Trip Reports - LAX-ZRH to visit the Shrine of "Rudi"

Austxhiker emailed me that he was going to be at LAX for a Saturday evening, and wanted to know if I wanted to have drinks with him. While visiting with him (along with Newself and Jailer), Austxhiker mentioned he was going to Zurich in twelve days to visit with the Airoli and the renowned Rudi. Did I want to go?

I excused myself from drinks for a few minutes to call United to see if I could score a couple of business class seats at that relatively late date, and ten minutes later I had seats on Air Canada going out and Lufthansa returning. The new Star Alliance chart where you could mix and match airlines at a consistent award level seemed to be functional. In the spirit of any good Flyertalker, I walked back to the bar and told Austxhiker that I would be going; although a day earlier then when he would arrive. My next move was to call my wife and let her know. I was hoping she wouldn’t remember that I was going to be gone five of seven days prior to the Zurich trip, on business.

Fast forward to Wednesday morning (Sept. 25). I had arranged for the car service I use for business to pick me up at 5:45am, and of all days they do not show up. A number of angry phone calls later they arrive 25 minutes late. Apparently the driver got a ticket two blocks from his home (like I care). Nevertheless I ended up at Air Canada’s counter about 70 minutes before the flight left for YYZ. Check in took forever, as their ticket printer kept jamming, which forced me and the “celebrity” (Eugene Levy) standing at the next business counter to wait nearly fifteen minutes.

Next stop was the AC Maple Leaf Room that was pretty sparse food wise, but did have a public internet terminal. BTW, the last FT login on this terminal was from the evening of August 11. Couldn’t tell who used it though.

AC LAX-YYZ
I ended up sitting at the first row starboard window on the A320. A truly awful seat, as there is not enough room to really use the footrest. The plane look very tired. Breakfast was a scrambled eggs concoction over a piece of Canadian Bacon. The Bacon caused the eggs to be wet, but it tasted pretty good.

While I’ve flown into YYZ a number of times, I had never transferred from an inbound US flight to one going on to Europe. My assumption was you could stay in a sterile security area, but that was not to be. One had to clear customs, and change terminals. At least my luggage was automatically changed to my ZRH flight, so the time necessary to exit to terminal was minimal. What wasn’t fast was the shuttle to the terminal for Europe bound flights. Elapsed time from leaving the LA plane (I was second person off) to being in to the sterile area at the other terminal was 35 minutes. YYZ is not a convenient place to connect, considering I was not changing airlines.

The Maple Leaf Lounge I went to was quite big, and quite crowded. Food selection again was sparse, but they had quite a few internet terminals in the middle of the lounge. Due to problems with the dial-up lines and proxy settings, thru-put was hideous. Connection speed was reading 44K, but it seemed like a third of that. About an hour after I arrived, I noticed a couple of machines in an out of the way alcove which was their “Business Center”, which seemed to run in a manner more appropriate to the connect speed (also 44K).

AC YYZ-ZRH
Boarding for the ZRH flight could only be described as a rugby scrum. Despite calling preboards and business class, everyone within fifty feet of the boarding gate jumped in the fray. My seat was 3A (which is a single seat alone on the port side) and it had an impressive 60” pitch with a recline angle almost horizontal. In comparison to UA which I know well, it probably is more comfortable and roomy then an international 747 or 777. The only negative is the footrest, which I can only describe as too short for anyone with larger than (US) size 6 feet. The 767 AC used for the ZRH run appeared to quite a few years old.

Dinner was to be a choice of Filet, Mahi Mahi, or Lasagna. Violating my own rule about airline food ordering priority (pasta is best, chicken second best, beef is a maybe, and fish is always chancy), I ordered the fish. Bad choice, the fish was overcooked and chewy. A decent lobster and shrimp starter preceded. The dinner service seemed to take nearly 2.5 hours from first drinks to the end of coffee service. A little slower then my preference (considering the flight was only going to take 7:15), but the attendants were friendly and well trained in service technique. BTW, before dinner the attendants asked whether anyone wanted personal videos, and to my surprise only me and one other person took them up on the offer. I watched “The Royal Tenebaums”, which I was rather disappointed in, considering the talented cast.

Zoomed through ZRH very quickly as the customs/immigration people seemed to show no interest in who might be exiting an Air Canada plane. Luggage came off quickly, with my piece showing up third or fourth. All told from the time I left the plane until I was waiting on the street for the Hilton shuttle, about twelve minutes.

