples set here. Over the next little while, I will highlight some of the differences, as well as the thoughts I have moving to a new country.

The city where I was born and I grew up in would have had around 100K people. The city I lived in prior to moving here had about 6 million. The town I live in tops the scale at a whopping 750 people. There is not much here. We have a Restaurant. A Bar. A County Office. A Fire Station. And a Gas Station and a Car Dealership on the main road. Thats it. We used to have a corner store, but it went out of business in November of last year. Too bad too, would have been nice to walk to the corner store to get beer. But its gone. So the size of this particular town is extremely small compared to where I am used to.

Gabs Mom asked me if I ever lived in a house as old as the one we live in now. I truthfully had to answer, No. You see, this house is Older that my country of Birth. In fact, it is older than Canada and the United States combined. It was built in the 1500′s. Theres some perspective there. Yes, its remodeled. I’m sure it has been many, many times, after all, it has indoor plumbing and electricity and telephone. But the basic structure is 450-500 years old. Being from North America, you can’t contemplate that unless you look at Native settlements. Thats as close as we get.

Now, think of this, the house has stood on this spot long before Canada became a country. Long before the U.S. became a country. In fact, it was probably built around the time shortly after Christopher Columbus Discovered America. This house Survived. His Ships didn’t. Makes you think. Oh, and that makes this town, about that old, maybe older. I have no idea if this is the oldest dwelling here. This was the Nail house for the Blacksmith. Where they made nails for the horseshoes and other things. Imagine. A forge was here. Some massive forge that was used to make small iron nails that held on horseshoes before my country ever was even thought of. Gabs has told me they have found some of the nails here on the land. Yep, that’s old. And that theme continues all over Switzerland.

One thing has come to my attention. Even though the houses may be old, and some look old but are new (see they keep the architecture themes in places), the houses are as individual as you can imagine. Why? Two reasons.

First, think about Shutters. Olden times, we used shutters to keep the elements out. And eventually, in North America, they went out of style. Here, they are not only in style, but are functional as well. How many neighbourhoods have you been in where a house has those Faux Shutters next to the windows. Usually covered in Vinyl or Aluminum, they are just decorations paying homage to the times when shutters were common and used. Well here they are. Which leads me to the second point.

Color. As funny as it sounds, the use of color on the outsides of the houses and buildings here is a feast for the eyes. One thing about the exterior of houses and many, many buildings here, is that they look like a plaster stucco. And that leads to the individuality of the houses. A splash of color. Rich Vibrant Colors. Imagine walking in a typical North American Neighbourhood. With cookie cutter houses, where the only individuality they have, besides if your door is on the left or right, is the Trim, Lights, and house numbers.

Now imagine here. 4 houses. Side by side, same age, same design. But, each stucco outside a different color. One a pale yellow, one pink, one creamy white, and one baby blue. Now, add to that the Brightly colored shutters. Red, purple blue, green, yellow and all shades in between. Thats where you look in awe, and realize, this house is maybe 2-300 years old or more, has been renovated and taken care of, but has more individuality than you have ever seen. I am going to take pictures and post them here. Where you can see what I mean. Words do not do it justice.

Lets look farther up. To the roofs. Most homes here have peaked roofs, although some of the new designs have flat roofs. The peaked roofs are just the same as you would expect in any snowy climate. Steep pitched, and Gable windows. But its the roof covering that is what you need to see. Take a look at your roof. Chances are it has 20-30 year asphalt shingles on it. Most of the houses here have Clay shingles. And some of these roofs are original dating back 2-300 or more years. Why? Because each shingle can be removed and replaced without tools. One fails, you climb up, pull it off and pop a new one on. These shingles  are not built to last 20, 30 or even 50 years. They are meant to last through several Generations of wear and tear in the Elements. So Why don’t we do that in North America? We brought the technology over with us? We knew it worked. But we didn’t have the means to do this when we first settled, so we worked with what was at hand, even though its inferior.

The windows of homes here all open. I don’t mean they slide open on one side, I mean they open. Swing open to the inside. Most windows here have a Left and Right Side. You open one side, which releases the other side. Great for Cleaning right? Now, they are also Dual Hinged, well at least the main one that locks and swings. See, you turn the Handle 90 degrees, and the window swings in. Turn it 180 degrees, and the window tilts back from the top to let air in. Which is a hell of a lot smarter than those sliding windows that only slide one way and you need to dismantle to clean. Oh, and they also swing in so you can reach out and unlock the shutters and draw them closed for more protection from the elements. And walls here are thick. The house we live in has exterior walls that are 1 1/2 to 2 feet wide. Keeps out the elements as well as keeps the elements in

As I mentioned before, architecture here makes the buildings look like they belong. In some neighbourhoods, you are required, when building new, to keep your home in style with the rest. So you can have a 300 year old house, next to a 5-year-old house, and you would be hard pressed to tell the difference. There are also variations in regions. When you think Switzerland, you think snowy Chalets in the mountains. That is only one style and from what I have seen ,is more prominent it the Kanton of Bern, and the Bernese Oberland. In the areas I have seen, those styles of houses are in the Alpine regions. Each Kanton (think province or state) have their own design elements that seem common. As you travel, you can see where the architecture changes as you approach the borders with a new Kanton, and see how the previous design elements fade out. It’s rather strange yet wonderful to see. There are some elements that seem to be quite common all over the area, like shutters. But you can see if you look carefully, some very different elements that are only in a certain region.

The cities here are different as well. Intermixed with the old houses you will find large modern buildings. But you would be hard pressed to find in most cities the Gleaming Skyscrapers you see all over North America. I think the largest building I have seen in height is about 10 floors. And the stucco outside is a common trait that again, allows for splashes of Color. Imagine, a brand new apartment building, containing 20 apartments. The outside being Pink or Yellow, with Bright Blue or Red Shutters and trim. Yes, you see that here. It’s amazing.

Back when these communities were being guilt, the modern road as we know it, was not even thought of. Dirt paths for horses and wagons. Realizing that, it is no wonder, that on a Busy city street, you pass houses that are no more than a foot away from the roadway. Stick your arm out the window in some of these towns at your own Peril. Bridges here were a necessity crossing gaps and streams. It’s very common to see old stone bridges (better maintained that North American bridges) that date back to before Canada was around, or I am sure, even the USA. The builders knew what they were doing. Stone smiths had a way of doing things, that no modern material can duplicate the same way. In some of the smaller villages, a winding road with more curves than you can imagine makes its way through houses that are so close to the street, that they install mirrors for you to be able to see around the corners. So when you drive down from the hills, and see a triangle sign with a big Exclamation mark in it, you better pay attention. Trust me.

The architecture here is so vastly different, and when you look at it, really look at it, you understand why things are done the way they are. I find in many ways it is so vastly superior to most construction I have seen in North America. Old elements that are updated and still work best. It’s a shame that they don’t build houses like this in North America. They might last too long

(I will continue with more about living here in other posts. Hope you enjoy them.)

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