St. Gallen, Schweiz
09/09/2022
A colleague of mine had offered me to check out the office in St. Gallen, so I used the opportunity to also explore the city while I was there.
I took an early train from Zurich and an hour later arrived in St. Gallen. As the primary purpose of my trip was to visit the office and learn about the operations there, my morning was spent at work.
A gourmet feast
Once it was time for lunch, me and two colleagues walked to Focacceria St.Gallen, a sandwich place. Their specialty was freshly made focaccia. Think of it like a way, way, waaaayyy better and fresher version of subway – with different types of homemade bread, different hams or roast beef as protein, and diverse fresh toppings of vegetables and cheeses. My colleagues also said that it was affordable because it was near Uni St. Gallen (HSG) and had a lot of students as customers. Mind you, this is in perspective of Swiss prices….I believe I paid about 26 CHF (26 EUR) for the focaccia + brownie + drink. In any case, the meal was truly delicious.
After lunch and a walk through the city it was back to work for us. Granted, the view from the office wasn’t too bad.
In with the old, out with the new
I made sure to get my work done quickly in order to make the most of my afternoon in town. After finishing all up, I walked the narrow alleys again towards Fürstabtei St. Gallen, an abbey hosting the stunning and important library Stiftsbibliothek St. Gallen. Even though the place was about to close to visitors 30 minutes after my arrival, I decided to purchase the ticket regardless as I figured that it could be a while before I returned to St. Gallen.
Taking pictures in the library itself was not permitted, but you can find some online. What I can say is that with some light coming in and the wood and ceiling paintings shining in all their glory, the Stiftsbibliothek had a majestic energy to it. At least until a group of about 20 American seniors came in. Then the library became as loud as a canteen at lunchtime and I figured it was time to leave.
When I exited the building, the streets had become quite empty and it was slowly but surely cooling down. Having seen most of the city by doing a little walking, I decided to return home.
Rolling with the wurst: A cautionary tale of breadless bratwurst¹
My last hurrah before taking the train was purchasing a typical Bratwurst from St. Gallen. As I am born and raised in Nuremberg, I know a thing or two about Bratwürste. Therefore I was all the more confused when the vendor insisted that while the sausage is to be eaten with bread, it would be incorrect to put the sausage inside it.
I promised him that I would not do what so many Germans before me had done, i.e. putting the sausage inside the bread, but while the hot Bratwurst was burning my fingers I could not help but wonder what the advantage of this way of consumption was supposed to be.
Uf Wiederluege!
¹ I gave my last story to chatGPT and asked it to come up with a title – this is how it explained it:
The title “Rolling with the wurst: A cautionary tale of breadless bratwurst” is a humorous play on words that incorporates the idea of “rolling” with the word “wurst,” which is German for “sausage.” The title also references the fact that the author of the story, who is from Nuremberg, Germany, is familiar with how Bratwursts are typically eaten with bread.
The phrase “cautionary tale” is often used to describe a story that serves as a warning or lesson to others, although in this case the lesson is somewhat tongue-in-cheek. By describing the story as “breadless bratwurst,” the title also draws attention to the unusual way in which the vendor in St. Gallen suggested the sausage should be eaten – without bread.
“Rolling” in the title “Rolling with the wurst” is a pun on the phrase “going with the flow.” In this case, the pun is created by replacing the word “flow” with “wurst,” which sounds similar. The phrase “going with the flow” means to adapt to a situation or to follow the prevailing trend or custom, and in this case, “rolling with the wurst” means to go along with the unconventional way of eating the bratwurst without bread, even though it may be unfamiliar to the author. By using the pun, the title adds a playful and humorous touch to the story.
Overall, the title is meant to be lighthearted and playful, while also conveying a sense of confusion and humor that is present in the story itself.