The ZRH Hilton is about six minutes from the terminal by shuttle, and looks quite motelish from the outside. I had reserved a one night /30K point award and upon introducing myself at the front desk (it was about 10:20am), they ushered me to the fifth floor executive check in. In the one minute it took me to arrive at the executive check-in, the front desk had called upstairs to announce my arrival. Hence when I got off the elevator the concierge welcomed me by name. Nice touch. It was interesting to note that the fifth floor was only one flight above where I entered the hotel. Not until much later did I realize the hotel was built on a hill and the standard rooms are somehow below the fourth floor main entrance.

My plans for the days were very loose, as Austxhiker was not arriving until the following morning. I spent part of the morning trying to link up by phone with an old business colleague, who I hadn’t seen in seven years. She works in nearby Winterthur, which was purported to be a 16-minute train ride from the airport. After a refreshing jog back to the airport to find an ATM and a short nap, I eventually found my way to Winterthur where I walked around the rainy downtown shopping area before linking up with my old colleague for drinks and dinner (note to self, submit dinner on expense report since we discussed mutual business issues http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif).

Next up: Austxhiker, Airoli, and the master-Rudi



[This message has been edited by Craig6z (edited 10-06-2002).]

Sorry to sound so ignorant but who is Eugene Levy? Thank you and thanks for the report. Great that you can switch airlines in the United frequent flyer program.

He is a very prolific comedian/actor. Here is a link to his Internet Movie Database bio:

http://us.imdb.com/Name?Levy,+Eugene+(I)

I apologize that I wasn't here in Uitikon and Wengen during your short Swiss holiday. I was at a congress in Barcelona until Sunday.

Very curious to read the rest. This place is sometimes the only way to find out what Rudi was doing during my absence!

Gisela, mostly only lurking here

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Gisela:
Very curious to read the rest. This place is sometimes the only way to find out what Rudi was doing during my absence!</font> http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

Really great report!
I am looking forward to read the next parts.

Tim

When do you get to the sidecars? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

When do you get to the sidecars?

AusTXHiker's & Craig6z's side-car report (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum95/HTML/001592-2.html)

Even when doing trip-reports, AusTXHikes & Craig6z know to report the most important issue first (and seperate) http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

The following morning I hopped the Hilton shuttle back to the airport to see if I could meet Austxhiker’s flight, which I thought Rudi might be waiting for. No sign of Rudi, but when Austxhiker appeared he immediately approached a young gentleman, who I shortly learned was Airoli. Airoli, had graciously took a day off from work and volunteered to be our tour guide that day, drove Austxhiker and I back to the Hilton, where I checked out. Our next stop would be the Zurich Airport Renaissance Hotel, where Austxhiker had arranged a three-night award stay (we would not actually sleep in the room the whole time however, just use it as a “storage space” for luggage). One step in to this hotel, which was significantly further from the airport then the Hilton, revealed a property far superior to the Hilton in both public areas and rooms. The added benefit that this hotel offered was 24 hour high speed internet access, something the Hilton charged for using a Rube Goldberg pay device, akin to the old black and white TV sets haunting bus stations for 25 cents a fifteen minute view. Only the Hilton’s internet machine was a bit pricier (like twenty times pricier) then those old TV’s.

Airoli drove Austxhiker and I to his office, where he parked his car and we high-footed it across the expressway to a tram that would take us into Zurich proper. A full day of touring the clean, well-preserved old city was topped off by a visit to a traditional teahouse for the best hot chocolate of my life. “Swiss Miss” should be ashamed of itself for even insinuating that they might even qualify as a hot chocolate purveyor.

Our evening meal was at the “Blaue Ente”, which translates as the “Blue Duck”. Not sure where the name comes from, but the property was decorated in industrial chic, as it was once a mill. Absolutely gorgeous space, with quite decent food.

My third morning Switzerland brought Airoli back to the Renaissance early for shuttling to Rudi’s Zurich hillside house, and a trip to the Swiss Expo 02 ( http://www.expo.02.ch/e/home.html ). The Expo is a once a generation five month long exhibition held to highlight Swiss technology, art, agriculture, culture, and societal change. The last Expo was held in 1964. My pre conceived notion was this was going to be akin to a World’s Fair, but that turned out to be quite off base (more on this later). Upon arriving at Rudi’s, we found him sprawled in an easy chair smack in the middle of his driveway reading the paper in the chilly morning air. Rudi was clearly the master of his domain (at least for the next few days, since his wonderful wife-Gisela, was out of the country!). We transferred to Rudi’s car and were off the first of the Expo sites.

