As I discovered, shopping in Geneva (or probably in entire Switzerland) takes a different attitude in itself. While North Americans would usually prefer to shop in extensive malls and shopping complex where almost all type of stores are housed into one, the Genevans (or probably the Swiss as well) prefer to shop in open-air promenade-type stores where you actually see the merchandises on each stores display windows. People take the time to rest from work on weekends and indulge in shopping along Geneva's chic shopping alleys.
As I am still unfamiliar with Swiss/European brands and price ranges, I was really curious how I would get along to the prices here when shopping. As I am on a tight budget, I tried looking for non-top-tier brands comparable to Zellers, Old Navy and Walmart prices. What I realized was that clothes-wise, you'll get better deals when you need formal workclothes such as suits, dress clothes and dress pants. Sfr 250 would enable you to get a good quality stylish suit set and when I say Sfr 250, you do not need to pay th 15% GST/PST tax. Compare that to Moores where you need to invest at least 300 and pay the additional 15% taxes.
After window shopping, I went to a coiffure once again as my haircut is already overdue. This time around, I did not return to the Ecole Superior where I have had 2 of my haircuts here in Geneva as I always don't like the result of their cut. So I looked for a barber shop and the cheapest one I located was for Sft 35 ($34 or two haircuts worth at Magicuts) where I closed my eyes when paying the fee. At least I got a professional one and I know that I am not being turned into a chipmunk guinea pig as I have somewhat experienced in the former.
To save myself from further ennui, I embarked on a cloistered journey to the watch capital of Switzerland, the bilingual town of Biel/Bienne as well as the lakeside town of Neuchatel where people speak a slow, clear and very intelligible variety of French.
I took the 12.14 train, an ICN tilting train special in SBB's roster. It is the faster Swiss train (in terms of speed) I have taken thus far, and even faster than the trains plying the main Zurich-Geneva route which has double-decker cariages. The train reaches 200 km/h and achieves this speed via a tilting mechanism that does not require cariages to slow down to manouevre turns and curves common in Switzerland's mountainous terrain. Unfortunately, I was not able to capture some videos to see how is it inside while the train tilts but nonetheless, it was an experience riding the train. Reminds me of Japanese bullet trains.
Arriving in Neuchatel an hour and a half later, this is the scene that I saw. Since it is a Sunday, all shops in Switzerland are closed. Up until now, I still haven't aclimatized myself with the normal opening hours of stores and groceries here and from time to time, need to ask my office mates of the regular opening hours of grocery stores to shop for food. Having stores closed on Sundays makes shopping alleys (nearly) desserted and gives tranquility to this normally busy part of town. Moreso, it allows Swiss shop attendants to have the necessary break and spend quality time with their respective families and enjoy the natural sceneries of this country.
Neuchatel is a lake-side town with a beautiful lakeside promenade.
The Swiss are very environmentally-conscious people. People use environmentally-friendly mode of transportation and facilities are available in city centres to park and secure your bikes. Not to mentioned the well-developed bicycle lane infrastructure that every Swiss city has.
Bikelane infrastructure is very much developed in Switzerland
In the centre of Neuchatel, I saw this interesting stairsteps inspired by the Swiss flagWalking through the city, I noticed that theres a lot of big apartment blocks. How I wish Geneva also had this abundance of apartments to make it easier to find housing.
You may be surprised of the number of apartment complexes in I posted here. Indeed the majority of people in Switzerland live in apartment-type housing complexes. Unlike in Canada where density is way, way lower, space more available and land more affordable, living in your own bungalow-type home in Switzerland is quite uncommon and usually reserved to a certain few.
Next weekend will be a special one as it will be a long weekend in Switzerland. Everyone will be taking the chance to make the most of this vacation and head off somewhere. Any suggestions where to go? To Winnipeg perhaps?
1 comment:
Hah, 200 km/h? Shinkansen can reach up to 350 now! Can actually go faster but they got issues with noise and such...
Surprising that dress clothes are cheaper there...but I guess it makes sense. Moores would have to import the stuff from places like Switzerland so there's that overhead cost. Don't think I've ever seen a fancy suit with a 'made in Canada' sticker on it before. :P
Can't get over how clean and well-kept the streets are. Looks like finding a parking spot could be a problem though.
How I wish Winnipeg had some dedicated cycling roads like that. All we have are 'Bike route' signs that point you down terribly rutted and rough roads.
I like the picture of the flag on the steps. Looks like it's actually painted on a wall. They must've made the parts on the further steps larger to make up for perspective differences. Very cool.
Nah, you don't wanna come here now, too cold. :P But wherever you go, make sure to take lots of pictures for us. ;)
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