Seoul, Korea

Been here several times but last visit goes back to 5 years ago. Seoul is gigantic; well over 10M people, a quarter of the country’s population. It has changed again. New airport - Incheon: 3rd one since I came here first is 1993. Fascinating place on many accounts, one close to my professional interests: communications technology. Ahead of everybody else in terms of applications. True convergence of entertainment and telecoms; largest mobile operator, SK Telecom, bought biggest entertainment production outfit a few years back. It is clear for them that money is in the content, rather than in the “pipes” business! Highest broadband penetration in the world. I used to say in briefings “if you want to see the future, go to Korea!”

Splendid, sunny and crisp day on arrival from Hong-Kong. Staying at Grand Hotel Intercontinental, South of the River (I stayed there in the past or at the Shilla, when I had a choice). A free weekend ahead of me. http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/intercontinental/en/gb/locations/overview/seoul-grand) Dinner with Steve, old colleague at local office of Motorola; at Marco Polo, Italian restaurant at the hotel.

Discovered the subway, by far the fastest way to get around and beat the traffic, which can be daunting in Seoul. Did not take long to figure out how it works – easy. Decided to go visit one the 4 or 5 major palaces in the city, the Gyeongbokgung Palace (built in 1394, the oldest palace of the Joseon Dynasty, one of the longest Korean dynasties – 1392-1910, I learn). It’s in the North of the city – roughly 40 minutes by subway from the Intercon. It’s raining; spent some time first in the National Palace Museum of Korea, adjacent to the Palace, refurbished and re-opened in 2005; mainly focused on the Joseon Dynasty artefacts (http://www.gogung.go.kr/eng/index.jsp) Lunch at the Museum Cafe; local dish; dumpling soup; good.

Can’t visit much of the Palace; raining hard. Waited under cover for a televised re-enactment of the “Royal Marriage between King Sukjong and Queen Inhyeon” to start in the Palace; obviously a big affair, involving hundreds of figurants (see pictures above), sponsored by the Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation (http://www.fpcp.or.kr/foreign/eng/fpcp03.htm) After their several attempts to get the show going, always interrupted by recurring rain, I fold up and went for a warm coffee next door (lots of art galleries around, on the East side of the Palace grounds, on Samcheongdonggil street).

Better weather to go for lunch with Simon, old professional contact, a Québécois who has made Korea his home. Korean lunch in Insa-Dong; touristy but enjoyable walk along the car-free streets, bordered by shops and galleries; stopped by one, a contact of Simon – delicate paper and textile artefacts. Swung by Itaewon market on the way back to the hotel, but not much shopping, except for a pair of leather gloves – not in the mood...

Breakfast with Embassy rep; Ambassador, a good friend, in Canada on a typical country tour. Done my business with local society, KOMCA, on Monday. Flight back to Toronto via Vancouver. Celebrated (!) birthday in the air – not the first time...
Oct 28, 2008

Shanghai - Fall 2008

Shanghai, October 2008

Shanghai, Sunday, October 19. Long flight in, from Toronto via Vancouver (could not get on the direct flight). Door-to-door, close to 24 hours. Arrived on time. New terminal at Pudong airport – Terminal 2, opened this year in April. Very spacious of course, long walk from the gate to the immigration hall though. Half an hour to get through immigration, in a queue of some 150 people; quite efficient. Smiling young immigration officers...with a little electronic pad by the side of the wicket, to indicate how satisfied or dissatisfied you were with the service – I pressed “highly satisfied” as the young smiling officer looked up! All in all, an hour from arrival to the car.

45 minutes drive to the Intercontinental Pudong. Pudong has expanded again, blocs after blocs of modern apartment buildings, still all showing that definitely “Chinese characteristic” of looking old very quickly! Around the hotel, Pudong looks very much like a settled city. The hotel, I am told by the staff, was built 12 years ago and was the first 5-star hotel on Pudong (had never stayed here before, preferring the Hyatt in the wonderful Jingmao Tower.) The Mori building – stripped from the offending open circle at the top, which was associated with the Japanese “rising sun”, symbol of Nippon imperialism, replaced by an open rectangle in its second design – now graces the skyline of Pudong, since my last visit there in 2004 (see for a bit more http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_World_Financial_Center).

