nice old part of town | nice coffees and restaurants | safe
Disadvantages:
not that special for sightseeing and going out . . .
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
Some of you possibly know me a little bit and have heard that I was born in Switzerland. I still live there and I suppose, most of you have never been to "my" country. I'm not really patriotic but I think it's not bad to grow up in Switzerland. Today, I'd like to present you a little part of this country. I've planned to write about St. Gallen, the town next to that village I live in.
*** Generally about Switzerland *** I hope, all of you have heard of Switzerland before. It's a neutral country situated in the middle of Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Italy and France. It's a little country, famous for it's chocolates, cheeses and watches. The population is about 7 million people, quite similar to London. Special for this country is that here are spoken 4 languages. These are (Swiss-)German, Italian, French and Rhaeto-Romanic. Naturally, most people are speaking just one of those languages fluently but many are able to speak conversational English. A disadvantage of Switzerland is that there is no sea. Alternative it has high mountains and beautiful lakes. The climate is quite similar to England, possibly less foggy and snowier.
*** Generally about St. Gallen *** St. Gallen is situated in the north-east of Switzerland, next (half an hour) to the boarders of Germany, Austria and Liechtenstein. It is also just a few minutes away of the Lake of Constance. The capital city Bern is around two hours away and the possibly known city Zurich is around one hour away. St. Gallen has a population of 70'000 people and is for Swiss conditions a big town. It's 670 meters over the sea. So it's easily possible, that we have almost one meter snow in winter and sometimes it's absolutely freezing. In summer it's nice and warm, sometimes you're sweating all the time.
*** Currency & Prices *** In Switzerland, we are paying our bills and lives with Swiss Francs (German expression: Schweizer Franken and international short form CHF). You can find the actual exchange rate under following link: http://de.finance.yahoo.com/waehrungsrechner
In general you can make this indication: £ 1.00 = CHF 2.45 € 1.00 = CHF 1.60
As you possibly know, the prices in Switzerland are very expensive but still cheaper than in London. Zurich is the most expensive town in Switzerland and St. Gallen is noticeable cheaper.
Here are a few examples for our prices: 1 kilogram dry rice - CHF 2.60 Baccardi Breezer Orange 275 ml - CHF 2.60 Lipton Ice Tea Lemon 1 L - CHF 1.30 6 eggs - CHF 2.80 Nivea Hand cream 100 ml - CHF 5.95 Wine Rosso Umbria (Italy) - CHF 29.50 Bottle of milk (1 l) - CHF 1.70 Primitivo wine (Italy, 75 cl) - CHF 18.90 Coca Cola (6 x 1,5 l) - CHF 12.60 Red Bull (6 x 25 cl) - CHF 11.40 St. Galler bread (500 g) - CHF 2.00 Snickers (5 x 60 g) - CHF 3.25 Nivea Douche shampoo (250ml) - CHF 4.00 (this list is created by my own)
*** History *** The foundation of St. Gallen was backward in 612. At this time, the Irish monk St. Gallus built an artificial lake at the river "Steinach". After his death, a few people travelled to this place. Around 720, hundred years after Gallus' death, the German priest "Othmar" built an abbey called "Sankt Gallen". Actually, this monastery is the landmark of St. Gallen.
St. Gallen became a place of refuge for Irish artists and intellectuals which were pursued by Danes. Also other places and churches were called by Gallus. In 1526, the governor "Joachim von Watt" introduced the reformed church. At the same time, the town began with textiles industries. Form the 15th century; St. Gallen was the centre of lines industries. The industry had their best times in 1714 with 38'000 cloths. In the middle of the 18th century the embroidery had a crisis in case of the concurrence out of foreign countries. At the beginning of the 19th century, St. Gallen was one of the leading towns in the mechanization of the textiles industries and was a big part of Switzerland's export. The second crisis was evoked by the First World War and the following world economic crises. After 1950, the industries recovered again.
*** Language spoken *** The spoken language in St. Gallen is Swiss German. There are always discussions if this is an own language or just a dialect of German because there is no official written language. In my opinion, it's an own language. If I speak in Swiss German, a German wouldn't understand me but in opposite I understand Germans perfectly. (This is an advantage for Swiss people.) In St. Gallen, many people are able to speak a little bit English. Most children are learning English at school and keep a part of that knowledge in their minds. You shouldn't have problems with speaking but in general Swiss people like it if you try a few words. Here is a list of some useful words and sentences in English, German and Swiss German:
*** Tourist attractions *** St. Gallen isn't that special for sightseeing. There aren't many attractions, seas or mountains. But a recommendation worth are the following places:
St. Gallen was built around its monastery. This cathedral is still famous and visited by tourists. Also worth to visit is the abbey library, which is the oldest library of Switzerland. Also worth to watch are the houses with their fine oriel windows.
