Random Observations

I don't have a whole lot to report after our first week here, so this post is mainly going to be a bunch of things I've observed that are a bit different than in the US.  I've gotten settled in to work.  I have an office that I share with 3 other people, one of whom was one of Wojciech's students from the U of M and came here to do her PhD after finishing her MS.  I'll have a desktop computer soon, but for now I'm using my laptop.

My favorite thing about work is that they have fancy coffee/espresso machines like there were at PSI in Switzerland.  Except here the coffee is free!  I think when I have a real job I'm going to get one for myself (they're like $400).

Everything here (at least everywhere I go) is RFID card access, no keys.  I have a card to get in my office, one for the building I work in, and one for the apartment.  It's kind of nice to only have to carry my wallet.

Work life balance seems to be prioritized here, which is great.  Everyone works about 9 to 5 and that's it.  According to Wojciech it's even somewhat frowned upon for professors to work extra.  The people in the Solar Thermal Group seem pretty nice and laid back too.  Lots of joking happened at the group meeting on Wednesday!

It's totally possible to live without a car here, at least in the city.  It's about a 15 minute walk or bus ride to the city center where I can do grocery or other shopping, and a 15 minute walk to the building where I work.  The bus system seems to be good too, although we haven't tried it yet.  And the car culture seems to be different too.  Almost everyone drives small cars.  I've seen some compact SUVs around, but they are few and far between, and there definitely aren't huge SUVs or pickups.  The biggest pickup truck I've seen is what we would consider compact.

Nearly all of the museums and public places (Parliament, the Mint, etc.) around here are free, which pleases my frugal grad student heart.  You mean we can go do things without it costing an arm and a leg?  We could visit somewhere and also go out for lunch without feeling guilty about the amount of money we spent?  Sign me up!

Food here seems to be much less processed or sweetened, which has been a little bit of an adjustment.  I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I have to add a little sugar to my morning yogurt!

Tipping isn't mandatory here.  Everyone gets paid at least minimum wage, which is around $16 per hour.  So tips are just for really excellent service.

Another price related thing is that the tax is included in the price on the shelf.  So you know exactly how much things are going to cost when you get to the register.  Really helpful!

This weekend we are probably going to do some museum visits, although we haven't decided where yet.  So hopefully I will have more pictures and another post soon!