I spent this summer working on an organic farm in Switzerland. My brother, who has lived there for about six years, has a farmer friend who was looking for seasonal help with the harvest. Well, so my brother came up with the idea of setting him up with me, a cheap labor force from the Czech Republic, which was actually advantageous for everyone involved. By Czech standards, the salary was very high, but no Swiss would do the same work for the same wage. The experience was priceless, I’m just sorry that I didn’t even learn the basics of German before leaving and went there with the idea that I could speak English. Although there was no problem with communication, it was an amazing opportunity to improve my German and I missed it.

Basic information

• Author: Valentina
• Country: Switzerland
• City: Olten
• Type of stay: part-time job
• Location: HofLiebigen organic farm
• Type of job: working on a farm, harvesting vegetables, selling at the market…
• Language: English (German)
• Length of stay: from July to August (6 weeks)

Right

On the way there, I drove with my brother by car. On the way back, I was deciding between a bus and a train, but the bus won, because the ticket is about half the price and the journey is about four hours shorter than by train.

I can’t complain about anything. The bus was about half an hour late and I had to wait in Zurich, where I got on, but we caught up and arrived in Prague earlier than originally advertised. So the journey took about 10 hours. From the documents, I needed a passport or ID card and a printed ticket. I went with ČSAD Tišnov, it sounds terrible, but their prices are lower than, for example, Student Agency. Everything was fine with the bus and the drivers were nice and helpful. Traveling to and from Switzerland is their main specialty.

As for luggage, officially one hand luggage and two in the trunk are allowed, another for an extra 200 crowns, but I had more and there was no problem with it, I didn’t pay anything extra. The bus was half-empty, I even had a whole two-seater to myself. So I recommend it, and if you plan a trip to Switzerland well in advance, a ticket a month in advance is even 500 crowns cheaper. Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to buy it so soon, so the trip from Zurich to Prague cost me 1500 crowns.

Accommodation

A huge advantage for me was the possibility of living directly with my brother, who lives about half an hour away from where I worked. So I didn’t pay anything for food and room and unfortunately I have no idea how much it would cost to pay for a room in a hostel.

There was no problem with the neighbors, it was just necessary to tell them in advance the exact date of my stay and ask the owner of the apartment building if he had a problem with it. It’s more of a formality, but a lot of attention is paid to it, so if you have the opportunity to live with a friend like I did, you shouldn’t forget this.

Another important thing is to get a work permit and a residence permit in Switzerland in time. My brother took care of it for me, so I basically don’t know how it will be done in practice, I just know that without it, a big problem could arise, either with the neighbors or with the owner of the house.

There is also a very strict observance of noon, night and Sunday rest. For example, washing clothes, mixing something or vacuuming can only be done until about eight o’clock in the evening, after which it is a big offense against the local morality, and on Sundays it is officially not allowed to wash or vacuum at all. The exact rules vary from canton to canton.

Farm work

My boss had inherited the farm I was working on two years ago, so he was still a newcomer to this kind of business. I was his first and only part-time worker, so he basically left it up to me how I set my working hours, breaks and so on. Because I mainly wanted to make money, I was there every weekday from eight in the morning to five, sometimes until six in the evening. We worked in all weathers, even in the terrible heat (although it was more of my choice, my boss kept sending me to the shade). I was usually there alone all day, he had another job in marketing and so on, so he didn’t show up on the farm much.

The work was varied, mainly I took care of the bean field, which I had the task of hoeing and harvesting. Almost every week we went to the market with what we had grown and once even with the bread we had baked. As I mentioned – how long I would be there depended on me, so there was no risk of abrasion, and if so, only of my own will. The great thing was that I had his full trust and could basically do everything as I saw fit, so I didn’t have to call him with every little thing. At the same time, I didn’t work with any electronics, fire or any larger machines, so my responsibility wasn’t that serious.

The boss was a very hardworking and kind person, I didn’t have the slightest problem with him the whole time. The salary was stated in the contract and he didn’t try to cheat me in any way, he even gave me a raise. I had to pay a tax, which was about 500 francs, but it depends on the amount you earn and the canton you’re in.

I didn’t notice any major differences compared to the Czech Republic, in fact, I felt at home in the Czech Republic.

