Maj du milde

It’s sure time for a little update, but where to start? Did I mention that I (once again) have settled down in Denmark? Yes, that’s right! I’m now back in Copenhagen where I currently work in a full-time position for one of the worlds biggest hotel chains, Marriott. Copenhagen is a great place to live and I’m truly happy to be back!

Au revoir César Ritz

Saying goodbye to friends is not easy. Studying abroad you get to know many great individuals from all across the world, of some you get to know better than others and wish you could have spent more time with. One says it only takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, but then an entire life to forget them (..)
In todays computerized world it is luckily more easier to keep in touch with each other than it was only a few years back.
Take care, everyone.
We’ll catch each other somewhere out there!
Rudi

The Zürich Escape

We all need to charge our batteries once in a while, and personally I tend to relax the most when I can escape from my daily surroundings. What is then better than going for a weekend break?Last weekend a friend came to visit me from Copenhagen and we spent a few nice days in Zürich. Back in school Monday morning my first question to a classmate was: "What did I miss last session?" He then looked at me and responded: "Where you not here? You sat at the row just in front of me". (..) One weekend only and you have experienced soo much it feels you have been away for a long time! Great! Bring me now the exams! The ever pulsing Bahnhofstrasse.
Yes, I am a picky guest! I am the one checking the brand of the mattress and the functionality and the layout of the room. And thrust me, is your uniform dirty I will definately notice! The Zürich Marriott did a good job in fulfilling my needs. Above picture is taken in the elegant lobby area.

Two things are infinite..

Being a student at an international school and having friends from many parts of the world I normally keep away from commenting on political- and or religious related issues here on this website however, this time I feel like writing a few words..

“Mohammed drawings” – mention these two words for someone and they will definately know what you are referring to. Several conflicts have arisen since the Danish newspaper “Jyllands-Posten” first published the drawings back in November 2005. Now some of them were just re-publicised in various media in Denmark which has resulted in yet another escalating of the conflict.

This post is not written to mirror my opinion about the drawings or whether it was right to publish them in the first place. This post is written in concern for some children growing up today:

According to CNN (www.cnn.com) the Palestinian TV-channel Al-Aqsa (which is run by Hamas) short after the recently re-printing broadcasted their meaning about the drawings through their children programme “The Pioneers of Tomorrow”.

Children are not capable of making up their own opinions, nor do they know what is right or wrong and will believe almost everything they are served through programmes made for them! If children are taught Denmark or the "west" (as referred to in the programme a few times) are bad countries with idiotic people it is ok to kill - where will this end? This is brainwashing on a high level and needs to be taken seriously. What kind of world do we want? (Please watch below video and judge for yourself.)

I will like to end this post by quoting Mr Albert Einstein in something he was totally right: “Only two things are infinite; the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the universe..."

Valais, Suisse

UCCR Winter term 2008: Some recently taken pictures - the two on top are from Brig where my school is located, and the two below are from Montreux. Montreux is a very nice French-speaking town facing Lake Geneva, famous for it's Jazz Festival held every year in July. Below is the elegant Fairmont's Le Montreux Palace Hotel.

Det Haster!
Les leksene, barn! Det er stor konkurranse
I verden i dag. Du må lese på spreng!
Hvis landet skal bedre sin handelsbalanse,
må din karakterbok ha mange poeng.
Bli nyttig for samfunnet! Barndommen kaster
jo svært lite av seg. Så skynd deg! Det haster!
Ja se å få barndommen unnagjort
fort, fort!

Og så ble du stor? Men er stadig for fattig.
Det haster med høyere levestandard,
for hva er din knallert mot Meyers Bugatti
og din kones rev mot Fru Steens leopard?
Du ble disponent? Men du får ikke fred i
din sjel før Hopp-Gundersens stilling blir ledig
så du kan få satt DIREKTØR på din port
fort, fort!

Det haster! Det haster! Hør hurtigtogstonen
fra hjulene; Godt at din fart er så stor!
Du må komme tidsnok til endestasjonen
med skilt i granitt over seks fot jord!
Hva rakk du og se? Dette landskap der ute
ditt liv, hva var dét? Noen blink mot en rute,
som stolper langs linjen fløy dagene bort
fort, fort!

