Blog — Hirschen, fine hotel in the Bregenzerwald

As you already know: there was a fire.
Last November. Just before Christmas.
And what else?

If you have little time to read right now, here is — as it is called in scientific works — the Executive Summary:

. The Hirschen had a fire. Then a construction site. Then another one.
. Now there is a new kitchen (cathedral), a new veranda or salon (cozy), a new fireplace (Volga Blue, Mary Mother of God) and soon air conditioning (for you and, to be honest, also for us).
. Hotel & Restaurant are open again from April 23rd.
. I promise to improve. Again.

Initial Situation
Lately, it seems to have become customary for me to start my newsletters with an excuse. This time it is at least a good one: after all, there was a fire. And whoever says fire, says construction site. And whoever says construction site, says: Peter is once again not writing a newsletter. But now things are working again.

The fire, the consequences & the unavoidable construction site
So: after the fire, the need for improvement arose. If you read my lines often, you may have noticed that the village and the team made the Hirschen guest-ready again in a heroic night and day action in just a few hours.

But we didn't manage absolutely everything back then. And that's why there is a construction site again.

And if the gentlemen and ladies at the Raiffeisenbank in Egg are also reading this, it must be mentioned that I did not choose this construction myself! The ventilation was broken, what are you supposed to do, you just have to repair it. And when you are already at it, it is smart to also spruce up the rest of the kitchen.

I didn't actually want to rebuild the veranda either. But it is right above the kitchen and before you fiddle around with it, it also makes sense to build it in a way that makes you happy. Besides, we had a hole in the ceiling. And it was poorly insulated too!

And even the most well-meaning frequent visitor of this honorable establishment let us know in the last few weeks at a later hour, using any available polite phrases, that "without the fireplace, it is just a bit less cozy" at and around the bar.

So, dear creditors, I hereby reaffirm my existence as an honest merchant and certify to you that any construction efforts that are happening again do not stem from my insatiable desire for building, any localized megalomania of Peter Fetz, or other crazy ideas. No, solely rational necessity has led to excavators and cranes surrounding the Hirschen once more. There, let that suffice.

A reminder for nostalgics: it was beautiful. But it will be even more beautiful.

What's new — and why it's worth it

The new kitchen. We have a new kitchen. Good lord, compared to what was there before, one must speak of a cathedral of taste, if you, like me, have the stylistic machine-gun use of slight exaggerations as a hobby.

The new salon. Above the kitchen we have just built a new veranda, henceforth known as "Salon". Hi Salon, nice to meet you! This is going to be a very cozy new corner in the Hirschen. You will see, once you have sat there, you will say "no idea how we managed before".

The new fireplace. Then Ofenbau Voppichler built us a new fireplace. Out of a stone called "Volga Blue". I'm telling you, it has become a "Stückle", as we call it in the Bregenzerwald (this is what we call particularly successful masterpieces of craftsmanship around here, and that is saying something!)

The air conditioning. Then we are still working on getting air conditioning installed in the main building. Why that, you might ask? Well, the situation is quickly explained: so that you can sleep better in summer and any acoustically noticeable road traffic participants can be ignored. That is 50% for you as guests, but at least 50% for Pia and me and the rest of the Hirschen team. Because we will sleep better too. That is, if we know that you sleep great. That's probably how it is when you have dedicated yourself to passionate hospitality and some passionate driver wants to thwart that.

Thus, with the greatest possible subtlety, I have also practiced my harsh criticism of this country's transport policy. May fate reward me for it someday in milk & honey.

It doesn't look like this anymore. The veranda is becoming our salon.

A short, sincere thank you.
So, now something else must be said: a while ago I used that very cursed criticism technique to announce the completion of the rather long-term project "Legalize Hirschen Schwarzenberg" to you. Now listen to me: without the great work of the BH Bregenz and the other relevant public authorities, this conversion in this enormously tight timeframe would have been simply impossible. The same goes for Nona Architektinnen, Flatz & Jäger construction management, and the many other craftsmen and planners who made this possible. This must also be mentioned once — since it seems to be en vogue to loudly complain in that direction in the name of reducing bureaucracy. Thank you at this point. Sincerely.


And with that — To summarize:
. From April 23rd, the Hirschen opens its doors again. Very pretty and so on.
. Vicki Taubenberger, our long-time employee, is currently fighting for the crown at the "Junge Wilde" — a rather prestigious affair.
. The kitchen is a cathedral. We are curious to see what this triggers culinary-wise. In any case, it certainly won't be worse — so come soon for an extensive palate massage.
. We were featured in AD — you currently find out about such things fastest via our Instagram account.
. I promise, once again, improvement regarding the rhythm of this digital love letter.


If you have made it this far without clicking the "Unsubscribe" button in anger: thank you very much for your attention and I look forward to an analog reunion in Schwarzenberg.

And since the geopolitical situation is once again somewhat difficult, I may point out at this point the extremely attractive option that a holiday in the Hirschen could represent. Conditional tense used to the limit again, I know. But even without the geopolitical situation, it's a great idea.

See you soon!
Peter Fetz and the Hirschen Team