#3 Swiss Cheese

Yes, it’s a cliché but it is also completely true. The Swiss take their cheese very seriously. It is not only important to differentiate between different types of cheese such as Tilsiter and Gruyère, but also their maturity level and whether they have been matured in a cave or not (note: if they have been matured in a cave, that’s a good thing).

Naturally this means, that the notion of the term “Swiss cheese” being used in other countries to refer to only one type of cheese deeply offends Swiss people. It is therefore strongly recommended that when dealing with Swiss people you do not, under any circumstances, imply that this is also the way you think of it. And it can never, ever, not matter to you what type of cheese you would prefer when offered.

The Swiss also like to melt their cheese. When they dip bread in it, they call it Fondue and when they pour it over potatoes it’s called Raclette. Both diserve their own post at some point, but the short version is, that again, it is crucial to use the right types of cheese. Also, both dishes are reserved for winter. Enjoying them in any other season will out you as a tourist/ignorant expat and the Swiss people who have witnessed your faux-pas will give you condescending advice on the Swiss way of doing things for the rest of your life or until you decide to never see them again.

#2 Swiss Mountains

While certainly a factor, there is more to the Swiss’ enthusiasm for their mountains than the mere convenience of having ski resorts nearby and the fact that the Alps are pretty.

The mountains are also a non-neglectable factor in keeping journalists employed. See, the Swiss media has found the mountains to be an almost inexhaustible well of headlines. Topics include, but are not limited to:

Snow fall records, low snow fall records, melting glaciers, the economical situation of ski resorts, the international ranking of Swiss ski resorts, the need for artificial snow and its impact on the environment, dead hikers, nude hikers, dead mountain climbers, surviving mountain climbers, recovering the bodies of dead mountain climbers, recovering the survivors of mountain climbings still stuck on the mountain, dead mountain climbing soldiers, surviving mountain climbing soldiers, avalanche threat levels, avalanche victims, avalanche survivors, avalanche prevention, avalanche danger zones, drunk skiing, ski races, snowboarding competitions, marijuana-smoking snowboarders, rock slides, mud slides, the cost of providing infrastructure to mountain villages, cows going to the mountain pastures for the summer, cows coming down from the mountain pastures in the fall, the future of Swiss skiers, accidents of Swiss skiers, Swiss skiers recovering from accidents, national ski camps, the perfect day for skiing, accident prevention, the benefits of wearing a helmet during wintersports, mountain weather forecasts, mountain cheese and the hardships of mountain farmers.

#1 Direct Democracy

At least in theory, the Swiss are extremely proud of their political system, which involves voting on every conceivable issue four times a year on the communal, cantonal and the federal level. Further, with only 50,000 signatures the Swiss can subject a law that parliament has passed to a referendum and with only 100,000 signatures a proposed amendment to the constitution can be put to general vote.

While occasionally extraordinarily progressive decisions, such as granting women the right to vote on the federal level in 1971, write Swiss history, in practice the population does not seem exactly enthusiastic about its vast political power, seeing as the average voter participation hovers at a low 40%. This may be explained by the fact that along with existential questions such as joining the European Union or not, the Swiss are also asked to vote on excruciatingly boring matters such as a new directive regulating dog owners or granting financing for the renovation of the local elementary school’s gym.