Thursday, December 02, 2010 -

Day Two

Woke up at 11 am today to get ready for work, which I guess is around 4am here in Züg. Its begun snowing over the morning here…the great big tree that sits directly below my hotel room is completely covered in snow, looking like something from a Tim Burton movie.

I set out my clothes, take a bath and get some reading done before heading down for some breakfast. The cheeses, cold cuts and waxed meats in Switzerland are great, I am planning to eat my weight’s worth in salami, pepperoni and chorizo by the time my trip ends.

After getting some instructions from a bald Swiss guy reeking of cigarette smoke and alcohol, I take a bus down to Baar, Züg where my work place is supposed to be. Apparently my workplace is in a sub-district of Baar which is a sub-district of Züg, which is one of the sub-states of Switzerland. Needless to say, I somehow overshot my location by 5 bus stops and had to re-trace the bus route back to my work place in zugersträusse based on the directions of passerbys. After 25 minutes of walking, I reach my destination.

The office building itself looks great. All sleek and modern, decked out in metal and glass. A piazza greets you once you pass the reception area and I reach just in time for our weekly Monday meeting with the 8 office branches. I walk into the piazza full of people, dressed like the Michelin tyre man and try to blend into the crowd. The head of the office in Seoul gives us an update of the opening of the new office branch and the current political climate over there, I almost manage to look semi-interested. Almost.

I bump into my co-worker from Singapore mid-way through the presentation and shortly after we get introduced to the marketing services team in Züg. My direct boss, Réto Börlin is a great guy, real warm and friendly without any airs to him and I meet our fellow team mates, Manuéla Korner and Cornelia Hüber. Cornelia gives me a tour of the place.

The place is great; big video conference rooms, color-coordinated office system furniture, a built-in kitchen for preparing client lunches and half of the third level is a really nicely designed cafeteria with a great view of the mountains. Its probably my favourite part of the place and a great place for having informal discussion sessions with colleagues. The pantry area is stocked chockfull of bottled drinks and I laugh at the fake Starbucks coffee logo on the wall; its called Wiestlibucks coffee, named after one of the founders of the firm, who’s apparently some kinda coffee nut.

After a few training sessions and spending a quarter of the day getting IT to work out the kinks at my temporary work-station, I knock off at 7 plus. All shops in Züg close at 7 pm and 90% of the eating places too so I decide to go back to the hotel and eat my fill in waxed meats and cheeses at the hotel buffet breakfast tomorrow morning.

To be Continued…

8:08 AM