Banking (in)security

As if remembering all of my work and personal logins and passwords wasn’t difficult enough, the Swiss banking system does its part to add to the challenge. First, there’s my online bank account login, which is a 7-digit number that can’t be changed. Then there are the credit card PIN codes. These PINs must be entered every time the credit cards are used and, as with my bank account log-in, they can’t be changed either.

To further complicate my banking activities, there’s the SecureID (see photo). It provides a random 6-digit code that changes every 30 seconds and must be entered during the login process and to confirm all online activity (e.g., when transferring money or paying bills). I understand the rationale for its use, but I’d still prefer not to have to lug it around on my key chain.

While I appreciate the extra security in an age where ID theft and various forms of internet related fraud / scams have become ever present, it would be nice to make the security a little more user-friendly (e.g., log-ins / PINs that can be changed to something memorable).

French Classes

Last night we had a test in my French class. Although it doesn’t really count for anything (it is just to make sure that you’re in the right class level), it was still a bit nerve-racking and left me exhausted afterward. Trying to concentrate on an hour-long test after a long day of work definitely requires some effort. Needless to say, I don’t think my brain absorbed very much during the second half of class, post-exam.

Overall I’m enjoying the classes. While I do my best to improve my French on my own (e.g., by watching French language programming on tv, reading the local paper, speaking with others), having a structured environment to learn the language in definitely helps a lot. At times it’s hard to motivate to do the homework, though, as there’s no real consequence for not doing it. That said, the fact that the class is group-based provides an element of peer pressure to come prepared.

The students in the class are an interesting mix, with varying ages, professional backgrounds, nationalities and even first-languages. The one commonality is that the group as a whole comes off as very motivated, which I guess should be expected given that everyone is paying to take the class. For some of the students, French is actually their 3rd, 4th or even 5th language, which I find quite impressive.

Daylight savings

Today we pushed back the clocks an hour for daylight savings (apparently we’re a week ahead of the U.S. this year). While the extra hour of sleep last night was great, and it was nice to wake up with natural light outside, I’m definitely not ready for complete darkness by 5:30pm. As if the frigid temperatures aren’t enough of a reminder that winter is upon us, the early sunsets will now be rubbing it in on a daily basis as well.

The Lausanne marathon also took place today. While the thought of running a marathon is somewhat appealing to me (albeit solely to be able so say that I successfully completed one), doing so on a cold October morning is another story. With morning temperatures in the 30s, I’m sure there were a lot of runners who would have preferred to stay in bed. Does this look like comfortable running weather to you...

At least the sun is out

While warm weather is little more than a distant memory, at least the sun decided to make its return today. Here are some photos that I took down by the lake.

Parenting for Dummies

There was a minor scare in the metro this evening. A guy pushing his baby in a stroller decided to attempt a last-minute boarding as the automatic doors were closing. Rather than use his hand or foot to trip the sensors that cause the doors to re-open, he instead used the stroller (and thus the baby). Unfortunately, the doors continued to close and pinned the stroller while he remained outside.

While I assume there’s a safety mechanism in place that prevents the metro from running if an obstruction is blocking a door, I don’t think I’d test this assumption with my kid’s life. As there’s no one actually conducting the metro (at least on-site), who knows what could go wrong. At best, you’re relying on a computer or a metro operator in a room somewhere else to respond appropriately to the situation in a matter of seconds.

Apparently the others around me had the same concern as a group of us raced over to pry open the doors as the father stood outside frantically trying to do the same. Fortunately, we were able to finally get the doors open and whatever safety mechanism is in fact in place seemed to work appropriately as the metro never budged from the station.

I just hope the father learned his lesson. Something tells me he’s not going to tell his wife about this little adventure (assuming he wants to live, that is…).

Christmas in October?

Although Christmas is still over two months away, the first sign of its arrival is already here in Lausanne. A section of Manor (effectively the Swiss version of Macys, Target and Vons all rolled into one) is now devoted to all things x-mas. There are (fake) trees and wreathes, ornaments of all types, stockings, snow globes, stuffed santas and pretty much everything else you could possibly want to buy for holiday décor.

