Sunday 29 January 2023 – The Monocle Minute

The Faster Lane / Tyler Brûlé

Life on the rails

London, Wednesday morning, 04.45. It’s wake-up time to catch the 07.00 Swiss flight to Geneva. The bed is comfy, the streets are silent and, before I swing my feet out from under the duvet, I’m wondering why I’m not still slumbering on an overnight train that would allow me at least another three hours of sleep before pulling into Geneva’s Cornavin station. I’m also thinking about how lovely it would have been to leave the dinner at the Turkish ambassador’s residence, hop in a waiting car, arrive at St Pancras station, show my ticket at the platform and then board a sleek SBB train for the overnight journey to Geneva.

So far there are no such announcements for sumptuous overnight rail services from London to Europe’s main business hubs but what an opportunity. As the continent starts adding more overnight services, rail or hotel operators need to be thinking about the possibilities of services from London to the likes of Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Zürich and Munich. What would I pay for the combination of a good bed, bathroom and breakfast on rails that saves on lost time and might even be good for the environment? A lot.

Lausanne, Thursday, midday. I’m touring the campus at IMD Business School for a potential little project. It is busy with MBA students and groups of executives – all gathered to sharpen their game. As they enjoy a hearty lunch and head off to lectures, I’m feeling rather envious of their whiteboard sessions, presentations and post-class social life. On this rather grey, late-January day, Lausanne might not be looking its best but I start to imagine it under sunny skies in April, with snow on the peaks beyond, a bottle of rosé shared with classmates on the lawn and meandering conversations focused on solving the business world’s most pressing problems. I’m keen to see whether there’s an executive MBA programme devoted to running a family media enterprise with even more fun and efficiency.

Zürich, Thursday, end of day. Who knew that a party with a Shanghai 1930s theme could be so fun on a weekday? Who knew that you could find a proper mandarin collar jacket in a linen-cotton mix in London’s Chinatown for a fraction of the price of Shanghai Tang? And who knew that so many blonde Swiss women could transform themselves with well-cut black wigs and good eye make-up? It wasn’t necessary to stay out until 03.00 on a school night but I knew that the rail journey up to the mountains later in the day would take the edge off.

St Moritz, Friday, evening. Ai Weiwei was in town for his exhibition and it’s quite remarkable what you can do with a lot of Lego on the walls of Vito Schnabel’s gallery. If I had a spare CHF480,000 (€480,000) jangling in my pocket, I would have bought the Year of the Monkey piece. But I don’t, so I’ll settle for the image snapped on my phone – or perhaps make my own.

St Moritz, later that evening. How is it that some people can park themselves at a dinner for several hours, talk at length about themselves and never ask a question of fellow guests? It is truly the height of bad manners and I find myself inching ever closer to calling out such bores well before dessert.

St Moritz, Saturday, morning. In case you’re still figuring out where to ski and grab some sun this winter, I’m happy to report that Monocle will be opening up a tiny kiosk outpost from 9 February at the Steffani Hotel – right in the middle of the Dorf. We’ll have a special line-up of items, good coffee and our colleague Linda will be on hand to keep you fully informed and looking fresh. We’re also finalising plans for another St Moritz Weekender (think smart talks, slopeside lunches, live radio and much more) from 24-26 March, so save the date. You can register for a spot with Hannah Grundy at [email protected]. We’re keeping it cosy, so spots are limited.

And, finally, the Asian grand tour is back! From Tuesday it’s on to Seoul, Tokyo, Taipei, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Singapore. Hopefully I’ll see you somewhere along the way. If not, come and join me and the Monocle crew up in the Engadine.