The Expo is split into three locations, a healthy distance into the countryside, and all distinctly separate from each other. They are all built next to lakes, but due to the complexity of the exhibits, distances, and expected Saturday crowds, taking in all three locations was prohibitive. Most Swiss citizens visit the Fair multiple times during its run (which ends in a few weeks), in order to properly absorb/contemplate all the sights. Rudi’s goal was to visit two of the sites, one in Neuchatel ( http://www.ne.ch/pathology/indexdat/neuchatel.htm ), and the other in Murten ( http://www.murten.net/murten/ ). I would be lying if I said I understood the significance of everything we saw at the two Expo sites. While it was an amazing series of “events”, the link to Swiss culture/psyche often escaped me.

Probably the most overwhelming site we visited, was the “Monolith” at the Murten Lake. This is a ten story square cube ( http://www.expo.02.ch/e/home/finallisteartes/morat/portrait/monolith.html ), painted to look like rusting iron, sitting a couple of hundred meters out it the lake. Access was via catamaran, after standing in an hour queue. Inside the structure there were three distinct levels. The ground floor was a circle vision slide show (similar to that seen in Disneyland or WDW) of Swiss indigenous flora and fauna zones and agricultural product highlights. The next level up, which was completely hidden from the ground level, included viewing windows to the outside. In a feat of remarkable engineering the windows were designed to blend in to the iron hull, so someone lurking a few meters away on the outside of the Monolith in a catamaran, would never know there was any exposed openings. Finally on the top floor of the Monolith along the inside walls, was a monstrous painting of the Battle of Murten in incredible minute detail. There must have been 5-6,000 soldiers painted in this piece of art. Whoever created it, had to have spent a decade in its preparation.

In a very simplistic manner I can describe my superficial day at the Expo as a visit to a National Fair, as orchestrated by Andy Warhol. An overwhelming experience that I cannot begin to explain, without having made many additional visits and performed a lot of contemplative research.

By the time we finished visiting the second site (Murten), early evening had set in and we began a made dash to get to Wengen and Rudi’s Chalet. A stop at the Hotel Baren in Wilderswil for a pub dinner (love the word “Wilderswil”, saying it with English or German pronunciation is quite entertaining, http://www.baeren.ch/e ) and a mad rush to the Lauterburren station to catch one of the last trains to Rudi’s treasured Wengen. Passenger motor cars are not allowed near Wengen, and transfers in that part of the country are almost exclusively by rail or beast of burden.

A comment about the Swiss rail system ( http://www.rail.ch/index_e.htm ). To say it runs like a Swiss watch is not hyperbole. While waiting for the train to Wengen I glanced at my watch which elicited this comment from Rudi, “The train will be one time”. My hesitant response, “Ahhh, yes, I was just resetting my Casio to Swiss train time”. Of course this train, and every other train, subway, or tram I was on in Switzerland moved according to a schedule that seemed to be controlled by an Atomic clock. This is no exaggeration. We’re not talking a minute one way or another. Trains leave stations at precisely when the seconds’ hand reaches the appointed minute. It is a matter of national pride and honor. North American airlines, take note.


Next: Wengen, a place close to heaven







[This message has been edited by Craig6z (edited 10-09-2002).]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Craig6z:
Next: Wengen, a place close to heaven

The best is yet to come http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif Looking forward to the next installment!

Thanks to Airoli's web hosting, following are some photos that help to annotate my previous postings (note the URL's are case sensitive):

http://www.olimade.com/files/Craig6z/PICT0017.JPG Massive spinning globe in one of the exhibits

http://www.olimade.com/files/Craig6z/PICT0020R.JPG A view of one of the exhibit buildings at the Lake Neuchatel site

http://www.olimade.com/files/Craig6z/PICT0024.JPG The Monolith in Murten. One pundit I showed this to thought it was engineered by the Borg Collective!

http://www.olimade.com/files/Craig6z/PICT0028.JPG A building at Murten made to resemble a pile of logs

You missed the cloud? That's a shame; IMHO it was the best of the "headline" Expo exhibits. I must say the Sube was very impressive though.

For those who aren't lucky enough to be aware of Switzerland's Expo sites: Yverdon has had an artificial cloud built as it's main Expo attraction. It is big - about 30-40m in radius. It also has a bar on top (serving only mineral water, of course). It's clearly visible from the other side of the lake; some 20km away.

Regards,
Alex

[This message has been edited by alexwuk (edited 10-10-2002).]

