For the first time ever, I have just missed a flight. I must add that it was no fault of my own – the Charles de Gaulle Airport has now risen to the very top of my list of least favorite airports. Quite an accomplishment really. My flight from Zagreb arrived on time, but it took me a full hour and ten minutes to get from my arrival gate to my departure gate just two terminals away. Needless to say, I only had an hour to connect.
The airport is under construction to repair the roof of the E terminal, which collapsed a couple of years ago (which in itself is not exactly a good indication), but even without the construction, the airport has a highly inefficient layout. I had to take three separate buses to get from the plane to my departure gate – and of course there was a significant wait for each bus. When I finally got to what I thought was the terminal, I had to go through security. Why does Paris have the toughest security out of any airport in the world? The surly French official manning the x-ray machine did not make life any easier as I was rushing through. Not only did my (flat) shoes set off the x-ray machines prompting a very thorough hand search, but they actually hand search each and every piece of hand luggage coming into the terminal.
I explained to the grumpy man searching my bag that I was in a major hurry and my flight was scheduled to leave in 10 minutes (at that point). He pretended not to speak English. My frustration mounted as he searched every nook and cranny, opening my eye shadow pot and feeling my neck pillow, calling over the person to wave his wand and test for explosives. I muttered under my breath, ‘bloody Frenchmen’. It was a miracle, suddenly he spoke English! He looks up at me and dared me to repeat the insult to his face! Oops. I started to have images of me being put on the no fly list as he gave my boarding card to yet another security official to check on the computer. While I waited he continued to dare me to repeat my comment. I didn’t, although I was tempted to see what his reaction would be. Would he hit a woman? He seemed like he might so I didn’t dare.
When I was finally released (after only about 5 minutes total), I ran down a long hallway, down three flights of stairs carrying my hand luggage (yes, the French somehow believe that is a good idea to have stairs and no escalator which is so helpful to those strange people that are carrying hand luggage in an airport) only to discover that this was in fact the terminal in name only – I had to take another bus. The 10 minute ride made my chances of making the flight nil. So my punishment for insulting the ‘bloody French’ is that I am now spending a total of 7 hours in CDG. At least writing this story has given me my first laugh of the day.
I am not looking forward to my 8 hour flight – without food. Yes, it is too late to special order a meal. I just hope my luck changes. I couldn’t handle another Frenchman hooking up with a chick he picks up on this flight (see my blog about my trip out to Serbia Jan 14th).
Next time I am routing through Amsterdam!
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Monday, February 12, 2007
Rumblings in Kosovo
There were protests today in Pristina, the captial of Kosovo. The protestors were ethnic Albanians (which is 90% of the population of Kosovo) protesting that the new UN plan for semi-autonomy does not go far enough. The UN forces broke up the protests, but I saw film footage of at least one bad injury. This does not bode well.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6350125.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6350125.stm
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Impressionist
With my time in Zagreb running out, I decided to continue my culture streak and visited the Mimara gallery on Saturday morning. The gallery hosts a variety of medium from glass to tapestries, but the highlight were the impressionist painters with original paintings by Renoir, Manet, Degas, Serrat, etc. They have a very unique Degas pastel on paper of a woman bathing and a spectacular Renoir that I have never seen before.
I am now back at my hotel and procrastinating working on a article that is due on Monday. How hard can it be to write 800 words, right? I am going to a housewarming party tonight hosted by my colleague who just moved out here for a year. It should be a fun event.
I am now back at my hotel and procrastinating working on a article that is due on Monday. How hard can it be to write 800 words, right? I am going to a housewarming party tonight hosted by my colleague who just moved out here for a year. It should be a fun event.
Krabuljnom plesu
I had no plans in Zagreb on a Friday night, so I decided to make a solo cultured evening out of it. I walked the one block to the National Theater (see photo below) and bought a ticket to the opera. I knew it was Verdi, but the name Krabuljnom plesu did not give me a lot to go on in figuring out the English (or Italian) title.
