"Nur Fliegen ist schöner"

Given the bad reputation of air travel these days, the flying experience of this Star Alliance Round-the-World trip merits a blog post of its own. I am spending 4 of the 50 days on airplanes (83.5 hours flying time, to be exact, plus some waiting on runways), using 13 different airlines. The longest flight takes 23 hours (from Buenos Aires through Santiago and Toronto to San Francisco) and also includes the longest segment without time change (11 hours from Santiago to Toronto). Though the trip is not monotonic in longitude, it is in terms of time zones. Only after five weeks of traveling are we delayed for the first time (3 hours out of Singapore) - my first 14 flights have all been on time! By the way, newspeak for "delayed" is now "re-timed"... With only one Lufthansa flight so far, service has also been much friendlier than I am used to. The only consistent hassle has been air conditioning, with unpleasantly cold temperatures for most of the time on almost all the flights. The worst chill was on United from San Francisco to Hawaii, though this September 11 flight also topped all others in comfort and fun: we were upgraded to row 17 (our lucky number) in spacious Economy Plus, ate Sushi de luxe that we took on board, and I won the random draw in the mid-way game (guessing when we reached mid-point between San Francisco and Honolulu) without even playing it. The distinction of offering power outlets in economy, on the other hand, goes to Air Canada (Toronto to San Francisco). Lufthansa and Swiss both manage to sell us their round-the-world tickets with an invalid segment (United takes no passengers just from Sydney to Melbourne), but we will get refunded for the Qantas ersatz flight, which gets me into Melbourne only 20 minutes later than originally booked on United. Finally, airports in Australia and Asia win our award for ease of use and spacious design. Hongkong's airport even has free Wi-Fi, which comes in handy, as we need to skype to Switzerland to find out Martin's phone numbers on arrival (and tell him that we are about to visit...).

Hidden talents revealed

Daeni and Myriam welcome us to Singapore at the opening of an exhibit with paintings by diplomat's spouses ("Hidden Talents"), including two captivating works by Myriam (Fire of Flowers, and Global Warming - probably no causal relation implied). Later, over a pleasant meal at the beautiful Swiss residence, we learn more about Singapore (as well as about the Woker roots near Muenster) and chat about sundry travel adventures. The city impresses us through its proverbial orderliness ("The Fine City"), its efficient cultural blend (we stroll past a Chinese and Indian temple standing next to each other, then through a huge electronics market to charming Little India), but also the amazing amount of green space and vegetation in a state the size of Lake Geneva with over 4 Million inhabitants. Difficult to judge whether a tightly controlled one party state is too high a (temporary) price to pay for living crime-free, without visible poverty, and in a thriving business and science environment.

A country my age (and considered very young!)

We don't seem to get enough of traveling: after an eight hour flight from Melbourne to Singapore, we pause for sight seeing and dinner in China Town, then take the night train to Kuala Lumpur (departing from the railway station, not the train station!). Christine's friend Gilbert walks us through the city, from its own China Town, which still sleeps early morning, through the old town with the muddy river (= kuala lumpur), up to KL Tower (with 421m the third highest telecom tower in the world, though the observatory is "only" at 276m), and around the twin towers of Petronas. A bustling mixture of cultures and their religions appears to live together happily here, reconciling conflicting social and legal systems. A 2.5 hour car ride takes us over a pass and down into the home town of Malaysia's first king. Near to his old and new palace, in a remote and thinly populated Malaysian kampung (village), Christine and Roger occupy a traditional house "on legs", surrounded by goats, chicken, and monkeys in the trees. They host us (in addition to Roger's mother and her friend) very warmly and we enjoy a relaxing rest in nature after having visited four big cities in a row. Just as we get up in the morning, a baby goat is borne, and Carlos becomes goat godfather, baptizing it to the Nahuatl name of Yolot. After breakfast with home-baked bread, delicious mango, and coconut jam, Christine drives us to Seremban, where we catch the train back to Singapore: seven hours of palm trees on the left and palm trees on the right, with one quick glimpse of a temple. In all other aspects, this was a memorable trip to meet up with Christine again, after 35 years!