Die Wolke / the cloud (http://www.gindrat.ch/expo02/27320315-Expo02-Yverdon-Wolke-1100x609.jpg) (Expo Yverdon)

(I am responsible, that our guests missed the cloud. Reason: my military heart had to show them Murten/Morat ... and eat a typicial swiss military 'Käseschnitte' (croûte of fromage, hot cheese sandwich) for lunch, accompanied by a 'Rivella' drink)



[This message has been edited by Rudi (edited 10-10-2002).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Rudi:
[b]... and eat a typicial swiss military 'Käseschnitte' (croûte of fromage, hot cheese sandwich) for lunch, accompanied by a 'Rivella' drink.</font>

In contrast to US Army food (I am a US Army veteran), the Swiss Army's Käseschnitte was quite delicious. I could easily have had seconds but we had limited time as we were on a tight schedule. It was also the first time I had Rivella, which I also enjoyed several times during my trip.

I was a bit disappointed the LX doesn't serve Rivella anymore. I was informed by the flight attendants that they used to serve it in SR but due to lack of demand, it was scrapped.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Gisela:
I apologize that I wasn't here in Uitikon and Wengen during your short Swiss holiday. I was at a congress in Barcelona until Sunday.

Very curious to read the rest. This place is sometimes the only way to find out what Rudi was doing during my absence!

Gisela, mostly only lurking here</font>

We were sorry to have missed you. Rudi and airoli were excellent hosts. We learned so much about Switzerland! Hopefully, we'll get to see you next time around.

your most welcome (any other time again)

Since it was close to midnight when we arrived at Rudi’s Chalet, it was not possible to really see what Wengen looked like until dawn ( http://www.wengen.com ). I had a preconceived notion that it was similar to Zermatt, due to the fact there is no automobile access, but this assumption ended up being quite wrong. In fact the next morning revealed an awe-inspiring but quiet Mountain village that seemed more residential then tourism destination. Not a lot of hotels/pensions and a relatively short main shopping street. What was alarming to me is I should have remembered it was unlike Zermatt, since I had been through the town on a train eight years ago during daylight hours. My mind apparently is aging faster then my body! Zermatt is a pretty place, but can not hold a candle to Wengen, due to Wengen’s more natural environment.

Rudi’s chalet was quite cozy, but in a minor state of upheaval since they had just moved in to the place. After many years in another Wengen location Rudi had decided to downsize, primarily since his (now grown) daughters were not using the chalet all that much. I never saw where his old place was, but it's hard to believe it could have had a better view then the new one. Waking up in the morning and stepping out on his balcony took your breath away.

http://www.olimade.com/files/Craig6z/PICT0039.JPG View from Rudi’s balcony

http://www.olimade.com/files/Craig6z/PICT0070.JPG
http://www.olimade.com/files/Craig6z/PICT0071.JPG Two photos of Wengen, although much later in the day

http://www.olimade.com/files/Craig6z/PICT0072.JPG Craig6z, Austxhiker, Airoli - standing on Rudi’s balcony

The plan for the day (it was a Sunday) would split up the group. Austxhiker and Airoli would take an early train to the top of the Junfraujoch ( http://www.wengen.com/topof.html ), which I had not planned on doing, as I had taken it in eight years ago, albeit from Interlaken which uses up much more of your day. To our surprise, Swiss native-Airoli had never actually been to the top of the tracks, and was quite excited to have someone go with him to the top. Rudi and I plotted to hike to the last train station ( http://www.jungfraubahn.ch/english/pages/RE/RE_AgKg.htm ) before one goes all the way to the top of the Jungfrau by rail. To get to this station, in the tourist/ski hamlet of Kleine Scheidegg, Rudi and I would take a gondola from Wengen to Maennlichen ( http://www.maennlichen.ch ) then hike about an hour.

Plans were made with Airoli where Rudi would call his cell phone to see how long he and Austxhiker would stay at the top of the Jungfrau, and we would attempt to meet them at the Kleine Scheidegg station, then take the train back down the hill to Wengen together. A little while after our compadres left, Rudi turned on the TV to a local cable station and found out that the trail from Maennlichen to Kleine Scheidegg was closed, due to avalanche danger. An early season snowfall had dumped a couple of feet of snow in the mountains around us, and rising temperatures had made it unstable. Rudi nevertheless was not convinced that we couldn’t hike through the snow, and convinced me that it would be worthwhile to inquire at the gondola station for a better explanation of conditions.

