Practical Tips

Getting a telephone line:

Land line

You have a choice of going  through SWISSCOM or Wasser Werke Zug (WWZ) to get a land line for your phone. You will find the necessary information at the following links:
http://www.swisscom.ch/res/festnetz/index.htm?languageId=en
http://www.wwz.ch/index.php?id=418 (information only in German)

You will also find a Swisscom Shop in the center of Zug located at the Baarerstrasse 25, 6300 Zug/ZG,
Tel:  041 727 10 10 or a WWZ Wasser Werke Shop at the Metalli Shopping Center. They have all the order forms in English available there and are very helpful with filling in the necessary forms.

After establishing a line with Swissom, you are free to choose another carrier for cheaper calls. 

Mobile line

For a mobile phone, you may choose to use three of the main providers: Swisscom, Orange and Sunrise.
You may want to see the options they offer at the following links:
http://www.swisscom-mobile.ch/scm/prv_abos_und_tarife-en.aspx
http://www1.orange.ch/?lang=en
http://www.sunrise.ch/en/index.htm (Information only in German, French and Italian)

Internet
There are many providers for Internet. You may choose to go through cable or a telephone line depending on where you live.
The cable providers are Wasser Werke Zug www.wwz.ch (they don't have the site in English) or Cablecom www.cablecom.ch/en/index.htm?setlang=4


General Opening Hours in Switzerland
This information is just a general one. Stores, Post Offices and Offices have different opening times according to the size or location of the business.

Shops

Mo,Tu,We,Fr     08.00 h - 18.30 h (smaller stores and boutiques might open at 09.00/10.00 h)
Th                      08.00 h - 21.00 h (smaller stores and boutiques might close at 18.30h)
Sa                      08.00 h - 17.00 h (smaller stores and boutiques might close at 16.00h)
Su                     CLOSED

At the train station in Zug you will find different stores that are open 365 days a year until 20.00 h - these include a grocery store, a flower shop, a cd store, a hairdresser, a pharmacy.

Post Offices

Mo, Tu, We, Th, Fr     08.00 h - 12.00 h and 13.00 h - 18.00 h
Sa                               08.00 h - 11.30 h
Su                               CLOSED

Office Hours

Mo - Fr   08.00 h - 12.00 h and 13.00 h - 17.00 h
Sa, Su    CLOSED

 

Electricity
Electricity in Switzerland is 220 Volts, alternating at 50 cycles per second. You can use a voltage converter for your electrical appliances but most people decide to buy new equipment when moving here.

Speed limits, alcohol limit
Standard speed limits are 50 kph in built-up areas, 80kph on country roads and 120 kph on motorways. A special speed limit of 30 kph is being introduced in an increasing number of residential districts. The alcohol limit for drivers is 0.5 o/oo.

Embassies
You will find a listing of the Foreign Embassies in Swizerland
http://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home/reps/forrep.html

Useful Expat Links and Yahoo Groups
www.xpatxchange.ch
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Expats-in-Zug/?yguid=289848912
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Expats-in-Luzern/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Expat-Moms-In-Switzerland/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Expats-in-Switzerland/
http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/index.html
www.englishforum.ch
http://www.shootingthecheese.ch/