East Eats West

Where are the girls?

Picture: Tatatatataaaa, a Tata Nano!

I went to the biggest car show in the world in Geneva. The last time I went to a car show was in Tokyo in 2005 (see link below). The most striking difference to the Toyko show was that in Geneva there were barely girls adoring the cars. Except the two Italian brands Lamborghini and Fiat no other brand displayed girls in sexy outfits posing next to cars. After walking for four hours and trying to squeeze by a car-enthusiastic crowd I felt a bit bored. There were hardly any truly new cars. In my eyes the coolest novelty was clearly the $3.000 Indian Tata Nano car. It apparently is a fully-fledged car with four doors made for the average Indian. And it even looks like a car, a tiny one.

http://easteatswest.typepad.com/photos/toyko_motor_show_200/index.html

For more cars from the Geneva show, click here: http://easteatswest.typepad.com/photos/geneva_car_show_2008/index.html

Picture: Italian cars with extra features.

I wish my couch were a car

Picture: Now that is what I call a comfortable car (A Maybach, that is)!

The Geneva car showed boasted dozens of powerful and sporty cars but besides the big German Maybach, German-British the Rolls Royce and the French Citroen C6 there were hardly and truly comfortable and luxurious cars. I seriously wondered why the engine gets more room than the driver! I also wondered when people will get tired of cars that force their wills upon us with their too tiny Recaro seats, low-seating and noisy engines. Why hasn't anyone thought about engineering a truly comfortable car that is spacious, quiet, and comfortable to get in and out and basically welcomes me every time I approach it! I want a car that beckons me with comfort. I want a car that is as comfortable as my Italian couch. So maybe the Italian furniture producers Flexform, Minotti and B&B should start making cars!

Picture: I want a car made out of my couch!

Price discrimination based upon nationality

I still remember how outraged I was to read a sign declaring that foreigners have to pay $20 for entering the Taj Mahal in India while at the same time locals had to pay only a few cents. You might argue that the prices are based on purchasing power and Indians on average are poor. When my parents recently went for their skiing holidays in St.Moritz in Switzerland they were surprised to see many foreigner tourists, particularly Russians, skiing in Switzerland. This winter season was a record season for Switzerland with most hotels being booked-out for the whole winter period. So an idea struck me: let's charge extremely wealthy foreigners more for using our tourist infrastructure. That would be only fair, wouldn’t it? Russians for example, who love anything pricey and exquisite, would even get an extra thrill out of the extra money they can shell out. The difference of price discrimination in Switzerland in comparison to India would be that one doesn't need to haggle in Switzerland. What do you think?

The perfect home

Picture: An expert for happy living, Alain de Botton.

The Swiss-born philosopher Alain de Botton recently came out with a BBC documentary that was called “The perfect home”. The documentary starts in England and inspects the English’s addiction with retro 1750 cottages in Tudor or Georgian style. Mr. de Botton states that the English a drawn to a pre-industrial design and its architecture in order to feel back in time (he calls this retro-style “pastiche”). Modern day English people find a retreat from the stressful city-life in pre-industrial house-design that rejects modernity. He believes that this strong attachment to the past makes them unhappy. But it is not only the English who love their retro houses. Tons of new developments in China and other parts of Asia simulate the heritage of the European and colonial past. But for Asian it probably means luxury and prestige to have a “European” house. Mr. de Botton thinks that houses nowadays should be part of our modern day life and incorporate technology, new materials, mobility and openness. One should not copy a bygone style but interact with modern life. Denying modern life only makes us unhappy. And as architecture tends to stay around for decades and is visible to everyone, it should be in everyone’s interest. 

Alain de Botton wrote also a book you can find here: http://www.alaindebotton.com/architecture.asp

Lavish Opera Ball in Zurich

Picture: The debutant dancers in action at the Zurich Opera Ball.

The opera in Zurich has a very vivid history as it was once the focal point of youth riots in the eighties. With hundreds of employees and a budget of several hundred million Swiss Francs the opera has become in the meantime the costly pride of Zurich. The Zurich Opera, as its famous counterpart in Vienna, hosts an annual opera ball that includes a lavish dinner, a short opera performance, waltz music for dancing and other attractions like a lottery and a casino. At the same time the ball is an occasion for the greats of business and politics to make an appearance. This year for example I bumped into Mr. Marcel Ospel, the by now infamous head of UBS bank. For me it was an occasion to don my tuxedo and risk a few steps on the dance floor. Check out the pictures here: http://easteatswest.typepad.com/photos/zurich_switzerland/index.html

Designer furniture outlet in Zurich

Picture: The furniture shop with a pool.

For over 40 years the design furniture shop Neumarkt 17 in Zürich has been selling top brand furniture from Zanotta, B&B Italia, Flexform, Vitra, Thut and many more. The furniture shop is actually worth a visit itself as it is a true labyrinth and even features an inside pool! And if you more into bargain hunting they also operate a “design garage” that is open every Saturday. There they sell pieces from the collection at a discount and every first week in August they have a massive furniture clearance sell. You find the outlet shop at Bleulerstrasse 1 in Zürich (near the Burghölzli).

http://www.neumarkt17.ch/

Designer furniture outlet in Zurich

Picture: The furniture shop with a pool.

For over 40 years the design furniture shop Neumarkt 17 in Zürich has been selling top brand furniture from Zanotta, B&B Italia, Flexform, Vitra, Thut and many more. The furniture shop is actually worth a visit itself as it is a true labyrinth and even features an inside pool! And if you more into bargain hunting they also operate a “design garage” that is open every Saturday. There they sell pieces from the collection at a discount and every first week in August they have a massive furniture clearance sell. You find the outlet shop at Bleulerstrasse 1 in Zürich (near the Burghölzli).

http://www.neumarkt17.ch/

Picturesque Swiss medieval town

Picture: The window panes even have little hearts!

I recently visited a small medieval town in the very north of Switzerland called Stein am Rhein. Here are a few pictures that seem to come from a postcard. Enjoy!

Click here for more pictures: http://easteatswest.typepad.com/photos/switzerland/index.html

Zen garden design

Picture: A garden designed by master Shunmyo Masuno in Japan (courtesy of www.kenkohji.jp)

Ever since I was in Kyoto I have been intrigued by the contemplative Japanese Zen gardens. Some of the gardens in Kyoto were designed hundreds of years ago and are national treasures. But the tradition lives on in the work of modern day Zen priest like Shunmyo Masuno. He creates new Zen gardens according to ancient principles. Through designing gardens he wants to express his spiritual self. He works in Japan and abroad and his many garden-designs can be found on his website: http://www.kenkohji.jp/s/english/index_e.html

The cheapest five star hotel in Switzerland

Picture: Castle Wolfsberg with its unqiure view and ancient rooms.

The Swiss bank UBS operates a think-tank that sits in a former castle overlooking the Lake of Konstanz. The compound consists of an old castle with supporting buildings and a newly built hotel complex that matches any five-star standards in the world: exquisite dining, gym, pool and even a basketball court. The think-tank called Wolfsberg hosts regular presentations, workshops, seminars and events ranging from business to art. I highly recommend attending one while at the same time enjoying the beautiful surroundings for a very modest 290 CHF a night for two persons! For more information on Wolfsberg and its events visit here: www.Wolfsberg.ch

Picture: The modern and swank hotel annex at Wolfsberg.