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What Surprised Me in Switzerland

As we know, Switzerland is a beautiful tourist haven for many.  From my recent 16 days trip, I got some nasty surprises too:
  1. The smoking rate is pretty high for such a developed country that is well known for pharmaceutical and health sciences.  If you see 2 adults standing, likely one of them is smoking. Everywhere people smoke: inside train stations, door of restaurants, just outside museums, ski mountains etc
  2. People are friendly generally, they just don't smile often and appear to be cold
  3. Trains are very punctual and fail-proof, the train tickets are, like everything in Switzerland, expensive
  4. Unlike Spain or other European countries, it is not common to find beers being served in fast-food restaurants.  Also, beer is not cheaper than soft drinks, unlike Spain and other countries
  5. Eating at restaurants can cost you an arm and a leg.  That's why Swiss seldom eat out.  But we managed to find small eateries that charged very low for very tasty food.  They just don't have friendly service!

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