*** Education & work *** I suppose it's not necessary to explain the education system in Switzerland. For all those who are interested in it, for example for their children, are allowed to leave me a message. I think, more useful for you are universities for study. You shouldn't study languages in St. Gallen, it's not very common for foreign students. The only famous university in St. Gallen is the "Universität St. Gallen - Hochschule für Wirtschafts-, Rechts- und Sozialwissenschaften." This university is specialized for studies in economics, jurisprudence and social sciences. It's one of the best universities in Switzerland for studying one of these subjects.
In case of the towns' situation next to the boarder are there many workers out of Germany. This means lower earnings for Swiss people because Germans agreeing to work for less money than Swiss people. In comparison with other European countries, Swiss people earn a lot and don't have to pay those high taxes. But if you compare it with the costs for life in Switzerland you need all this money.
The rate of unemployment is usually between three and four percent but especially very young people and people of an older generation are having problems to find a good job. In St. Gallen is a wide range of different jobs and overall a good town to work in.
*** Accommodation (Hotels) *** There are many possible hotels in St. Gallen. They are spread out starting with one and ending with five stars. An example for an expensive hotel is the Radisson SAS. It is combinated with a casino and very luxurious. The problem there is that they haven't got fixed prices. If you're looking for a room there, the price is always different and if there are most rooms full booked you have to pay more. But don't worry about that, there are also many other normal hotels. If you need a cheap and good hotel you could check out the "Sporting". Another good hotel is the "City Weissenstein".
If you're looking for staying over a few days in a hotel in St. Gallen, you can check out the following link:
http://www.st.gallen.ch/hotels/
There you can find a great choice and I'm sure, there is also a hotel for you!!
*** Sports & Clubs *** If you like sports, you have a wide range and anything is possible. If you like to play football, basketball, tennis, volleyball it's all no problem. You could also play Badminton, Billard, Darts or Bowling at the "Säntispark". There is also a swimming-paradise with Saunas, Whirlpools, saltwater-bath, Sweetwater-bath and solarium for relaxing and enjoying yourself. There are many other facilities for doing sport but it would be too much to list them all.
There are also a few sport clubs in St. Gallen. The most famous club of "my" town is the football club FC St. Gallen. He won the Swiss championship in 2000. Since that year, they weren't that successful anymore. They are still in the highest league and actually on the 2nd place at the table. There is also a more or less successful handball club, the "TSV St. Othmar" and a curling crew, the "St. Galler Bären". I think those are the most famous clubs of St. Gallen.
*** Shopping *** For shopping I recommend the centre of St. Gallen. There especially the "Multergasse" and the "Spisergase". The centre for shopping in St. Gallen isn't that vast but it's possible to find there all kind of stores. The following stores are the ones I can recommend:
- Okay, food isn't shopping for me but possibly you can need a recommendation for it. I would recommend "migros" and "coop". Both of them are supermarkets located in St. Gallen. There you can also find some clothes but usually I would prefer to buy just food there.
- Let's go on with real shopping. For men I would recommend: PKZ, WE, Esprit, Manor, H&M, Globus, Schild, Grishott & Vögele. Those stores are all situated in the centre of St. Gallen.
- For women I would recommend following stores: Orsay, H&M, Globus, Manor, Vögele, Schild, Esprit and C&A Clockhouse. There are also some other stores for women and men which you can see, if you're walking through the centre of town.
*** Coffee & Tea *** I know, English people like to drink coffee and tea how I do like it. For this I can recommend a visit in following places:
- Starbucks, Bahnhofplatz 2, 9000 St. Gallen & Starbucks, Marktgasse 9, St. Gallen: I'm sure that you all know Starbucks very well from England. We have two of them in St. Gallen and I really like it. Both are nice decorated and really enjoyable. Just the prices are terrible, more expensive than in England!
- Seeger Café Restaurant, Oberer Graben 2, 9001 St. Gallen: Here you can drink everything you like and especially the hot chocolate is fantastic. When it's winter you should taste it! It's also possible to take a little snake there. The location is nice and you feel there a little bit like at home.
- Brasserie, Bahnhofplatz, 9001 St. Gallen: Next to the train station of St. Gallen is the "Brasserie". Sometimes I go there with a friend of mine after work. It's a good place for relaxing and for my friend and me a good place to observe people. You have a good view over the train and bus station.
