Well, well, well, it has been a loooong time! Too long, some of you may say, but the creative mind behind those razor-sharp comments and analyses had to rest awhile, get adjusted to the new surrounding and its challenges.
But before we celebrate the return of the traveller, I might add that I will be very busy in the near future, so don’t expect the post count to sky rocket! I will try to do some more frequent updates here, that’s all I can promise right now…
As you can see, not only has the design changed a bit (and might be subject to more changes), I am also now part of the wordpress.com family. The old blog was hosted on a friend’s webpage, and he decided to discontinue it. But don’t worry, all your ol’ and favorite posts made it safe and sound through the import/export process. Concerning the title and the “About” page, I haven’t really thought of anything witty yet, so feel free to give me your opinion about it. I might even consider it… 
Meanwhile, I have returned from my Xmas vacation. Leaving around the 21st, I spent two weeks in Hamburg and London to relax and celebrate the reunion with friends and family. Tradition like the legendary Xmas eve video session as well as food and drink cravings were honored. In Hamburg, I was very pleased to see that the Xmas market at the Jungfernstieg was still around after Boxing Day, so I could indulge in some Glühwein and Schmalzgebäck. I also dropped into the new Europapassage, but it was very full, so I just paid a short visit to a book store and then fled the masses. Another thing I was looking forward to, but didn’t do, was going to the movies in one of my ol’ places. But shockingly enough, the selection of movies in general and movies in english in particular were awful and in comparison to Lausanne (sic!) even outdated (SIC!). Who would have thought that? It seems that we are getting movies even earlier than Britain, at least in some cases (I am Legend, for example, started here a week earlier).
London was more visiting people than doing sight seeing, but I did make it to the Tate Modern. I must say that I wasn’t as awake and attentive as I wanted to be, which is probably why I dismissed the “crack on the floor” in the Turbine Hall right away, but as I had to admit afterwards to my increasingly irritated company, it did make us discuss itself and the cocept of art in general. A lasting impression, however, was caused by a totally different work: “Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion” by Francis Bacon. Mind that the version at the Tate is the 2nd version, which is described near the end of the Wikipedia article. I would have loved to see a complete crucifixion by him…
Anyway, that was my vacation, and I have been back to Lausanne for a week now. The biggest change is that it somehow seems a bit less frightening and overwhelming here. Sure, the language barrier is still high as the Great Wall, and sure enough there are tons of things I have to do to get my job rolling. But leaving for some longer time and coming back has given me a bit more perspective on this place. And I do notice now more than before, that Lausanne is fairly international, you do hear all sorts of languages being spoken in the streets. I guess I wasn’t listening too carefully before. And things do change for the better, as I realized two days ago when I noticed that the rules to book the laundry room had changed! Maybe there is hope for me here after all! Besides, even in the winter Lausanne (and surroundings) has lots of nice things to offer. There is the Festival de Ballons coming up, for example, so stay tuned for my coverage. Of course there are still a lot of things to be learned and done (my apartment still looks a bit empty…), but over time it’ll all play out well, I believe!
Ok, this is all for now. I will end this first post in 2008 with a very fond Happy New Year to you all!