Packing

And then it was time to pack things... actually to have things packed for me. That is the beauty of being sent abroad by the workplace. Anyway, it took just three hours for three men to pack all my belongings in these little boxes, including my big wooden giraffe. Is there a sign, here? At least, things in each box were neatly wrapped and each box was clearly labelled. Much more order than in real life, I would say.
Once everything was packed, it was time to load the container. A colleague of mine would laugh if she saw its name was "evergreen", especially in view of my not-so-perfect ecological track record. Then again, all my things did not even fill hald the container. Ok, maybe it is then a good sign that I am not yet half way through life. I think I would rather go for another explanation: I was very good at keeping only the necessary stuff and got rid of all the excess bagage. The container is now making its way to Hamburg, before being loaded on a ship to Norfolk. It should get there on August 14, quite a quick journey. Then, it will have to go through customs, and I hope my kudu horn will make it! So watch this space.
Then, it was time for me to leave Berne and catch a ride on the usual train to Geneva. The big flight will be on August 1, our "national day". As I told my colleagues, I am really the most patriotic swiss since my "national day" will not last for 24 hours, but for 30 hours. That gives time to sing the national anthem many more times... provided one knows it...

Good to be at home

Is it because I am soon leaving that here is another entry about my home province... Of course not, it is simply because it is the best province. Here is why? First, the transport are world class, with a train ride in which it takes 45 minitues to cover 20 kilometers. And then a telecabine that might be out of business next year, because of a small group of hyterical green fundamentalists.Second, the food is so tasty, light and delightful. A sort of mushroom pie for starters and then a toasted cheese with ham and egg for main course. Thankfully, there was a glass of white wine with it... I think I will not mention this to my doctor when he says next time that I should watch my diet to lower my cholesterol...
Third, a meal is incomplete without a nice dessert. And there I had the famous "gâteau des Ormonds". It reminded me of my childhood when my mother cooked it. Well, I must admit that my mother's recipe was better.
Fourth, the landscape was stunning. Here the view from the terrasse of the restaurant! When one looks closely, we should see the start of the glacier. Ok, with global warming it has shrunk a little bit.
Finally, the village has retained this traditional feel. For example, the school building is still more or less the same as for 80 years... Let's hope the content of learning has changed. Anyway, a charming little village that contributes to my province being the best. Keep it up!

2010 Football World Cup - outside

Here I am again in South Africa to enjoy the Football World Cup! Teh country is ready, the airports are shiny, the vibe is there. First thing first, time to print the tickets, directly upon landing.
Second must is to get a vuvuzela. This is THE cult object of the world cup - although the octopus Paul comes a close second... Vuvuzelas come in two sizes, but with many different design - apparently mostly made in China... It needs some practice to blow a powerful sound.
By the way, the biggest vuvuzela is 35 meters long and 5.5 meters vide. It sits on an unused part of the freeway in Cape Town. The authorities did block it, because they feared someone might manage to blow it and that it could have an impact on the traffic below...
But obviously, not everybody is a fan of the vuvuzela. Wimbledon has banned it, as well as the New Zealand rugby federation. A big commercial center in Cape Town is of the same opinion.
A place where it was no problem to blow it is the fanzone! The one on the Parade in Cape Town was beautifully set next to the municipality and with Table Mountain in the background. Great ambiance, especially with the orange Dutch. They were definitely the best supporters! There was also a lot of support for England, Germany and the only decent African team - Ghana. The victory of South Africa in their last game against France certainly helped restore some pride. Still it must be said that South Africans are in general sports-loving people and they like watching sport.
After all this energy clapping, shouting, blowing the vuvuzela, cheering, it comes the time to get some energy. Nothing better than a delicious cheesecake!

2010 Football World Cup - inside

The first match was in Port Elizabeth: Switzerland-Chile. The drive along the coast was scenic. I had to laugh when I saw the sign "(the host town of) Knysna proudly welcomes the teams from France and Denmark"... Getting closer to the stadium, the indications were good and the traffic fine. We parked on a school's rugby ground and then walked to the stadium. It is that easy. Lots of fans, festive atmosphere, great weather, friendly officials... After all, the motto of Port Elizabeth is "the friendly city" (in Cape Town, we say it is because they have nothing else they could advertise...). Anyway, I was quite impressed with the whole experience around and inside the stadium. Well done!
The new stadium is beautiful and we got to sit in the fifth row. Besides, all the positive points, it was a little disappointment that 10000 seats were left empty. Surely, FIFA must have some rigid rules not allowing last minutes local fans to access the stadium at a discount price... On the other side, the monopoly given to sponsors inside the stadium gave an impression of communism. Sad to see only one make of soft drinks and of beers available - and of course none is local. I wonder whether these sponsors were pleased that the stadium was not full, because of FIFA...
I suppose I should not comment much on the game itself - you all read the score and a resume in the newspapers. So let's move to the second match, in Bloemfontein. The first thing I noticed when I got there is that everybody spoke to me in Afrikaans. Maybe I should take it as a positive sign that I look like a local. Still I found it very interesting that this language manages to keep its position in society (even black people spoke to me in Afrikaans...). The game took place in the renovated rugby stadium. Again, there were numerous empty seats for this Honduras-Switzerland match. Still it was nice to see black and white South Africans watching the match together.
I will again abstain from mentioning the scoreline. All I can say is that I was very disappointed not to see a single goal from the swiss team. At this world cup, it was clear they had reached their ceiling. The only thing they did well was defending. It is sad that their gameplan has been to speculate on three 0-0. The fact that it worked in the first game against Spain did not encourage them to be more constructive in the next two games. All in all, I think they did not deserve to go any further in the competition. To finish, a little video with the ambiance inside the stadium. but a warning first: get your earplugs - the vuvuzelas are in full swing!