With that said, I was able to see some cool stuff in Cambridge, Bath, and London all within one week without the aid of a car.
Most of the cool stuff was in Cambridge and Bath because London mostly sucks.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
There and Back Again
I like the UK very much, partly because I can communicate with people there and partly because of the lovely towns. However, I've become spoiled by Switzerland's extensive public transportation system, so England's selection of trains and buses seem paltry by comparison. (One daily bus running from Bath to Glastonbury?? And at 6:15am? Get it together, National Express!)
With that said, I was able to see some cool stuff in Cambridge, Bath, and London all within one week without the aid of a car.
Most of the cool stuff was in Cambridge and Bath because London mostly sucks.
With that said, I was able to see some cool stuff in Cambridge, Bath, and London all within one week without the aid of a car.
Most of the cool stuff was in Cambridge and Bath because London mostly sucks.
The Little Things
When people ask me what I think of Switzerland and I answer that there are both things I like and dislike, the obvious follow-up question is, which things do I dislike. I usually struggle to find the right words here, opting for something generic like "lots of little, minor inconveniences," but now I have a concrete example of something I find totally illogical about living in Switzerland.
Garbage collection. More specifically, the garbage collection process. Allow me to elaborate.
Rule 1: In order to put trash into the dumpsters, you must use only the specially designated "Zueri Saecke," Zurich-approved trash bags, which are naturally more expensive than other types. Okay, maybe the extra cost helps pay for garbage collection, recycling, alternative energy, etc., and maybe the bag is biodegradable or something. Grumble grumble. Read on for the recycling rules.
Rule 2: Recycling must be a complicated, complex, involved activity. No San Francisco-style separate-it-for-you here. Additionally, you MUST recycle. Okay, you don't have to, BUT. Sometimes the waste workers will randomly search through trash, and woe be to the person who included recyclables in their trash, as the workers will go to extreme lengths to figure out whodunnit.
Rule 3a: You must take your own glass and aluminum to recycle collection points, and only during approved times, so Sundays and anything past 7pm are out. Once there, sort the glass by color. This rule isn't that big of a deal, as there are many drop-off locations, and they're not too far of a walk.
Rule 3b: You must take PET plastic bottles to special drop-off centers that, from what I can tell, are only located within grocery stores. I still don't understand this one.
Rule 4a: Paper is picked up once every two weeks. You must leave it on the sidewalk before 7am, and it MUST be in a neat bundle, held together with twine, and tied with a bow. The recycle workers used to be more lax about the bundle rule and would let you just put it all by the curb in a paper bag, but now they simply won't pick it up if it doesn't have that bow. As far as I know, there is nowhere you can drop your paper off manually, so if you don't comply with the bow-tying, well, sorry friend, you have no choice. See Rule 2.
Rule 4b: Cardboard is picked up once a month. Follow the same rules as paper, but don't you dare mix the two together.
Switzerland doesn't appear to do compost. Apparently they just take all their trash and burn it for energy. With all the other separations they make you do, I don't understand why they don't make you sort out compost too, although I guess it's a combination of not having space to deal with compost and not needing it since they have cows everywhere.
Garbage collection. More specifically, the garbage collection process. Allow me to elaborate.
Rule 1: In order to put trash into the dumpsters, you must use only the specially designated "Zueri Saecke," Zurich-approved trash bags, which are naturally more expensive than other types. Okay, maybe the extra cost helps pay for garbage collection, recycling, alternative energy, etc., and maybe the bag is biodegradable or something. Grumble grumble. Read on for the recycling rules.
Rule 2: Recycling must be a complicated, complex, involved activity. No San Francisco-style separate-it-for-you here. Additionally, you MUST recycle. Okay, you don't have to, BUT. Sometimes the waste workers will randomly search through trash, and woe be to the person who included recyclables in their trash, as the workers will go to extreme lengths to figure out whodunnit.
Rule 3a: You must take your own glass and aluminum to recycle collection points, and only during approved times, so Sundays and anything past 7pm are out. Once there, sort the glass by color. This rule isn't that big of a deal, as there are many drop-off locations, and they're not too far of a walk.
Rule 3b: You must take PET plastic bottles to special drop-off centers that, from what I can tell, are only located within grocery stores. I still don't understand this one.
Rule 4a: Paper is picked up once every two weeks. You must leave it on the sidewalk before 7am, and it MUST be in a neat bundle, held together with twine, and tied with a bow. The recycle workers used to be more lax about the bundle rule and would let you just put it all by the curb in a paper bag, but now they simply won't pick it up if it doesn't have that bow. As far as I know, there is nowhere you can drop your paper off manually, so if you don't comply with the bow-tying, well, sorry friend, you have no choice. See Rule 2.
Rule 4b: Cardboard is picked up once a month. Follow the same rules as paper, but don't you dare mix the two together.
Switzerland doesn't appear to do compost. Apparently they just take all their trash and burn it for energy. With all the other separations they make you do, I don't understand why they don't make you sort out compost too, although I guess it's a combination of not having space to deal with compost and not needing it since they have cows everywhere.
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