Auslanderausweis

We got a late start today. Had breakfast at a Turkish restaurant around the corner; the omelets were bland (don’t recommend for the future) but the coffee was rich and strong. I love the coffee here. It reminds me of Italy. After breakfast, we searched in vain for a suitable health club, which was followed by a similar fruitless search for the US embassy. Most people we met spoke just enough English to merrily send us off in the wrong direction! We stopped by a bank and tried to open an account, but were told we needed our resident’s permit or “Auslanderausweis” (say that 10 times fast!). We couldn’t even get cell phones without this permit. I vaguely remembered my employer at the EBK telling me we needed to report to the Foreign Police office within eight days of our arrival, but I didn’t realize how critical this was to get anything done here.

After a few phone calls, I tracked down the address for the Foreign Police office in Bern. Like most things here, the office closed early (4PM), so we literally ran to the office and got there just in the nick of time. Nothing like showing up at a police station disheveled and out of breath. True to form, our pictures look like mug shots (think Nick Nolte). But the good news was I got my permit. With permit in hand, we had time to stop by the Swisscom office to order internet and phone service. And then we picked up some groceries before heading back home.

P.S. Later that night -- as we sorted through the charming introductory pamphlets we received from the Foreign Police -- we came across a sealed, nondescript envelope with six tablets in foil packaging inside. The tablets were labeled “potassium iodide” and the accompanying directions read as follows: “In the event of a serious nuclear power plant accident, radioactive iodine may be released into the environment. It enters the human body via the respiratory system and is enriched in the thyroid gland. If taken in good time, potassium iodide tablets will prevent radioactive iodine from being absorbed by the thyroid gland. If you live within a distance of about 20km from a nuclear power plant the relevant authorities will deliver the potassium iodide tablets to your house as a precautionary measure, free of charge.” How comforting….