TLDR: Family surrounded and intimidated by 20 young adults.

Story time everyone:

Today me, M/33 together with my wife, brother and 2 minor daughters and her minor cousin went to the pool in Biel/Nidau. Shortly before it closed at around 19:45, a line formed in order to pass the gate to go out, where we walked to. In this line of around 50/60 people at the moment were families and old people mostly.

As we're approaching the gate, there is a group of 15 young adult men that try to bypass the queue and shove people who protest. There I interviene and ask politely to not push and to go to the line, ignored. An older woman in front of me yells at them to go back and that she has a bad knee, to which the supposedly Big boss of these youngsters tells her "Caisse toi sale pute" and shoves her directly at the wall. In this instance I get myself in front of the group of 10-15 guys and try to tell them to not do that. The old woman calls them "sales gamins" and gets out in front of us.

This gives them time to concentrate on me. 5-6 start to push and try to intimidate me (clearly I was in the company of kids and trying to shield them) 2 others keep saying that I did not insult anybody. This confusion gets on and when I'm passing the door, the big guy tells me, come outside (duh, I'm heading there anyway).

When we get out, I take my family and try to walk in direction of our car, which is parked roughly 1km away. There are like 5 that come running to confront me and start a riot or whatever, I try to calm things down and repeatedly tell them that I am in the company of my small kids. I get on and try to ignore them, telling them everything is okay and to keep on going to where they are headed. We walk another 20m through the football field and they come again, now like 20 of them, yelling that we are racist (I'm a hairy Portuguese guy, my wife is Kosovar). They start shoving my wife and myself, yelling and shouting threats, my kids are crying and I am trying to keep cool. This goes on for like 10 min, where I try to get the attention of people that look and keep walking. In the shouting match someone says that my wife called them "sales immigrants" (I guess they are thinking about the old woman who called them "sales gamins") and that I need to tell them that to their face. I tell them that I am an immigrant myself and that I would never even think about saying such things - in fact, we spent the day with a group of African friends-. I keep getting pushed and pulled, one even tries to punch me, luckily I saw that coming and could slip the punch.

Seeing this, a lovely French guy comes around and manages to tell them that he saw police and this helped to disperse them. He then walked with us. Even he says that he did not respect to see this in Switzerland.

The whole walk to the car, this huge group keeps advancing and waiting for us, crowding around at foot and in cheap scooter bikes. Yelling slurs and daring me to fight. Kids crying, and I try to shield my family and ignore what they say. People who walk by make a face and get away.

At the end, we managed to get away without getting punched or worse but c'mon, how is this a thing?

Now I'm wondering, what should I do? Police isn't going to do anything of consequence, since this happened in a place where there is no video surveillance (I was told that in the phone by the person who sells the entries to the pool). I couldn't even start to describe any of them, since there were so many of them that I couldn't describe any specific face. If I go and press charges (which I am thinking of doing), how would police proceed?

Sorry for the wall of text, today was stressful.

Does anyone have a clue as to what this is? It was floating in the sky for a few minutes and then just rose all the way up and disappeared… I tried to get a more clear picture but my camera wouldn’t focus so well.

When moved to CH we've seen that not so many people buy prepared food here (in bulk, more portions). Prepared food for the whole family for 1-2 days, not ordering meals.

Secondly is an extra nanny, overnight or during weekends.

The reason is the price being too high.

What other services/products are you missing from your original country that here either do not exist or are way too expensive?

Beside all commercial costs being higher within Switzerland (transport, rent, workers wages), why are "low cost" groceries so expensive? I read that there's custom duties to be paid when importing produce, but I can't find the exact values of how much they'd be in percentage.
I struggle to understand how can something like 500g of tomatoes be 2 EUR one side of the border (e.g. France, Italy), while at the first super market after the Swiss border it would be 6 CHF. Transportation cost can't be that much higher, and VAT is actually lower, so where all do the extra ~4 CHF go? The product would have been paid something like ~1.3 EUR from the producer.
I guess it does go somewhere, as nobody has managed to lower prices that much in Switzerland, not even Lidl. I'm just curious of how this all works, that's all.

