Switzerland: Happiness is Boredom

Beautiful view from my train

One of the remarkably clean Swiss streets

Switzerland is known for its punctuality and efficiency as demonstrated in their always-prompt, never-late trains. I learned this much quicker than I would have liked as my train from Germany was only slightly behind schedule and sent me running to catch my first Swiss train. The Swiss are also a wealthy bunch with virtually no unemployment to report. I thought, “How could this not be one of the happiest countries in the world?” But to my surprise, people I came across were quite shocked to hear that my quest had led me there even though when I asked them to rate their own personal happiness on a scale of one to ten, I almost always got back an eight or nine. Some of the Swiss say it must be because of the cleanliness and structure that is inevitable in everything from toilets to fashion to government. Others claim that their source of happiness is the lack of envy that exists within society. They claim that envy is happiness’s greatest enemy; coincidently they will do almost anything not to bring themselves into the limelight which is extremely contrary to standard American culture. Also in stark contrast to American culture is the Swiss way of life in general. Americans are known for their need for adrenaline and rushes of excitement interspersed between their regular lives. The Swiss, on the other hand, find contentment in stillness, calm, and quite frankly utter boredom. Tranquility did bring me joy for a short time, but perhaps it was not my cup of tea. I was excited to experience my next version of happiness, all the way in Bhutan.