If you decide to go to work in Switzerland, the main thing is to take care of all the paperwork in advance and not expect to do it there. I had to wait quite a long time for everything, for example, the work permit went from office to office and was fine after about three weeks. But otherwise, I was completely satisfied with everything about the part-time job, and I can only recommend this experience.

Life in Switzerland

Olten, where I lived, is a nice little town between Zurich and Lucerne. It has an excellent location, it is +/- 50 km to all major cities, even the Alps are only about half an hour by car, which I took advantage of. There are a lot of churches, almost everyone in Switzerland belongs to a church, most often Catholic. The Aara River flows through Olten. There is a natural swimming pool built on it, but the entrance is quite expensive and you can swim outside. You just have to be careful, the current is quite strong and there is a hydroelectric power plant under the city. You wouldn’t want to get there;) You will meet more foreigners than Swiss, most of them immigrants from Africa. I didn’t feel completely safe in some neighborhoods, but I guess it’s just a fear of the unknown, my brother has been living there for about three years and everything has always been fine.

The weather there was no different from the weather in the Czech Republic, so this year it was extremely hot. Even one construction site near the station caught fire due to drought, fortunately no one died there, about two people were injured. It rained about three times during the whole time I was there, they said it was the driest summer in the last ten years.

I didn’t use public transport, I didn’t go anywhere else than to the station and to the store, and it was a short walk from where I lived. But I traveled by train a lot. Be prepared for the fact that transport in Switzerland is not cheap at all. I had bought discounted “Lítačka” about two months in advance and even then it was my biggest investment for the whole time there (if I don’t count the watch;)). If you bought a ticket on the day of departure and without any discount, for example to Zurich (50 km), it would cost 30 francs, which is about 750 crowns. But it is true that the trains were worth it – the latest and most comfortable equipment, punctuality and reliability, I cannot expect that from Czech Railways.

Prices in general were quite a shock for me. Food and consumer goods are two, three times more expensive there than in our country, services such as doctors, taxis… even more. Definitely go to the dentist in the Czech Republic as a precaution before leaving for Switzerland, without good insurance you would not be able to pay there. To give you an idea: bread 3 francs (75 crowns), yogurt 2 francs (50 crowns), a visit to the general practitioner 150 francs (3750 crowns). Unfortunately, I don’t know the exact cost of living, as I wrote, most of it was paid for me by my brother.

Swiss cuisine is quite similar to German cuisine, with some combinations I thought they didn’t mean it. For example, a salad (unfortunately I can’t remember the name) of sausages, pickles, tomatoes, peppers, sausages and just about anything you can find at home drenched in mayonnaise mixed with cucumber brine. I didn’t have the courage to taste it, but my brother likes it. But what I really liked are Swiss cheeses and fondue, which is a mixture of cheeses dissolved in wine. You have a small stove on the table, a pot with a mixture on it, and bread or potatoes are dipped in it. I have to say that it was the best thing I’ve ever eaten. Once my boss also made me a local specialty – beans drizzled with a liter of oil with bacon. I guess I’m not such a gourmet to be able to appreciate it;)

I went shopping to Migros (Migrolina), which is a chain of stores throughout Switzerland. Basically, it’s exactly the same as here in the Czech Republic. I liked the “M – budget” brand there, something like “Clever” in Albert – the best price/performance ratio. I also recommend, if you are going to be in Switzerland for a longer period of time, to get a local SIM card (you can buy it in every major store) and not rely on a Czech operator. I’m with O2 and the price of my tariff was terrible – 40 crowns/minute for a call, 25 crowns for a text message. I would probably call more than I would earn.

Hiking Tips

Basically, every weekend we went on a trip somewhere. Personally, I was most impressed by the bike trip from Lucerne to Interlaken. A beautiful route around the largest Swiss lakes, amazing views of the Alps and the highest mountain in Switzerland, Jungfrau. Switzerland is ideal for cycling, you still have something to admire, the climbs to the hills that you can’t avoid are cruel, but the downhills are really worth the effort.

Lucerne as such did not impress me much, rather a trip to the nearby Mount Rigi was a beautiful experience for me. You can get there by boat across Lake Lucerne and up either on foot or by cog railway. If you have a train ticket, the boat and cog train are included in it, otherwise it’s quite expensive. From the top there is again a beautiful view of the Alps, you can see two other cantons, there are cows everywhere, well, it just has an atmosphere. I would say that tourism in Switzerland is mainly about the views and the atmosphere.

