I’m not sure what the reputation of Aldi is like in America these days. Fifteen years ago (that makes me feel old), I depended on Aldi to get me through law school and still eat. I love it for helping me to do that. I always found their produce to be of good quality, and affordable for a broke law student. The company is actually German, and in Germany, it does have a reputation of carrying good quality, inexpensive items. It took some time, but these days, the general opinion there is that you’d be stupid not to shop there. Aldi is new to Switzerland though, having only entered the market a couple of years ago.
When we first moved to Switzerland almost six years ago, there were basically only two largish (by Swiss standards) grocery stores, Coop and Migros, usually 1/4 to 1/3 the size (if that) of any grocery store in the U.S. While Migros is a little less expensive than Coop, I was blown away by how expensive everything was at both. I would go to the grocery store with a recipe in hand, planning to make something, and when I saw how much the ingredients were, I would give up. I just couldn’t justify spending $5 on a can of [whatever]. I’d leave without buying the things I had specifically come for. Kind of demoralizing, actually.
Add to that the opening hours (or lack thereof), and shopping in Switzerland is downright inconvenient. Most places close around six every day, nothing is open on Sunday, and some still close for a “Mittagspause” at lunch time. You usually have to pay for parking and you need to have a 2 Franc coin with you to put in the grocery cart. (If you’ve ever shopped at Aldi in the US, you know about this–you have to do that at every store here.) You also have to bring your own grocery bags or buy them at the store. I sense that is becoming more common in the US too.
Enter Aldi–where you can buy food that is reasonably priced, you don’t have to pay for parking, AND they are open until 8 p.m. during the week. (Of course they still close at 6 on Saturday and are closed on Sunday.) These small conveniences dramatically improved the convenience level of shopping here. There is a new Aldi just a 15 minute drive from us. Wow. And now the village just across the lake from our house has a Lidl, another German store similar to Aldi, which is also open until 8 p.m. every week night. My quality of life has seriously improved.
These places send out flyers every week of the upcoming specials, which is also very exciting. Exciting enough for the Hausfrau to brew a cup of tea or coffee, take a little break and peruse the latest offers. Exciting stuff. I know I must really be making you want to move to Switzerland.
Anyway, today Aldi had vacuum cleaners on offer. My husband was very concerned that I get to Aldi before it opened at 8 a.m. so I could get one. This is how it is sometimes. Think day-after-Thanksgiving shopping in America. Well, I didn’t get there until 8:15, and as I was putting my coin into my grocery cart I noticed the other women (men don’t do the shopping–unless they are retirees accompanying their Hausfraus) sizing me up, thinking they better get in there before me, in case I was after the same product. You can let out your breath–I was successful. And now as I write this, I am in possession of a brand new vacuum cleaner.* AND two new toilet seats. Score.
*I know my German husband is just as excited about the USE of this vacuum cleaner, so I will have to at least take it out of the box today. And when do I use it, I can happily remind myself that I am saving us $30 for every hour I clean, since that is what a cleaning lady costs here. Which, by the way, is the same hourly rate I made working as a lawyer on a contract basis for my former American law firm. I mean, I guess I’d rather be lawyering than cleaning, but still . . .
myowngeography 