Neither of the kids are six - Isaac is 7 and a half while Elliot will be five by the end of the month. But in Switzerland, the magic dividing line is six. If you are under six and live in Switzerland, most things are free -- riding on trains, trams, and buses; getting into museums; going to the swimming pool or ice skating.
So, while Elena was visiting her relatives in Germany and I was alone in Zurich with boys, I decided to give them a real treat - a night out at the movies! We were going to see Ratatouille, which is still playing in Zurich.
We got to the theater at 4:45, with a good 25 minutes to spare before show time. When the ticket sales person casually asked how old the boys were, I naturally thought he was going to let Elliot in free (or at least at a reduced rate) since he was less than 6.
Imagine my shock when he informed me that Elliot was not allowed into the theater because, in the city of Zurich, no children under the age of six are allowed in movie theaters. He seemed to remember, however, that in Basel, the age limit was five (big help, as this is hours away by train).
After a few seconds of being stunned, I regrouped and decided to high-tail it with the boys to another theater across the river. A couple of other movies were playing at this theater and we may still have time to attend if we hustled. We rush up to the theater and the only movie that hasn't started is 'The Golden Compass', which I read online was a little violent as the animals in it engaged in some pretty tough though imaginary battle scenes. I thought they could handle it, as they have scene the first 2 Harry Potter movies, Star Wars, and the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, though, in each case, they had read the book aloud with us before viewing the movie (yes, there is a Star Wars book and is it bad).
This time, when the ticket sales person asked there ages, I gave both boys a two-year promotion - Elliot was 6 and a half and Isaac was nine. He looked at me as said, 'I really don't think the movie is right for children that age. It's complex and they won't know the characters.' After going back and forth for about a minute, with me probing him about why he didn't think it was right and if there were any other alternative movies that hadn't started.
But, it was obvious we had been defeated. We licked our wounds and went to a store in the main train station and bought the third Harry Potter movie, which the boys hadn't seen yet. We had a great night anyway, and the 13 franc price for the video pales in comparison to the 18 franc per person cost of movie tickets and the inevitable over-priced popcorn that would have followed.
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2 comments:
Oh my goodness!!!! I would have been very angry at this, myself. Geesh. That's a typical example of culture clash - I think (for me at least) as Americans we believe so strongly in "individual freedoms" the idea that that local gov't would decide when our children are old enough to go to movies is crazy!!! Not to mention oppressive!
But OTOH, I have been in PG-13 movies (including The Ring) with babies present in the U.S., which horrifies me...
Glad you survived the ordeal without losing it at these ticket salespeople.
They so obviously don't need your money in Zurich. But they do care for your children. Great story.
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