The ticket seller at the gondola station repeated the official line that the trail was closed, but after a rush of Swiss-German exchanged between her and Rudi, “Major Martel” announced the troops would be making the march. The Major translated the exchange between him and the ticket seller, ”She said they are just trying to keep tourists from killing themselves, it is perfectly safe for locals”. Who am I to question a commanding officer http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif?

http://www.olimade.com/files/Craig6z/PICT0050.JPG Looking down toward Wengen from the gondola

Rudi indicated the walk from the top of the gondola to Kleine Scheidegg normally takes him 45 minutes, but would take us much longer due to the snow. He wasn’t wrong. Within a half kilometer of the gondola, the trail disappeared into one or two sets of footprints in the half-meter deep snow and ice. Rudi suggested we walk separating ourselves by 50 meters, so if there were an avalanche the other person would likely survive (and be able to lead the authorities to the body, to ensure a proper burial). In at least six places, there clearly had been recent avalanches and one had to carefully step in order to pass through the fresh snow and ice. Rudi, always the officer and gentleman, allowed his guest to go first. It wasn’t until later I realized my shoe imprints would make it easier for the person behind me to walk http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif.

http://www.olimade.com/files/Craig6z/PICT0053.JPG ”Major” Martel on the hike to Kleine Scheidegg

After about 75 minutes, the troops made it to a ski lodge, just above Kleine Scheidegg, where we hung out in the gorgeous weather for an hour, waiting for Austxhiker and Airoli to come down on the train. Rudi seemed to be quite familiar with the lodge, as he immediately walked to a favored table and soaked up the sun. Have to admit, his taste in “hanging out” locations is pretty darn good! There were only a handful of others at the lodge, which was clearly not in the normal tourist paths.

http://www.olimade.com/files/Craig6z/PICT0055.JPG
http://www.olimade.com/files/Craig6z/PICT0062.JPG (The troops waiting for the train)


We joined up with Austxhiker and Airoli who could only spout superlatives about the top of the Jungfrau ( http://www.olimade.com/files/Craig6z/PICT0066R.JPG ) and the train ride up to the top ( http://www.olimade.com/files/Craig6z/PICT0063.JPG ). We went to the other side of the train station (due to a mandatory change of gauge), and headed back to the Chalet for a few hours before Rudi would drive us to our next “adventure”.

Final installment: Return to Zurich and LAX




[This message has been edited by Craig6z (edited 10-13-2002).]

What a super report! Thanks! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

-Mark

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Craig6z:
Rudi suggested we walk separating ourselves by 50 meters, so if there were an avalanche the other person would likely survive (and be able to lead the authorities to the body, to ensure a proper burial). </font>

At least I only had to worry about skiing off the side of a mountain when I was there http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Gteat trip report. It is gorgeous there, isn't it? Guess you didn't have to dodge skiers (do they have skiing at the high elevations this time of year?). Did you have a beer at the lodge at Kleine Scheidegg (are they open for drinks/food in the summer?).

Tom,

The ski resort hadn't opened yet, since the first major snowfall had just occurred the previous week. The lodge Rudi and I were hanging outside of was open, but it was a bit early for beer. I just had a Coke, and Rudi a Rivella ( http://www.rivella.com/com-glb-home ).

Rivella is an acquired taste, which I didn't.

Craig

[This message has been edited by Craig6z (edited 10-12-2002).]

Excellent report.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Rudi, always the officer and gentleman, allowed his guest to go first. It wasn’t until later I realized my shoe imprints would make it easier for the person behind me to walk http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif.</font>

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif Thanks for a great report, Craig!

allowed his guest to go first

one more (gentleman's?) secret:

at the table, let the lady be served first
* she will be polite and take the smaller piece
* your plate will (still) be warm, when starting eating

Merci villmahl, Rudi! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Our destination for the evening was to be Luzern (a.k.a. Lucerne), then back to the Renaissance to see if our luggage was enjoying the deluxe room Austxhiker reserved for it. As we were driving toward Luzern late in the afternoon, Rudi took a detour on to some paved cow path that brought us to a recently renovated grand hotel, the “Giessbach” ( http://www.panobi.ch/giessbach1.htm ). The facility is accessed through a steep valley with a Yosemite style waterfall viewable from the hotel terrace, and a beautiful lake to boot. While we didn’t stay too long, I thought of the Ahwahnee in Yosemite, but with a staff who cares about their place of employment. From the Giessbach we stopped for fuel, and motored toward Luzern.

