up to 16 November

Hi! Ken writing the blog this time around (it'll be short n sweet ;-)

The weekdays all feel the same... work is good but it's the weekends that make it worthwhile. A couple of weeks ago we visited Susan & Thomas's home in the countryside near Sissach (Sissach is a few kms south of Basel). I haven't been there since Sept '05 and enjoyed the quiet, calm environment -- well, quiet except for the noise of their 4 kids living life at full tilt. We enjoyed many special wines and played some games. The time on the train going and returning was spent grading exams.

Last weekend, was really really quiet but the weather was lovely on Saturday so we had a pleasant walk along the promenade (see photos). Sunday was grey and threatening rain so we chose to visit the Collection de l'Art Brut in Lausanne. It's a superb museum displaying artworks created by societies dispossessed: insane, obsessed, self-removed, or mentally retarded. Incredibly, it is difficult not to relate with many of the works -- or at least marvel at the power of persistent effort. The artists' were compelled to create whether they wanted to or not and results, in my opinion, in true art.

This weekend was full! Saturday afternoon, we took the funicular from Vevey to Mont Pelerin and then wandered our way down the mountain to the village of Chardonne ... why go to Chardonne? well, a wine festival of course! I had invited the MBA students to join us and 5 did. You pay 10Francs for a festival wine glass and go from "cave" to "cave" to taste each winemaker's best wines for sale. We had a very enjoyable afternoon tasting many many wines (sometimes the same wine twice - hic!). The view was incredible, as was the hospitality. We arrived at our last cave to have our last taste of wine and came upon a cauldron over a fire pit that was full of bubbling homemade soup. A perfect finish.
Today we joined Olivier (HIM's sports & leisure director) and 8 students on a train ride to Les Avants, then a funicular to Sonloupe. From there we wandered 3 hours back down to Montreux. Even though downhill, it proved to be a great workout. The photos give you a sense of how the weather and clouds changed as we descended.
A bientot, Ken