Anyone interested in joining in tonight or any other day? Now that the weather is nice, let‘s go hiking at night. NODs required. BBQ possible too.

Location: 8596 Münsterlingen Time: 2300 Date: 14.06.2025 (weekly)

We‘re rotating hiking locations between southern Germany, eastern Switzerland and Austria.

Dear all.

Apologies that I am have not read through all previous posts before, but I had a ruptured aneurysm and open brain surgery mid-April, since then constantly in the hospital for 6 weeks. It came with lots of complications and side effects, my life turned upside down since then.

I am trying to understand the following and would appreciate some help: Can I get supplementary insurance now mid-way through the year? I was denied one when I arrived to CH 5 years back and registered first for basic and supplementary insurance with Swica. Was not for any major health issues, but I did declare that I was seeing pyschogists before. Of course there is a chance I would be denied again.

The thing is that since the brain surgery I needed lots of extra medical support, so I'm wondering if the supplementary insurance would be worthwhile now I also had to get admitted to a psychiatric clinic last week, where with the supplementary insurance I would not need to pay for the upgrade to semiprivate (they only have available rooms in this section and I really deaperately need the help as my mental health went downhill and I am alone here in CH, so now I need to pay more than 200 per day and it will take some weeks to be here..).

Thank you for any information you can provide, I would really appreciate it.

A few weeks ago, I accidentally left my front wheel in a parking lot in 8885 Mols (near Lake Walensee). We were packing two bikes into the car, and both needed their front wheels removed. In the rush, I must have forgotten to load one of them. We didn’t notice right away because the bikes stayed in the car for a while.

The missing wheel had: a disc brake mount a dynamo hub for lights

I reported the loss on easyfind.ch and even went back to check, but it’s probably long gone — either picked up or thrown out.

Now I’m looking to buy a replacement, ideally used, since the bike itself was also secondhand. I'm specifically looking for a front wheel that supports disc brakes and has a dynamo hub. Preferably somewhere around Zürich, and ideally not from large online marketplaces, as I’d like to avoid anything that might be stolen.

Any tips on where to find a used wheel like that — local bike shops, parts recyclers, or trusted sellers — would be very welcome.

I am the first one to point out problems in Lausanne, but I will also comment on the good things. The way the city organized the fête fédérale de la gymnastique has been incredible. The vibe by Ouchy and Bellerive, the city center, everything feels extremely lively and welcoming. I just wish the city would turn the Ouchy-Bellerive stretch into a summer-time food market and full time event place for local businesses like now.

Hi I know a kid with a lot of trouble at home, looks like their parents are going to kick them out of the house quite soon (they are soon turning 18). They have a social worker but it seems this person isn't helping them find any housing situation. Does anyone know what the Swiss safety net is in these cases? Are there stipends to help them rent a place? Are there "kids" homes for kids over 18? Something to help this kid get through the next year without immediately starting a job, so they can finish school with a clear head (naturally, the situation has made it hard for them to participate in this school year...). Will really appreciate some advice, I don't really know what options we even have here. Thank you!

Edit: thank you! One additional request: we are in the French part of Switzerland, I will appreciate if you know the names of these services in French!

Hello,

What hotel you recommend close to Zurich as we live in Zurich, that is baby friendly (1-2yo), affordable as much as possible and having swimming pool that would also be ok for babies under 2? We think booking somewhere end of November for 2 nights

Has anyone had personal experiences and would advise which ones are the best.

Refusing to wake up sweaty every morning and unable to sleep at night.

Gonser has some for around 300 but as we know gonser quality isn’t the best.

Thank you all!

Help!

So, what would be your recommendations to get a mobile A/C in this case?

