One last day in Andermatt

Today was our last day of skiing in Andermatt. It was cloudy in the early morning, but the sun came our around 10 and shone for most of the day. The temperature rose a few degress above freezing, resulting in heavier snow. But other than that, this was one of the best skiing days of the whole trip. We took lots of photos too, and I will upload them soon.

We joined a bunch of my IBM colleagues for a couple of drinks at the bar at the mid station on the mountain. Then I skiied with them down the moutain to Andermatt. The snow on the lower part of the mountain was by that point quite slushy.

This evening we had dinner for the second time at Di Alt Apothek restaurant. We had such a good dinner there a couple of nights ago that we wanted to return. The food was delicious but unfortunately the service left a bitter taste tonight. Things started to go strangely when three of us who ordered lamb received beef instead. We didn't think it was worth mentioning, because none of us had had our hearts set on lamb and the food was good despite not being what we ordered. Aside from the mix-up, the service in the restaurant was quite okay.

However, the staff treated us differently when we retired to the adjoining bar. We drank for a while and chatted with the friends we had made earlier in the week. After an hour and a half, the waitress rudely suggested that we order something else or leave. The bar was not crowded, and this is an establishment where we've had drinks every night this week and eaten dinner twice! To kick out erstwhile loyal patrons because they don't happen to be buying drinks that moment is cheap, greedy, shortsighted, and just plain tacky. The waitress could have asked us to make the seats available to other patrons in a more polite way. Ot better yet, the staff could have seen the obvious fact that making us feel unwelcome was not the best idea. Until tonight, I would have been happy to recommend the bar and restaurant to friends. Now I'm left feeling that the business does not deserve my recommendation or patronage.

Tomorrow morning we'll do some last-minute shopping and sight-seeing in the town and then pack up the bus for the ride back to Zürich. From there, we'll take the quick flight back home to Stockholm. After a week of skiing, I'm ready to be back home.