St. Gallen, Read Up

Above the door to the St. Gallen Abby library is a quote in Greek that says it all, “this place is a pharmacy for the soul”. The library is stunning in design and has one of the world’s best collections of books dating back to the 700 hundreds. Even today you can use your passport as a library card to read through the collection. The ancient books are very much like the Book of Kells in Dublin.

That would make sense as St. Gallen’s founder was an itinerant Irish monk named Gallus. The story goes that he headed into the wilderness to find a wild and dangerous place. He stumbled into a thorn bush and was approached by a huge bear that apparently communicated with him. He was convinced that God wanted him to stay and a small chapel was built. For centuries afterwards the abbey of St. Gallen was the Barnes & Nobles of Middle Age Europe.

Keeping Swiss Time

It is 5 AM here at the Hotel Einstein in St. Gallen and rainy, yet I have my windows wide open. The sound of rain is soothing especially since the room is so comfortable. It was a busy day yesterday and we had so many transportation connections to make that it was dizzying. After departing a train or boat we had mere minutes to catch a bus or another train. It is no wonder why Switzerland is known for its watches; with tight travel connections they need them. Still over a wonderful dinner we patted each other on the back for keeping up with ours.

Obviously the topic of what our friends think a press trip is like and what the reality is came up as it always does. The consensus was that we are pictured as lounging around soaking up the good life. Yet the reality is there are people to meet and places to see and fitting it all in can be a challenge. The ultimate conclusion to a man was just how lucky we are to be in the situation we are, the things we see tops the list of favorites.

I am about to do one of my favorite things before we again hit the road to Bregenz, Austria, soaking aching muscles in a marble tub. It is quiet and peaceful and I am alone with my thoughts. The ringing church bells coming through the open windows just fortify how lucky I am.

Lake Constance

Tomorrow I fly to Switzerland to begin a trip to Europe’s third largest lake from the banks of Switzerland, Germany and Austria. The trip will take me to some quaint cities and beautiful vistas. Hiking and biking and water exploration will be the focus as well as concerts and vineyard visits. Lake Constance is also known as the Bodensee and Swabian Sea.