A minor digress about the fuel stop. The gas station was unmanned on that Sunday afternoon, but the pumps were available via a “Point Of Sale” kiosk. Certainly in my home state of California, I have never seen this type of arrangement at a BP station, or any other brand for that matter. I’d think that Fire Inspectors might consider this a potential safety hazard, with no one to oversee the proper dispensing of the fuel. Is this common outside of the United States, unmanned gas stations? By the way, fuel was selling for roughly $3.60 per (US) gallon, just about everywhere in Switzerland. Rudi even commented that there are inquiries being done within the country, as there seems to be a form of price fixing, since all stations no matter the brand charge the same price, or so close that the difference is immaterial.

Just outside of Luzern, the traffic on the motorway came to a grinding halt. After six or seven kilometers of creeping along, we determined the reason. A road construction site reduced the traffic from two lanes to one. Of course there was no work actually being done at that time, so it was not clear why such a horrendous traffic jam had occurred. To make matters worse, the condition of the road was such, that both lanes could have easily been opened. Was this some ploy to get people to drive slower?

Which brings up Swiss drivers. Now I’m not going to harp on them, as they seem incredibly capable and aware of their surroundings. What has to be commented on is their respect for the speed limits and traffic laws. Nowhere on Earth that I have been (over 40 “countries”) have I ever seen a group of drivers who obey speed and driving laws closer. If the speed limit is 100kph on a motorway, no one would dare drive 105kph. A stop sign means exactly that. They stop. No rolling stops, even in a rural area with no cars for kilometers around. It is almost un-nerving, especially for someone who grew up on Los Angeles roads! Anyway, back to Luzern…

Rudi had chosen a special restaurant that evening for his guests, “The Old Swiss House” ( http://www.oldswisshouse.ch/startseite_e.htm ). On my own in Luzern, I would safely say I would have never picked this place as it violates many of my preconceived notions about restaurants. The building is circa 1858, but sits in a modern downtown shopping zone. The name seems a bit ironic and obvious, so I probably would have labeled it a tourist trap. While there were clearly a number of upscale tourists eating when we arrived (per Airoli they were easily identifiable by their white sneakers), there were also many well-dressed locals. The “Old Swiss House” blew all my preconceived notions about these types of restaurants, away.

The food was simple, but marvelous. The restaurant’s signature dish, not surprising for Switzerland, was Wienerschnitzel. Following is the description from their website: A deluxe Wienerschnitzel as you have never before tasted . Very tender veal escalopes are dipped in our own and highly "secret" mixture of beaten egg, Swiss cheese and herbs. The escalope is then turned over in specially prepared breadcrumbs and cooked in pure butter in front of you. Half a lemon and fresh egg noodles complete this delicious dish.
Sounds like good old Wienerschnitzel doesn’t it? A dish I’ve probably eaten twenty times in my eight previous trips to Germany, Austria, or Switzerland. What sets this restaurant apart is the entire meal, is prepared at your tableside by the waitress. From preparation of the veal, to its breading, to frying it in (humungous gobs of) butter. I suspect in a normal Swiss restaurant, where the Wienerschnitzel had been cooked in the kitchen, I would have rated the dish as being “very good”. But the showmanship of preparing it in front of you elevates it to another level. Easily, it is one of the ten best entrees I’ve consumed in my life.

Our final full daylight hours in Switzerland, was to be Austxhiker and my time to just roam around. Rudi and Airoli had business commitments during work hours, but had nevertheless insisted we get together that evening for one final repast. After a morning jog and breakfast at the Renaissance’s Executive Floor, plus a room switch to the ZRH Hilton, Austxhiker and I retraced some of our path taken when Airoli toured us around the Old Town. The only disappointment that day was our inability to spend shopping money. Switzerland has no lack of high quality product, but also no lack of high consumer prices. Very little you see is discounted from a manufacturers suggested price. I had some thoughts about buying a new Tissot watch I had seen in the US, that shows barometric pressure, altitude, and temperature. Unfortunately all stores charged exactly the same amount for it, which was only about 8% cheaper then the US. Not enough savings to motivate me to part with $550. I kept thinking about Rudi’s comment about fuel price fixing. Is this endemic in Switzerland?

Austxhiker and I had made arrangements to meet up with Rudi and Airoli for dinner, and in the traditional Swiss manner we met at precisely two minutes past the hour of seven, at the main train station. To no one’s surprise the group arrived in the prescribed place within a thirty seconds of each other, and preceded to our first stop, all of ten meters from the meeting place. Rudi wanted to start the evening out with a beer and he picked the Bar at the train station, as their claim to fame was availability of every beer brewed in the country. It is purported that there are over 100 beers made, in this rather small country. Luckily one could randomly pick any of the hundred, and not be disappointed.

