Trees, humans, dogs: Lake Geneva Switzerland 19 November 2008
Quick quiz, not too tough: are there more tree trunks or human legs or dog paws here?
And while you’re reflecting on it, check out the GenevaLunch photo albums, including the newest, Lake Geneva collection.
As with most GenevaLunch photos, you can view it larger by clicking on the image.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - “My Terminator speech was not an icebreaker, it was a bone breaker,” says John Zimmer of his first place International Toastmasters presentation in Bamberg, Germany 15 November. Zimmer, a Canadian who works at the International Migration Office, battled his way, mentally and physically, through three knockout rounds with eight finalists from 18 Toastmasters clubs in Europe, but the physical effort had to do with the fact that his speech featured Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator.
Swiss National Bank, 2008
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Household wealth, measured in terms of assets, grew more slowly in 2007 than in 2006, Swiss National Bank figures released this week show. Net financial assets per capita amounted to roughly
CHF171,000.
Update 20 November 2008 Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - A 17-year-old Swiss employee in Crissier was kidnapped at knifepoint as he left work Tuesday, early in the evening. Employees noted the license number and called police, and a largescale manhunt was quickly underway. Lausanne newspaper 24 Heures Wednesday reported that the youth was lifted in front of Media Markt, where he works, and today’s paper says at least one of the men who kidnapped him was a fellow employee; police say they are still trying to establish the facts.
Montreux, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The new Montreux Jazz Festival poster is out, designed by award-winning illustrator Tomi Ungerer, possibly best known for his children’s books but also famous for his advertising work.
The festival also announced the dates for the 2009 programme: 3-18 July.
Geneva, Switzerland (Tribune de Geneve, Fre) - The Tribune carries a story today about a concierge in Eaux-Vives who lost the family jewels and well over CHF3,000 when thieves took the family safe, a 110kg box that was bolted to the ground and wall. According to the paper, a safe is no safe place for valuables in the city, where thieves steal 5 to10 of them a week.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - 15-16 November was the big annual watch auctions weekend in Geneva and it appears that the gloomy economy is not hurting the fine watches business. Sotheby’s brought down the gavel on CHF6.875 million in sales.
Updated 15 November Switzerland, (Swissinfo) - The 2008 revised guidelines for the Swiss Army, known in Switzerland as Nosologia Militaris, which rule out people unfit for mililtary service, are out and not everyone is happy about them. If you are vegan, forget about the army, but if you are vegetarian you are in.
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The Euro 2008 football cup will serve as a model for future large sports events and marked a turning point in terms of sustainability, a report on the event concludes. It praises Austria, Switzerland and the eight host cities for their efforts, pointing in particular to the 65-80 percent use of public transport, reusable drinks containers and solar panels, and good access for wheel chairs.
Lesotho I diamond set in a ring by Harry Winston, Sotheby's November 2008 auction in Geneva
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - This is one of the big weeks in the year for Geneva’s international art market, with auctions taking place at lakefront hotels in Geneva for top-end watches, jewelry and antiques. The world will be watching closely to see if the art market here reflects the economic downturn. Wednesday , a Francis Bacon self-portrait that was expected to sell for $40 million was pulled from a Christie’s auction in New York when it reached only $27.4m, to gasps from the crowd.
Geneva, Switzerland (20 Minutes, Fre) - Geneva, like the rest of Switzerland, has been told to reduce the number of places it offers refugees as a result of a September 2006 Swiss-wide popular referendum. But the obligation since January 2008 to reduce the housing the canton provides, coupled with an increase of 284 refugees during the third quarter of 2008, is giving the canton with the country’s worst housing shortage a major logistical headache, reports 20 Minutes.
Lausanne, Switzerland (TSR, Fre) - One-third of schools in canton Vaud were affected Tuesday as civil servants took to the streets again to protest the new salary grid. The crowd, estimated by TSR at 8-10,000 people, is one of the largest in the series of protests that began in January 2008.
Vevey, Switzerland (Le Matin, Fre) - A man found guilty of killing his mother the day before Christmas, a friend of hers who was a witness to the crime, and his sister, whose body has never been found, has had his life sentence confirmed in a court of appeal.
Paris, France (Tribune de Geneve/AFP, Fre) - A TGV fast train from Paris to Perpignon hit two cement blocks placed on the tracks late Sunday night. It is the latest act of vandalism following several Saturday, but there were no injuries and little damage was done to the tracks or the train.
Young Scouts on weekend ski trip in Valais, 2007
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Children 10-14 years old in Switzerland associate sports with pleasure, says a new study by the federal sports office, but they don’t get enough exercise, with 14% of children doing no more than the obligatory three hours of physical education at school. The percentage in French-speaking areas who do at least three hours a week is far lower than in German-speaking areas: 53% versus 80%.
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Switzerland’s top winemaker is oenologue Madeleine Gay, cellarmaster at the country’s largest cooperative, Provins, in Sion. She was awarded the honour of “Swiss winemaker of the year” Friday evening at the annual Swiss Wine Night in Zurich, when the country’s finest wines are named by the Grand Prix du Vin Suisse competition.
Switzerland, shortly before the Simplon pass to Italy, 1 November 2008
Lake Geneva region (GenevaLunch) - November is here, with its gray skies, chilly air but also its changeability.
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - More than 100,000 people are officially unemployed in Switzerland, and the number could go higher.
Lausanne, Switzerland (24 Heures, Fre) - One of the more curious inventions for moving people into a museum is under consideration in Lausanne: a cup and saucer ferry, without pilot and run by tele-command, could operate between the M2 metro stop in Ouchy and the new fine arts museum to be built along the lakefront.
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Switzerland’s best winemaker will be named Friday night at a gala event, the annual Swiss Wine Night, when the Grand Prix du Vin Suisse awards are handed out. The Grand Prix is the country’s main wine competition and the three top winning wines in 11 categories, from 66 finalists, will be announced.
Zurich, Switzerland (Tribune de Geneve/ats, Fre) - A 16-year-old who killed an 18-year-old during the Street Parade in Zurich in 2007 has been sentenced to four years without possibility of parole in the juvenile detention centre where he has been held since his arrest.
Nyon, Vaud, Switzerland (24 Heures, Fre) - Later shopping hours were axed for the Euro 2008 football championship in June but Nyon has agreed to them for Christmas.
Buchillon, Vaud, Switzerland (TSR, Fre) - The commune of Buchillon has long had one of the lowest tax rates in Canton Vaud but that is about to change radically: the village will soon double its communal tax rate to 126%. The news could be good for taxpayers, rather than bad, in theory.
Professor Jacques Piccard, explorer and inventor, died at his home on the banks of Lake Geneva 1 November, aged 86.
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - One of the popular attractions at the World Expo 2010 Shanghai, the largest-ever world fair, could well be a Swiss cablecar that “in a few seconds” will take visitors from city to countryside, playing on one of the fair’s themes: rural and urban interaction.
