Groceries

It's noon and I just drove to France and back.  (Don't get all excited - if you look at the map, Geneva looks like it shouldn't belong to Switzerland!)  I have now officially joined the scores of Switzerland-dwellers who cross the border in a quest for more affordable groceries.  As we have the rental car (a diesel-run Skoda for you car types) until the end of the day, I gave the trip a whirl.  It wasn't a bad crossing at all!  In fact, I could not find the actual border on the route I took, a non event which made for an anti-climactic drive.  

On some roads, the cars drive right behind trams.

Prior to leaving, I researched the limits on foods with which one can legally cross without paying a tax.  I had pangs of nervousness the whole (only 20 minute!) drive and throughout the shopping experience, worried that I had misread the bit about Jude counting as a person which would qualify me for more meat, or that I had too many grams of such and such, or that the mop purchase was going to land me in prison for a year.  

Because of this guy, I was able to purchase 500g more red meat.
His presence did not qualify me for more French wine, though.  Shame.

A few people have mentioned that they are regularly stopped and questioned, so I plan to obediently carry my little border shopping constraint list with me.  I've heard enough comments to grasp that it's not worth playing games with Swiss rules - I will not win and I have come to terms with that.  


Grocery carts here have 360 degree wheels.  If you would like to make a sudden turn, say, to avoid hitting a frail, elderly shopper, you must tilt all of your weight, then scramble (think Flintstones' car). Here is a terrible video of a 360 cart (with an attractive passenger and a quick view of the surrounding mountains.)

 {While I have strong, negative feelings towards these grocery carts, I fully support and am very grateful for the new trend in 360 degree suitcase wheels.  If you plan to travel, do purchase yourself one, pronto.}

I can tell you're worrying that we will run out of food before we are able to get a car.  Thank you for your concern, but there is a Co-op (which is not a cooperative) grocery store one block away.  One could devote an entire blog to venting about the prices in Switzerland, but that wouldn't be much fun for anyone involved.  There is one thing that is ridiculously pricey in the US, but doesn't cost much at all here:

When I get frustrated, I'll just think about how much
you're spending on Emmentaler cheese over there.