I mentioned scenery and Switzerland has a lot of it. As we progressed further into the mountains we could see waterfalls everywhere. I suppose they are active all the time since these mountains have snow on them all the time. I didn’t get the name of the little village at the bottom of this waterfall but it had quaint little houses and hotels and looked like a great place to stay.
Bussing To The Schilthorn
The end of the second day at the IFAJ Congress was dinner on the Schilthorn. We had to travel for over an hour to get there. The ride was through absolutely beautiful scenery until we got there.
Afternoon Workshops
After lunch on day two it was workshop time. There were 4 workshops on topics such as “New Challenges For Swiss Agriculture Policy,” “New Agriculture, New Technologies,” “Retailers, Consumers and New Agriculture” and “New Agriculture, Cultural Landscape and Tourism.”
The Lake Is Lovely
The Seepark Hotel where we’re staying here in Thun is located right on the lake and it is beautiful! We’ll be out on the lake tomorrow evening for our farewell dinner and have pictures from that to show you then.
Monk Cheese The Best
I just have to give a plug for this guy. At lunch he was creating tasty little flowerets of an excellent cheese. He’s not a monk, just looks like one. That’s because this cheese was originally made by the monks of the Monastery of Bellelay. They don’t anymore but the tradition continues. The cheese comes with the little “pirouette” tool that you turn and slice the cheese off in a ribbon. You can order it online now from Tete De Moine.
Cheese Fest For Lunch
After the morning general sessions we all had time to browse various exhibits set up outside the main hall. Lunch was also served. This was a cheese fest! I don’t know how many kinds of cheese there were. I tried them all and they were all delicious.
Flood Effects Still Felt
I mentioned before how there was tremendous flooding in Switzerland just a week or so ago. Outside our hotel here at the IFAJ Congress they’re still pumping water out of the basement. This has been going on since we arrived without stop. The hotel is on the edge of Lake Thun and became a temporary island during the worst of it.
IFAJ General Sessions
On the second day of the IFAJ Congress it was time to get to work, beginning with general sessions at the Schadausaal. The focus of the Congress is “The New Role of Agriculture.” Speakers included: Manfred Boetsch, Director of the Swiss Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Luzius Wasaescha, Ambassador, State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, Hansjoerg Walter, President of the Swiss Farmer’s Union and Walter Huber, CEO of Emmi.
Singing At The IFAJ Dinner
I mentioned singing in a previous post and that’s what we did at supper. The first song was a German song – Mir Senne heis lustig.
Founder of IFAJ
Honored at last night’s dinner was Rolf Haeberli, Switzerland, who is one of the founders of IFAJ. In fact, Rolf, who’s a young 85 years old, says they got this organization started in Paris in 1956. I didn’t want to tell him that I wasn’t even born yet! Way to go Rolf.