AIA 2015 Convention - Zurich 2 (Swiss Day Out: Mount Titlis)

Engelberg: overcast yet still beautiful

    The weather had turned chilly. It was no mistake when we were warned that Switzerland could cycle through the four seasons in a day. The first order of the day was to be herded up coaches to the little town of Engelberg. Although named "Angel Mountain" for its apparent beauty, the weather afforded little of this that day. The sky was overcast and a light rain had began to fall. We cowered together amidst the cold and rain in an open field for the mandatory group photo (imagine over one thousand people cramped together into one photo). This was also to be our staging ground before ascending Mount Titlis. Needless to say, we had to ascend the mountain in batches. I must admit that the organizers were extremely thoughtful. Each of us was given a "goodie bag" which contained a scarf, beanie and gloves. The wait was made all the more palatable by the entertainment of traditional Swiss folk activities that we could take part in.

    It wasn't long before it was our turn to ascend the mountain. Our first stop, lunch. Thereafter it was three more cable-car rides before we reached the summit. The weather was pretty unforgiving. The wind howled and the snow fell. Thanks to the beanie and our gloves, we could keep relatively warm.

At one point we had to cross a suspension bridge. If not for the thick mist that covered the mountainside, I'm sure a lot of us would not have dared to make it across. Imagine looking down to a sheer drop of thousands of feet.

Extremely proud of the wifey who made it across all by herself (I had gone on ahead to see if there's any alternate way, only to find that she had made the crossing on her own, just when I was about to return to fetch her).

AIA 2015 Convention - Zurich 3 (Lucerne, Convention Dinner and Zurich itself)

    The rest of the AIA Convention consisted of a day tour to Lucerne and the annual Convention dinner. I won't belabour you with all the details. Here's a summary in pictures...

Lucerne:

At the famous "Lion Monument" which commemorates the sacrifice of the Swiss
mercenaries who defended the French King Louis XVI in the August 1792 insurrection.

Lucerne's Benedictine Monastery

Lucerne is filled with building boasting of art.

What trip to Lucerne is complete without an iconic picture of the Chapel Bridge?

Convention Dinner:

    Where in Zurich can one host one thousand over people to dinner? The answer: no where. This year's dinner was hosted in a farm (yes a literal farm, with animals and and fruit plantation) an hour's drive from the city.

Pre-dinner activities: Crossbow shooting

BBQing our own sausages

 Zurich town:

     Stroll... eat... pose for photos... stroll... eat... post for photos...

AIA 2015 Convention - Zurich 1 (Black Forest and Rhine Falls)

    We left St. Gallen on the morning train. Onward towards Zurich and the main reason we chose Switzerland for this vacation - the 2015 AIA Convention. Unlike what it implies, the "convention" is an incentive trip for the top 20% of AIA producers. AIA pays for the food, lodging, and sponsors the airfare. We arrived in Zurich in the morning and bought tram tickets to our base for the next few days: the Renaissance Zurich. The itinerary for the day was to be a trip into Germany's Black Forest.

Black Forest and Rhine Falls

    The Black Forest region is only a few hours coach ride away from Zurich. We first stopped at Titisee-Neustadt. Here we were ushered to the Drubba watch showroom. Here we were briefed on the different cuckoo clocks and how they are made. Thereafter we had time to explore this touristy town. 

At the Drubba cuckoo clock demonstration. It was a bit of a disappointment
because the guide just used prepared props instead of having a real demonstration.

Black Forest Ham platter

Pretty girl with Black Forest Gateau (more cream than cake)

Black Forest Ham takeaways anyone?

Strolling along the shore of Lake Titisee.

    It was quite a disappointment when I realized that we weren't going to have a chance to venture into the Black Forest itself. I thought that an excursion to the Black Forest area would involve actually entering the woods. Attempts to capture a nice shot of the woods also failed spectacularly. We were soon back on the coach and on our way to Rhine Falls.

