As part of tying up the loose ends of Basel we went back to see the landlord one last time and collect the remaining belongings. Part of the moving out process is doing a once-over-cleaning…which makes perfect sense. The bigger surprise is that after our cleaning a hired cleaning person comes in to thoroughly clean the apartment so that it is ready of the next tenants…at our expense! That last bit is the part that threw me. In the states, it is the landlord's burden to make sure the apartment is up to par for the next tenants. Oh wait, wait, the shock doesn't end there. The cost of said cleaning is --- $500 CHF!!! Geeeez. I am hoping that this isn't usual and that maybe our case was not standard because we were leaving before the yearly contract had completed. Either way I'm still reeling at that whopper. So just be prepared fellow Expats, there is a chance that you may be seeing unsightly cleaning bills before your move is through.