Evento corporativo

Ayer estuve en la fiesta de verano del trabajo, donde nos invitaron a una barbacoa en un pequeño pueblo cercano a Fráncfort, con muchos juegos para los niños y los "no-tan-niños". No estaba muy convencido de ir, pero como no tenía muchos otros planes para ese día y como no había estado nunca (y siempre hay que intentar casi todo, aunque sea una vez en la vida), me decidí a ir.

Lo más cómodo fue que fui en el coche de nuestra secretaria: un Audi TT, que me hizo sentir como la consorte de un futbolista durante un tiempo. No pasó nada en especial, pero salí más convencido aún de que la ausencia de limitación de velocidad en las autopistas alemanas es realmente muy peligrosa.

Volviendo al evento, durante algunos momentos parecía desarrollarse dentro de una película de banqueros de Wall Street, donde todos aparentan felicidad en acontecimientos como estos, en compañía de sus adorables esposas e hijos (aunque ya me enteré de unos cuantos que ponen los cuernos a sus respectivas). Apareció un alto directivo e inmediatamente fue interceptado por alguien tratando de ascender rápidamente en el trabajo. Gracias a Dios no hubo discurso de las altas esferas como en las películas, pero por momentos fue lo único que faltaba para redondear la apariencia de felicidad plena.

Lo que tampoco se ve en las películas es la retransmisión de un partido como el Alemania - Inglaterra, de ayer domingo. Ahí estaba yo apoyando a los ingleses en un auditorio con un 80% de alemanes. ¿Por qué apoyaba a la Pérfida Albión? Porque los alemanes son muy pesados con su selección, son pesados hasta la naúsea. En cuanto un jugador pasa el medio campo empiezan a aplaudir y siempre que marcan gol aparece alguien agitando una bandera (de la RFA, por cierto). Ahora se me plantea la duda de apoyar a Alemania (con lo pesados que son) o a Argentina (con Maradona y Messi a la cabeza, nada más y nada menos).

Otra cosa negativa de este evento ha sido que me he traído una alergia colgando y ahora mismo tengo la garganta inflamada, los ojos secos y me pica todo el cuerpo... Espero que no sea la garrapata austriaca esa que anda suelta por ahí. En fin, está claro que no estoy hecho como los personajes de las películas de banqueros.

Ah, me olvidada... Para apagar la barbacoa que hicimos (que tampoco fue para tanto) acudieron cinco bomberos con sus mangueras y su camión.

Abitare nella Germania

Questa è la seconda volta che abito nella Germania e dopo tre mesi penso che possa scrivere qualcosa sulle differenze tra la vita spagnola e tedesca. Non voglio dire che abitare nella Germania sia meggio o peggio che nella Spagna, è soltanto diverso. Cominciamo...

Adesso che siamo nella Coppa del Mondo di Calcio si permette di festeggiare fino all'una della notte. Guau, che festa! Ma quando dico fino'all una, voglio dire veramente che all'una e cinque nessuno canta o urla o salta, tutti vanno in ordine a casa. Questa forma di finire con la festa sarebbe impossibile nella Spagna.

Questi giorni è arrivato l'estate, dopo una lunga attesa e quindi comincia a fare un po' di caldo. Alcuni tedesco hanno l'abitudine di prendere il sole nel balcone della sua casa nuoti, senza niente, offrendo uno spettacolo a volte non troppo bello ai vecini. Questo sembra di essere normale, come direi mia amica Sofía. In generale, i tedeschi non hanno molto pudore.

Anche in relazione con questo tema, ogni settimana cerco di andare a nuotare un po' nella piscina vicina a mia casa. Il primo giorno, dopo cinque secondi nell'acqua (non esagero), una tedesca mi ha spiegato come nuotare senza disturbare agli altri. In Spagna nessuno si avvicina a te per spiegarte questo, ma anche, prima o dopo, tutto viene organizzato.

Per finire per oggi, due giorni fa ho visto come la polizia ha multato ai cicliste che non circulavano correttamente. Anche due colleghi spagnoli da me hanno stato multati per non rispetare il semafore per piedoni. Sembra che bisogna avere cura dei semafori perche la polizia siempre ci guarda.

Questo è tutto per oggi. So che forse non sia molto ne molto interessante. Cercherò di farlo meglio la prossima volta.

On the way to Mechelen

This weekend I have been visiting my friend Saskia, his husband Peter and their cute babies Amélie and Joaquin. For me it was the first visit in more than 12 months and you can easily imagine how much babies change in this period of time (now they are just 18 months old). It has been a very nice weekend in Mechelen, despite the long trip with the train across Germany and Belgium (and back).

On the experiencies with the train, I would like to highlight firstly the great seat I got on the trip from Frankfurt to Brussels: just after the cockpit of the train. I was there, watching the driver guide the train at, sometimes, 300 km/h. Today, on the way back, I had to take four trains (Mechelen-Brussels, Brussels-Cologne, Cologne-Cologne and Cologne-Frankfurt) and it was not so funny; mainly because the Belgian Thalys is not as cosy and modern as the German ICE.

Also on the train trip today to Brussels I have gone through the worst areas in Brussels (Schaarbek, or similar). It was not such a pleasant experience to watch prostitutes showing themselves in glasses, to see idle people in corners of the street, people around the station,... It is obvious that all the major cities in Europe have a dark side (for example, Frankfurt around Hauptbahnhof), but I got today the impression that Brussels's one may be too large.

