After months of waiting, the day of our visit to IWC finally arrived. It was a rainy day in The Netherlands. We had to get up very early and we arrived at Schiphol at about half past five. John welcomed us and made sure we all were accounted for before we went to check in. We all had E-Tickets and no luggage, so checking in was quick. Then we had some time to spend so most of us had a coffee, some checked out the watch stores in the tax free zone but they came back empty-handed.
Finally, we could pass the gate and a bus brought us to our plane, a KLM Cityhopper.
The flight went very well and as we left the Netherlands, the weather got better and better and after one hour and fifteen minutes, we landed in a sunny Zürich.
Compared to Schiphol, Zürich Airport is very calm and quiet. A short metro-trip took us from the landing zone to the exit. If you make this trip, pay close attention to the magnificent video projections inside the tunnel.
At the exit, a bus and a taxi were waiting to take us to Schaffhausen.
The bus driver told us that we were very lucky with the weather and that it had rained the entire day before our visit. The bus trip took about fourty minutes and at about ten o clock, we arrived at IWC in Schaffhausen. There, we were welcomed by our tour-guide Peter.
The taxi with John and Olaf, the Dutch IWC representative, had taken a bit longer so we were already waiting when they arrived.
The bus driver in front of the main IWC building:
Another picture from the IWC building, where construction workers where working on the stairs:
Part two, Reception at the factory, quick glance at the watches and the first part of the factory tour