From the train station, it was off to have “My First Side Car ©”, the traditional Rudi’s guest beverage of choice at the famous old Kronenhalle Bar (http://www.kronenhalle.com/e/english_fr.html). Background on the beverage can be found in this ongoing FT link: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum95/HTML/001592.html .

A game was played to try and identify the contents of the drink ( http://www.webtender.com/db/drink/129 ), but none of us was close. Excellent cocktail, however by the time we left the bar the plentiful alcohol was already going to my head. Rudi had asked me how much I wanted to drink that evening when we walked into the train station bar, and I seem to recall a “couple” of drinks. However a few minutes after we arrived at the Side Car stop, I wondered whether “couple” meant something different in Swiss-German versus English. By the end of the evening I had my answer. “Couple” in Swiss-German translates loosely as: “consume a whole bunch”, which I respectfully did.

Rudi insisted for this final evening, we have “Cheese Soup” ( http://www.about.ch/culture/food/fondue.html ). A visit to one of Rudi’s favorite local restaurants ensued (my apologies Rudi, the restaurant name escapes me in a haze of dead brain cells). The restaurant was amazingly crowded, but Rudi had made magical arrangements for a reserved table in the middle of the bin, which was made up of large families and battalions of Swiss military officers singing at the top of their lungs. The dinner started with two bottles of local wine arriving, but it soon became obvious only Rudi and I would make a dent in the vintage. Austxhiker was nursing his drinks, and Airoli was not consuming at all, as he would be driving home later (much, much later, as it worked out). After the wine was poured, the server delivered a steaming pot of fondue (which was much stronger then any fondue I had ever had in the U.S., apparently the secret ingredient was a substantial amount of wine and aperitifs), bread, and boiled baby potatoes. After a compulsory lesson in cheese soup etiquette, along with practice dunking, Rudi had the server deliver large shot glasses of Kirsch, which one was obligated to dip the bread in and swish around before dunking it in the cheese soup. The first bite of this devil’s recipe knocked your fillings out, and caused your eyes to pop out of their sockets. Maybe it was getting over the initial shock or the fact the wine had taken its toll, but 30 minutes later the aperitif seemed rather benign. After a great deal of time had elapsed, I believe we left the restaurant.

From this point of the evening’s story on, Austxhiker will need to validate my memory. Somehow we found ourselves walking through the Zurich Red Light district, and ended up at Rudi’s daughter’s beautiful new flat. Despite the advanced hour, Rudi’s daughter and her boyfriend were very hospitable/understanding about Dad bringing three FT’ers in for a visit and coffee. We eventually made our way back to the main rail station, where we said goodbye to our wonderful Swiss friends, and Austxhiker and I made our way back to the ZRH Hilton via train and bus.

Four hours of sleep later, I was on the Hilton’s shuttle back to the airport, and a Lufthansa commuter flight to Frankfurt. I found my way to my connecting flight to Phoenix (the Los Angeles non-stop was booked, but I did manage a trans-Atlantic award that would get me nearly all the way home), and slept on and off the whole way. My recollection of LH business class on the A-340: comfortable seats, excellent footrests, cordial attendants, and horrid food. A quick jaunt through customs in PHX and a connection to a United Express Tundra Jet, and I was “home”.

Of course “home” is a general description, I still had a nearly 90 minute bus ride during rush hour to get to the Flyaway bus terminal near my house. Gosh I love L.A! Ninety minutes to go 23 miles! A quick return to the civility of Switzerland was immediately on my mind.

### The End ###


I would be remiss without emphasizing what gentlemen Rudi and Airoli are, for allowing Mark and I to intervene on their lives. Their courtesy, good nature, and generosity are extraordinary. I hope to be able to return the favor some day. These are wonderful people.




[This message has been edited by Craig6z (edited 10-15-2002).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Craig6z:
.... Rudi insisted for this final evening, we have “Cheese Soup.” A visit to one of Rudi’s favorite local restaurants ensued (my apologies Rudi, the restaurant name escapes me in a haze of dead brain cells)</font>
For the life of me, I can't remember the name of the place. I assure you that this restaurant is worth revisiting and normally, I would have made a mental note of it. Maybe I did--- I just can't recall the name at the moment.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">.... Austxhiker was nursing his drinks,...</font>
Not to make excuses, but at this point, we have had some beers, a side car, and some wine. My head was still spinning. I'm just glad that I didn't get any cheese on anyone (to the best of my recollection, I don't recall doing that).

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">.... Our final full daylight hours in Switzerland, was to be Austxhiker and my time to just roam around...</font>
A side note: if you must have bratwurst, you should have St. Gallen bratwurst. There's this terrific place in Bellevueplatz that we went to for a second time. Fantastic bratwurst!