Typical Shanghai weather – overcast but still warm at this time of the year (20-25 centigrade). Formula One Grand Prix time in Shanghai. I gathered that British Lewis Hamilton of McLaren-Mercedes won today, ahead of the 2 Ferraris. He apparently dominated the event, putting him in reach (2 weeks from now in Brazil) of becoming the youngest F1 world champion, leading in the points after this penultimate race this year – we will wish him better luck than last year... (One thing sure, we won’t see him in Canada next year, as Montreal was skipped in the line-up of F1 Grand Prix tour for 2009 – Montreal and Quebec politicians are trying to wrestle it back: it’s going to cost...) This is the 5th F1 GP in Shanghai, ran on the Shanghai International Circuit, in the south-west of the city, built at the cost of some US$300M in the early 2000’s, as I recall.

Looking at my itinerary for the next 2 days, deciding how to go back and forth between Pudong, where I am staying, and Puxi, the “old” Shanghai; thinking of using the subway to go from one to the other, as it proved on my last visit here, 4 years ago, to be best way to cope with the enormous car traffic in the city, especially crossing the Huangpu river (which reminds me I wrote a piece on Shanghai back then, having spent a month or so with Laurence & Eric during her time at Jiaotung University learning Mandarin – I reproduced it on this blog going back to 2007). Looking at a Metro map, I am struck by the extent of the network now, with some 9 lines and more under construction, and easily more than 100 stations. To think that when I left Shanghai in 1988, they were completing their first ever line (going east-west across old Shanghai; Bombardier had been then amongst the 5 contenders for the job – we lost to the Germans who literally “bought” the project with incredible subsidized government financing; but eventually Bombardier won “the war” when it bought the German company, AdTranz(?), a few years latter!)

Monday, October 20.
Metro ride from Hotel to Nanjing East road/Bund: 10 min walk from Intercontinental Pudong to Century Ave station; train every 4 min.; train ride: 7 min.; walk to Bund: 10 min. Total less than half hour! Peace Hotel closed for major renovations (has been for more than a year, and probably by the look of it another year or so; ownership/management taken over by Fairmont Group). So no lunch on the 8th floor Chinese restaurant – a tradition every time I come to Shanghai. (Had my first Shanghai meal there, in 1979) Had lunch (and xiao lung bao!) at the Tai Wan Lou nearby (at 18 Zhong Shan Dong Yi Road), one of those new chic (Chinese) restaurants in renovated old colonial buildings on the Bund, turned into high temples of “New China” conspicuous consumerism (with their Armani and similar branded stores)! And beggars outside...

Chinese trying to cope with rural/urban divide – major problem and source of serious social tensions. Reading in Shanghai Daily that Communist Party’s Central Committee has announced this weekend what will surely be a landmark change of policy. It will allow farmers to assign their land-lease arrangements, or transfer their land-use rights. This is the other shoe falling, after Deng Xiao Ping’s initial agricultural reform some 30 years ago that de-collectivized land by giving it back in parcels to individual farmers. Along with this, the policy does away with the 50-year old “household-administration system” which tied farmers (and everybody else) to a particular place of residence, thus denying them any kind of social services support were they to move outside of that place of residence. Which meant that farmers seeking or getting work in cities – a phenomenon of large scale since the beginning of modernization – were not entitled to get any social benefits (health; schooling for the kids, etc.) The official number of such displaced farmers: 210 million out of 950 million “registered” farmers! Will obviously be a bonanza for farmers who choose to leave the farm. Good policy move. Much resides though in the execution. The fear is that this opens the door to concentration of agricultural land (a good thing if you see it in terms of economies of scale and increased productivity – this may be a major boost to extensive agro-business in China) and, more threatening, to possible diversion of such land to other uses (e.g. real estate development or industrial use). The Chinese government vows to have “the most stringent farmland-protection system” in place, an ominous pronouncement in itself...