Det haster! - med at du går utfor i svingen
og kjører i grøften. Du mister et fly,
men rekker i stedet sommerfuglvingen,
et gresshoppegniss og en drivende sky.
Den driver så langsomt... Så legg deg til rette
i gresset. Det ene som haster, er dette
å vite: du lever - og livet er
Nu. Her.

André Bjerke (1966)

Dagen derpå på Nørrebro

Nok en natt har det vært opptøyer i Københavns bydel Nørrebro. I følge Berlingske Tidendes nettutgave den 2/9 var omlag 1000 ungdommer denne gang samlet. Etter noen mindre demonstrasjoner i dag så spår man at det er over. For denne gang.
Jagtvej 69 er i dag en turistattraksjon (øverste bilde). Da jeg selv puttet kameraet i innerlommen og dro på søndagstur for å se skadene, så var jeg langt ifra den eneste. Både profesjonelle og amatører stod på hvert et gatehjørne og fotograferte løsrevne brostein, tagging, knuste butikkruter og utbrente biler. Knust glass var det mye av i gatene, og imens ryddemannskaper var i full gang med å få bort bålrester stod butikkeiere og skalket lukene. Nørrebro er ikke særlig smuk lenger.

Du Skal Være Tro

Du skal være tro.

Men ikke mot noe menneske

som i gold grådighet

henger ved dine hender.

Ikke mot noe ideal

som svulmer i store bokstaver

uten å røre ved ditt hjerte.

Ikke mot noe bud

som gjør deg til utlending

i ditt eget legeme.

Ikke mot noen drøm

du ikke selv har drømt...

Når var du tro?

Var du tro

når du knelte i skyggen

av andres avgudsbilder?

Var du tro

når din handling overdøvet

lyden av ditt eget hjerteslag?

Var du tro når du ikke bedrog

den du ikke elsket?

Var du tro

når din feighet forkledde seg

og kalte seg samvittighet?

Nei

Men når det som rørte ved deg

gav tone.

Når din egen puls

gav rytme til handling.

Når du var ett med det

som sitret i deg

da var du tro!

Andrè Bjerke

A Sunday in the Sun

Copenhagen

A brief update: I have now started working as a Front Office Trainee at the Copenhagen Marriott Hotel in Denmark. I have been given a great welcome and are looking forward spending the rest of 2007 here. Some other day I will be posting pictures of my cosy apartment - and as the year goes along, I will hopefully be posting pictures and writings from my Copenhagen experiences..

For info about the hotel please see: http://marriott.com/hotels/travel/cphdk-copenhagen-marriott-hotel/

To be continued..

1 year anniversary

One year is gone since I first posted anything to this blog - a year filled with lots of experiences and hard work, fun, travelling, along with meeting and making friends with people from around the whole world. Having a blog like this makes it easier for me to keep you all updated about what I am doing (so you don't think I'm lazy..) and where I am (in order for you to come and visit me..) - a habit I will try to keep up also in the future.

The pictures under this post are from my hometown Bergen (taken with my new camera!!). On above pic you can see the 'famous' Bryggen which is protected under the UNESCO World Heritage List (and costs millions of kroner every year in maintenance because it is falling apart).

My sweet secret..

It has been raining in Bergen for incredible 85 days in a row now! How do you then best spend a Saturday being the 86th day with overcast weather?

I'm posting these pictures to show you that I'm still keeping my experience/learning from three different hotel kitchens fresh in mind..
-Ladies & Gentlemen, the cake is served..!

Gingerbread Mania

Purchase or rent this amazing villa situated on the west coast of Norway! This exquisite property was built in the early 21th century by Rudi, a famous architect. Located in the seaside town of Bergen, this property with it's stunning garden is suitable as a luxury mansion. The house itself is decorated with fine 18th century furniture.

This seaside town with many luxurious residences makes it a favorite vacation spot for international millionaires and European aristocracy. This exceptional property is available to purchase for €XX million Euros. It may also be rented on a weekly or monthly basis with or without staff.