<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">.... From this point of the evening’s story on, Austxhiker will need to validate my memory. Somehow we found ourselves walking through the Zurich Red Light district, and ended up at Rudi’s daughter’s beautiful new flat. Despite the advanced hour, Rudi’s daughter and her boyfriend were very hospitable/understanding about Dad bringing three FT’ers in for a visit and coffee.</font>
As with all big cities, ZRH does have a red-light district. According to airoli, the women are not allowed to solicit-- negotiations have to originate from the consumer. Of course, airoli quickly informs me that he is not a consumer and that this information is known to most Swiss citizens.

Rudi's daughter and her boyfriend were very generous. I enjoyed their hospitality and their warmth despite the fact that this was the first time we've met. They served us some coffee, cookies, and shared their photos from their recent holidays at the Maldives. Great people, interesting conversations, sipping coffee: I felt like I was in the company of old friends. What a perfect way to end the night.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">I would be remiss without emphasizing what gentlemen Rudi and Airoli are, for allowing Mark and I to intervene on their lives. Their courtesy, good nature, and generosity are extraordinary. I hope to be able to return the favor some day. These are wonderful people. </font>
I completely agree. It was a treat to experience the hospitality of Rudi and airoli first-hand. They helped us better understand and experience the Swiss culture, and learn some Swiss history along the way, which is one of the main reasons why I bother traveling after all. I will definitely be returning to Switzerland soon.

[This message has been edited by AusTXHiker (edited 10-15-2002).]

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by AusTXHiker:

A side note: if you must have bratwurst, you should have St. Gallen bratwurst. There's this terrific place in Bellevueplatz that we went to for a second time. Fantastic bratwurst!</font>

Kronenhalle?

http://www.kronenhalle.com/e/english_fr.html

St. Gallen bratwurst. There's this terrific place in Bellevueplatz = 'Vorderer Sternen' (just around the corner from the Kronenhalle)

Good eye, emailman. Sorry about the misposted link. I'll insert in in the right place, which is related to the Side Car.

Had a bit of a difficult time reconciling my eight pages of handwritten notes with photos I took, and links that Rudi was kind enough to supply.

Craig



[This message has been edited by Craig6z (edited 10-15-2002).]

Posting from flybynight's apartment in Toronto: just realized that my server hosting Craig's photos is down at the moment. I'll try to have it back up ASAP. Sorry for the inconvenience.

P.S. Will read report once I get home.

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airOli (http://www.olimade.com/airoli), the Swiss Air Line. ;)

thank you for your trip report, that will be the first entry in our new guestbook (for our new Wengen location).

All FlyerTalkers having visited so far 'our' Wengen have entries (with a print-out of their FT-trip report in our guest books), and no visitor ever missed to read them all.

All future visitors will now have to reserve an extra two hours for reading only (can be done on our hopefully sunny balcony) when planning their Wengen stay and Gisela and I have to think about a larger guest-book than the new one we initially intended to buy now.

Nothing is more rewarding, than guests who appreciate the/our place and show it. Thank You!

Thank you Craig.

virtual 360 degree sight-seeing tour: Wengen-Lauterbrunnen valley-Mürren and the Jungfrau
http://www.wengen-muerren.ch/flashnofsindex_e.html

I followed in the footsteps of James Bond, Rudi!

Being back home, I have finally managed to read this report, and I enjoyed it as much as I did welcoming the two of you in Switzerland.

Thanks again for your visit and for writing this. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

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airOli (http://www.olimade.com/airoli), the Swiss Air Line. ;)

Yesterday, while I was enjoying a perfect skiing weekend in the Jungfrau region with a local friend of mine, I had the pleasure of hooking up with Rudi again and getting to know his wonderful wife Gisela. Here is the photographic proof of the meeting and also an idea of just how beautiful the Wengen/Grindelwald resort is in wintertime: Ski 1 (http://www.olimade.com/files/Craig6z/ski1.jpg), Ski 2 (http://www.olimade.com/files/Craig6z/ski2.jpg).

In the background, the village of Grindelwald (not to be confused with Wengen, where Rudi's chalet is ) and the Wetterhorn are visible. Craig6z and ausTXhiker, the weather conditions were just as ideal as they were when we were up there together...

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airOli (http://www.olimade.com/airoli), the Swiss Air Line. ;)

Very nice picture. Thank you. I was in Murren nearby and in Grindelwald but in the summer. I would like to go to Wengen one day.