COSIT

COSIT, the Conference on Spatial Information Theory, also known as Cognition, Space, and International Tourism, lives up to both of these interpretations again. This year, COldSIT would be another take on it. But Stephan and his colleagues have put together a great event at a beautiful site - assembling a strong scientific program as well as a large number of friends. Thus, on the first conference night, I get a chance to share fine Aussi and Kiwi wines with Andre, Andrew, Boyan, Christian, Dan, David, Femke, Mark, Max, Martin, Sabine, Stephan, Stephen and Tom (sorry, not everybody was caught on foto) - which lets the visited friends count soar to 31.

17 Sep 07

We chose Sydney to celebrate our 6th year together on the 17th of September, coinciding with the trip's mid point (day 25). Our "gifts" are long walks around town on our heads and a delicious buffet lunch on Sydney Tower's rotating restaurant, overlooking the fantastic multi-bay layout of the city. Because I left our travel guide book on the plane, Carlos misses his chance to eat crocodile (the guide says where they serve it). We make up for this loss with cangarooh, camel, oysters, many other delicacies, and a Pinot Noir that tastes like a light Swiss red, somewhat un-Australian, but goes well with the tender meats. We skip dinners, replacing it on the first night with Kilkenny and Chips in a lively Irish pub where a great band is playing, and on the second night with a toddy to cure our light winter colds. Carlos stays on for a few days, while I continue to Melbourne for COSIT.

Tourism pure

Honolulu, on the Oahu island of Hawaii, lets us indulge in main stream tourism. Dinner on the first night is an exception: Our wonderfully uncomplicated host Matt takes us to the only remaining traditional Hawaiian restaurant in town, and we get to know an entirely different cuisine, with some special treats (such as Lomi Salmon, a salmon and tomato salad) and some acquired tastes (like Poi, the sauce from fermented Taro). To digest the huge amount of food, we stroll through Waikiki by night, watching other tourists watching other tourists, as Matt puts it. On the second day, we catch more than enough sun at Waikiki beach and spend the evening at a Luau, a well done, colorful show of local and Polynesian dances, coming with a fine buffet that includes Kalua pork, cooked in the imu, an oven holed into the ground. A taxi takes us directly from this feast to the airport, from where we leave at midnight for Sydney on Air Canada. We will keep excellent memories of the laid back and friendly nature of people here! Quite a change from mainland USA, which nowadays often beats Europe in the rudeness competition.

"Too much of a good thing can be wonderful!"

With this quote from Mae West during a triple-Virgo birthday-pork-roast dinner at Karen's new home, Keola expresses perfectly how we feel about our visit to the Big Island of Hawaii. From a beach side dinner after arrival (with juicy scallops, Mahi Mahi, and Mai Tai) through the ocean view hotel room and balcony at Hawaii Resort and a wonderful day in Volcanoes National Park, all the way to our work as coffee cherry picker slaves in Keola's plantation, we feel like having too much of many good things. Most memorable are the succulent papaya at breakfast, high over the bay where Captain Cook was killed, fresh roasted Macadamia nuts, the stunning wood work with Japanese elegance made from the reddish Koa, rimming a crater while stalking over lava and learning about the spiritual background from Karen, and of course the lush, colorful and aromatic vegetation. Boarding the plane to Honolulu from open air gates at the airport, enjoying a smooth breeze, remains in style - and we will take the missed out snorkeling as an excuse to return.

Starving in San Francisco

Well, not really. But it is a bit unusual that Carlos and I spend two days in San Francisco without visiting a single attractive restaurant. On Sunday, after a late lunch at Bagdad Café and munching chips with friends of Carlos in Marine County, we are too tired to go for dinner. We finish the night with drinks at Badlands, where we met six years ago. Monday brings beautiful late summer weather, which we enjoy with long walks and great views, first around Bellavista, then through the business district up to Coit tower and back to Union Square. Lunch is in a food court and for a late dinner we only share a plate of pasta, in one of the few Castro eateries still open after 10pm. At least, it comes with a delicious bottle of Zinfandel, the "real" American wine that my cousin Daeni (whom we will meet in Singapore soon) introduced me to, 23 years ago in a Manhattan jazz bar. The Willows Inn, which carries special memories, accommodates us again, nicely but pricely.

