St Gallen
Not on any many people’s list of places to visit, St Gallen is located near the eastern end of Lake Constance, or Bodensee as it’s known in German. Just north of the rolling hills of Appenzell, it’s famed for it’s painted oriel windows (there’s a special guided tour for those) and a wonderful abbey.
In fact the abbey and its surrounding precinct was accorded UNESCO World Heritage status over 20 years ago, so clearly it must have something going for it. And I guess that something might just be the roof of the abbey library. It’s the sort of place you can imagine Dan Brown coming up with the idea for the Da Vinci code. 
If modern architecture is more your thing, check out the service centre for the local emergency services. I’m not joking! Designed by Spanish architect Calatrava, It features a moving collapsible roof which appears different every day. He also designed a tram stop in the town, and I’m already thinking of devoting a post to his work in Switzerland.
Apparently, St Gallen is famous for its lace, but I’m a boy so I have no idea about that. Ditto when it comes to the local textiles, which I wouldn’t mind betting are rather more expensive than imported goods. 
For post-shopping therapy, try Cafe-Bar Stickerei in the Oberer Graben, or The Room (Brühlgasse) for a more laid-back chilled drink. There’s a large terrace so worth hunting down on a sunny day.
If you’re into gambling, there’s a Casino, but you’re more likely to find me in the Jägerhof, a Michelin-starred restaurant.
4 Comments
st gallen, a lovely small city who has a very beautiful cathedral. I’ve been there last year. Working there only for a while made me feel that it is not just the general city but it has something special in it. The people are so friendly and welcomed. “Gruetzi” is their special greeting to every people when they meet each other. Thats greeting was not only for the people there, but it was also for the stranger like me,. from the hill in St Gallen, people also are able to see the Bodensee or the Constanz lake,. how beautiful there. Each year there is a Festival, they call it OFFA. All people come to that place, wonderful. I could play game there, have bier drinking in the crowd, see some exhibition and some other interested things.
Thanks for that Wilhemin! It is a lovely city, one I don’t get to enough!
Gruetzi is a very common Swiss-German greeting, and everybody uses it. The Bodensee is lovely, I should write a post – or several – about it.
[...] St Gallen. [...]
[...] of Stadelhofen station in Zurich; designed by Calatrava, whose work you may have seen featured in St Gallen a while back. Photo courtesy [...]