Stranger in a Strange Land – Part 2

Each day I have my choice. I can take the chauffeured Mercedes, or the chauffeured Volvo. Thats right. I said chauffeured.

You see, the busses here are made by Mercedes and Volvo. And transportation here is as different from North America as the houses. The Swiss public transit system is known as the most reliable on time system by most of Europe. And they are not far off the mark. Never seen a Buss late, but I have seen a train or two late by a couple of minutes.

There is almost no spot in this wonderful country that you cannot reach by public transportation. The local busses in the area I am in are run by Die Post. The post office. And yes, they do deliver the mail on these as well. Not door to door, but Town to Town. Now, these are not the newest busses, but let me tell you about them.

The busses here all kneel, no Biggy right? We have that in North America. Okay, How about All the busses are wheel chair accessable? Yes, they will kneel that far. And its by design. You can take ANY bus in a wheel chair. Hows that for transit for the masses!. And they are clean. Very Clean. And very well-kept. The busses I have been on seat 45 people and each seat has a seat belt. Yes, a seat belt. You are not required to wear it, but if you want to, it’s there.

Now taking a bus here is different from in Canada or USA. If you have to pay your fare, you pay for the entire trip. It could be you are getting on the bus here, then at the train station, taking a train to the other side of the Country. Thats all dealt with on the bus. The driver station has a computer that can print your ticket, and take your fair and give you change. Thats right, they give you change here. Now if your like me, you have purchased a Monthly pass. So I don’t have to pay. In fact, I don’t even have to show the driver my pass, nor do I have to enter the bus at the front. It stops, I reach out, push a button by the back doors, the doors open and I sit down. If I am asked, I must show my pass, and failing to do so results in you paying the fare, and a fine starting at 80 swiss francs. Its called self-control.

The trains operate the same way. You buy your ticket at the office, and hop on. Oh, and your ticket is good for the day between your start and finish, unless you have bought a return, then its good all day for the trip there and back. Each leg of the Journey, you use a self-serving ticket stamper. Fail to do so and risk a fine. So say you buy a ticket from on the bus to go from close to Brugg to somewhere in Zurich. You Then Stamp your ticket on the busses self stamper, and ride to the train station. Then you move to the platform where your train is, and stamp again. Then on the train to Zurich, and off at the train station there. Now onto a bus, stamp your ticket and go to the stop you want. Repeat on the return trip.

It’s easy. But lets say you want to stop on the way back at a train station along the way, and then go to the grocery store to pick up something. No Problem. Get off the train, then go shop, then back on the train after you stamp and continue. Thats it. As good as a car. My pass covers Zones, not destinations. for the month, I can travel anywhere in the zones indicated at no cost. But if I travel outside a zone listed, I have to get an extra ticket for that.

Trains are either self-controlled (show your pass if asked by a conductor) or not. If not, you can expect that unless you are getting off at the next station and the conductor for your part of the train is further away from you, that you will be asked each time to show your pass. It’s a wonderful system and works very well.

There are two classes on the train, First class, and Second Class. As it would sound, First class is fancier, but not much, and more expensive. On a train with 6 cars, maybe one or 2 will be first class. If your ticket is first class you can use that car. If not, don’t get caught in there, BIG fines. But first class people can use the second class cars with no penalty, except having to rub elbows with the poorer of us

Trains accept wheel chairs here. You will be helped on and off. You may also by a ticket to take along a dog, unless you have a small one that you can carry in your lap or a Bag as is the fashion thank you Paris Hilton. Oh and Bikes too. On Buses and Trains. So you can use your bike for part of your commute, and take the train or busses as needed. Not every train can accommodate bikes, nor every bus. And tickets for your bikes must be purchased, unless it is in a Bike bag, or a folding bike that can be carried on.

Being a tourist in Switzerland, you can pretty much get ANYWHERE and EVERYWHERE via a train and bus. Even in the high mountains to the resorts. It’s wonderful.

Now if you decide to drive, you have the wonderful time of driving on some of the best kept roads I have seen in my entire life. The roughest road I have been on is a small section of autobahn (yes autobahn, more on that in a bit) between Zurich and Bern, that compared to Canadian roads is downright smooth. But the locals here call it despicable!.

And yes, they have the autobahn here. Now before you get all worked up with thoughts of  150 mph jaunts, know that the Swiss are sticklers for Rules, Regulations, and Laws. So the fastest you can travel is 120km an hour, our about 75 mph. There are sections that require us to slow to 100 or even as far as 80 in good conditions. You will be asked to slow down entering any tunnel for the duration. That is safety. And in inclement weather, you can be assured the speeds posted will be, at the flick of some automated switch in someones office, lowered.