Concerns about the financial crisis in the west and the looming recession also abound in the local press. As China becomes more integrated to the world economy, fear is that the slowing down is going to affect exports and FDI. Growth in China has come down from a high of 10%, to (Oh my god!) a mere 9%! Even at that, as pointed out by one of the people I met, exports do not account for much still in the Chinese economy, and therefore the country remains pretty insular. May be true generally, but still, trade does account for anywhere between 12% to 20% of GNP. The trend of greater integration is there and cannot be without some consequences...What is remarkable though, comparing to only a decade or ago, is the position that China is now in as a prime engine of the global economy, and how pretty it is sitting with its high growth, trade surplus, and record high-level foreign exchange reserves!

Visited the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center on the People’s Square, between 2 meetings nearby. Big splash illustrating preparation under way for the 2010 International Expo (“The Path to World Expo”; site on both sides of the Huangpu further up the river). One of the incredible sights: a huge scaled model of the whole city of Shanghai filling the entire floor - the Bund is lost across the towering skyscrapers in Pudong! (Picked up Lynn Pan’s latest book, Shanghai Style, Art and Design Between the Wars, 2008)
Private dinner with the Canadian Consul General at the Official Residence. Nice flat at the top of Grosvernor House, a tastefully renovated art deco apartment building part of the Jin Jiang Hotel complex – I wish I had those gigs during my time...My old cook (Xiao Zhao) still around and very happy to prepare some of my favourite dishes (including chocolate chip cookies for desert – I think that was more for the kids but anyway they were good!)

Tuesday October 21, 2008
Took the Maglev to the airport, the magnetic levitation train sensation (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_Transrapid) . Intercontinental Pudong to station by cab: 25 min. A train every 15 min. 50RMB. Travel time to Airport: 7min 10 sec. Reached speed of 431km/h in 3 min 15 sec. Total time hotel to airport: 45 min. Equal or better than a cab from the hotel by about 15 min depending on traffic...

Stratford Festival – 4e acte

Stratford Festival – 4e acte
Dernier saut à Stratford pour l’année. Cynthia doit s’y rendre en service commandé. En profitons pour revoir une deuxième fois Hamlet. Apprécions encore plus. J’aime bien ce Hamlet un peu moins sombre et lourd que traditionnellement et un peu plus « névrosé », qu’interprète ce jeune acteur venu du Shaw Festival, Ben Carlson. Toujours aussi troublé par le besoin de venger le meurtre de son père, et tout aussi frustré dans son incapacité de s’exécuter, jusqu’à la toute fin.
Et puis de retour à Toronto, la couleur de l’automne. Promenade dans les sentiers près du jardin botanique. C’est l’Action de grâce. Y fait beau. Les gens en profitent. Surtout les chinois – on pourrait facilement se croire de retour en Asie! Le feuillage est embrassé (jetez un coup d’œil sur Flikr : http://www.flickr.com/photos/bourlingue/sets/72157608032047334/). Dîner de circonstance à la maison. Cynthia cuit la dinde de rigueur. La sœur de Cynthia, Monique, est en ville. On invite un ami, Steven, chinois d’origine mais né au Canada. Agréable.

Une Action de grâce tout en couleurs - Thanksgiving 2008

Un dernier saut à Stratford, le 4e et dernier de la saison, pour moi à tout événement. Cynthia en service commandé. En profitons pour revoir Hamlet une deuxième fois cette saison. Encore plus captivé par la performance de Ben Carlson - il donne à son Hamlet une touche plus exhaltante que l'interprétation conventionnelle, se laissant aller au bout de ces sentiments de colère et d'abjection que lui inspire le meurtre de son père et son obsession de le venger.

And then the colours of Fall! Truly blessed this year, with a magnificent weather for the long week-end. Took very much advantage

Diner de famille à New York!

