Zurich - A Wedding and A Flat

Dining Area of (Maybe?) My New Flat - Current Tenant's Furnishings!

Generally, you are advised to keep to one topic per entry in a blog or it fails to have a sense of structure. I’m going to break this rule, although maybe I should have entitled this entry something like “General Weirdness in Switzerland” as that’s really the theme I want to tackle. Actually, the blog is really to record various differences in culture from a Brit’s perspective, so this is in keeping (that’s my excuse).

I don’t usually write about other people’s lives in my blog either as I think it is unethical. However, as a blog entry that breaks the rules, I’m going to break this rule too a little bit here on the principle that the majority of people are happy for weddings to be public knowledge (and it’s in the public register!).

Anyway, my friends Stephanie and Nicolas got married this week (congratulations!!) in Basel. I might have even ventured a photograph on this blog, but frustratingly I can't get my memory card out of my camera just now (the door sometimes jams and I just have to wait until it fixes itself).

This whole getting married thing is quite different over here in Switzerland. In the UK, you can choose when to get married and nowadays I think you can even choose your venue with virtually no restriction. If you want a popular date, say February 14th, you might need to book at least a year in advance, but subject to availability, you can do that.

In Switzerland, if my understanding is correct, you can only get married officially in a registrar’s office (any religious ceremony happens afterwards and is not legally binding) and you can’t choose the date. You apply to get married and then, if they accept your application, they give you three date options for your wedding and you choose which one of those suits you best. See what I mean – weird, huh? If you need to organize a wedding with people coming from far-flung places, it’s not the most convenient system, but I guess the flip side is that it’s all very organized.

The ceremony itself all sounded very Swiss (despite being held in English), particularly at the beginning, where the registrar stated to those attending that this was the only place where one could get legally married. She also advised the audience that the records of the applicants had been examined and it appeared that all the documentation was in order; therefore, the marriage was now permitted to take place. I can’t imagine something so official being said as part of a wedding ceremony in the UK! I don’t remember that from my friend Lena’s wedding in Switzerland, but maybe it passed me by at the time if it was in Swiss German (I can’t quite recall now).

I won’t say too much more for the reasons given at the top of this blog entry, but would just like to add that it was a fabulous day – I met new people, spoke to some I hadn’t seen for ages, drank a bit too much for midday… The weather was perfect and the old town of Basel is stunning in the sunshine, as were the bride and groom. There was also a lovely reading at the service about love and friendship.

The day was made even better for me in that I received a phone call while I was on the train getting there to inform me that I was being offered a flat in Zurich (just outside the city centre). Actually, thinking about it, it was a bit like the wedding ceremony, as they started off telling me that they’d checked with my employer and my last landlady and my references were both OK, so having passed examination, they would now like to offer me the flat.

Of course, things over here are never quite that simple. They now wanted an additional official statement that I wasn’t being prosecuted for debt pertaining to my previous Swiss address and not just my current one. They also said they needed the original documents and not just a photocopy (I don’t really understand the need for this, but hey ho, that’s how it is). I explained that this could take a few days to get, but they seemed happy enough with that.

I said I was going to be away until mid-November, so couldn’t enter the flat on 1st November, but that I’d pay the rent from then and it wasn’t a problem. Maybe it’s just me, but I sensed a bit of displeasure when I said this (I hope it wasn’t regret on their part as I don’t have the contract yet!). I didn’t think it would be an issue. In the UK, the agent has the keys and they just let you have the flat when you want it. Here, though, they said I had to move in on 1st November and I’d need to get a power of attorney for someone else to be there for the handover. I said I could do this easily, but actually, I’m a little bit worried!

On reflection, I think it’s to ensure that you don’t have any complaints about the flat that they would need to deduct from the previous tenant’s deposit. Just as when you move out of a flat, they detail every single flaw and make you pay for the slightest mark on any surface, when you move in, you have to be just as thorough so that you don’t pay for the previous tenant's “damage”. Anyway, it’s a totally different ball game from in the UK.

I cancelled the four viewings I had lined up, so I hope nothing happens now to stop me from getting this flat. I was convinced it would go to a family, so am really pleased to have got it. Finally, I’ve got some leisure time back!