but the flats/apartments over here rarely include any furniture.

Biggest difference between renting in Switzerland and Germany: The kitchen doesn’t count as furniture here. Just like toilets, bathtubs/showers, it’s considered part of the apartment, and only moveable stuff (Möbel comes from mobil, after all) is furniture. I found it very frustrating when I lived in Germany. What the fuck am I supposed to do with my kitchen when I move out? Chances that my setup will fit the next kitchen are close to zero 😅

it addition to making your kitchen …

look like a prison canteen

, it’s also a first class detector for damaged cables. I had a blender cable that got squeezed in a kitchen drawer and the live wire was exposed. I hadn’t noticed and plugged it in. After a few seconds of moving the blender around, the live wire made contact with the stainless steel surface and with a loud arc and a puff of smoke burned a little copper-coloured crater into the surface. Good times.