Unrelated, although perhaps related to the idea of cultural stereotypes, I have been on the local public transport (mostly trams) countless times in my days here and have yet to be checked even once for having a valid ticket. This is surprising because the entire system relies on voluntary compliance, so you'd think there would have to be at least some checking-up to make sure we're all not free-riding (and, just to be clear, I'm not--I've validated my ticket every damn day so far, though it's beginning to seem unnecessary). Could this mean that the Swiss are so rule-followy that the local police need not check up on them? I haven't enough data to know (said the guy who's spent the last two days at a mind-bending stats seminar).
Oh, and here are some interesting pixes.
Above: this is the headquarters of the local sports organization, Grasshopper-Club Zuerich. They're one of the top teams in the Swiss first division (honestly not a terribly distinguished accomplishment), and have easily the most bizarre name I've ever heard of for a sports team.
Above: this is an amusing copyright-related item. In 2009, a US court found that Swedish author Frederik Colting's book, "Sixty Years Later: Coming Through the Rye," a sequel to J.D. Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye," violated Salinger's copyright. The court enjoined its publication within the US, so you won't find any copies. Outside the US, though, the injunction had no effect, so you will find copies of the book, and these copies proudly tout the US injunction in an attempt to pimp it.