I feel like similar offerings in the U.S. typically aren’t rolled out until after Thanksgiving (at the earliest), but perhaps I’m wrong. I guess the lack of Thanksgiving over here allows for more time to focus on Christmas. Regardless, it’s nice to have some x-mas spirit in the air and it fits well with the winter-like weather that we’ve had lately.

It’ll be interesting to see whether people put up Christmas lights as is done in the U.S. I don’t recall seeing any for sale in Manor’s current offering, but I’ll take a closer look next time I’m there.

Lac Leman at dusk

I braved the wind chill down by the lake to take some more pictures right around sunset. Though I was only down there for around a half hour, by the time I got back to my apartment a serious ice-cream headache had set in. I think the pictures were definitely worth it, though. Here are a few of them…

The cold front continues

The cold weather has unfortunately continued. Perhaps the only one excited about this trend is the Siberian Husky that I saw prancing this morning while I was going to the store. I guess after a long summer that was unusually warm, he deserves some cooler temps. And based on the current forecasts, it appears that the cold weather is here to stay for the time being – the current outlook calls for lows around freezing and “highs” in the low forties.


This afternoon I walked down to the lake to take some pictures. As you can see, it’s much colder than it was only a matter of weeks ago (probably about 40 degrees Fahrenheit colder, believe it or not). Fortunately, the cold weather allowed for some beautiful shots…





























And as seen from the following pictures, it seems that some others are happy that the cool weather has continued. The temporary ski / snowboard run set up as part of an event down by the lake definitely wouldn’t have fared so well had the weather been warmer.

Back to reality

As if returning to work after a trip isn’t a big enough shock to the system, I was welcomed back to Lausanne by near freezing winter temperatures. A day removed from t-shirt weather in central Spain, I’m now forced to search for my heavy coats, gloves and other winter gear, which are packed away somewhere. Hopefully this weather doesn’t last (Fall only arrived a matter of weeks ago), but the forecast shows no signs of a return to normal.

Exploring Madrid - Part 2

I can’t remember the last time that I was as sore as I was when I awoke this morning. If not for my desire to get to the Prado before the long lines formed, I would definitely have slept in. Rather than walking across town again, I decided to take the metro and found to be very clean, efficient and user friendly.

After arriving at the Prado, I embarked upon a marathon session of art appreciation. For the culturally challenged like myself, I would heavily recommend paying three Euro the audio guide. It provides artistic and historical insight into many of the paintings through 1-2 minute commentaries and, as an unforeseen added benefit, allows you to tune out the other museum visitors at the push of a button.

The highlights of the Prado for me were the works by Velasquez and de Goya. I wasn’t overly familiar with their paintings before my visit (I basically just knew their names) and really enjoyed them. I also really liked seeing some of the works by artists that I remember learning about in middle / high school but never really appreciating at the time (e.g., those by El Greco, Rubens, Tintoretto, Titian).

After a nearly comprehensive exploration of the Prado, I moved on to the final leg of the so-called Golden Triangle of Art – the lesser known Thyssen-Bornemizsa, which houses a former private collection that was subsequently purchased by Spain. While my tour of the Prado was the running equivalent of a marathon, my plan for the Thyssen was effectively a sprint. Specifically, I knew which artists / genres interested me and I was ready to be very focused and direct with my exploration.











Overall I have to say it was a success. Given the smaller collection size (relative to the Prado’s), the museum can definitely be toured in under a couple of hours and the breadth of the art it contains is extremely impressive (particularly relative to the overall collection size). Some of the more notable artists represented include: Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Monet, Manet, Rubens, Renoir, Degas, Holbein, Van Eyck, Van Dyck, Titian, Durer, Manet, Picasso and Pissarro.

