SWITZERLAND 2010

March 14th-20th 2010

By:  John B. Holbrook, II

With Spring comes my annual overseas adventure - this year I would spend a week attending two separate watch industry events and visit several cities within Switzerland.  After having spent the weekend with my son for his birthday, he boarded his flight to go back home to Michigan, and I boarded my flight to Washington DC International, where I then flew from to Zurich Switzerland.  Here's the limousine driver sent by the watch company IWC to transport me to my hotel from the airport:

The limo transported me to the small town of Stein Am Rein (Stein on the Rein) - just outside Schaffhausen where IWC is located.  Once there I was taken to The Chlosterhof Hotel:

 

 

The lobby:

IIf there's anything I hate about hotel's in Europe, it's the room keys - all but the most recently built hotels have old-fashion keys (not key cards) connected to a huge weight which weighs about 20lbs and doesn't exactly fit in your pocket....

My room was quite large by European standards, and very well appointed:

Here's the view from the balcony of Lake Constance at about 9am when I arrived at the hotel:

After catching a couple of hours sleep, I went out to do some site seing and photo taking - the sun came out and it was a beautiful day! Here's a shot of the back of the hotel:

 

Lake Constance:

Here's some photos of Stein Am Rein - it was a pleasant surprise as I found the architecture to be most endearing:

After a lovely day of sightseeing, I met up with representatives from the IWC watch company and several US journalists, and we were transported to nearby Schaffhausen to a local, highly regarded seafood restaurant.  I was pretty tired after such a long day traveling and didn't take any photos - but I sampled some of the local fish.  The meal was most excellent, and the company even better. 

The next morning I was up early to meet with IWC representatives in the hotel lobby and was transported to IWC's headquarters in Schaffhausen for a press event.  I posted a detailed photo report on the event on my site WATCH TALK FORUMS - just click here to read the report.  Even non-watch geeks will find it interesting!

After a trip to see the Rhine River Waterfalls, we were transported to a chateau owned by a family member of one of the last private individuals to have a stake in IWC before it was eventually purchased by the Richemont Group.  IWC set up special outdoor lighting on the chateau:

Entering this stately Swiss manor:

The dinner party was in full swing:

Several rooms were set up for dinner later that evening:

I found my seat:

\The menu was outstanding:

iPhone photo of the filet:

After a good night's sleep, I packed up and was taken to a small airport where IWC had arranged for myself and several other journalists to be transported aboard their Junkers JU-52 WWII vintage air planes from Schaffhausen to Basel for Press Day at the Baselworld Watch Fair:

I spent the next three days meeting with the top executives at all the major watch manufacturers - I had over 30 appointments in three days. It was exhausting! I published a report on WATCH TALK FORUMS with over 100 photos from my three days at Baselworld - just click here to read the report.

After I finished three hectic days in Basel, I caught the train back to Zurich and took a few photos in the area near my hotel:

To celebrate a successful three days in Basel, I walked over to my favorite Italian restaurant in Zurich - Positano:

I've not yet had the opportunity to sample Italian food in Italy (Karen and I are planning on going next year) but the Italian family which owns this ristorante italiano is about my favorite in the world.  It's a cozy, initiate dining experience:

For an appetizer, I ordered the beef carpaccio: 

 

For my entre, I ordered the three-sauce ravioli - it comes with three different toppings on the ravioli.  From the top and moving clockwise, we have alfredo sauce, marinara, and pesto. 

To top off the evening, I ordered this spectacular chocolate desert:

 

Without a doubt, this was the best, most memorable meal of the trip - and that's saying a lot because I had several excellent meals while in Switzerland that week.  After a nice walk around the city to burn off my meal, I headed back to the hotel to go to bed.  The next morning, I caught the train to the airport, and headed back to the good old US of A.  Thanks Switzerland for another fabulous time in your great country! 

 *All text and images contained in this review are the original work of the author, John B. Holbrook, II, and are copyright protected. Use of any of the information or images without the permission of the author is prohibited.

Please note that the Author and this site are in no way affiliated with or related to The Rolex Watch Company Limited. All trademarked names, brands, models and designs mentioned herein are the sole property of The Rolex Watch Company Limited.

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