As you no doubt know, Cindy and I are in Switzerland. Since we’ve been here we’ve only been able to see some CNN coverage of the hurricane aftermath in the south. When I saw the damage to the Hyatt I wondered how it would affect the NAMA convention next spring and in the latest NAMA e-News they mention that it is too early to tell. However, they’re looking at possible alternatives. I can’t imaging that the hotel will be ready for us by April but you never know.
According to the Hyatt website: “According to General Manager Michael Smith, minimal flooding is confined to a back, non-public area of the hotel, and the heaviest physical damage to the property was caused by windows being blown in to hotel guest rooms, all of which were completely vacated prior to Katrina’s arrival.
“Despite the wind and water damage to the hotel, the mood of those on property remains positive” he said.
The first convoy of food and supplies provided by Hyatt hotels in Atlanta and Houston arrived at Hyatt Regency New Orleans Wednesday morning, and further relief supplies are en route.
Hyatt is in the process of alerting its customers who have reservations through March 31, 2006 that the hotel will not be able to accommodate them and that all cancellation fees will be waived. In addition, Hyatt’s national sales force have contacted all meeting planners who have programs scheduled at Hyatt Regency New Orleans between now and March 31, and are in the process of assisting these groups with relocation to other destinations.
I have to make a comment on the terrible job (my opinion) the reporters are doing that I’ve seen on CNN. It’s just a non-stop “question the government” harangue. It’s pretty obvious where their bias is. This is the international feed and I can’t say it helps our image in the rest of the world. The situation is a tragedy and questions need to be answered but I can’t help but feel angry at the way these reporters are being allowed to talk about our government!
The photo is courtesy of AP Photo/Bill Haber.
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 
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.
We were just slightly dizzy by the time we got to the top of the 
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The end of the second day at the IFAJ Congress was dinner on the