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 !

Roland Garros

As every year, the end of May is pilgrimage time for me. And as every year, it is a great pleasure for me to be at Roland Garros. What a fantastic tournament!

For once, we managed to get tickets through the Internet. We were on the Susanne Lenglen court, where Serena Williams got soundly beaten. Certainly because she does not know how to play on clay. And nobody does better than Rafael Nadal. What an impression he gave during his 6-1 6-1 6-1 demolition of Jaarko Nieminen. He was even more impressive than the previous year. His vision of the game, his movements - including sliding on clay, his tactics, his forehand and most improved, his backhand. After seeing his performance, I predicted he would win the tournament. And surely he did.

One of his main competitor would be Novak Djokovic. I had enough time to take a picture of him bouncing the ball before serving. He does that at least 25 times before each service. I guess even champions have strange habits.

I also had the chance to go back down the memory lane, with the last game of Gustavo Kuerten. He won the tournament three times with his brilliance. But his back is giving his trouble. The spectators could not stop with their Mexican Wave during his double game.

I must also mention the Swiss players. I was happy to wave my flag during Patty Schnyder's game. She played well and on the same day the Swiss electorate, in a populare vote, showed tolerance and openess towards foreigners. Quite a few of my friends saw me on TV - did you as well?