Here’s what it looks like at the top of the Schilthorn. There were lots of clouds (below us) and fog but every once in a while we got a peek at the mountains all around us. This picture was taken by Greg Lamp, Corn & Soybean Digest, by the way. He was closer to the window at our dinner table than me.
AgWired reports on IFAJ Congress 2005 are sponsored by Pioneer Hi-Bred.
The top of the Schilthorn features a revolving restaurant so you are constantly getting a fresh view while you eat. As is the custom for IFAJ, we sat down to a great meal following a reception featuring Swiss beer and wine. For the first time since we got here there was no cheese! This was probably a good thing at this point.
AgWired reports on IFAJ Congress 2005 are sponsored by Pioneer Hi-Bred.
We were just slightly dizzy by the time we got to the top of the Schilthorn. We’re up 2970 meters at the top! One of the claims to fame here is that the James Bond movie “On Her Majesty’s Secrect Service” was filmed here. If you want to get a feel for what it’s like right now on the mountain, use this link to see their live webcam.
AgWired reports on IFAJ Congress 2005 are sponsored by Pioneer Hi-Bred.
Once we got to the top there was a large terrace around the restaurant and shops. We could wander around and look at the view. It was pretty foggy so our view was limited but every once in a while the fog would clear enough to see the stunning peaks all around us.
AgWired reports on IFAJ Congress 2005 are sponsored by Pioneer Hi-Bred.
This is what it looks like as you’re swinging through space a few thousand feet above rocks. At one point we could see the car we had just departed from going back down to pick up another load. Meanwhile we were on a new section of cable.
AgWired reports on IFAJ Congress 2005 are sponsored by Pioneer Hi-Bred.
Each stop on the way up to the Schilthorn had its own little shops or restaurants so you didn’t have to go all the way. In fact, at one of the stop they had a very nice looking tavern but we had to just keep moving. It’s a process to get several hundred people up since we filled several cars and only one goes at a time.
AgWired reports on IFAJ Congress 2005 are sponsored by Pioneer Hi-Bred.
Did I mention that the Schilthorn is a mountain? After getting to the bottom of it, the only way up is to climb or take cable cars. Not just 1 cable car. It was 4 separate car rides to the Schilthorn. We were packed in and just slightly nervous since was the first time most of us had ridden on one of these things.
AgWired reports on IFAJ Congress 2005 are sponsored by Pioneer Hi-Bred.
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.
AgWired reports on IFAJ Congress 2005 are sponsored by Pioneer Hi-Bred.
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. On the way we had to stop a couple times due to road construction caused by flood damage from a creek that runs along this highway. The creek was still raging and you could see freshly downed trees in it and leftover sand/mud deposited on fields on each side of the road.
AgWired reports on IFAJ Congress 2005 are sponsored by Pioneer Hi-Bred.
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.”
Here’s workshop number three in progress. This is the one on Retailers. Everybody was able to participate in two workshops out of the four. After the workshops it was time to rest for a short while before we had to get ready for a fantastic dinner.
AgWired reports on IFAJ Congress 2005 are sponsored by Pioneer Hi-Bred.
