Oman

In the Arabic Peninsula, Oman has retained its charm and a certain traditional touch, while the people are very welcoming. In the capital city, there is no skyscraper but instead many low castle-like houses. The city is organised in many small quarters in-between rocky hills. There is a certain vibe in the downtown area, although it was Eid, which for Westerners mean "dry days" (no alcohol is served) and "holidays" (there were many expats from Dubai - including Indians - who took these off days to come and visit Oman).

The most remarkable building is certainly the new and flashy mosque erected by the sultan. It is actually an impressive mosque, surely with several records (size of the carpet, weight of the chandelier). But it is nice in the sense that it incorporates many motives from all the main arabic cultural areas.

Oman is dotted with numerous castles, which were used by sultans to protect the interior trade routes. Most of them are renovated (sometimes, too much...). However, it must be said that the country has invested its oil money not only in mosques and museums, but mostly in infrastructure, schools and clinics. On a few occasions, we had the feeling we were the first ones to drive on a brand new section of the freeway. We could have relinquished renting a 4by4, where it not for the few kilometers we drove in the desert. Always a pleasure to be in the desert. Great colours in the evening lights. And a real pleasure to have supper outside in the quiet middle of nowhere. However, it must still be said that the dunes of Oman do not compare to the ones in Namibia. The highlight of the trip was then the evening we spent on the beach observing the new-born turtles trying to make it to the sea. Such a nice sight and so good to see how strongly they try to make it, but also so sad to know that only 4 out of 1000 will make it to adult life. We observed a turtle lay its egg and covering its nest. Slow but meticulous moves. The National Park around the area opened a few months ago and the authorities seem determine to preserve their natural heritage.Oman is then a land of seas, sands and wadis. We went to discover several wadis and even jumped in the pools formed by the rivers. Some spots were quite touristical - although a lot of potential remains to improve it - while some others were pretty wild. There is very little agriculture throughout. In some places, attempts to cultivate on terrasses do not seem very successful. This probably explains why there are several ghost villages.

Doha

Once in a while, work and travel mix and when it happens, it generally turns out to be a great experience. This time our international commitments took us to Doha. I think this city tries to become the "conference capital" of the world as it attempts to grab every opportunity at hosting conferences. Good for them, as we wonder how they manage to fill up all these hotels. But they still need to improve on their performance: my swiss colleague was tagged on his conference pass as representing Swaziland!

Anyway this conference was a little "who is who" in international politics. It is probably better that i do not name the presidents that attended, but among them was a short and excited one who bulldozed the agenda so that he could speak first, a few hysteric ones shouting at Israel, England or imperialistic forces and a few anxious ones who came surrounded by bodyguards and yes-man. Still, the majority of them did try their best to reach a compromise acceptable to all parties. What surprised me the most in this conference is how its different sub-elements did not interact with each other. On the main stage, there were the presidents' and ministers' declarations. Further, negociations on the final document took place in the open or behind closed doors depending on the stage of the process. And finally, there were many side events. During a lunch break, we managed to escape the conference so that we could finally discover a little bit of Doha. We chose to head to the newly opened Museum of Islamic Art. It is a real gem. From outside already, it is one of the few building with a modernised version of the traditional Qatari architecture. It is certainly the only building that is less than 10 years old that is not a skyscraper... And inside, a great variety of quality objects from all over the islamic world is very well presented.

Mandela and democracy

Professor Ntsebeza, from the best university - the University of Cape Town, gave a presentation on Mandela's position towards democracy. He described the two roots of Mandela's thoughts: liberal democracy and tribal democracy. The first one is the one the struggle was for: elections and direct representation. The second one relates to the way he grew up in his village: participative democracy, somewhat idealised according to Prof Ntsebeza. This tension is present in Mandela himself. The current developments in South Africa are also trying to find a balance or a way between the two. In many places, tribal authorities have not been dismantled. On another level, most decisions are taken according to liberal democracy. Interesting to hear all that coming from an academic.

Prof Ntsebeza is very much encouraged by the recent political events. There is the chance to have a robust discussion on politics and for serious multi-party democracy. This is why he is quite critical about Archbishop Desmond Tutu's stance that he would not vote in the next elections.

Paris Bercy

Since the snow decided to make an even earlier visit to my country this year compared to last year (this blog is quite useful in that sense; the first snow this year came on October 29), why not attend an indoor tennis tournament? It is nice and warm inside, there is no wind. Good idea then to go to Paris for the Bercy tournament, the last regular one of the year.

The hero of the tournament was Tsonga, the french coloured player, who went on the win the final. Was that a premonition for Obama's victory in the USA? Whatever the serious historians will say about this correlation, he played a flamboyant tennis. The partisan crowd was on its feet.

And what about the two best tennis players. At least, we got to see a bit of Nadal. He played a set before he was forced to abandon. Federer did not even show up and withdrew because of a back problem... I can only agree with a spectator who was waving a sign reading "we miss you Roger".