Secondary roads are limited to 80Km, and in towns, usually 50 km, though posted limits do go down in certain areas. And you can forget about stop signs here. They are quite rare. Most intersections are not light controlled except in larger busier centers.

Here they have traffic Circles, or Roundabouts. They are hard to explain unless you have been on one. But let me try. Okay take a typical 4 way stop in north America. Instead of an intersection, put a circle that you have to drive around. As you come to the circle, you look left, and if clear enter. Then you drive around till you get to the exit that you want, signal and turn off. If you are immediately turning right, you signal as you enter. If you are going straight through, you will signal right as you pass the first exit, so the oncoming drivers know it is safe to pull out. If you are going to the roadway to your immediate left as you enter, you will drive 3/4′s of the way around the circle, signalling your turn as you pass the halfway mark. It works very well to keep traffic flowing nicely, and has the added benefit of lower gas consumption, as unless you have to yield because a care is coming, you don’t have to stop. I wish we had them everywhere.

Now as I said stop signs are very rare here. THe vast majority are Yield signs. Take them seriously, trust me. Pedestrians have right of way as usual, and more so at pedestrian crossings that are clearly marked. So you have to yield to them as well. But overall, traffic flows Nicely. Lights are more common in the cities and those to work different from North America.

In North America, you come to a light and the lights themselves are across the intersection. Not here, they are on YOUR side of th intersection. You will have a light to control Left and right turns separate and for those going straight as well. So that’s 3 Lights at most intersections. And they operate a little different as well. Red Yellow Green. Yep, Normal right? Not quite. You start at a Red light. Before the light changes to Green, unlike in North America, you will get the yellow light. Then green. THe opposite happens when the light changes to Red. From green, it goes to Yellow, then Red. Why do they give you a yellow after the red but before the green? Well, see here in Europe, they are very conscious about gas consumption. And at 1.70 Swiss francs per LITER I don’t blame them. So you are expected in most cases to turn off your engine at a red light. The Yellow comes up to tell you to start your car. (BTW, the swiss franc is about par with the US dollar. And there are a little less than 4 liters to a US gallon. So that equates right now to about $6.80 a Gallon US. And that is how it is here and has been for a very long time. So if you are in North America, don’t ever complain about $3-4 gallon gas again)

Now, as I said, the Swiss are in love with rules and regulations. If you decide to speed here, be prepared for the consequences. On the Autobahn, they don’t really put up speed traps. Sometimes they do, but that is a camera, like in most of the other areas. Speed, Snap! Fine mailed, you pay. Thats it. Most radar installations are marked, and permanent. Fines on the autobahn are based on your speed and your Income. Thats right. Your Income, the more you make the more you pay. As long as you pay no biggy, and there are no points and no report to insurance to cause your insurance rates to go up. Speeding in towns where the posted limits are lower are MUCH higher Fines.

In an example I can use, if you are caught doing 70KM in a 50KM zone, that is MAJOR. So lets say you are making good money here. Say 150K a year. Your Fine, could be as high as 10,000 Francs or more.

Yep. That hurts. A Ferrari driver here was caught speeding on the autobahn recently at 57km over the posted speed limit. Because of his income, his fine was in excess of 280,000 francs. So the next time you get bit for that $140 ticket, suck it up

Travelling and finding your way here is much easier than you would think. The roads are well-marked, and if you know what major area you are driving too, you can even take back roads easily. But be prepared if you do so. Driving in the hills just last week, Gabs and I came down a very hilly curvy road. THe sign just before was one that had a HUGE Exclamation Mark. That means BEWARE. MANY blind corners, Many places where the edge of the road will give way to a steep drop if you decide to test the guard rails (if there are some there, otherwise, it’s just trees and brush between you and the valley floor). We have been on roads barely wide enough for one car, when we have met tractors, Busses, and even herds of Cows. So yes, Enjoy the sights, but make sure you pay attention. As long as you do, you will be presented with amazing scenery that you will remember for a very long time.

Tunnels are a part of life here. You can’t get anywhere without them. And if we didn’t have them, in some parts of the country, you would not be able to travel in Winter. Mountain passes are renowned for their beauty, but are impassible when the snow comes. We need the tunnels. You get used to them. Tunnels in excess of 4-5 km are not uncommon, and when the construction is complete on the NEW Gotthard tunnel, the current longest tunnel award for 24.5 km will pass from the old Gotthard Tunnel to the new one. The new one is planned to be finished in 2015 and will be 57km Long.

I have been in the current Gotthard tunnel. And it is impressive. But I hope this year to take the Gotthard pass at least once. It is a pass that takes you on the old alp road to a height of 2106 meters (6,909 feet) and has been a vital pass in use since the 1300′s.

The roads here will take you where you want to go, but don’t expect it to be a straight line. But that is no fun anyways

(more will come later)

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