For further information or prices please contact Rudi at (+47) 223344556677.

Oslo

From a relatively short weekend-break in the capital of Norway, Oslo, I'm now back in Switzerland. I went to Norway first and foremost for two job-interviews but decided to spend two extra days for relaxation and fun. On Friday I visited NRK Television together with two good friends where we joined the audience for a popular talk-show programme called "Først & Sist". It was exciting to see how they make this TV-programme, though a bit disappointing because of the fact that it seems far more cosy and nice when you watch it on a screen at home..

On Saturday we went around exploring the city. It was freezing cold this day (..), and of among other places we passed by the castle which you can see on above picture (no invitation for coffee from the king...perhaps he was away?) In the evening we went to a autumn party at Arkitekthøyskolen where a friend of mine is studying. Several hundreds of people showed up during the evening/ night.

I had a great time in Oslo and will hopefully be back very soon.

Congratulation Solstrand!

One of my previous workplaces; the hotel and it's people that inspired me to choose a school in Switzerland for my further education; this old and fashionable luxury property; a paradise on the west coast of Norway - Solstrand Hotel & Bad - was recently elected as one of the best hotels in the world! Behind this nomination and award is the travel magazine Focus (Solstrand was the only Norwegian hotel nominated).

My greatest congratulations to this magnificent hotel with it's incredible employees and owners! I wish you all the best for the future!

All pictures under this post are taken from the main web-page of Solstrand: www.solstrand.com

Autumn term already!

Hi everyone!

So far this term has been quite busy, meaning little time for updating my blog. I have already handed in a project, held a presentation - and we are only two weeks into the autumn term! Next week the law tutorials is to start (yes, I'm studying law this term..) so I have a lot of new "law-vocabulary" to learn the following weeks. My schedule this last term before in-training consists of:

Personal Communication

Rooms Division Operations

Business Law

Tourism Trends & Innovation

Convention & Event Management

Saturday the 14. me and my roommate went for a short trip to Lausanne and Montreux (above picture). They are both beautiful places seated on the banks of Lac Lèman (Lake Geneva).

Chiao!

Across Switzerland

After busy weeks filled with projects and heavily reading me and Franziska decided to allow ourselves a little break. This lovely day we went to Zürich (which is my favourite amongst the Swiss cities), walked around for a few hours, visited a few shops, explored a market close to the See, and overall had a really nice, relaxing and sunny time. Later on we headed for dinner in the capital Bern. Bern is seated somewhat in the middle of Zürich and Brig which makes it suitable for a stop when passing by..

Brig

You notice already during the train ride either from Geneva, Zürich or Milano: As the locomotive climbs further and further up into the mysterious Alps, people seem to get off one by one..

At 600 metres above sea level we reach the target; This place surrounded by high, high mountains; This place where even the river Rhone won’t stop; This quiet village; This very often last stop; Brig.
As a sojourner there are certain stages to go through in the process of adapting to a new culture. First comes the stage of confusion (where is the nearest grocery store? ), then the stage of the small victories (yes! I managed to open a bank account!), followed by the honeymoon (staying in a foreign country is so easy!). Suddenly one day the stage of irritation and anger occurs (why are all shops closed every time I’m going to buy something!?!), and then finally, the stage of reality.
The “Brigians” have their habits, rules and regulations. Make sure you always deliver your garbage in transparent bags:

"If you dispose of your garbage in other bags than the official bag, the Sanitation Officer of Brig will go through the bag, and if he finds your name or any proof of that the bag is coming from you, he will send you a bill of 80 CHF" (message from school..)

Never make any noise between 10 in the evening and 7 in the morning, always say “allo” and “chiao” to people you meet in an elevator (even though you don’t have a clue who they are), and make sure you have practiced your language skills in German, Italian and French before departing from your own country – English is not the Brigians favourite language.

Have you planned to do some errands or shopping during lunch-time..? Just forget about it. The Brigians like their privacy and opportunity for cooking lunch at home, so therefore they shut down the hole town for 1 ½ hours every day.