I had an hour to wait after buying my ticket, so I walked across the street to the Arts and Crafts Museum which currently has an exhibit of Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Atlanticus – a collection of his drawings and writings on architecture, geography, engineering, and weaponry. I think of Leonardo as an artist and a researcher of movement of the human body, but had no idea the he was also a brilliant mechanical engineer. What was interesting is that his inventions and designs had very little text to go with them and mostly were captured in detailed drawings with incredible perspective. I also learned that Leo was left handed and actually wrote from right to left, so that each letter is in reverse order
!daer ot tluciffid yreV
Included in his drawings was a design for an incredibly modern looking bicycle. There is some dispute as to whether this particular drawing is authentic, but if it is then he beat the ‘inventor’ of the bicycle by centuries. I would not be at all surprised if it were authentic given some of Leo’s other inventions including a deep sea diving suit, a glider, a parachute and lots of weaponry.
The opera turned out to be Un Ballo in Maschera (A Masked Ball). I managed to figure out the very basic plot (man falls in love with friend’s wife and ends up dead) but would not recommend going to an opera with translation into Croatian and no clue as to the plot. I even thought about leaving at intermission (1.5 hours into the show), but the music was good, besides, I didn't want to offend. It was a packed house (I got one of the last tickets) and people from all generations from young children out with their parents to older couples and everything in between were enjoying the show.
I had an hour to wait after buying my ticket, so I walked across the street to the Arts and Crafts Museum which currently has an exhibit of Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Atlanticus – a collection of his drawings and writings on architecture, geography, engineering, and weaponry. I think of Leonardo as an artist and a researcher of movement of the human body, but had no idea the he was also a brilliant mechanical engineer. What was interesting is that his inventions and designs had very little text to go with them and mostly were captured in detailed drawings with incredible perspective. I also learned that Leo was left handed and actually wrote from right to left, so that each letter is in reverse order
!daer ot tluciffid yreV
Included in his drawings was a design for an incredibly modern looking bicycle. There is some dispute as to whether this particular drawing is authentic, but if it is then he beat the ‘inventor’ of the bicycle by centuries. I would not be at all surprised if it were authentic given some of Leo’s other inventions including a deep sea diving suit, a glider, a parachute and lots of weaponry.
The opera turned out to be Un Ballo in Maschera (A Masked Ball). I managed to figure out the very basic plot (man falls in love with friend’s wife and ends up dead) but would not recommend going to an opera with translation into Croatian and no clue as to the plot. I even thought about leaving at intermission (1.5 hours into the show), but the music was good, besides, I didn't want to offend. It was a packed house (I got one of the last tickets) and people from all generations from young children out with their parents to older couples and everything in between were enjoying the show.
Split Road Trip
Today was one of those days where I had to pinch myself to remind me that I am actually being paid to be here and do this work. It was an early start to drive down to Metković to interview mandarin farmers that have recently gained EurepGAP certification. The drive was spectacular, watching the sun risking over the Adriatic coast and enjoying the company of my driver and translator provided by the project.
Our company has helped a group of 28 farmers to get EurepGAP certification so their mandarins can be sold into supermarkets in Western Europe. Most supermarkets in W. Europe are now requiring this certification that basically ensures triple bottom line accounting – environmental, social and financial benefits to the farmer. The certification ensures that neither the farmers nor the environment is harmed from the use of pesticides and fertilizer and that they get a fair price for their product. These farmers were the first in Croatia to receive the certification at the end of last year.
On the way back to Split, we stopped off in the little town of Omiš (o-mish). It is a tiny little town built between the mountain and the sea with a river running through the middle. With no room to expand, it still has its medieval architecture completely in tact. We walked around the town and passed several open doors of wine cellars with small groups of oldies sitting around an enjoying an afternoon tipple. When it started raining we jumped in the car and headed home.
