Art Basel

From the organizing website, "The world's premier international art show for Modern and contemporary works, Art Basel features nearly 300 leading galleries from North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa. More than 2,500 artists, ranging from the great masters of Modern art to the latest generation of emerging stars, are represented in the show's multiple sections. The exhibition includes the highest-quality paintings, sculptures, drawings, installations, photographs, video and editioned works."

Though I'm not usually a big art person, my friend Julia and I went to check out the show and were dutifully impressed. I loved the variety of the sculptures.  

Best European Work Week Ever

As the title suggests, I recently had my Best Work Week Ever!  Not only did I have the opportunity to go on a company financed trip to Austria to see my classmate Bayan (see previous post) but I also had a breakthrough with my co-workers. 

In my old life, I baked personalized birthday cupcakes for my department, threw baby showers, and had a few lunch time running & happy hour groups.  Middle-aged co-workers invited me to their kids’ birthday parties, tried to set me up with their nephews, and occasionally cried on my shoulder.  After two and a half months of trying to befriend my new co-workers and majorly striking out, I’d grown accustomed to the cordial but distant Swiss work environment.  I’d acquiesced to the fact that my workplace was just that - all work & no play.

Then out of the blue after a brief and sterile discussion on cost accounting:
French co-worker Christine: “Are you going to the futbol game tonight?”
Me: “What futbol game?” (Wondering does she need a ticket, does she think I have extras?)
So I accompanied Christine to the game that evening and had a blast cheering on Novartis.  A few nights later, we went to the spa together.

The next day after a brief and sterile discussion on forecasting:
Swiss co-worker Sasha: “My wife’s birthday is this weekend”.
Me: “Oh that’s nice.  What are you doing to celebrate?” (Hmmm that’s strange, Sasha barely says good morning most days.)
Sasha: “Do you like children?”
Me: “Um yes.” (Wondering, is he going to ask me to babysit? Wow he must be desperate since I didn’t even know he had children even though we’ve sat beside each other for 2.5 months.)
Sasha: “We’re going to have a BBQ, let me give you details”.
So I went to Sasha’s wife’s birthday party BBQ and had a great time eating bratwursts, playing futbol with the kids and charming guests with my appalling command of the German language.   

A few days later:
German co-worker Gayog: “Emily, come look at this.” pointing to his computer screen
Me: “Sure.” (Oh no, there must have been an error in the file I sent Gayog since he normally doesn’t speak to me unless he needs me to do something.)
Gayog: chuckling “Look at this cool car.”
Me: Wow I’ve never seen this guy crack a smile let alone chuckle.  He normally stares at me blankly when I make jokes.

It’s continued this way ever since.  Though the Europeans may be a bit slower to warm up than Americans, when they do warm up its genuine and I’m enjoying reaping the much improved workplace benefits.   

Where's the Factory?

Ah the smell of cow dung & ammonia – last week on a business trip to Kundl, Austria I learned that rural manufacturing is strikingly similar across industries and continents.  Need to locate a rural factory?  Just follow that prognostic smell. 

Another comforting similarity was the friendliness of the locals and their eagerness to make sure all your needs were attended too.  I found the Austrians warm, inviting, amazingly accommodating, and zealous to share their country.  They wanted to walk me to and from the train station, watch my delight at sinking my teeth into the first bite of Mozart chocolate, tell me the best places to try Wiener Schnitzel, and teach me about the traditional style of dress.  

Bayan with Kufstein fortress

I also had the pleasure of getting to catch up with my friend Bayan who lives nearby in Kufstein.  Bayan came to my rescue Sunday night when the only hotel in the village was closed and the factory guard couldn’t find the key that was supposed to have been left for me although that may have been partially due to my limited German and minimal charades ability.  I was beginning to have visions of sleeping in a hay bale or barn.  Thanks Bayan!

Innsbruck

Innsbruck is an hour and a half from the factory by train.  Bayan generously took an afternoon off and we walked all around the old city, visited the town’s cathedral, ate lunch at an outdoor café, and people watched in the main square.

