Hurrying up the stairs as it closed in a few hours, I was immediately stopped by a nervous man. After I stopped his Swiss-German explanation mid-way, he said “oh, please hold your purse at your elbow.”

“Should I check it?” I say.

“No, no, just hold it on your elbow instead of your shoulder.”

Odd instructions as it’s a small hobo purse, but absolutely.

About 5 minutes later, a concerned woman stopped me.

“Excuse me, but could you hold your purse in your hand, instead of your elbow?”

Ten minutes later…

“Excuse me, but could you keep your elbows in?”

Twenty minutes later…

“Could you not swing your umbrella?”

Finally, as I walked down the stairs towards the modern collection (my elbows in, my purse held in my hands, my umbrella safely put away), a guard glares at me. He takes in my elbows, my correct purse position, my fearful expression and finally looks down at my boots clanking on the wood stairs.

“SHHH!”

However, there are little quirks that itch at the soul; twitches that cannot be ignored 24/7.

For those zany Swiss things, we present: TIS (This is Switzerland). We’ll save all those tidbits there.