Mice in Switzerland, the Other Cheese Country! (page 13 of 19)

It's clear that if you're going 69-70 km/h, you're in trouble...

Where I live in Geneva, I've never seen anyone get a ticket in a blue zone between 7:00 PM and 8:00 AM—who’s doing that in Bern at 7:45 PM? At night, though, the cantonal police do ticket people parked on the yellow lines before pedestrian crossings.

Right outside my garage, on a one-way street, there are 5 prime spots on the yellow lines of a pedestrian crossing—no stopping, day or night—and tickets on windshields all the time. A profitable spot...

Yeah, we’re not happy about it. And no, it’s not very clear.

I found the parking regulations for Geneva, which clearly state that the blue zone is free after 7 PM.

Today we’re invited to the Paul Klee Center. So when it closes, we’ll leave instead of grabbing a coffee downtown—don’t feel like getting fined or paying a fortune for parking just for a coffee. Oh well.

On Tuesday, we plan to go back to Bern and enjoy the late-night opening at the Fine Arts Museum, but we’ll park at the Neufeld park-and-ride. I saw that the bus is free to the train station afterward. Had to dig around to find that info.

But 5 hours of parking for 10 CHF, 6 hours for 16 CHF? Seriously, that doesn’t make you want to stay longer and spend money at a restaurant.

Otherwise, the weather’s been crappy, but yeah, it’s November—makes sense. It hasn’t always been sunnier in summer either...

Just the evenings feel longer since it gets dark so early.

Yesterday, I took a walk through La Neuveville, a cute and colorful town, but it was completely dead 😅—I expected it to be livelier for a Saturday. Since it started raining, we grabbed a coffee at the convenience store next to the train station.

Then we headed to Biel/Bienne. Exploring it at night and in the rain 😅—let’s just say it has its own vibe! We only wandered through the old town, which isn’t very big (or very lively).

Near La Neuveville, Le Landeron is also cute to see...

Otherwise, I’m pretty annoyed when I read this too: https://www.24heures.ch/berne-5000-fromages-jetes-apres-les-world-cheese-awards-181679517998

😮

We could see the cheeses, but we couldn't get close. What a waste...

We arrived at 6 PM with the parking disc set for that time.

So you set the disc with the arrow to 6 PM?

If that’s the case, you can’t stay past 7 PM. When arriving at 6 PM, you should set the arrow to 6:30 PM.

Check out the disc here and you’ll understand. https://tcsge-shop.ch/zones-bleues

That’s what I thought... It’s still not clear, though. In France, it’s not like that. I asked my home-exchange host, and he thought the same as me.

It’s annoying—we often leave the disc in place even when it’s no longer needed because parking is free.

The fine still hasn’t appeared on the website—is that normal, by the way?

With the arrow set to 6 PM, it’s normal to get a fine if you stay past 7 PM. Check the back of the disc—it’s clearly indicated. What’s done in France or elsewhere doesn’t matter.

I found the parking regulations in Geneva, which clearly state that the blue zone is free from 7 PM.

Yes, but for that, you’ve got to arrive after 6 PM and set the arrow to the next half-hour, as always. So if you arrive at 6 PM, you need to set the arrow to 6:30. The police don’t check all the time—when they look at your disc and the arrow’s on 6 PM, they might think you arrived at 5:30.

Just so you know, until November 22nd, there’s a sound and light show on Federal Square in Bern. It’s free and really pretty. There are three shows every evening at 7:00 PM, 8:00 PM, and 9:00 PM.

Thanks!

How long does it last? Not sure if the timing will work out. It depends on what time we get out of the museum!

Only half an hour, and as mentioned above, there are three shows per night.

Yeah, I saw that. Half an hour isn’t bad at all, especially given the temperatures 😅

We’ll try to catch the 8 PM one! !

How long does it take for the fine to show up online?

It still isn't there...

Go clear this up with the cops while you're still in the canton of Bern!

How long does it take for the fine to show up online?

It still isn’t there...

No idea, but you can ask the police.

First, we’ve gotta figure out where to go... and we’re staying in Fribourg!

I think this’ll be wrapped up quick...

Ah, on the Geneva parking regulations PDF, it states that a disc set at 6 PM allows you to stay until the next day.

Okay, sure, it’s not Bern, but they were recapping the federal rule.

I just found another place to stay in Alsace, between Mulhouse and Basel. The plan is to visit Basel several times, then finish up with the Christmas market in Mulhouse, Freiburg (in Germany), and Colmar!

In Basel, we’ve spotted the Fine Arts Museum, the Tinguely Museum, and the Teddy Bear Museum! Of course, we’ll also take a tour of the city center, hoping the weather isn’t too awful...

A written complaint must include the following elements:

first and last name, phone number, postal address or email, date, time, and location of the incident your complaint refers to.

If your contact details (phone number, address, or email) are not included in the complaint, it will not be processed. We will respond to your complaint in writing or orally. However, we are not authorized to provide information in the context of an ongoing criminal proceeding. https://www.police.be.ch/fr/start/ueber-uns/kontaktformular.html

Thanks!

I wanted to access the fine to put it in Mr. 🤔’s name.

Ah, in the PDF of Geneva parking regulations, it states that a disc set at 6 PM allows you to stay until the next day.

Okay, it’s not Bern, but they were summarizing the federal rule.

You still don’t get it. Check this out: https://tcsge-shop.ch/zones-bleues/

That’s the rule in Switzerland for blue zones. Yes, if you arrive at 6 PM, you can stay until the next morning, but you have to set the disc to 6:30 PM.