New-York City, le 29 septembre 2008: dernier étape de ce périple de 15 jours, après Munich, Berlin et Malte. A New-York, me retrouve habituellement, et bien évidemment, avec Dominique, Laurence et Eric - cette fois chez L & E pour dîner. Repas aux pâtes, fraichement faites à la maison, excusez-moi! On met tous la main à la pâte, littéralement! Laurence à la cuisine, qui y prépare également une belle sauce aux champignons. Et voila - Délicieux! Vous ne pouvez en juger que par les photos! On arrose le tout de quelques vins, entre autres un vin rouge bien corsé de Malte (un merlot Nexus 2005, du vignoble Meridiana).

Gozo Island, Malta

Gozo Island – September 27 & 28, 2008

(For more pictures of Gozo, see

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bourlingue/sets/72157607733303534/)
Second island of Malta; 30,000 people on, I’d say, one quarter the size of Malta Island. You reach it in less than half hour ferry ride from the northern tip of Malta Island. This is the country side, the place where Maltese from the big island come for weekends and holidays. A series of quaint villages – some more than others – well dispersed around the island. Each of them with its dominating church – the Parish Church of St-John the Baptist and its vast dome in Xewkija can be seen from just about anywhere on the island - it is striking! All made of the same material and of the same color, old and new construction: limestone offering a variation of soft yellows. Dry climate, not a tree in sight, agricultural land outside villages for cultivation of vegetables, wheat and barley, the occasional fruit groves, and, more and more, grapes (the wines of Malta were a very pleasant discovery indeed). Staying at the Grand Hotel, overlooking the harbour in the town Mgarr – great view from the room’s terrace.

Rented a car (36 Euros a day flat – they don’t bother with mileage or gas charges as you can’t go very far anyway!) and Cynthia drove us around (driving on the “wrong” side of the road did not bother her, having lived in Singapore for many years!) The citadel (Il-Kastell) in Victoria, a large fortification complex, including the ubiquitous church, overlooking the town and the surrounding country, built during the Knights period, to protect the local inhabitants from Pirates’ raids – for a while people of Victoria and the surroundings had, by law, to come and spend the night in the Citadel, to avoid being killed or taken away as slaves by raiders. Toured several of the towns – never very far from each other: Victoria, Kercem, Santa Lucija, San Lawrenz, Marsalforn, Xaghra, Nadur, Xewkija, most inland. On the sea, the only sand beach of the island, Ramla Bay, on the north shore (we spent a sunny Sunday morning there – dark sand and a few people enjoying the cool air and lovely sight), and Dwerja Point on the west coast, a rugged scenery with a spectacular huge natural arch carved out of the rock, the Azure Window (which we saw at dusk).

Could not leave the island before visiting the megalithic Ggantija temples, the largest ones on the island, remnants of a civilisation going back to the 4th millennium BC. We learned that these are the oldest standing religious structure in the world, preceding the Pyramids and Stonehenge. A rock-pile complex quite impressive in size, considering how far back this goes – the locals of the time thought these 2 temples were built by giants, hence the name in Malti.

An island we may come back to...

Restaurants: Munich – Berlin – Malta
In Munich: Vianiolo, as guest of GEMA; Rue des Halles, with Cristina and Andreas.
In Berlin: Hashir, Turkish.
Malta: Bacchus in Mdena with Catherine & Claude. Zest, Hotel Juliani in St-Julians, great Asian food, with SOCAN & CISAC team. L-Ghonolla in Palazzo Spinola. Barracuda in Sliema with Ron & Marlène, and Eric. Paranga, with Keith H.; Rupino in Valetta; Fumia, lunch with Jos Dimajo. In Gozo: Ta’ Frenc’ & It Tmun in Victoria