*** Restaurants *** In Switzerland, many people prefer Italian food like pasta or Pizza. In case of this we have many Italian restaurants. If you would close them all we would also have a good range, but Italian restaurants are the main part. Here is a choice of restaurants I prefer:
- Il Castello, Burgstrasse 26, 9000 St. Gallen (Italian restaurant) - San Lorenzo, Kugelgasse 4, 9007 St. Gallen (Italian restaurant) - Hohfirst, 9205 Waldkirch (traditional Swiss restaurant a little bit outside of St. Gallen) - US-Mex, Bohl 4, 9000 St. Gallen (American and Mexican specialities)
This is just a little range of restaurants I prefer. There are many more which I really recommend but these four are my favourites and worth to visit. Just try them!
*** Going out *** St. Gallen is not Zurich or Bern but it's also possible to do something else than sitting at home in the evening. I even prefer the cinema and in this case I'll start with it.
There are a few small cinemas in St. Gallen and a bigger-one a little bit outside of the town. Here they are:
- Corso, Brühlgasse 37, 9004 St. Gallen - The Corso is situated in the centre of St. Gallen and plays just a few films. It's a small but very nice cinema. You feel like at home. Most films there are played in English with German subtitles. In case of this it's maybe the best convenient cinema for you.
- Tiffany, Lämmlisbrunnenstrasse 22, 9000 St. Gallen- In my opinion, the Tiffany is a very bad cinema. It's old and not really comfortable. It's next to the university but also next to a strange nightclub. I can't recommend it.
- Scala, Bohl 1, 9008 St. Gallen - The Scala cinema has 5 halls and plays all actual films. It's also a night bar/pub and nice there. There is usually all kind of people, young and old. It has a good atmosphere and is nice. It's also situated in the centre.
- Storchen, Magnihalden 7, 9004 St. Gallen - The Storchen is also a little cinema which isn't that special. You can watch films there but that's all.
- Rex, Zwinglistrasse 2, 9000 St. Gallen - The Rex-cinema has 3 halls and is situated in the centre of St. Gallen. There are also many actual films.
- Cinedome, Bildstrasse 1, 9030 Abtwil SG - The Cinedome is a little bit outside of St. Gallen on the boarder to St. Gallen. It owns 8 halls and also two restaurants and three bars. It's perfect for taking a drink and watching a film. There are also sometimes special events with musicians and actors at the evenings. I really like it because it's also just a few minutes to there where I live.
For going to club I just can recommend the "Elephant Club, Hintere Postgasse 2, 9000 St. Gallen" and the "Backstage, Bahnhofstrasse 10, 9000 St. Gallen". There are also many other clubs but these two are playing house music, which I prefer for going out.
*** Opinion & conclusion *** Firstly, I have to say I like the old part of St. Gallen. There are many old and nice houses and also the famous cathedral of St. Gallen is very nice. I suppose, the problem is not this part of town, it's more that there aren't great clubs and pub in St. Gallen. Of course, there are some but it's not comparable with Zurich or Bern. I don't like most of these clubs and I suppose this is the reason why I prefer the cinema even more. At the Cinedome and the Scala cinema are also good opportunities for taking a drink and having fun or entertainment with friends.
To be honest, St. Gallen isn't a bad town for growing up. Okay, just 75 % of the inhabitants are having the swiss passport what means, that there is sometimes a bad influence of foreigners but there are everywhere in Switzerland many foreigners. Overall it's a safe town and I think this is important. We don't have cameras at every street's corner and it isn't necessary. You don't see police cars all the time and we don't need them. Of course, sometimes are getting crimes committed but this is normal.
For Swiss circumstances is St. Gallen a cheap town. I know, the prices aren't that low but daily goods are always available for the money you can earn in Switzerland and St. Gallen. Shopping in St. Gallen is possible but not comparable with cities like Zurich, Bern or international cities like London, Paris or Milan. What I really like are the restaurants and coffees. You can enjoy there your spare time with friends and relaxing there. Especially in summer it's very nice to enjoy the sunshine outside on the streets.
Overall, I can give a recommendation for St. Gallen. If I would have the choice where to live, I wouldn't choose St. Gallen but it's worth a visit. It's a nice town for Switzerland and definitely more beautiful than my little village. I can give 4 of the 5 possible stars. So, see you possibly in St. Gallen!
Thanks for reading! Raphael
*** Links about St. Gallen *** http://www.st.gallen.ch/hotels/ - hotels in St. Gallen http://www.st.gallen-bodensee.ch/en/welcome.cfm? - Official tourist information of St. Gallen http://www.unisg.ch/hsgweb.nsf/wwwPubhomepage/webhomepageeng?opendo cument - University of St. Gallen
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