Saturday, December 02, 2006
My trip to Zurich
On Wednesday and Thursday of last week I headed with Andy and Katrin to Zurich, Switzerland for a business trip to learn about the new virtual reality technologies which our Siemens colleagues there are using as marketing tools. It was really interesting, very hi-tec.
Andy picked me up early on Wednesday in a rented Mercedes E-class (Not too shabby) and we set off on the 4 hour drive, guided by the German sat-nav lady whose viciously barked instructions stopped me nodding off. We actually went through Austria briefly on the way, three countries in one day is a personal record I think!
On arrival at the Siemens office there we were greeted by our host Peter and his colleague Gabriela who were brilliant hosts. We grabbed a bite to eat and met some of the other guys who had come to learn about this revolutionary new technology.
After an afternoon of meetings we headed briefly to our hotel opposite the Zurich Opera House which was pretty suave. 4 stars and €185 a night (Zurich is ridiculously expensive) it was satisfactory, even for a high flying businessman like myself haha.
Peter picked us up and gave us a brief tour of Zurich centre which was very posh, with tall historic buildings and incredible, modern Christmas decorations.
The whole place was like something you would see in a Bond film, I would not have been surprised to see Agent 007 to fly past in an Aston Martin at any point (I'm still refusing to accept he drives a Ford).
We then went to an uber posh restaraunt which was ridiculously expensive but as Uncle von Siemens was paying price was not an issue. I had pumpkin and prawn soup (surprsingly delicious combination) then Veal Fillet 'Zurich style' which was divine, rounded off with creme brulee and accompanied by copious amounts of fine red wine. I could could get used to this.
After our incredible meal we had a little walk around the quaint 'old town' area of the city and whilst the ladies headed to bed me and the gaffer headed to a bar for a few beers. It was an excellent night, I think it is great to get to know people outside of the office, it really helps the working relationships as well.
The next day arrived with a ridiculously early start (making me regret the last bottle of swiss 'Hammer Bier' : slogan translates as "The right tool for proper blokes") and after a quick breakfast we headed back to the Siemens office for more presentations before heading home.
It was an awesome experienced and I was really grateful to be involved, it will be challenging developing the projects we discussed and of course it was cool to respond to emails asking where I was with 'I was in Zurich on business'. I feel quite the dapper businessman. (pics to follow shortly)
Andy picked me up early on Wednesday in a rented Mercedes E-class (Not too shabby) and we set off on the 4 hour drive, guided by the German sat-nav lady whose viciously barked instructions stopped me nodding off. We actually went through Austria briefly on the way, three countries in one day is a personal record I think!
On arrival at the Siemens office there we were greeted by our host Peter and his colleague Gabriela who were brilliant hosts. We grabbed a bite to eat and met some of the other guys who had come to learn about this revolutionary new technology.
After an afternoon of meetings we headed briefly to our hotel opposite the Zurich Opera House which was pretty suave. 4 stars and €185 a night (Zurich is ridiculously expensive) it was satisfactory, even for a high flying businessman like myself haha.
Peter picked us up and gave us a brief tour of Zurich centre which was very posh, with tall historic buildings and incredible, modern Christmas decorations.
The whole place was like something you would see in a Bond film, I would not have been surprised to see Agent 007 to fly past in an Aston Martin at any point (I'm still refusing to accept he drives a Ford).
We then went to an uber posh restaraunt which was ridiculously expensive but as Uncle von Siemens was paying price was not an issue. I had pumpkin and prawn soup (surprsingly delicious combination) then Veal Fillet 'Zurich style' which was divine, rounded off with creme brulee and accompanied by copious amounts of fine red wine. I could could get used to this.
After our incredible meal we had a little walk around the quaint 'old town' area of the city and whilst the ladies headed to bed me and the gaffer headed to a bar for a few beers. It was an excellent night, I think it is great to get to know people outside of the office, it really helps the working relationships as well.
The next day arrived with a ridiculously early start (making me regret the last bottle of swiss 'Hammer Bier' : slogan translates as "The right tool for proper blokes") and after a quick breakfast we headed back to the Siemens office for more presentations before heading home.
It was an awesome experienced and I was really grateful to be involved, it will be challenging developing the projects we discussed and of course it was cool to respond to emails asking where I was with 'I was in Zurich on business'. I feel quite the dapper businessman. (pics to follow shortly)