Our company has helped a group of 28 farmers to get EurepGAP certification so their mandarins can be sold into supermarkets in Western Europe. Most supermarkets in W. Europe are now requiring this certification that basically ensures triple bottom line accounting – environmental, social and financial benefits to the farmer. The certification ensures that neither the farmers nor the environment is harmed from the use of pesticides and fertilizer and that they get a fair price for their product. These farmers were the first in Croatia to receive the certification at the end of last year.
On the way back to Split, we stopped off in the little town of Omiš (o-mish). It is a tiny little town built between the mountain and the sea with a river running through the middle. With no room to expand, it still has its medieval architecture completely in tact. We walked around the town and passed several open doors of wine cellars with small groups of oldies sitting around an enjoying an afternoon tipple. When it started raining we jumped in the car and headed home.
Friday, February 09, 2007
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Split
Welcome to my tour of the Adriatic. I arrived in Split on a flight from Zagreb at 9 am this morning. I decided to fly in a day early to see some of the sights as I have a feeling that my next two days are going to be a little busy with work. Sadly, because of my unexpected day off yesterday, I ended up spending almost the entire day sitting in my hotel room looking out over the Adriatic while I caught up on some work.
I did take a two hour break to go explore the city and it is magical. The center of the city has been built inside an old Roman Palace. When I heard this described before I arrived, I thought it was built on top of ruins, but no, the new is built right into the old. The Roman emperor Diocletian built his retirement palace here in 305 AD and it was designed as a large fortress 215m x 181m. In the 7th Century Romans from the surrounding countryside moved into the palace to protect themselves from invading Slavs, and basically they stayed and new generations continued to build in and around the palace. Today it is a fascinating neighborhood and a hodgepodge of architecture from the ages, polished marble streets, little winding alleyways, interesting art galleries and apartments.
Ironically Diocletian was known for his persecution of early Christians and it seems some of those discriminatory views still exist in the city (see photo of graffiti below).
I had been told that it would be at least 10 degrees (Celsius) warmer here than in Zagreb, so I packed accordingly. Well, it is freezing here today. It was extremely windy – to the point that I ended up wearing half the flakes from my flaky and delicious cherry pastry that I munched on as I strolled around. I decided to go to they gym to warm up (and wake up) but instead discovered a beautiful looking gym with not one piece of equipment that works! The internet access that is claimed by the hotel is also non-functional (I’ll have to post this in the office tomorrow). I’m not sure whether I’m having an unlucky day or whether it’s an indication that the hotels are not quite up to international standards just yet.
I did take a two hour break to go explore the city and it is magical. The center of the city has been built inside an old Roman Palace. When I heard this described before I arrived, I thought it was built on top of ruins, but no, the new is built right into the old. The Roman emperor Diocletian built his retirement palace here in 305 AD and it was designed as a large fortress 215m x 181m. In the 7th Century Romans from the surrounding countryside moved into the palace to protect themselves from invading Slavs, and basically they stayed and new generations continued to build in and around the palace. Today it is a fascinating neighborhood and a hodgepodge of architecture from the ages, polished marble streets, little winding alleyways, interesting art galleries and apartments.
Ironically Diocletian was known for his persecution of early Christians and it seems some of those discriminatory views still exist in the city (see photo of graffiti below).
I had been told that it would be at least 10 degrees (Celsius) warmer here than in Zagreb, so I packed accordingly. Well, it is freezing here today. It was extremely windy – to the point that I ended up wearing half the flakes from my flaky and delicious cherry pastry that I munched on as I strolled around. I decided to go to they gym to warm up (and wake up) but instead discovered a beautiful looking gym with not one piece of equipment that works! The internet access that is claimed by the hotel is also non-functional (I’ll have to post this in the office tomorrow). I’m not sure whether I’m having an unlucky day or whether it’s an indication that the hotels are not quite up to international standards just yet.
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Back to the EU
It doesn't quite have the same ring as being back in the USSR.
Today was supposed to be a day of catching up on work – both the success stories that I am writing here and a proposal that I am writing in my (not so) spare time. Instead, one of my colleagues from the home office who just started a long term positions in Zagreb called and suggested a road trip – I couldn’t resist. We spent the better part of the day just across the border in Slovenia.