London

Welcome to London, on a sunny day. Yes it is indeed possible. And it is very nice to walk around, through the many gardens. Although this city is quite stressful and hectic. And the financial turmoil is being felt by many people. Indeed, there was a very long queue trying to get into the Bank of England, on its open door day. But, of course, there are bedrocks of stability such as Buckingham Palace. The guards are still doing their round.

Strange that on this sunny week-end, we decided to spend a couple of hours in the British Museum. Fantastic pieces, such as the Rosette stone, the sculptures of the Parthenon and the Lions of Assyria, and most of all a very well done special exhibition on the Roman Emperor Hadrien.Back outdoors, we queued to get onto the London Eye. Beautiful views over London, including Westminster and Big Ben.On the final day, we went to the outskirts of the city, where the new neighbourhood of East London and Greenwich. We clearly get the sense that the country was proud that the sun never set on its Empire. One foot to the East of the world and the other to the West. But since then, the centre of the world has moved...

Burgdorf

The first question of the day was "how to get to Burgdorf?" A colleague proposed to go by bike. Crazy idea? Actually a nice one. So we went off for a 25 km ride through hilly, rural and tidy Berne province. It took us 2 and 1/2 hours... and was quite tiring. It was the first time for me to ride for such a long time - a good experience. And of course, I could not help asking myself how do professional riders do to climb those steep mountains day after day. There is an obvious answer... On the way, we stopped to buy blueberries and a friendly cat came to say hello. It would have liked to stay on my shoulder for much longer, but we still had some way to go.

The next question is "what to say about Burgdorf?" Well, that is a really tough one! I could probably go on for hours or I could be ironic. To keep it short, i will quote our guide, who said "Burgdorf is the city of schools". I think it is a good summary.The last question sounds: "is there a criminal in the house?" We visited the crime studio where we would play the investigators. It was both interesting and fun. There were around 14 cases to solve, thanks to several clues. Sounds easier than it was. The owner had all the experience to set up these cases, as he is a retired policeman.

A year on!

Time for this blog to celebrate its first anniversary! I guess i should continue with it. What do you say? Feel free to make proposals to improve it some more. I must say I thought some of my friends would also start with a blog. Apparently, they prefer facebook...

What best way to celebrate with the most famous Geneva fireworks.

Some said that there were not as nice as last year. Still a great evening! And so many tourists. It certainly did not feel like there were world economic problems. Indeed the main guest was Russia and their tourists came in numbers. Surely another bumper year for the exclusive swiss watchmakers.

One of the highlight of the evening was the superb and colourful sunset on Mont Blanc. Is not that beautiful.

Moscow

One of the first thing that strikes in Moscow is that the city is booming. The airport is flashy, many buildings are being built, the traffic is nightmarish, historical sites are being restored, huge advertisment boards flourish and people wear the latest design clothes. Moscow is actually not in Europe, but in a new continent. Russians are proud of their past, their culture, their strenghts, their religion to the point that they feel they are the reference point. They do not need to be part of Europe.

We were of course in Moscow to visit the main highlights. The red square of course. On the first evening, we were stunned at the colours and the beauty of the St. Basile church. In the neighbourhood, there is the Lenine tomb and the big shopping center, Gum. Behind the high red walls, where Staline, Brejnez and co waved at the Russian troops, is the Kremlin. Some buildings are modern, like the one that used to host the meetings of the Communist party. But most are churches financed by tsars. They were competing to build the best one, with the biggest bell or the highest tower.

This mixture is present also on top of the towers, with communist (the red star) and tsarist (the double eagle) symbols. Further, the Douma, the Russian parliament, the Boltchoi theatre and a statue of Marx.

On the last day, we visited "Star City", the place where the Russians (and Europeans) astronauts train to fly into space. It was quite a mission, and an expansive one, to organise this visit. Indeed, the doors have opened to tourists only three years ago. I was then expecting to see very modern buildings and the latest technology gadgets. What a disappointment! The 7000 inhabitants live in exactly the same appartment blocks. Worse, the technology used seems so old. The centrifugal machine and the pool used to practice work on the spaceships looked so old. For a potential space traveller (who wants to give me a million??), this visit did not boost my confidence. Apparently, modern Russia is not investing much in this domain.

Transsiberian

From Moscow to Biysk in Altay, we took the Transsiberian train. We spent 3 days and 3 nights to cover the 3400 kilometers. We changed thrice of time zone, although in each station, they still display the Moscow time. We stopped in places like Sverdlovsk, Kazan, Tatarskaya, Karasuk... We went through mostly flat areas. There were some fields (potatoes, wheat) but mostly it was covered with birch and fir forests. Seldom did we come accross old style industries. However, on the tracks, we saw numerous Gazprom carriages. The Transsiberian is a major artery not only for people but also for goods.

At each stop, we could get out and buy small things on the platform. In most cases, it was older women selling local fruits and Chinese toys. This was a nice change from the "food" our agency had planned for us, and it was also a question of survival, as the restaurant on board ran out of food on the second day already.

The train itself was quite comfortable. We had a compartment for four people, large enough for my long legs. It is ideal to rest, relax, read, play cards, look at the landscape. And if we felt the need to stretch our legs, we can walk through the 18 carriages. It is quite a mission and there still are a few smoking places.