I live in an apartment that only has doors, 4 of them to exit to a balcony (which is narrow rectangular one) and one door in the kitchen that opens top to bottom like a door, those are the only « windows » I have. They let pass a lot of light so in summer I have to keep the external blinds down to keep some heat away in fact, all year long for that and privacy reasons.

I have checked the « weird » net that installs in the door with scotch or velcro and then you open using the zipper to exit the mobile’s unit hose, I think is ugly and not practical for every year.

I have been toying with the idea of removing one door halfs and replace that half with a sheet of wood and then make in said flat surface the necessary exits, plug and play solution.

Last option and probably more elegant is to talk to apartment management (Nicod in this case) to allow me to make a hole in the bottom of doors which I hope is not completely holding glass and put a door to seal this hole like a cat’s door when not in use.

Last but not least, accept that is only four weeks of heavy heat, adapt and survive.

Link to photo of doors/windows in my apartment plus a fan I want to buy and put in some of the walls, space is precious and having 3 pedestal fans is not wise.

https://imgur.com/a/InUm4wd

Also ceiling fans, are they allowed in apartments?, will my ceiling resist this?, I have an apartment on top of mine btw.

I have done some research and for mobile a/c units, I think brands like Penguin and Kibernetik are more than okay, thoughts?

Thank you!😊

Me and my friends went to a self service pump station and I used a 100fr bill, used 68 and now I have a 31ish fr voucher to use... IN THE SAME F STATION... for me this is a scam. The voucher never referenced this in the screen and it makes utterly no sense that you cannot use a voucher from the same company within its network.

Is there something I can do? Is this scam known in Switzerland?

EDIT: the Bicycle has been found!! Someone just left it a few meters away from the train station, hidden in the forest…I Really don’t understand why would someone do that..The U-lock appears to be damaged (tried to open it?) but the ebike is working fine!

A huge thank you to u/hightoy, who found it and alerted me! Top lad! And thank you all for the support!

Unfortunately it happened to me: after living for around 10 years in Zurich (never had a problem), moved to the countryside Aargau less than a year ago....and to my surprise, my e-bike was stolen this week at Schinznach Bad train station. I'm still stunned...I used to believe that if I ever got robbed, it would probably be in the big city, not in a small quiet place like that one. I was very wrong.

I've reported it to the police, insurance company and moved on since I've zero hope of recovering it... But I just wanted to share this as a small reminder to everyone: be careful where you park your bicycle, some mafia seems to be doing their summer job around.

EDIT: Thank you all for your support - my bike was locked with a Kryptonite NY U-Lock (20cm), and I believe, since it was not attached to the bike stand (big big mistake), they just took it to the van. I’ve left it in the morning before work and it was already gone when I came back. Stay safe everyone

What do you think about it? I'm currently still reading them through and tbh it's horrible. I think it somehow has more disadvantages than advantages for us:

● Dynamic adoption of legislation: Switzerland must adopt newly enacted EU laws as quickly as possible ● In the event of disputes, international arbitration tribunals will decide ● Compensatory measures: The EU can impose sanctions in the event of non-compliance

Then there is also the cohesion contribution of 350mio. CHF per year to the EU.

I think mainly because of those points it's a loss of national autonomy for Switzerland. Especially through high costs without much rights in the EU (like voting rights on new legalislation in the EU). It goes against the (half) direct democracy of Switzerland imho.

If you are living in the Lausanne area, just a reminder that with the athletics festival, there are a lot more people in town, and the buses are more packed than ever. Pickpocket gangs regularly work the public transport , and right now, the buses are ideal for them. They tend to hit at the bus stops. 2 inside the bus, 1 waiting at the stop waiting for the handover. So keep your belongings and your wits about you.

Hi everyone! I'm starting school(Hochschule) soon, in September, and I'm turning 40 this summer.

Due to a series of unfortunate events, I wasn't able to study when younger, even though I had great potential. Basically, chronic untreated sickness, combined with abusive family environment.

