Grocery store and prices

Alright, we've been to the grocery store several times now, in fact we go just about everyday, for several reasons. One, we have a very little refrigerator(see pics), two, some food doesn't last as long here because it has fewer preservatives, and three, it is really quick and easy to go to any stores because everything is so close.
One might find it strange, coming from America, that most grocery stores, indeed, most stores altogether, close at 6:30 in the evening and are closed all day on Sundays. There is one Coop (a name of a grocery store chain) in Lucerne that stays open on Sundays and until 9:00pm everyday, located at the train station, and you wouldn't believe how crowded it is once all the other stores have closed. It is like the mall on Black Friday! I would think that this would be a capitalist motivation for other stores to stay open later and on Sunday's as well, but no, not in Switzerland. People here simply do not put profit above quality time off spent with family and friends. Or maybe it is because they figure they make enough money as is, and what is the point in making more? I'm not sure. To be fair, there are Swiss laws in place, voted for by the population, that require employees to be paid more if they work after 10 pm or on weekends, and other laws that limit noise and lighting after certain hours. This is because people live on and around closely to most stores, restaurants, bars and so on. They don't have the same zoning laws as in the States that separate living areas from business places. The age of the cities and the density of the population would make this complicated and counterproductive.

A few other things about grocery stores: There are recycling centers at every store, as well as at most plazas and squares. Recycling not only for plastic and aluminum, but for cardboard, lightbulbs, batteries, printer cartridges, and things that I don't even know what they are! No problems with unreturned or stolen grocery carts adding to neighborhood blight either because every cart requires a deposit of 1 to 2 Swiss Francs to unlock it, which is then returned when the cart is returned to its proper place. So even if one person doesn't return it, someone else who wants the money will. Very clever.











Something that isn't so clever is the way that they design many of the milk and juice cartons here (see above pic). They are designed for easy packing, but not so easy opening. The only way to open them is to use scissors or a knife! Then it's hard to close the carton back up again properly. Interestingly though, you don't have to store an unopened milk carton in the fridge! It can be stored at room temperature until opened.
Also, did you know that Switzerland doesn't have a minimum wage law? Yet Swiss workers are some of the highest paid in the world. The Swiss culture is very cohesive and has a sense of unity and inclusiveness that simply doesn't exist in America. They are a small country, in many ways separate from the rest of the world, and have had a long and arduous history in an unforgiving climate and geography, and rightfully take pride in the fact that they have built quite an idyllic place in many ways. This mentality of cultural unity and support translates into many different areas, and as a result they feel that it is the right ethical and moral path to take to pay their people a good, living wage no matter what they do or in what way they contribute to the well-being of society. Imagine that argument in America!

This is one of the reasons that prices for goods and services are higher here, but far from the only reason. I will write more about this in my next post. See ya!