Summer arrives, temperatures rise, and suddenly people realise that in Switzerland the heat does not suspend the quiet hours. Quiet hours begin at 10 pm and end at 7 am in virtually all cantons. During this time, the noise level permitted is that of a room with the windows closed. This is not a guideline. It is a rule. And Swiss neighbours – or at least some of them – are well aware of their rights.
Many people discover this during their first summer here: that having dinner on the terrace with friends at 11 pm, accompanied by lively conversation, can result in a note in the letterbox. That a barbecue on a Tuesday night after 10 is highly likely to cause friction. That laughing loudly in the garden at that time, with the neighbour’s window open just four metres away, may be considered a disturbance of the ‘repos nocturne’. There’s no intention to cause a nuisance, but there are rules that simply don’t exist with such rigidity in Spain, and which here are set out in tenancy agreements and residents’ association regulations.
Weekends aren’t any more relaxed. On Sundays, there are additional restrictions from the morning onwards in many buildings: no washing machines, no DIY, no lawnmowers. It’s not that the neighbour is unfriendly. It’s just that the house rules say so. The Swiss approach looks flawless on paper until you arrive here with your Mediterranean habits, during the hottest summer in recent years – fifteen degrees warmer than usual – and discover that at 22:01 you’re technically in a high-risk zone.