Innsbruck square

One of my favorite events of the day was watching an oversized game of chess in the park.  The two men playing attracted quite a crowd and it was a lively atmosphere.

Chess in the park - the farther gentleman emerged victorious

American business trips will never quite feel the same.

Vienna

Another weekend, another pilgrimage to a famous European city.  A few weekends ago, the destination was Vienna.  MITers flew in from all over Europe and Clarke prepared himself for “a very nerdy weekend”.  

Vienna crew in front of one of the many royal palaces

Ahem Clarke we only made a few Schrödinger jokes and just thought briefly of visiting his grave several hours outside Vienna.  For my non-science loving readers, Schrödinger is a famous Austrian quantum physicist and we encounter t-shirts like this on a daily basis at MIT.  Clarke and I got in before everybody else and had a chance to explore the old town Friday evening.  What a beautiful city!  As is the family traveling tradition, we wandered around aimlessly, following both the melodious strands of street musicians and the distant glow of a palace displayed in its finest evening splendor.   

Vienna has a plethora of picturesque statues and fountains

Karla, our resident LGO tour guide, had a slew of sites for us to hit on Saturday.  We walked through Hofburg Palace, Rauthaus, St Peterskirche cathedral, Stephansdom cathedral, and the astonishing painted ceilings of Karlskirche which may have been my favorite site of the day.  The church set up scaffolding so visitors could walk up to the top of the dome to see the collages from a few feet instead of several hundred.  Since middle school art was a challenge for me, I looked at the painted ceilings with pure wonder. 

Karlskirche ceiling

My classmate Kacey brought her husband and their two year old son Nolan which certainly added a foreign element to the trip for a bunch of twenty & thirty -something unmarried people.  Nolan's a gregarious, sweet kid and Clarke and I both had fun chasing him around to tire him out and give his parents a well-deserved break.  I think Clarke made a friend for life.

Clarke and Nolan

Sunday we journeyed out to Vienna’s number one tourist attraction Schönbrunn Palace which is the former imperial summer residence of the Habsburg.  Wow beyond the impressive physical palace, the estate has a gloriette, roman runins, hedge maze, large zoo, a litany of sculptures, and the most impressive gardens I’ve visited in memory.  You could easily spend all day on the palace grounds and not see half of it.

Siblings in front of th palace

Not that we didn’t try!  I marveled at the imperial quarters, got a kick out of running around the maze trying to beat my friends (if only Donovan wasn’t 200+cm tall), trekked up the hill to the gloriette to see the palace aerially, and sipped a Viennese coffee at one of the cafes on grounds.  A fitting ending to another fun trip.

LGO ladies w/ city backdrop

I Can See France From My House (& Germany Too!)

Clarke was bemused by the fact that I can see France and Germany from my balcony.  He wanted to experience all three countries so one beautiful day in Basel, I took off work, rented Clarke a bike almost as awesome as my $100 children's mountain bike, and we pointed ourselves in the general direction of Germany.

Just like that, Germany – Clarke decided it was rather anticlimactic  

Around Basel, the Rhine River demarks the border between France and Germany and one of my co-workers mapped us a route along the river.  The river front area in Germany is industrial so we quickly decided to cross into France. 

We wound up on a long island in the middle and biked along for awhile wondering what country we were in.  The answer came in a gleeful chorus of “bonjours” from a passing group of school children.   

Check off country #3

Biking through the French countryside was a joy.  Church steeples dotted the faraway hills.  Fields of sunflowers intermixed with cornfields and both seemingly appeared around every corner.  We saw painted villages with picture perfect town squares and flower box bridges over bubbling streams.  In the spirit of France, we stopped off at a cafe for cappuccinos and croissants.         

Watch out Lance - here's your newest competition

3 countries, 70 kms, a few Lance Armstrong impersonations, and many a picture break later, we returned home sore but triumphantly as tri-country cyclists.