Sundays are sacred. Not even the birds dare singing on such a day. Church bells, on the other hand, can be heard at all times from 6 churches competing on having the loudest sound. Sundays are also days for nun-walking: Blue nuns and black nuns lightening candles in the wood, praying.

In the end Brig is might not the hippiest holiday destination, but should you ever be in the area – don’t hesitate to make a stop here. Visiting Stockalperschloss, having a cup of coffe in a café or just walking around exploring old narrow streets and funny houses are all things I highly recommend..

Auf Wiedersehen!

Thunderstorm in Luzern

According to Insight Guides (2005) Luzern is one of the oldest tourist destinations in Switzerland. The town is well worth visiting: Crossing historic Kappelbrücke, which once was the oldest wooden bridge in Europe (reconstructed after a fire in 1993), visiting the modern Kultur & Konngress Zentrum, or having lunch in a cosy restaurant (under a surprising thunderstorm) are all things one should try!

Prochain arrêt: Genève

After a short holiday in Norway I`m now back in my little village far up in the Swiss Alps. It`s no wonder this country is famous for its clocks and watches - time runs really quick here! The first week of the summer term is respectively over, that means 4 weeks left for mid-term exams, and 9 weeks left for final exams.. I'd better start reading!

The courses on my schedule this term:
Economy & Society,
Beverage Management,
German,
International Tourism Management,
Introduction to Hospitality & Tourism Management,
Information Technology & E-commerce.


The temperature in Brig nowadays is somewhat more than we would have a really nice summer day in Norway (..) And I have to admit (no, I should not complain..) that suit and tie is not my favourite outfit to wear in classrooms with 32 C and no air-condition. On the other hand, the opportunity to go somewhere without worry about the umbrella you left home, is marvellous! The longest summer I have ever experienced so far- and it's yet more to come!
The pictures under this post are all taken in Geneva. A lot of people had found their way to this French-speaking city this Saturday. My longing for the sea get some satisfaction when seeing beautiful Lake Geneva..

Paris... Je T`aime!

My first term at UCCR is successfully over..! After busy weeks filled with exams I went to Milan on vacation where I met a friend from back home. After two days in this lovely Italian city Ryanair brought us to Paris where we stayed for 4 days. Paris is beautiful, filled with romantic architecture, lots of people, shops and restaurants. Hotel Acacias Etoile (http://paris-hotel-no.acacias-paris-hotel.com/index.html) had the honour of being our "home" for the few days. This magnificent little Boutique Hotel, seated not far from Châmps Elysée and Arc de Triomphe, is highly recommandable.

I think the best way to experience a new place is to "escape" from all the places dragging tourists and instead try to mingle with the locals. Of course we went to see famous places like the Eiffel Tower, Grand d`Arc, Louvre, Sacre Coeur, Les Invalides, Moulin Rouge, Notre Dame and Arc de Triomphe, but also some places away from the typically tourist tracks. The underground is easy to use and an affordable way for this kind of exploring.

One of my favorite movies, "Le Fabuleux Destin d`Amelie Poulain" (Norsk: Den fabelaktige Amelie fra Montmartre), is made in and around Montmartre, Paris. The café where Amelie works, Les Doux Moulins, exists in real and is one of the places we visited during our stay. Because of the movie and my background from UCCR my expectations were might high, but honestly, the service was miserable! A pitty Amelie was off duty...

The Art of Service

Ritz-Carlton has an excellent motto for their employees going like this: "We are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen". In my opinion this statement can be useful to remember for all of us (whether one are guest or employee) and can be seen as one of the most important things about the whole Art of Service.

One nice advantage of attending a school like UCCR is all the "fine-dinings" one can participate in by being served by service-class students. During the term these students have to learn about how to run a restaurant, make different kinds of table settings, manage wine, treat customers in a correct/ proper way, fold napkins, and make sure the cutlery actually "speak togheter"(..)

May 24th the class invited 35-40 people for a 4-course banquet (see menu) wich I attended. The evening was a nice break from all the hard studying nowadays towards the final exams. When it comes to the service..? I think they'll all pass the course..