But let's take the positive part of the trip, which I have really enjoyed and which I will likely repeat in the short-term.

Vacanze in Roma

This is the title of a famous film of the 50s, where Gregory Peck enjoyed the city of Rome during its holidays. Once my work in Rome was done (see previous post), I could enjoy for a weekend all that Rome has to offer to the visitor, including a comprehensive lesson of History.

I would start by number 7, my favourite number and also an important number in Rome. There are seven hills, seven Roman kings (before Roman Empire), seven obelisques (no, not original, but borrowed from Egypt), seven churches,... Everything in Rome has something to do with number seven.

Main attractions of Rome are well known by everybody: Fori Imperiali, Colosseo, Piazza di Spagna, Piazza Venezia, Fontana de Trevi, Piazza Navona, Panteon, Bocca della Verità, Vatican City,... But there are two which are a bit outside the traditional circuits but which also deserve some attention: Teatro Marcello, a small replica of the Colosseo with houses on the top floor, and Via Margutta, the street of the artists, just behind Piazza di Spagna.

From the typical ones, I would highlight three. Firstly, Fontana de Trevi. According to the tradition, if you want to come back to Rome, you must throw a coin over your shoulder: I did it this time. I was three times in the Fontana, two quite late at night and it was in my visit during the day that I could come close to the fountain itself; it was surprisingly crowded during the night. When I was there during the day, as it was quite hot, I decided to sit for a while just on the edge of the fountain, which was quite wet and when I got up again I realized that my trousers were then totally wet, giving the impression that...Panthéon (or "temple of all Gods", I like the name, for those who just play on the safe side) is also a remarkable building. It was built more than 2000 years ago and it is a perfect work of architecture. It has a hole on top, to let light enter into the building (as it has no windows at all). In case of rain, there are small holes in the floor just under the hole to allow water to be filtered outside. Unfortunately, this part of the building was closed for visits and I had to believe what my tourist guide says.

Lastly, I must mention St. Peter in Vatican City. It goes much beyond any other church or cathedral in the world. Cologne's or Strasbourg's cathedrals are really breathtaking, but St. Peter plays in another league. There are masterpieces everywhere and not a single centimetre of it is uncovered with an artistical work. Also remarkable are the clothing controls to get inside, up to three, very strict in terms of mini-skirts and T-shirts. I must admit that I somehow favour these controls, because it must not be forgotten that overall St. Peter is a religious place, not an attraction for tourists, and therefore due respect shall be given.

To sum up, because this post is getting really long, please go to Rome and spend some days there: it is worth it! Living there must quite a different issue, since the city does not seem so comfortable in terms of traffic, supermarkets,... But that's a different story (keep in mind the title of this post).

Arriving (late or early) in Rome

My second visit to Rome did not have a pleasant start. I was having an exam on Wednesday afternoon and therefore I had to take the latest flight between Frankfurt and Rome, with an expected landing at midnight. However, there was a huge storm over Frankfurt that night, with strong thunders, rain and wind, what implied a delay of four hours for my flight.

Yeah, your Maths do not deceive you: I landed at 4 am in the morning... Trying to find something positive in it, the delay allowed me to enjoy some parts of Rome free of tourists during the taxi trip to the hotel, namely San Giovanni in Laterano.

Beyond the delay, what really struck me was the reaction of the other passengers in the plane. They were doing nothing during the two hours we were just seated in the plane waiting for the Frankfurt airport to open again: not a single complain, not a single sigh, nothing. It seems this tameness goes with the German character (together, among others, with their atavistic fear of inflation).Those first two days were mainly devoted to work, without really much to highlight. We had an amazing guided tour through Musei Capitolini, where the amount of valuable pieces is so high that you walk through them without even realising. We were told that the statue of Marco Aurelio (Ed Harris in film "Gladiator") kept in Musei Capitolini (see picture below) was the only one surviving the Middle Age just because they mistook him by Constantino. I find this story a bit hard to believe, since people in the Middle Age could be illiterate but not blind (and there are evident differences between the two Roman emperors).After some more work on Friday morning, in the afternoon, I went to Termini train station to meet my friend Federica and that was the time where the real visit started. In the way there I could suffer Roman hot, dressed with my dark suit. I must admit it was not so nice...

Suis-je devenu allemand?

Ces jours je suis allé à Guadalajara, chez mes parents pour me détendre un peu. Mais le résultat n'est pas été très satisfaisant. Maintenant j'ai peur d'être devenu allemand après deux mois en habitant à Francfort. Pour quoi? Parce que le beau temps castillan (bon, la chaleur de 35º) m'ai tombé malade. En plus de la réclusion obligatoire chez moi entre les 11am et les 18pm pour la chaleur, mon nez èst devenu un robinet et aussi la tête e les yeux m'ont fait mal.

Peut-être qu'il soit une allergie neuve (pas de contact avec les vers à soie, ma vrai faiblesse) ou peut-être qu'il soit un rhume normale, mais c'est egal. Je ne me suis pas amusé ces jours en Espagne et quand je suis arrivé à l'aeroport de Francfort, tout ça est allé et je me sentais mieux.

Sara-t-il trop tard pour me sauver? Finirai-je en aimant la bière? Je dirais que non, mais je commence à avoir des doutes...