A lunch with Canada’s Honorary Consul in Malta

A lunch with Canada’s Honorary Consul in Malta – September 24, 2008

Old professional deformation you will say, but had to call on the local Canadian Government representative, in this case an honorary consul, rather than an assigned envoy from Canada, usually chosen for his/her influence locally, and capacity to provide some services on behalf of the Government, for instance consular support to resident or visiting Canadians. His name is Joseph M Demajo. Had a half-hour rendez-vous scheduled with him; ended up to be a lunch at a restaurant nearby he took us to! Mr Demajo is Head of a large diversified commercial group. His office in an ancient spacious house, a converted palazzo, in the heart of Valetta, close to the Palace, filled with antique furniture, paintings and drawings of knights of St-John. Well served by very efficient assistant, Morena, and consular officer Alfred. Turned out M. Demajo cuts quite a figure: very dapper at 72 years old, lively piercing eyes, quick-minded, interested and knowledgeable in every subject we touched on, aand by all evidence, a successful businessman; he is head of a company he grew with his brother, inherited from his father, Michel, the founder. Interests in shipping, foreign trade, printing, real estate, etc (see http://www.demajo.com/) World traveller, avid fisherman – he regaled us with his story of fishing salmon off the coast of British Columbia with his wife who caught a 12-pound one, which he had the chef at the Pan Pacific hotel prepared in every possible way and served to them that night, and every other guest in the restaurant, to everyone’s delight! –; you should have heard him disputing with the waiter at the restaurant whether the local sea bass we were about to eat was wild, “semi-wild” or farmed!

Loves walking in nature – that is why he goes to Gozo over the weekends where he has a house and an apartment (he used to live there actually, commuting by helicopter everyday) spent the summer in the Alps in Switzerland. Cynthia understood that he was one of the knights; if he is not, he comes from a family that came to Malta in the early 16th century, originating from Spain, after a short stay in Italy. His ancestor, who became the curator of St-John’s cathedral, is buried in the cathedral’s cemetery, a few streets away: quite something to think that the family has been here for 4 centuries and never moved around more than a few blocks!

Learned quite a bit about Malta and Canada: 4000 Canadians live on the island, many returnees from previous waves of emigrants to Canada, the latest being in the 60’s and 70’s when the Maltese government paid people to leave the islands – out of fear of over-population. Dimajo was appointed Hon Consul in 1982, having proved himself quite useful to the Canadian Trade Commissioner and the Ambassador of the day; he was actually an importer of Canadian goods, Philips Cable, and pipe manufacturer Canron, to fulfill contracts he had secured to outfit the island. Not as much in business with Canada anymore, although he is representing Bombardier (aircraft division I presume)

Curious as he is, enquired about Stratford Festival, Cynthia’s role, its financing; lead to Montserrat who wrote about the Festival in 1963 while living in Ottawa, and who also lived for a few years in Gozo where he wrote one of his most celebrated books, The Kapillan of Malta, which Cynthia is reading. Remarkable coincidence: Montserrat’s widow, Anne, who still lives here is a very close friend of Dimajo; he would have liked us to meet her, had we stayed in Malta over this weekend! Full of advice: real estate, what to see – went to see The Malta Experience at his suggestion, a 45 minute video on the history of Malta, quite a tourist attraction (that is "his baby" as he put it!) – and where to eat (2 recommendations for Gozo: Ta’ Frenc’ and It Tmun (“say hello to Patrick for us”, the owner of It Tmun who happens to be Canadian-born – but that is another story!)

Un Te Deum à Malte

Un Te Deum à Malte – 21 septembre 2008

A Malte depuis hier, pour une série de rencontres tout au cours de la semaine, sous l’égide de la CISAC. Profite de cette journée libre pour visiter les points forts de cette remarquable contrée, perdue sur ces quelques îles dans la Méditerranée. Valletta, première ville « planifiée » d’Europe, ville-forteresse construite en un temps record par les Chevaliers de St-Jean au milieu du 16e siècle pour se prémunir d’une attaque par les turcs Ottomans, et qui devait bien les servir lors du Grand Siège de 1565, victoire des maltais qui devait marquer le début de la fin de l’empire ottoman, et le commencement de plus de 200 ans de régime par les Chevaliers de St-Jean sur Malte (Charles Quint leur avait fait don de l’île en 1530 après que les Chevaliers aient été évincés de Rhodes par Soliman le Magnifique; Napoléon, en occupant l’île, mettra fin à leur régime en 1798.)