- Menu-

Shrimp salad "Jimbalaya"
(Whitewine: Fendant "Dame de Sion")

Beef consommé with vegetable juliennes

Roast lamb with mint sauce
Hungarian potatoes
Buttered broccoli with almonds
(Redwine: Dole "Hurlevent")

Apple Strudel with vanilla sauce
Coffe

La Vita è Bella!

These a days the Simplon Tunnel connecting Switzerland and Italy is celebrating it's 100 year of existence. In this occasion me and my roommate Alex decided to cross the border to visit Stresa. On beforehand we didn't know much about this Italian village except what we had seen once when passing by on our way to Milan.

Stresa exceeded our expectations! The village has a lot of cosy cafés and restaurants and is beautifully situated by the lake of Maggiore, which has three islands closeby - all connected by shuttle boats.
Isola Bella (which is the largest island) has a very nice botanic garden and even a castle: Sculptures, small Italian houses, flowers and palms all make the scenery magic - like a fairytale. Unforunately though this place has definately become a victim of "mass tourism", something being reflected in a large number of souvenir shops (selling everything you do NOT want to bring home for memory..) and high, high prices..

Of course we reached to have a cup of Italian Cioccolata during the day... and delicious Bruschettas.... and..... ahh!
La Vita è Bella!

Det Norske Selskab

17. mai er til for å feires, og er slettes ikke noe unntak selv når man er langt borte fra fedrelandet. Rettere sagt tror jeg dagen kan føles ekstra fin i slike situasjoner - som et slags symbol på hvem man er og hvor man hører hjemme.

07.00: Frokost hos Sindre. Bordet var dekket med mye, mye godt, som hjemmelagede boller, potetsalat, røykelaks, leverpostei (ah.. det har jeg savnet!), brunost, spekeskinke.. Fra Ingrids iPod ble frokosten akkompagnert av nasjonalsangen, Jan Eggums "Kor é alle heltar hen" og diverse annet norskkrams. Ingrid hadde også sørget for å trykke opp komplett program for dagen, inkludert tekstene til de viktigste nasjonalsangene, for ikke å glemme et bilde av kongeparet hvor de poserer på trappen til Skaugum. Kort sagt: Den beste frokost på lang tid!

Feiringen fortsatte litt "på-og-av" utover dagen bare abrutt av skole. Kl 12.00: Lunsj på terrassen utenfor kantinen med sang av "Ja, vi elsker" og "Norge i rødt, hvitt og blått". Håkon aner interesse fra medstudenter og trykker opp flersidig info-hefte om den norske "begivenheten" som så legges ut i skolebaren.

Kl. 15.00: Samling på stamkaféen Le Couronne, hvor det for det meste gikk i hvitvin-og øldrikking, mimring om barndommens 17. mai-feiringer og løsing av verdensproblemer.

Utpå kvelden møttes vi for grilling bak skolen. Her koste vi oss med pølser i tilsendte lomper, hjemmelaget gelé og potetsalat, kringler og boller, tilsendt melkesjokolade (joda, Sveits er kjent for sin sjokolade.. men melkesjokolade..? Det kan de ikke lage som oss nordmenn..) og til og med et tilsendt fenalår! Bordet var dekket med 17.mai-duk, norske flagg, telys og nok å drikke. Og temperaturen? Jo, den kan nok regnes for å være på lik linje med en norsk sommernatt når de er på de varmeste..

Totalt sett: En superduper 17. mai-feiring!

Dear Zürich, I`ll be back!

I have to admit this: leaving Brig once in a while and see some people elsewhere is wonderful and really makes me happy! I simply love the atmosphere in the bigger cities: The opportunity of having coffee at a nice boutique-café, looking around in shops, walking around observing places and people and just simply relax..

Some tourists guides actually claim that the train-ride between Brig and Bern (corresponding train Bern-Zürich) is one of the most magnificent in the hole world. I can't say whether this is right nor wrong, but truly, I fully agree its worth experiencing. The view is spectacular! It takes about 1 hour 40 minutes Brig-Bern, and 1 hour Bern-Zürich. I highly recommend buying one-day tickets instead of return-tickets (often more expensive), wich you also can use for public transport/ lake-cruises most places all over Switzerland.