A favorite pastime on hot days is going down the Aare River, which I also tried. My brother has an inflatable boat, but a boat or boat can be rented everywhere. We took the train to Thun, boarded the river there and ended up in Bern, but you can choose another section of the river. This one has the advantage that there are no larger weirs on it and anyone can go down it. While waiting for the train to Olten, we explored Bern. It’s a beautiful city, but for an hour’s walk, there is not so much to see.

And if you get to the surroundings of Olten, I recommend visiting Zofingen, a small town nearby. It’s a perfect example of typical Swiss architecture and I really liked it there, I don’t even know why. Probably again because of the great atmosphere of the ;).

Culture shock (or what the hell?!)

On my first day in Olten, I noticed a strange house near the square. Curtains closed, “Come and play” written on the signboard… In the end, I learned that it was a regular “mess“. It’s supposedly completely normal there, so don’t be scared if you don’t 😉

Another thing that caught my attention is how huge patriots the Swiss are. On Swiss Day (August 1st), I didn’t see a house that wasn’t covered from top to bottom with flags and banners – at least one in every window. Flags were also on cars, something like before at 1. May. Everyone was going out of their way to show how much they loved Switzerland. On this day, all large stores are also closed and the same rules apply as on Sunday – no washing, loud music or vacuuming. But this is actually the same for all public holidays.

I have bad news for all environmentalists – waste sorting is not as hot as it might seem. Although you see containers for plastic, paper and metals quite often, but for example, only PET bottles can be thrown into plastics, but other boxes, bags and the like do not belong there. There is no special space reserved for them, so they are thrown into normal waste. I thought it was terrible how much unnecessary waste would be produced. Also in stores, almost everything is wrapped in plastic wrap, almost every grape has its own bag…

The people there are terribly, terribly thin. I haven’t met a single overweight person, they all look like they spend most of their lives in the gym. That was quite depressing, especially when I developed a slight addiction to cheese and came home with three extra kilos;) But everyone was very nice to me, even though I must have looked like a foreigner at first glance. It took me a while to find my way around Olten at the station and there was always a helpful passer-by who pointed me in the right direction. Politeness, politeness and willingness to accommodate the Swiss are definitely not lacking in 🙂

And last but not least, Swiss German is a very different language than classical German, “hoch deutch”. The German and the Swiss don’t talk much. It starts with a greeting, Hallo and AufWiedersehense change to Gruezi and Audie…

Unforgettable experiences

On my first day on the farm, I changed into my work boots and put my sneakers under the couch inside the building. When I finished and wanted to put my shoes back on, something tickled my thumb. So I pulled my leg out and almost had a heart attack because a spider crawled up on my leg, which in the meantime had settled in my vans. And it was no crumb…

One weekend in August was so hot that no one wanted to go on a trip. But on Saturday evening, when it got a little colder, my brother thought of taking a quick car ride along the peaks of the Alps – the windows were wide open, so we could really feel the evening mountain air. We set off before sunset, from above we could see tens of kilometers away… The beauty of the mountains and that moment cannot be described, you have to experience it. I will never forget this. That’s mainly why Switzerland won for me by a landslide, where does the sea go against this…

One beautiful morning I went to the station a little earlier, I was in a great mood, I was enjoying the sun… And one gentleman smiled at me and said, “Morgan!” I, all confused that someone spoke to me at all, replied thoughtlessly “Brittnau”… No, this is not a local greeting or an expression for wishing a nice morning. That’s the name of the village where I worked. So the nice gentleman probably thought I was crazy 😉

Benefits of the stay

In my opinion, the best thing about living abroad is the realization that the world is not just the Czech Republic. That there is nothing complicated and insurmountable about trying to live somewhere else. Communication is not a problem either, if you know at least a little English, you can communicate basically everywhere. It even made me think about studying at a university abroad, specifically in Switzerland. Thanks to this experience, I already know that it is not impossible. I can only recommend everyone to try living abroad, it gave me a lot and I don’t regret anything. I’m already planning another part-time job for next year, this time in Scotland to pick strawberries. So don’t be afraid of anything and definitely go for it, it’s a great experience 🙂