The News From Geneva

A month ago, Geneva (and Europe) was in the middle of a giant cold snap.  Pictures of a frozen car in Versoix, Switzerland made headlines around the world (and was featured on this blog).  Waves and spray from Lac Leman (Lake Geneva) covered the lakeside with ice.  While it isn’t exactly warm here, it is much warmer.  The owner of the storied car made headlines when he finally retrieved it this week.

The front page of the paper 20 Minutes with the headline “The frozen car leaves without coughing.”

He had to wait for the ice to melt because chipping it off damages the paint.  We still see little bits of snow here and there, but it is melting fast.  Boats are going back into the lake.  I even saw a girl sunning herself in a bikini top.  She had to have been freezing, but no one was complaining.

The title of 20 Minutes article is “My notoriety is to have poorly parked my car.”

Problems with the weather and natural disasters continue.  Sion and Zermatt experienced avalanches.  Luckily, no one was injured or killed.

Also from 20 Minutes

Also in the Alps, a helicopter crashed near Les Diablerets.  The two people on board survived, but were injured.  This is the second crash there in as many months.  As much fun as the mountains have been, there are daily reminders of their dangers.

In other news, Micheline Calmy-Rey, the former Swiss President, received a pie in the face after attending  the opening of the International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights.. Actually, it was a Black Forest Cake.  She is not pressing charges.

Also from the paper 20 Minutes

a photo of the article in 20 Minutes

A 66 year-old Swiss retiree gave birth to twins. She was artificially inseminated at a clinic in the Ukraine.
In Switzerland, just like just about every other country, women make less than men for doing the same work. Today is Equal Pay Day, the day women break even with men… for the work they did last year. The average woman worked all last year through to today to make the average salary that a man made from January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2011.

from 20 minutes

From 20 Minutes

From 20 Minutes

Finally in sports, Swiss superstar athletes (Roger Federer and Fabian Cancellara) continue to win.  Skiing is big.  Quel surprise.

Related articles

• More Pictures of the Versoix, Switzerland Ice Storm (schwingeninswitzerland.wordpress.com)
• Geneva (And Europe’s) Cold Weather (schwingeninswitzerland.wordpress.com)
• It snowed last night 6″ Made for a great day. – Les Diablerets, Switzerland (travelpod.com)

 

This Is The Big News Over Here?

I’m not sure how much coverage this is getting in the States, but Carla Bruni Sarkozy‘s pregnancy has gotten nonstop coverage here.  She was photographed incessantly every time she left the house while pregnant.  Befitting the first lady of France, she was, of course, very stylishly attired throughout.  Nevertheless, she did not really wear heals during her pregnancy.*

Wednesday, she had the baby and the First Baby of France (the first baby born to a serving president) is huge news here.  Unfortunately, Sarkozy was not able to be present during the birth because he was in meetings over the tanking Euro.  He did, however, make it to her bedside for about 30 minutes.  Mother and baby are reported to be doing well.  They named the baby girl Giulia. 

Here’s a quote from the magazine I read last weekend (and I know you can’t believe everything you read).   It (roughly) translates to: “frankly, I can’t stand it any more.  I have to stay sitting down or lying down most of the time.  I can’t drink or smoke any more.  I’m in a hurry to get it over with.”   She was almost two weeks overdue when she had the baby.   

France is in the middle of elections that were predicted to be difficult for Sarkozy.  Cynical French say that the baby was planned to coincide with the election in an attempt to experience a “baby bump” at the polls.  It’s not unprecedented.

Sorry for the poor pic, but you can still (barely) see how it’s done

*As she is taller than her husband, she never wears any real heels anyway.  You will notice too that she always walks a bit behind him so that his short stature is not as apparent in photographs.  Perhaps he should try that trick, I could look tall too?