East Eats West

Gentlemen, custom-made bicycles and beer

I do not believe in destiny, I believe in connecting the dots. And this weekend many dots got connected at the first Gentlemen's Run in Zurich. Let me explain. During winter good friends of mine stayed in my apartment. As a little thank you they left me an old Swiss military bike. I tried it recently and realized it had some technical problems. The bike mechanic then told me that repairing the bike would not be economical so I sadly parted with the bike. But the bicycle bug bit me and I started looking for a new bike to roam the city. At the new bicycle shop Stilrad in the Viadukt I came across my dream-bike: a German Schindelhauer aluminium bike with a carbon-belt drive. Just perfect for whizzing around the city! While looking at the bikes a man approached me an invited me for the first Gentlemen's Run in Zurich. The Gentlemen's Run has nothing to do with running, more with cruising around town on a bicycle while wearing cool vintage clothes. It is all about style, not speed. And having a beer while on the way. About a hundred gentlemen and a few ladies showed up and we cruised around Zurich, sometimes earning spontaneous applause by tourists and bystanders. I couldn't have wished for a better re-introduction to bicycling, bravo!

Website: http://gentlemensreport.com/gentlemens-run/

Irish wool and handwoven Tweed

Ireland might not be the first name that pops up when men's tailoring comes to mind. On the other hand, I am sure sheep would be a common association with Ireland. On a recent visit I came across a small shop in Dublin that sells traditional Tweed products. The shop, by the name of Kevin & Howlin, exists since 1936. They buy best quality handwoven Donegal Tweed from Magee, a weaver that was established in Ireland in 1866. The Tweed, a thick, coarse and warm wool fabric, is then sown into traditional and hunter's jackets, vests, pants, hats and shawls. Tweed is a rather heavy and coarse fabric and therefore perfect for harsh winters. I ended up buying two light and dark green salt&pepper, named after its dotted pattern, jackets and a dark brown flannel pant. I am all set for winter now!

Website: http://www.kevinandhowlin.com/ and www.mageeclothing.com

Freshly roasted coffee from Zurich

Starbucks set foot to Zurich exactly ten years ago. Teenagers and mothers with their babies particularly took a liking to Starbucks (due to free WiFi and a strict non-smoking policy). Starbucks perfected the art of adding tons of cream and caramel sauce to a cup of coffee, charging a small fortune for their sweet concoctions and giving teenagers doing their homework on the premises a sugar high. However, recently those sweet concoctions have gone out of favor among adults. There is a bit of a back-to-the-roots movement among coffee drinkers in Switzerland. Among my friends there are a few who have returned to simple, honest coffee servings like espresso, cappuccino or even the more basic, old-fashioned coffee with milk. Once you leave any sweet flavors on the side the quality of the bean and the roast becomes important. One of my favorite locals roasts are by Caffé Ferrari in Dietikon, Zurich. They have been roasting coffee, using coal, since 1895. Their “Grossmutter's Käfeli” (grandma's coffee) is perfect for an acid-free full-bodied espresso. Just add a bit of sugar (no cream or milk, please)! Since I started working at my new office, which uses the Caffé Ferrari beans, Starbucks won't be seeing the likes of me!

Website: http://mondialprodukte.ch/

Chimichurri and prime Argentinean beef

Ever since I visited Argentina I have been craving some tender and juicy Argentinean beef. Thanks to an Argentinean friend of mine I recently was invited to an Argentinean barbecue. The host, Gustavo Andereggen, is an Argentinean himself and imports prime beef and wine from there. The barbecue strictly followed Argentinean protocol: lots and lots of beef, homemade spicy Chimichurri barbecue sauce and very little side dishes. What a feast!

Website: http://www.mitierra.ch/

Swiss versus Indian fishing nets

Picture: Fishing station on the river Rhine in Basel.  Picture: 'Chinese' fishing nets in Fort Cochin, Kerala (India). 

 A famous feature of colonial Fort Cochin in Kerala, India, are the fishing nets originally constructed by Chinese fishermen. Interestingly a very similar contraptions can be found along the banks of the mighty River Rhine in Basle, Switzerland. The fishing nets can be swung into position from a neat little shack. The nets are then lowered and hoisted by a winch. Basically the same idea the Chinese had in Fort Cochin.

 

The joys of Swiss travelers

With Europe and America slowly toppling over under their debt burden, the Swiss Francs has become the currency of choice for scared investors again. The Swiss Francs has recently reached record highs towards the dollar, Euro and most other currencies. What is mostly bad news for the Swiss tourism industry is an unexpected boon for Swiss travelers as their appreciated Swiss Francs buys them more and more. MacBooks from Apple for example are between 20-25% cheaper in Malaysia than in Switzerland. A clear buy signal!

Why the Range Rover goes bling

I recently read an interview with the Range Rover designer. He explained that the newest model has more speed lines and other design features that make it look not only more powerful but also have more bling factor. The reason for this is simple: customers in the Middle East, Russia and Asia demand more conspicuous designs and want more bling. This trend can also be seen in fashion as traditional houses like Dior and Chanel become more fancy, more colorful and their designs, more outrageous. Slowly but surely the emerging markets' spending power can already be felt and seen!

Two Swiss museums by the outstanding architect Renzo Piano

Picture: The Paul Klee Museum by Renzo Piano, Berne. 