Assistons à la messe à la co-cathédrale de St-Jean, qui s’avère être une grande messe Te Deum, vu qu’il s’agit que c’est le jour de la fête nationale (« Independence Day ») et que le tout-Malte s’y trouve, à commencer par le Président du pays, Dr. Edward Fenech-Adami, et l’Archevêque de Malte, Monseigneur Cremona, suivis par toute la classe politique. Tout ce qu’il y a d’officiel, avec parade militaire devant le parvis de la cathédrale. L’idée pour nous était donc de voir cette cathédrale, fermée aux visiteurs les jours de culte – alors comment y entrer sinon en y assistant à une messe! On parle de co-cathédrale, car elle partage cette dénomination avec la co-cathédrale de St-Paul qui se trouve dans l’ancienne capitale, Mdina, cette dernière précédant de quelques centenaires l’attribution de ce titre de siège de l’épiscopat catholique à Malte. Depuis, je pense que la co-cathédrale de St-Jean à pris l’ascendant. Très belle cathédrale, construite par les Chevaliers après le Grand Siège. La façade est plutôt simple, encadrée de ses deux tours, mais l’intérieur, une richesse du baroque maltais. Une nef assez longue mais basse. Chose aussi remarquable, c’est le ciselage des murs aux différents motifs, incluant la croix de St-Jean aux huit pointes, qui crée l’effet d’une immense brocarde qui tapisserait les murs et colonnes de la cathédrale. Arrive à jeter un coup d’œil furtif à l’intérieur du musée de la cathédrale – fermé pour l’occasion – pour voir la peinture peut-être la plus célèbre de Caravaggio, la décapitation de St-Jean Baptiste, presqu’une murale, en background du chœur, aux saillis de lumière éclairant les points dramatiques de la fresque, la tête presque coupée du Saint, le couteau de l’exécuteur, etc. (plus tard dans la semaine, j’aurai la chance d’y revenir et de m’y attarder un peu plus, de même qu’à son « St-Jérôme »).

Faisons un tour sur les fortifications, fort imposantes, dominant les ports qui s’y trouvent, de chaque coté de la ville, construite sur cette presqu’ile, et qui offre une vue imprenable sur les villes d’en face qui elles aussi faisaient partie des fortifications de Malte. Ce qui frappe également, et ceci est vrai pour toute l’île, c’est l’omniprésence du calcaire (« limestone ») et de sa couleur ocre. Tout est construit de cette pierre, murailles comme maisons d’habitation. Même les constructions modernes respectent, sinon le matériau, du moins la couleur (à l’exception de cette tour carrée moderne – la tour Hilton – qui domine St-Julians, ajout exécrable qui dénature tout le panorama!)

Nous nous rendons avec un collègue et sa femme à Mdina, l’ancienne capitale située au « cœur » du pays, mais pas plus de 15 minutes – Malte ne fait pas plus que 300 kilomètres carrés (un peu moins que l’ile de Montréal) – pour y déjeuner – excellent repas de poisson et de vins locaux dans les caves rafraichissantes du restaurant Bacchus - puis visiter la cathédrale de St-Paul et les alentours. La ville historique n’est pas très grande mais vaut amplement une visite, entre autres une large résidence, le Palazzo Falson, remontant au XIIIe siècle, depuis transformée en un riche musée, illustrant les particularités de la vie tout au cours de son histoire.

Le tout sous un soleil chaud, une température autour des 20 degrés, une légère brise, et sans humidité! D’où la réputation de Malte comme ayant le meilleur climat au monde!