As with yesterday, I took advantage of the proximity of Retiro park to log some much needed recovery time following another long day on my feet. As restaurants would not be opening for at least another couple of hours, I found the park to be the perfect spot to enjoy the early evening – particularly since the temperature was still in the upper 70s.




















Here are some additional shots from my walk back before dinner...




















For dinner I went to Los Huevos de Lucio, a tapas place that came heavily recommended from a local that I had met. I timed my arrival perfectly as I got there about a half hour before it opened, right when a line was starting to form. By the time the doors finally opened, it was basically a mad-dash, free-for-all for open tables. Thanks to my choice position in line coupled with some strategically placed elbows, I was able to stake claim to a prime seat in the middle of the bar.

The dinner was fantastic. Over two very entertaining hours, I had another great assortment of tapas, with the highlight being an egg, potato and ham concoction that literally everyone at the restaurant ordered. To my right were a nice group of girls from southern Spain who took pity on my solo status and offered me a number of their tapas as well as some quality conversation. I had to turn them down when it came to the offer for morcilla (a.k.a. “blood sausage”), however. While I’ve become more experimental from a culinary perspective in my elder years, I’m not quite ready to try a sausage made of congealed pig blood. Perhaps next time…

Exploring Madrid - Part 1

This morning began early as I had a laundry list of sites to see based on the many recommendations received from friends, family, locals and fellow tourists.

My first stop of the day was Palacio Real, the official (albeit ceremonial) residence of the King of Spain and the location for many State functions. As can be seen from the pictures, the palace is quite impressive from an architectural standpoint. The inside of the palace is equally impressive, though picture-taking was not allowed so you’ll have to take my word for it (or go to Wikipedia to see for yourself).











Adjacent to the Palacio Real is the Cathedral de la Almudena, the Teatro Real (Madrid’s main opera house) and a number of parks and plazas. Given the beautiful weather it was a great day to be outside, so I spent the next couple of hours exploring the area. Here are some of the pictures that I took:




















After a late lunch (at least by my standards), I walked across town to the heart of the so-called “golden triangle” of Madrid’s museums (i.e., the Prado, the Reina Sofia and the Thyssen-Bornemizsa). Given that it was nearly 5pm at this point, I decided to pick one (the Reina Sofia – predominantly pieces by Spanish artists) and follow up with the other two tomorrow when I have more time.

Overall, my favorite part of the Reina Sofia visit was selected works by Picasso and Salvador Dali. That said, a few of Picasso’s pieces were a bit hard for me to stomach (in some instances he takes the relationship between a woman and her horse beyond my comfort zone…). Another highlight of the museum is its open-air terrace that’s accessible via one of the top floors. On a nice day like today, it is the perfect spot to sit down and relax your legs while taking in beautiful views of the city.















After getting my cultural fix for the day, I headed across the street to Parque del Buen Retiro – effectively Madrid’s equivalent of Central Park (for lack of a better definition). The park itself is very beautiful and seems to be a gathering place for Madrid residents on the weekend. In particular, I liked the Estanque del Retiro (a large pond / lake in the middle of the park) and the Paseo de las Estatuas (a statue-lined walkway near one of the entrances). How I made it to dinner without collapsing, I do not know.




















By the time I walked back across town it was nearly 9pm and some of the restaurants were finally starting to open up. Based on little more than a random whim and a desire to sit outside, I decided on a small tapas place not far from Plaza Mayor. While there was nothing overly memorable about the food itself, after nearly 12 hours of non-stop sightseeing, the steady stream of tasty tapas was exactly what I needed.

A local's perspective...

Today after work I was fortunate to be able to meet one of my friends from business school for dinner. He is a native of Malaga (southeast corner of Spain) and now lives in Madrid. The walk from my new hotel (I chose a more centrally located one for the weekend) to the place where we were meeting took me along Madrid’s Gran Via, which reminded me a lot of New York’s Broadway near Times Square (a bit of sensory overload, with people everywhere).