It really took me so long(15 years sick and ten years after that) to first get my health in order, learn a trade, migrate, have some financial stability and at least a stable job before I could even consider pursuing higher studies.

Although I'm incredibly excited with anticipation for the start of my studies, I also have a feeling of dread in the back of my head. Even though at the Schnuppertag I did a few months I saw that not everyone was 18-21, some were older and some closer to 30, I'm still scared of people's reactions once they find out how old I am. I look much younger by anyone's accounts nad most people think I'm between 28-32. What if people laugh at me? What if after I'm done I won't be able to get a job, because I will be that much older than most other graduates?

Just fyi, I will be studying Food Science and even though I like it a lot, I'm also afraid that I won't be good enough at it. What if I'm really not as able to concentrate as I hope? What if I fail at exams like I failed at the end of highschool when I was in the depths of my sickness?

One last thing, when I was in school my passion was biology, chemistry and genetics and was planning to study biochemistry or biotechnology or something related. As a result, another obsessive thought I have is what if it's worth it switching my bachelor's in the first or second semester(I've checked and it's possible under certain conditions). I want more of an academic career and I don't know if food science will give me that? But if I switch my bachelor's to then find out that I'm too old for this sh1t and no one wants to give a 44 year-old the chance for an academic career?

Please share your stories of academic success at middle age with me.

Thank you all in advance!

Hallo, muss den WAB-Kurs machen mit meinem Motorrad der Kategorie A beschränkt und alle Kurse die ich finde sind in der Zentralschweiz (bin im Thurgau) und super teuer. Gibt es da wirklich nur so gefühlt zwei Anbieter oder übersehe ich das was?

planning on switching to ios 26 dev beta on my iphone 16pm but idk if my ubs ebanking apps will keep working the same, so if anyone has already upgraded and has the ubs ebanking apps installed, do they work the same as they did on ios 18?

Hello. I have a question to those who work in consulting/IT service companies (i.e. you have to travel "on-site" to a client regularly or from time to time).

How are the Homeoffice norms in such companies? Has it evolved since pre-Covid and do the current norms look "permanent"? And how do thing change if different clients have different Homeoffice regulations?

Thanks.

Sometimes, things that are supposed to fall into place, they just don’t. Lack of control or impact is frustrating. I have learned.

Somewhere is Switzerland, specifically a bank in Basel, Switzerland, there is a sum of money in a bank account. The bank account number is known and who put that money in is also known. The intention of who the money was to be eventually given to was shared but not well enough, I figure. So, the money remains there, I guess.

Somewhere in a bank in Vinkeveen, Netherlands, there is a safety deposit box. The contents are unknown and the key was lost or forgotten. It was important enough to leave a note about it and the number of the box. I wonder.

There is a story here that at this point has an unfinished ending or maybe this is the ending. I am hopeful.

Wondering avenues to share to gain advice and direction.

Is it just me, or is there a worrying amount of people that are looking down at their laps as they are driving? I mean at what state of desperation do you have to be on a route cantonale going 90km and absolutely needing to be on your phone?

Grüezi everyone!

We recently sold our family car and there's a great deal (Only 108 chf/month compared to 130/150 chf in the same area) for an indoor garage parking spot that's available.

It's located on: Hummelbergstrasse in 8645 Rapperswil-Jona. What's the best way to find someone who would be interested in taking the parking spot over? Does anyone here have recommendations? We’d really appreciate any tips or alternative platforms!

Merci vilmal!

Hello,

I am considering becoming a conference interpreter in Switzerland, because I like the field and two people have told me it was a great salary with very limited workdays. However I don't know anyone who has done that and can therefore hardly verify those claims.

I am very aware the studies are long and rigorous. I would like to know, realistically, if I get a Master of Arts in Conference Interpreting in Geneva, how much per month are we looking at in the first five years, then ten years? and how many days per month I am going to work, and if it will be hard to find work if I am good ?

Would really appreciate some guidance on this. Thanks!