Zürich Business Trip
Fabian is officially done with the first 6 months of his new position - the training phase. During this time, he got to work out on the factory floor and learn the trade and the machines used to create the tools his company sells (which, as area sales manager, HE will have to sell). Starting in June, he was sent back to the office to start his actual tasks, and that means he will be traveling a lot more often.
Luckily, for his first trip to Zürich, the company paid for two nights at the hotel and I got to go with him! We left on a Wednesday night and drove to Switzerland (we were at the German-Swiss border in about 2 hours flat) and checked into our hotel. Then we had all day Thursday to look around the city before he went to the plastics conference and gave an English presentation on Friday morning.
Since things are VERY expensive in Switzerland, we went out to eat just once (two pizzas and two sodas cost us 50 Euro!) and made very good use of the wonderful included breakfast each morning. Here is the view from our hotel window at night:
We were located right next to a tram station, which took us downtown in about 15 minutes. Our main activity was walking along the lake and through the streets of town. I brought the artsy travel guide from our hotel room and read about famous cafés where anti-war youth started bizarre art movements (Dadaism) and about the local vegetarian doctor who invented müsli, which has since morphed into what we call breakfast cereal.
The city itself looks a lot like Lucerne, a town that most of my immediate family has seen nowadays, either on the Borgia high school trip or while visiting me. Just like in Lucerne, a river that runs into (or from? I am not sure) the lake splits the center of downtown and pedestrian bridges connect the sides. Walking up one bank and down the other is a good way to view the architecture of the city.
While downtown Lucerne is mostly flat, parts of Zürich sprawl right up the hill, creating places with very steep staircases and little fenced-in squares from which you can see into the 2nd and 3rd floor stories of adjacent buildings.
Another fun fact about the city is that it was once run almost entirely by a wealthy, powerful convent. The Fraumünster Church ("Women's Minster") was built on the remains of a former abbey for aristocratic women founded in 853. In 1045, the Benedictine nuns were granted the right to hold markets and mint coins, which basically made the abbess the ruler of the city. The abbesses then proceeded to appoint mayors for the city until the 1540s (you go, girls!) when the Reformation arrived and deflated the convent's power. As she handed over the deeds to the abbey, she challenged the new male rulers to "preserve the city of riots and misfortune, and to do what is nice and helpful to the city of Zürich". This inscription was placed below the following frescoes:
We were able to see and learn a lot even without paying for any museums, and felt like we got a good feel for the city and its history simply by moseying. I will leave you with a common Swiss-German greeting:
Luckily, for his first trip to Zürich, the company paid for two nights at the hotel and I got to go with him! We left on a Wednesday night and drove to Switzerland (we were at the German-Swiss border in about 2 hours flat) and checked into our hotel. Then we had all day Thursday to look around the city before he went to the plastics conference and gave an English presentation on Friday morning.
Since things are VERY expensive in Switzerland, we went out to eat just once (two pizzas and two sodas cost us 50 Euro!) and made very good use of the wonderful included breakfast each morning. Here is the view from our hotel window at night:
We were located right next to a tram station, which took us downtown in about 15 minutes. Our main activity was walking along the lake and through the streets of town. I brought the artsy travel guide from our hotel room and read about famous cafés where anti-war youth started bizarre art movements (Dadaism) and about the local vegetarian doctor who invented müsli, which has since morphed into what we call breakfast cereal.
Or the flowers and boats.
Another fun fact about the city is that it was once run almost entirely by a wealthy, powerful convent. The Fraumünster Church ("Women's Minster") was built on the remains of a former abbey for aristocratic women founded in 853. In 1045, the Benedictine nuns were granted the right to hold markets and mint coins, which basically made the abbess the ruler of the city. The abbesses then proceeded to appoint mayors for the city until the 1540s (you go, girls!) when the Reformation arrived and deflated the convent's power. As she handed over the deeds to the abbey, she challenged the new male rulers to "preserve the city of riots and misfortune, and to do what is nice and helpful to the city of Zürich". This inscription was placed below the following frescoes:
We were able to see and learn a lot even without paying for any museums, and felt like we got a good feel for the city and its history simply by moseying. I will leave you with a common Swiss-German greeting:
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| "Gruezi mitenand!" |
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