Malte a une riche histoire remontant au 5e millenium BC, dont on verra plus tard certains vestiges sur l’île voisine de Gozo. Curieux coïncidence que d’être exposés à tant d’histoire ancienne – la Mésopotamie et Malte – en l’espace d’une semaine…

Babylon at the Pergamon, Berlin

Babylon at the Pergamon, Berlin, September 19, 2008

Probably never been as well-prepared for an exhibition, and it was worth it! “Babylon, Truth and Myth” to call it by its full name, is an exhibition that is held in cooperation between the Louvre in Paris, the British Museum in London and the Pergamon in Berlin over the year (the Louvre earlier this year, the British Museum, later), but it is at the Pergamon that it is the most elaborated, partly because some of the artefacts residing here are not movables (think of the reconstituted, grandeur nature, Ishtar gate), and partly because of the particularly active German archaeological works that were done in the late 19th century, early 20th century (the Germans has a close relationship with the Ottoman empire at the time, thus having privileged access to sites). In effect the exhibition is different from one place to the other, sharing some of the artefacts or copies of them, and organized somewhat differently (the Louvre was chronological, Berlin is organised by theme, and London something else). I had spotted the exhibition several months ago in the Economist (who described it as “a formidable exhibition designed to reconcile Babylonian history and legend: appreciating (Babylonian accomplishments) fully, however, usually means travelling to the Louvre in Paris, the Pergamon Museum in Berlin and the British Museum in London, the three places where the major discoveries from Babylonian civilisation are housed. For a while, this is no longer necessary. It is on show in Paris until June 2nd. It moves to Berlin from June 26th to October 5th and will then be in London from November 13th until March 15th 2009. The organisers claim there has never been an exhibition like it); I had then decided to see it in Berlin if at all possible. We had prepared by reading (fully, in the case of Cynthia!) Johan Oates’ classic opus Babylon (revised edition 1986, Thames & Hudson, London), surfing the net for historical bits and pieces, and lately by listening to the 18-hour, 36 lectures given by Prof. Alexis Q. Castor, Between the Rivers: The History of Ancient Mesopotamia (courtesy of The Learning Company), taking advantage of a long drive to Quebec and back a week or so before to listen to most of them.
The exhibition was everything we had hoped for. We had booked a private tour, which turned out to be a real bonus, as otherwise we could not have covered so thoroughly the exhibition in the limited time we had, plus the fact that the guide, Andreas Knuppel, spent twice as much time with us than that was bargained for! Very good mix, from the monumental – the Ishtar gate and the Procession Way “grandeur nature” – to the minute – all these small clay tablets with microscopic cuneiforms – including the tall basalt column on which is written the Code of Hammurabi (a replica, as the original located at the Louvre was deemed too fragile to be moved), focussing on Gods and Kings, but also on Agriculture and Trade, and day-to-day life.
The most original part of the exhibition is definitely the Myth section, an original attempt at depicting how Babylon has led to various interpretations throughout history, ranging from the recuperation by Judaism of the Jews’ Captivity in Babylon (caused by Nebuchadnezzar the Second, at the end of the 6th century B.C. who destroyed Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem and deported most of the population of Israel to Babylonia) as rendered in the Bible (the “literary revenge” as our guide called it, and concept that struck so much Cynthia), to all the myths surrounding the Babel Tower (which did exist but was not round as first depicted by Peter Brueghel the Elder), to modern-day Saddam Hussein who tried to connect his reign to a revival of the old Babylonian era, including music – remember the celebrated Verdi’s Nabuccho (1842), then Rivers of Babylon (The Melodians), and reggae’s Babylon System & Babylon by Bus (Bob Marley) in the 70’s) Fascinating; supported by paintings from various masters throughout the years (not the Brueghel though that sits somewhere in Vienna) and included a few minutes of D.W. Griffith silent film masterpiece “Intolerance” showing the fall of Babylon with city walls on fire and people being thrown off their height. Most of the myths evolved around the perception that Babylon was the epitome of decadence, sinful and perverse, that was ultimately punished with its destruction because of its excesses (Martin Luther compared the Rome of his day with ancient Babylon). History has a more sedated, probably more accurate, view of things.
All in all, a unique experience. Would have like to bring back the exhibition album, a crushing 2-volume piece, but only available in German, which would have been very frustrating experience to “look” at pictures without being able to read! It is interesting to reconnect with a civilization that is actually the cradle of mankind. We tend to forget or ignore that fact, a civilisation that goes back 6000 to 4000 years before Christ, where agriculture development a thousand years B.C. was as advanced as it was in Europe in the 19th century A.D! History and the world never cease to fascinate!
We were in Berlin less than 24 hours – my 4th visit in 2 years or so – the second for Cynthia. Stayed at Hackescher Mark Hotel, a nice boutique hotel, very close to Museum Island and the Pergamon. Had good lunch at nearby Hashir, a Turkish restaurant dating back to 1970 but fully refurbished (remember, we are in old East Berlin). Turkish restaurants are numerous in Berlin; no wonder: was told later on that Berlin is the 3rd largest “Turkish” city in the world!