    Rhine Falls is Europe's largest plain waterfall. Don't ask me how come it looks so small. I seem to have experienced higher falls than this. Perhaps it's the volume of water. I have no idea. Once again disappointment. I was expecting a huge body of water cascading down from some mountainside. Instead it looked like an over-sized storm-drain. Nevertheless, it was a new experience. We took the motorboat and ventured close to the falls. One can even see a rainbow made from the reflection of the sun on the spray that emanated from the splashes of falling water.

    Hence our day concluded. The next day was the commencement of the AIA Convention proper.

Pre-Convention 2015 Part 4: St. Gallen

    ​​One thing I never expected of Switzerland is the hot and humid weather. There is no air-con in the trains and no air-con in the shops, not even in my hotel room. The weather only starts to cool around 7 or 8 in the evening.

    Day 1 in St. Gallen was spent settling in. After a hearty dinner at the Restaurant Zum Goldenen Schafli (Golden Lamb). We didn't realize the significance of this place. The Goldenen Schafli had been the butchers' guild house. The first floor and mezzanine date back to the 1400s. Besides being so rustic, the food was excellent (the dark chocolate mousse is a must-try).

    We decided to stroll around town after that hearty meal. To our delight, the whole town seemed to be void of tourists. We could even lounge on the soft grass and enjoy the cool evening breeze in the main cathedral square.

Picture doesn't do it justice.

     Day 2 was spent exploring the town. Wanting to beat the expected hordes of tourists, we started early at the Cathedral. We later realised that our fears were unfounded. The old town of St. Gallen stayed tourist free the entire day. Except for the twin bell towers, the facade was nothing to shout about. It is only when you enter this sacred monument that you'll come face to face with the best that the baroque can offer. The building's opulent paintings and sculptures are a blend of rococo and classicism (known as "Lake Constance Baroque"). The works of Southern German masters shout out from the ceilings of every rotunda. It makes one want to join in the chorus, "Glory to God in the highest!"

    As there was still some time before the famed library opened, we made our way up Moosbruggstrasse and came across an old fernicular (Mühleggbahn) station at the end of the Mülenen Gorge. As the story goes, it is here that Saint Gallus fell into a thornbush and took it as a sign from God to settle down. The town of St. Gallen was thus founded. There's currently an art movement around the gorge which connects the history of St Gallus to modern day St. Gallen. We then carried on and entered the abbey precinct again by the Karlstor gate (name after archbishop Karl Borromaus of Milan who was the first to pass through it).

The Karlstor Gate

    The abbey library of St. Gallen is one of the oldest in the world and is arguably the most beautiful. No words can do it justice. If you're a book-lover, this is one place you'll want on your bucket-list. It contains over 170,000 books, some of which are over a thousand years old. It's a pity we couldn't take any photos though.

Gourmet chocolates anyone?

Gemperli veal sausages - a must have. Even the local queue up for it.

     The rest of the day was spent walking through the streets of this UNESCO heritage old town and admiring the architecture. Some of the buildings date back to the 16th Century. Whereas others are prime examples of the baroque and art nouveau movements. Beautifully carved oriel windows also abound in this town and can be admired as we walked through the streets.

Interesting 16th Century houses.

Intricately carved Oriel windows are set slightly to the side above the
doorway to enable people above to see who is at the door.

     The whole old town area is not very big. It only takes a few hours to see everything's that's worth seeing. We were fortunate that the sky only turned grey at the end of our exploration. Soon it started to rain and the temperature plunged.

It's not all middle ages. Check out my Porsche.

    We ended our visit to St. Gallen by dining in at the Alte Post restaurant. The wifey claims that it is the oldest in the town but my research yielded no such information. Nevertheless, it deserves mention. The food adventurer in me decided to take a risk and try something different. I ordered veal liver. The liver was chopped into small pieces, fried and served on crispy rosti. It tasted like the pork liver we had back home, worth a try if you're into it. Desert was sour cream ice-cream. It wasn't too bad, but I probably won't have it again.

Veal liver and rosti. I'll have this again any day. Yum yum!

    To conclude, St. Gallen is a slow-paced town, perfect for having a few relaxing days in if you prefer a town environment to the mountains. All the sights can be experienced within a day. For the more adventurous and impatient, a day-trip here would be sufficient.