There it is! That one small, two-seater table. Completely surrounded by tables with ashtrays!
And I am pretty sure that if you asked to smoke there, they would take away the non-smoking sign and bring you an ashtray. At one restaurant, when we asked if they had a non-smoking section, they went to a table in the middle of several smokers, picked up the ash tray on the table and said, "Here. This is non-smoking." And they weren't even being sarcastic.
Sigh. How much longer before smoking is finally banned here? France and Bavaria became non-smoking on January 1st. Hopefully it will come. Eventually.
Ooooh...
ReplyDeleteI really sympathize on this one. My state in Germany is lagging behind other states because the legislators cannot get their act together: everything is smoky here.
Someday it will be better... i hope.
Geneva is voting on it on the 24th of Feb, I have my fingers crossed!!
ReplyDeleteyep, I hear ya! It's one of the reasons I'm in love with Starbucks right now.
ReplyDeleteIndia
Munich conveniently decided to go smoke-free 4 days before our arrival. Have I mentioned how much I love this city?
ReplyDeletesmokefreeplaces.net has listings of non-smoking restaurants in Europe... though I looked up Zurich and there was only 1 place listed. =(
ReplyDeleteMarcy & India: Here is a website that lists smoke-free restaurants throughout Switzerland: http://www.eat-smokefree.ch. It's not complete, but there are a number of places in all the larger cities. Ticino is not listed because smoking in public places in banned in that canton. So everywhere is smoke-free.
ReplyDeleteJul: you have no idea how happy I am that Munich is now smoke-free. Now all of my favorite European cities (Rome, Paris, London and Munich) are safe havens for me!
I know it is only a matter of time. According to a poll last year, 70% of Swiss voters would support a ban on smoking. Glad to hear about the vote in Geneva. It's a move in the right direction!