Most people might be familiar with the Centre Pompidou. One of its architect is the Italian Pritzker Price winner Renzo Piano. The interesting thing about Renzo Piano is that he does not easily have one signature architectural style as for example Frank Gehry with his Bilbao Guggenheim museum. Renzo Piano is much more nimble and continues to surprise me. One of his more recent work is a museum for the Swiss artist Paul Klee. The museum is located in Berne, Switzerland, next to a highway. The striking feature of the museum is its wave-like roof structures that blend into the green hills surrounding the museum. It is humble, discreet but still has a very distinctive structure. Therefore it blends easily with the medieval UNESCO heritage town of Berne. However, his more internationally acclaimed and revered museum in Switzerland is the Fondation Beyeler in Basle. Again, the building easily blends into the surrounding landscape. In contrast to his newer structure in Berne, the interior is as exciting as the exterior. With big windows opening on both sides to the lily ponds, art can be in a dialogue with the surrounding nature, simply brilliant! This became very obvious with the current massive steel structures by Richard Serra, the famous American sculptor. Despite being inside, the structure somehow extends into the surrounding fields and the open space. Absolutely breath-taking and well-worth a visit!

Websites: www.paulkleezentrum.ch and www.fondationbeyeler.ch

Picture: The Fondation Beyeler Museum near Basle. 

I found the office of my dreams (and a job)

It happened at the end of May: I found the workplace of my dreams! The building is located in a quiet residential area and used to be a window factory (hence the huge space). The office houses a collection of young and senior entrepreneurs, ranging from designers, photographers, illustrators to architects and an advertising guy. The office is basically one big open-space with about a dozen tables. The building has a beautiful wooden floor and even sports its own, custom-made kitchen with free coffee! I immediately fell in love and have decided that I want to work there. Shortly after moving a stroke of good luck happened: I got my first strategy consulting client! Therefore I have an office and a new job now, wonderful!

Swiss men spend little money on their shoes

I recently happened to have a chat with the head of sales of a well-known Swiss fashion brand that also sells men's shoes. He told me that it is devilishly difficult to sell good quality men's shoes in Switzerland. Apparently 300 swiss francs per pair is the upper limit whereas a good hand-made and goodyear-welted men's shoes will likely cost 450 swiss francs or more. Swiss men, according to the head of sales, prefer to buy cheaper shoes, wear them for months on end (without using shoe trees or cleaning them), then throwing them and replacing them with another. Another sales person in a menswear shop told me that clothes and shoes rank very low on any Swiss men's things to buy (apparently cars and watches are on top). My hope is that the influx of better dressed Germans (mostly from Bavaria) will improve the Swiss men's sense of dressing. And my hopes may not be unfounded as I see more and more men wearing bright colored pants this spring (red being the favorite)!

The economy is changing speed

Are you also playing the guessing game of how the various economies will develop? Will America fall back into recession (Japan just did)? Will China continue to grow at break-neck speed? How come that Germany is the only EU economy solidly growing? Luckily, Switzerland did not have a housing bust in 2008/2009 and we are back on the growth track. Almost. Over the course of the last few months I have been speaking to several dozens of people in business. The fields ranged from banking to hedge funds and from architecture to law firms. Interestingly everyone is singing the same tune: future anxiety. Despite a solidly growing Swiss economy, managers are uncertain about the future. It seems that everyone is afraid of making decisions. It is the time of the OTH-guy (on the other hand) who constantly sees the glass half empty. The cons of this behavior: procrastination and decision making angst. It doesn't matter if you are a banker, hedge-funds-start-up, architect or a lawyer. Clients love to procrastinate indefinitely. Everyone has ample time and would rather have another meeting, phone call or presentation. Everyone, of course, is interested in new products, ideas and hiring people. But no one wants to pull the trigger. No one. Employees who have jobs stay on. People on the look-out for jobs are faced with assessment periods of two to six months. And in rare cases when a decision is made, the speed changes from snail's pace to warp-speed. Patience turns into mania! Results need to show in months, or better still in weeks. The same person who spent months evaluating a decision suddenly wants to see results. They forget, Rome was not built in a day.

Drinks with a view in New York

It is very hard in New York to find a place to sit and have a drink. Parks are in short supply and traffic is so heavy no one wants to sit at the roadside. So where to go for a drink with a view in New York? 48 Ink is the place to go. The al fresco roof top bar is situated close to the Hudson river and offers a splendid view of the New York skyline. Just be aware that drinks will be only served in plastic cups (safety regulations)! Website: www.ink48.com

Shoe shine for 3$

I couldn't resist getting a shoeshine in New York. The staff was Mexican and next to me a guy in a suit got his shoes polished. He looked like he was out of TV series CSI New York and guess what, he was caring a gun and a badge! That was a cool shoeshine, for real.

Irish whiskey against the flu

On a recent business trip to London I caught a cold. During the day, full of heavy rain, I felt worse and worse. However, I soldiered on and went to a festive dinner. The next day I felt worse. A lovely elderly Irish lady counseled me to take an old Irish recipe against a cold: a hot Irish whiskey. Here is the deal: you take a generous helping of Irish (apparently important) whiskey, add two cloves, some lime juice and stir it with hot water. Then drink. Quite a disgusting concoction I must say. Did it help? Not really, but it made the barkeeper smile!

Kill a cop reward

While staying in New York I came across this very interesting bumper sticker on a New York patrol car. Yes, the Big Apple can still be dangerous!