I am embarrassed to admit (and almost did not include this confession), but before I came to the region in November I didn’t even know there was a country called Slovenia. Turns out that it was the first country to separate from the Republic of Yugoslavia in 1991 and it was the first former Yugoslav republic to join the EU in 2004. Slovenia declared independence from Yugoslavia on June 25th 1991 and the Yugoslav government didn’t take the separation so well and attacked Slovenia. The war lasted just 10 days, but the impact is still visible in the tiny little town where we stopped for tea where there are still bullet holes in the two or three buildings that have not yet been repaired.
This is the fourth international border that I have crossed over by land to or from Croatia and I have been sarcastic about the ‘huge’ differences from one side of an artificial boundary to the other. But in reality there are actually some big differences. In Bosnia, it was a significant change for the worse just across the border. In Slovenia the change was in the opposite direction. Directly across the border the scale of agriculture greatly increased with much larger plots of land being farmed, and with much higher technology investment. The villages we visited were incredibly quaint.
We did learn a couple of lessons from the trip. (1) When visiting an EU country, one should have Euro. Who knew? We had a cup of tea at a café and forgot to ask beforehand if they accepted credit cards. The answer of course was no, nor Croatian Kuna, nor US dollars. Fortunately before we were forced to wash dishes we discovered that the quaint little village that sits on an island in a river had an ATM. Whew. (2) When you do not speak the language and you are driving for the first time in a country – get a map! We spent much of the afternoon driving around trying to find someone who spoke English to give us directions. But we learned the Slovenes are friendly and helpful! (3) The word chocolate is universal, but not always the form. We asked for hot chocolate (in English) at a café and the server seemed to understand us and asked if we wanted vanilla or dark chocolate. A short while later, we were served hot chocolate pudding! Not what we were looking for, but it hit the spot and warmed the bones.
Today was supposed to be a day of catching up on work – both the success stories that I am writing here and a proposal that I am writing in my (not so) spare time. Instead, one of my colleagues from the home office who just started a long term positions in Zagreb called and suggested a road trip – I couldn’t resist. We spent the better part of the day just across the border in Slovenia.
I am embarrassed to admit (and almost did not include this confession), but before I came to the region in November I didn’t even know there was a country called Slovenia. Turns out that it was the first country to separate from the Republic of Yugoslavia in 1991 and it was the first former Yugoslav republic to join the EU in 2004. Slovenia declared independence from Yugoslavia on June 25th 1991 and the Yugoslav government didn’t take the separation so well and attacked Slovenia. The war lasted just 10 days, but the impact is still visible in the tiny little town where we stopped for tea where there are still bullet holes in the two or three buildings that have not yet been repaired.
This is the fourth international border that I have crossed over by land to or from Croatia and I have been sarcastic about the ‘huge’ differences from one side of an artificial boundary to the other. But in reality there are actually some big differences. In Bosnia, it was a significant change for the worse just across the border. In Slovenia the change was in the opposite direction. Directly across the border the scale of agriculture greatly increased with much larger plots of land being farmed, and with much higher technology investment. The villages we visited were incredibly quaint.
We did learn a couple of lessons from the trip. (1) When visiting an EU country, one should have Euro. Who knew? We had a cup of tea at a café and forgot to ask beforehand if they accepted credit cards. The answer of course was no, nor Croatian Kuna, nor US dollars. Fortunately before we were forced to wash dishes we discovered that the quaint little village that sits on an island in a river had an ATM. Whew. (2) When you do not speak the language and you are driving for the first time in a country – get a map! We spent much of the afternoon driving around trying to find someone who spoke English to give us directions. But we learned the Slovenes are friendly and helpful! (3) The word chocolate is universal, but not always the form. We asked for hot chocolate (in English) at a café and the server seemed to understand us and asked if we wanted vanilla or dark chocolate. A short while later, we were served hot chocolate pudding! Not what we were looking for, but it hit the spot and warmed the bones.
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