A day in Munich.

A day in Munich, September 18, 2008

For some people (Magazine Monocle Issue 05 in 2007), Munich is the top liveable city in the world! It has to do with a combination of investment in infrastructure, high-quality housing, low crime, strong media, and liberal politics; the latter may be true for the city, but not for the bundesländer, Bavaria, which is consistently at the right of the political spectrum, although I understand that the leading conservative party (the Christian Social Union - CSU) may be losing its traditional 50% grip on the popular vote in the coming election, which may force them into a coalition, and weaken Merkel’s chance to stay in power at the next federal election in 2009. Our friends living here (more on them further down) are somewhat sceptical about this appreciation, perhaps too acutely aware of some of the deficiencies of the city (especially when you moved there, having lived in more exotic places such as Singapore!)

For our part, I must admit, the city is attractive, starting with its airport - Terminal 2, only 5 years old – which offered a very smooth process coming in, and going out. You are also quickly reminded that Munich is BMW’s headquarters: every TV screen at each of the baggage conveyor carries BMW ads! Learning that secondary cities in Germany i.e. Munich and Dusseldorf – there are direct flights linking both to Toronto – are much better transit places than frantic, huge Frankfurt, including to Berlin.

Don’t have much time to “discover” the city, but take an hour to stroll to the old city at the core of Munich (that is another feature of the place: if you are not too far from the center of the 1.6M people Greater Munich, you can walk literally anywhere and not need a car. Sighting major attractions: Im Tal lively street leading to Marienplatz where both the old Town Hall and the very ornamented, Gothic style, New Town Hall, built only at the end of the 19th century, stand. The New Town Hall reminds me of some of the architecture found in Belgium, for one reason or another, the Grand Place in Brussels among others. Then up Residenz Street to reach Maximilian Joseph Platz where some of the major “monuments” can be found – the National Theatre, the Residenz Palace itself, which seems to be under renovation. I understand the Residenz to be the palace which was home of the Bavarian rulers for some 400 years starting in 15th century. Came back down on the other side of this historical and cultural complex that is the Residenz, by Marstall Platz, to find the Cuvilliès Theatre, built in the 18th century and in the view of some people the most delightful Rococo style theatre in the world (I will take their word for it as I don’t have time to visit!) The more intriguing part to me is the modern architecture that stands of the left, the Max-Plante Institute among others, which marries well with the old architecture, an interesting melange that many old cities of Europe – Zurich comes to mind – now offer. Meandered along Orlando Street where is the famous beer parlour HofbrauHaus – groups of young people having a good time outside, already started on OktoberFest which officially only begins tomorrow – back to the hotel, the conveniently-located Holiday Inn City Centre



Visit offers unique chance for Cynthia to see an old friend from Singapore, Cristina Hon, who moved here with German husband Andreas, some 8 years ago. Always liked Cristina, so full of life; a chance too for me to meet finally Andreas, delightful, a trained architect whose work has gradually morphed into that of an executive with a locally-based generic medicament manufacturer, with facilities around the world. Sampled some good French fare for dinner at Rue des Halles; wonderful evening reminiscing our time in Singapore and catching up with our respective life. Had lunch with my business hosts, GEMA, not too far from there, at what is known as one of the better Italian restaurants in Munich, Vianiolo – both quite delicious (http://www.vinaiolo.de/).