Won't cry for you, Argentina

When I first visited Vienna in 1976 as a student, it seemed gray, noisy, and unattractive. Fifteen years later, I moved there from Maine - and have loved the city ever since. Similarly, my Buenos Aires permière is no love on first sight; it is affected by windy and damp winter weather, a lingering cough, and of course the fact that I have no friends to visit here. But I am happy to have finally seen this bubbling mixture of Italian (people), Spanish (language), Portuguese (pronunciation), British (tea leaves and a sieve!) and other influences (only - where are the natives?). One of the funniest combinations to watch are Italian tempered passengers queuing up diligently at bus stations, while honking cars pass by doubling up in lanes... The cafés are legendary, and Tortoni is wonderful indeed, while Iberia is a tad more modern, with power outlets in addition to wi-fi, and a waiter who shakes hands on my third visit. I spend mornings there, hiding from the wind and catching up on some work that doesn't wait, and enjoy afternoon excursions to Caminito, Santelmo, and especially Palermo Viejo. Hotel Central, right next to Congreso (at Solis 192), costs a mere 28€ a night and is one of these charming, but rapidly disappearing simple pensions with a rattling elevator and a padrone watching kindly over his guests.

Gilberto's treat

Visiting Gilberto is always a treat in so many respects. Starting this visit off, my presentation at INPE on primitives of geographic information leads to a stimulating debate on process ontology and is followed by a fine fish dinner in Sao Jose dos Campos (together with Vera, Hilcéa, and Lubia). During it, we discuss among other (less lofty) things, when two musical performances are the same, accompanied by funny stories. But no visit here would be complete without an island escape - this time "my driver" Fernando takes me to Ilha Grande, off the coast near Rio. This is the perfect place to think and relax, secluded from the rest of the world, and in a lush environment of rain forrest and beaches. Carlos, alone in Muenster, is equally happy about my isolation, and the days (two of them cloudy) turn out productive for my fall teaching and relaxing at the same time. An afternoon hike to the Mirante Bananal (378m) burns off enough calories to enjoy more Caipirinhas (the best I have had so far) and the tasty food, which combines Brazilian and Japanese ingredients, preparations and serving styles. On the sunny and windy third day, I take the hotel excursion to a small beach island just off the coast, on a boat ominously called Piuke... The Brasilian days are over, but they have been quite a treat indeed - see some pictures.

Off to a hot winter...

On August 29, TAP flies me from Lisbon to Recife in 7 hours and throws me from a rather cold European summer into a hot and steamy Brazilian winter, 8 degrees south of the equator (btw, the strangest thing for me in this part of the world would be that daylight always ends around 6pm - almost never get home from work in daylight??). Lucilene picks me up at the airport and offers me a delightful "Recife in less than 2 days" program (see the pictures). A lunch with two colleagues at a colorful Brasilian restaurant starts it off and offers so many specialties on a buffet (with some Caipirinhas), that I cannot list a single one any more - but they are all delicious. Touring old Recife reveals a great history involving not only the Portuguese and Dutch, but also the first synagogue on the American continent, thanks to Mauricio Nassau's tolerance for Jews in the 16th century. An excursion to Olinda provides superb views of the cute village and of the coast, plus a succulent lunch (lobster-stuffed pumpkin). The final highlight is a visit at sun set to Francisco Brennand's impressive sculptures and (much more fascinating) paintings. Next time, I promise to reserve enough time to go to Porto de Galhinas, the seemingly beautiful beach that used to be the landing for the slaves ("chicken"). But this will require the more leisurely pace of a business trip.