I must admit I was quite impressed that the train was almost always on time, even after three days. Ok, it was not very quick, but reliable - does that sound familiar? Another surprise was that on the second day, they switched from an electric powered locomotive to a coal powered one.

Altay

There in the middle of Asia, we enter the Altay Republic (still part of the huge Russian Federation). Moscou and "white" Russia are far far away, actually 3400 kilometers. The relaxed atmosphere and the environment are welcoming. The old traditions are alive with "natural" religious rites and burial sites still in use. There are even rumours that archeologues who come to uncover tumbs annoy the "spirits" so much so that they generate earthquakes and natural disasters. Do I need to say that many rites are forbidden to women.The landscape is quite similar to Switzerland, with high peaks, large glaciers, many rivers, thousands of lakes and sparse vegetation. The Altay Mountains are one of the oldest mountain range in the world and made it to the list of Unesco natural World Heritage sites.

We drove so close to the borders with China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan, that we had to stop at a "pre-frontier" border post. It sounds much more serious than it actually was. On our trip, we visited some local firms mostly linked to the agricultural sector. We saw a farm active in the export of deers, in particulars of the antlers to South Korea and of the meat to Germany. We also got a taste of the very sour fermented mares milk. All these are family businesses that have no support from governement. Tourism is becoming more popular with river rafting a favorite attraction on these stormy waters.

We spent a few nights in a traditional house, sleeping on yak skin and eating all sorts of traditional products. We felt very welcome even though it was close to impossible to speak with the local population. In the village, people still go around with horses. The shops, the clinic, the schools are mostly made of wood.

We spent two nights camping in the middle of nowhere, but close to a river. Very nice area, except that little mouse and squirrels liked it as well and were running below my tent early in the morning. It did get very cold at night. Fortunately, the night is short at this time of the year. The evenings were spent around the fire with good food, singing competitions (in Russian, Kazakh and French) and good vodka. And of course, we could admire the stars and the planets (Jupiter and its moons) above us.

Eclipse

On the first of August, we all got up early and excited for THE highlight of our trip - even though it would only last a bit more than 2 minutes. So we decided to climb a hill and went off for a 6 hours walk. On the way, we had time to stop by a lake and just to dip the feet in. Way too cold. Then we reached the observation point. It was so windy, we had to lay on the ground. But it was a pretty comfortable way to spot the eclipse. We prepared the cameras, videos and binoculars for the eclipse. Nice look ?Then we had a big argument: would the moon come accross from the right or the left side. We had to wait for the first "contact". The eclipse was beginning! The combination sun-moon got through a few funny shapes - including "packman".

The moon was progressing quite rapidly. The colours were changing, the temperature was dropping significantly, the clouds were menacing. And then it was TIME. The last rains were blocked by the moon. It was dark! We got all so excited, trying to do too many things. Looking around the sky where Mercury and Venus could now be seen. Taking pictures. Being amazed at how dark it was.

And then, the total eclipse was over. The light was coming back... Too short, too quick. What an experience. All went perfectly. By the way, the next one is in China on July 21, 2009. Who is interested?

Tourism in Switzerland

OK, OK, holidays do not always have to be abroad... am I really saying that?? Yes, there are nice things to see in my own country. I must thank my foreign friends to come and visit, so that I can discover my own country as well. Although it must be said that I have been to all the 26 cantons/provinces.

This time, we went on a cruise on the little Lake of Thun (of course, I have to say "little" compared to our big Lake of Geneva). Sunny, quiet, relaxing. We also walked along the Lake and I must say that everything is well organised and made for everybody to feel at ease. Of course, there were still the odd Dutch tourists wearing orange T-shirt. Then we took the funicular up the Niesen. The tourist office calls this mountain "the Pyramid of Switzerland". The ride up is quite a challenge. There is a board explaining how steep the climb is and how the technology improved over the years to make it a faster ride. And from the top, the view over the Lake and over the mountains is breathtaking. Everywhere you look and it is beautiful. Come and see for yourself!

Euro 2008

"THE" event of the year in Switzerland - the EURO 2008 football championship. 16 countries qualified for this tournament hosted by Switzerland and Austria. Here in Switzerland, much was done to welcome the players and the fans.

In Geneva, a football was floating on top of our big fountain. A sign that everybody can play football.

And our famous flower watch was decorated using the participating countries' colours.

In Zurich, huge players filled the train station. Let me not talk about the games and the players, since I did not have the chance to get a ticket - who got one by the way...? But I can mention the fans. And there the title goes to the Dutch supporters. There was an orange wave that took over Berne. I have never seen anything like that. They came by car, by train, by 50 extra plane and swamped the city. Fantastic and festive atmosphere.

Need I say a word about the performance of our team? Probably not. But again the swiss supporters were creative and welcoming. There were "fanzones" all around the country. Funny to see how the Portuguese dominated in Geneva, the Dutch in Berne, the Germans in Zurich and the Swiss in Basel. People put flags on their balcony and on their car. They celebrated by hooting until late at night.

Tomorrow it is the final game: VAMOS ESPANA !