We started off at a tapas bar that seemed like a typical place that you would go to with friends after work to start off the night. It was very lively and the tapas were quite good. Some of my favorites included: Tortilla de Patatas (effectively a Spanish egg omelet / fried potato mix), croquettes and mini “tostas” with ham and tomato.

The second place that we went to felt very much like a local college hang out. For three Euro you could get two beers and a huge plate of tapas, so not surprisingly the place was absolutely packed. It was definitely a fun time, as there was a lot of activity. If you’re a big fan of personal space, though, this spot was not for you. It required a great deal of concentration as you had to hold on to your drink with one hand and your plate of tapas with the other, while trying to figure out how to somehow free up one hand to actually eat the tapas.

We then walked around for a bit and ultimately happened upon the third stop, which had nice outdoor seating. Even though it was now well after 11pm, it definitely felt like the night was just beginning for most of the locals. The warm weather made for a comfortable evening to eat outside and it was nice to have a little more of a relaxed pace to sit down for a bit before calling it a night.

Plaza Mayor

After work I headed down to Plaza Mayor in my first formal attempt at sightseeing. The plaza itself was quite impressive and, perhaps because I came on a weeknight, was not completely overrun by tourists like myself. The night was quite comfortable, with no signs of fall just yet, so I debated whether to grab some tapas at one of the many restaurants that line the plaza. However, I had heard from many people (both locals and visitors) that such restaurants are notoriously high on price and low on quality, so I fought the hunger pains in order to find a better spot.










Before leaving the plaza, I took in some of the local talent showcasing their skills. The highlight was definitely the flamenco dancer and her partner on classical guitar. As can be seen from the video that I shot (excuse the poor quality – I used my digital camera, which resulted in the need for some editing to increase the brightness and rotate it from “portrait” to “landscape”…), she was quite talented.

After the flamenco show, I went to a tapas restaurant that met the two primary criteria driving my selection process: (1) it was packed with locals (thus indicating some minimum level of quality) and (2) there was an open seat at the bar (after being on my feet most of the day, I really wanted a nice spot to sit down for dinner). And as luck would have it, the food turned out to be excellent – I ordered Iberian ham (freshly carved from the leg behind the counter), Manchego cheese, calamari and croquettes.

All in all, my impressions of Madrid thus far are very favorable. Just one question – why does lunch and dinner have to be so late? For someone used to having lunch at noon and dinner around 7pm, holding out until 3pm and 10pm for lunch and dinner, respectively, requires some serious commitment.

Bienvenidos a Madrid

This morning I arrived in Madrid. I’ll be here for work for the balance of the week and then plan to stay the weekend so I can explore the city as this is my first visit to Spain’s capital (and Spain for that matter). Definitely a beautiful morning to start off the trip...

The hotel that I’m staying at for work is a bit of a trip. It’s called the Puerta America and each floor was designed by (and named after) a famous architect / designer. (Given my complete lack of knowledge with respect to architecture / interior design, I’m not familiar with any of them.) I’m staying on the floor designed by Richard Gluckman, an architect from the U.S. Here are some pictures of the room.










Tonight I went out to dinner with colleagues and feel pretty comfortable confirming a claim that I had heard about Madrid prior to my arrival – i.e., that it has the best seafood in Spain. Given that Madrid is at the heart of the Iberian peninsula, I was a bit surprised to learn that the city is often referred to the “best port in Spain.” Apparently, the historical need to supply the city’s wealthy elite with fresh seafood has catapulted Madrid past its coastal rivals (e.g., Barcelona, San Sebastian).

We ate at a restaurant called La Trainera, which was recommended by a colleague who is from Madrid.

Over the course of the night we had tuna, mussels, clams, prawns, shrimp and many other delicacies from the sea that I’m forgetting. Everything was very simply prepared -- often with nothing more than a little butter, olive oil and lemon -- which allowed the natural flavors of the ocean to take center stage.










And the highlight: freshly grilled langostines – the “meat” from the tails was unbelievable. Unfortunately, I was too distracted by my hunger to take picture of them...