Monday, July 30, 2012

Zurich, Switzerland and Lichtenstein



A couple days ago, we arrived in Zurich, Switzerland, the land of tax paradises and clean orderly society. The “never-been-bombed” city was obviously the most civilized and organized place out of all of the other countries. Citizens are happy with their government and say they have a good democracy. They have a good democracy but only about 25%-45% of the population actually votes in regular elections. Or maybe it is because, if they are so satisfied, then why would they go to the polls? They’re happy if things stay just the way they are! The country has three parts: the German part, where we stayed, the French part, and the Italian part. They are all VERY different according to the locals. Not only are their languages different, they also have very distinctive cultures. The Germans are the most punctual, while the Italians are not according to the locals. We also went on a short tour of Lichtenstein, Switzerland’s small neighbor. The miniature country is most known for being a tax haven for people all over the world. A tax haven is a country or jurisdiction that “is the existence of a composite tax structure established deliberately to take advantage of, and exploit, a worldwide demand for opportunities to engage in tax avoidance,” according to The Economist. Something I didn’t know at all was that Lichtenstein is the 2nd richest county in terms of per capita. No wonder they are rich, the entire population is composed of 56 thousand people and has millions of investors in the private banks. Because of this, the country brings in a lot of money. It is also a kingdom with a very old royal family, which is where the name of the county is derived. Back in Zurich, we visited another modern art museum and then wrapped up the trip over a lovely dinner.
Each of us went over special times that took place during the trip and mommy and I concluded that we really enjoyed hanging out on Bonhofstrasse (awesome shopping street) and Ari and daddy had a lot of fun in Tivoli gardens in Copenhagen. Not to mention our mutual fun times, like all the beaches, art, sad history and happy moments that we all shared! Bye Bye for now! Happy Summer!

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