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Edition: 2003-12-12 |
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Samedi 6
décembre 2003
Meeting point at Geneva Airport was easy to find (I was surprised how big this airport is!) – directly when passed the customs desk you reach this central place. Here started two coaches to Chamonix in France and the Event began.
The Hotel Prieuré is nice located; every room has a view to the Mount Blanc. I think most of the participants made photos from this famous mountain. Pictures every time requested! But our first look was to the goodies we found in the room: we got a nice brown fleece-jacket with the reindeer of the x-mas special in a star and the words “Swatch The Club Christmas Event 2003 Geneva – Switzerland” embroidered on the back. A winter pirate cap, a “normal” winter-cap, an ball-pen and the neoprene backpack to transport all.
Dinner we had in the center of Chamonix in a Restaurant called “La Calèche”, starting with season salad, followed by fondue “savoyarde” (with cheese, bread and potatoes) and sorbet we forgot the bad catering of Lufthansa on the way from Frankfurt to Geneva. Very good meal! One club-member celebrated his birthday and was forced to hear “Happy Birthday” from the whole crowd – around 70 members. Because of the “heavy meal” and maybe also as a result of a busy voyage to Geneva a lot of people went early to bed. We all get older!
Dimanche 7
décembre 2003
Another consideration to go early to bed was the start on Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m. – bus-departure to so called “excursions”. Interesting sportive activities were organized: snowshoe walking, downhill with a plastic-sledge and as the first highlight we had the chance to drive with a dog-sledge… these dogs are crazy: they want to pull their sledges and the driver without any complain. And they are very well educated: they accepted from everyone the words “stop”, “run”, “left” and “right”. Three dogs are really strong, never thought they are so fast with the sledge and pull all the weight. You might find more information about this activity on http://www.huskydalen.com (in French only). This experience changed slightly my prejudices about dogs.
The lunch we had in a bar and soon the groups changed their activities; members that were with the dogs in the morning went in the afternoon to snowshoe walking and vice versa. The whole day in the mountains in fresh air – made me hungry… time for dinner again.
In the most popular discotheque “L’Arbate” of Chamonix, Patrick said, we had dinner. Sorry, only French menu-card: Salade Gasconne, Souris d’Agneau au Thym Son gratin & ses légumes was served. Who is able to translate? Moelleux au Chocolat was the end of the menu. The stage and the walls were decorated with the x-mas advertising material from Swatch and when we left at about 1:45 in the morning (or was it 2:45 – too late in every case!) the complete decoration was colleted, mean stolen.
On the stage were a nice Christmas-tree, under the tree a lot of gift-parcels and on a table a pyramid with the x-mas specials for the club-members. Patrick named every member and asked them to enter the stage to held a x-mas-speech or greeting in his mother tongue. We heard Christmas-wishes in minimum 8 different languages! From Santa Claus we received the Jingle Jangle-Swatch and then everyone were able to choose one of the parcels under the Christmas tree. What a nice idea! Sweatshirts, umbrellas, mugs, foulards and other pieces from the Swatch Merchandising Catalogue, but also Chronos (!) we found in this parcels – wow! I think everyone was astonished and satisfied with his gift.
Later on the DJ played good music, the doors were also opened for non Swatch Club Members and so the dance-floor was full. A lot of fun! Also this evening ended too early.
Lundi 8
décembre 2003
Monday morning we went with a gondola to “mer de la glace”, here you have a nice view via the Alps, to the glacier and in an exhibition you are able to see some mountain-crystals. Most of us preferred the sun. Soon it was time to drive back to Geneva. On the way we had a lunch stop in Megève. In the restaurant “Le Cintra” we enjoyed savoyarde salad, Salmone and Tagiatelles (or alternate meat for people do not eat fish), dessert was an Omelette Norvégienne. As every time very delicious! A discovery tour of Megève by sledge was cancelled due to time problems – and snow was missed. In the long run we all know a Swatch-hour can be longer than 60 minutes but feeling is this hour is only a minute. How long is a Swatch minute? And: Time is what you make of it. (Advertising).
Also in Megève the obligatory group photo was made – 4 German members will be sadly missed because gone lost on the way to the place were the photo shooting was. Should I upload a picture with 3 of the missing guys?
Arrived in Geneva late the participants of the one-day-Event already waited in the lobby of the Ramada Park Hotel. Do you have the impression while reading this report we ate a lot? You’re right… dinner waited for us. The Ramada kitchen spoilt us with (also only in French…) Ballottine de volaille, Contre filet roti à la bordelaise, Pommes fondants, Bouquetière de légumes. Dessert: Jalousie (?!) aux poires, sauce Charlotte. Friends asked me why I am collecting the menu-cards – is this the answer? I don’t know what we ate, but it tasted good and this is the most important thing. Personally I thing we had not enough time for this dinner. In this short time, some people were able to steal the decoration from the table – the Ramada managers were very upset that someone picked up the Christmas-tree-balls. Meanwhile in the ARENA the TENNIS DREAM NIGHT already started.
We arrived there around 8:00 p.m., had good places in the middle of the grandstand and with our VIP-badges we also had the permission for the backstage-area and the VIP-places where all drinks were free. The first interesting place in the Arena was the Swatch-Kiosk, where they sold (rumours say 10) “Snowqueen” and “Plume de Fete” Specials. Of course the Phil Collins Swatches, the Avantage (GK 277 from 1998!) were available. These watches are related to the Event, but also buyable were the Wedding Special and the Pick-Nick-Package – I don’t understand how they are related to this arrangement. Swatch donated 10,-- CHF per sold watch to the Little Dream Foundation, therefore it is ok when they sold a lot. It is only possible to sell when there is a huge selection.
18 tennis players participated at the tennis-show, stars I knew like Boris Becker, Yannick Noah and I thought I’ve also heard something from Henri Leconte in the past. Roger Federer as actual No. 1 in the world I didn’t know but was also present. Yannick Noah was the big entertainer; he has the audience on his side. Tennis was nice, especially when Yannick Noah performed his show, but the definite highlight took place after the matches. Phil Collins performed his World Hits like “You can’t hurry love”, “Easy Lover”, “Follow me, follow you”, “I can’t dance” and together with Laura Fabian “Throwing it all away” (in order he played them at the Tennis Dream Night). For some songs Mike Rutherford also was on stage. 2 of 3 from famous Genesis – when did this the last time happened? And will it come again? I would really appreciate it. After this songs other artists like Matthieu Gonet, Houcine, Lena K, Laura Pausini and Saya appeared. Never heard them before, but I wrote it already somewhere – we all get older, so this was maybe the programme for the kids? Or these artists are well known in Switzerland and France but not in Germany? What I heard was good, but I haunted for autographs backstage. Phil Collins is really friendly, also all other prominent persons I asked for their signature with one exception: Boris Becker, bad guy. Eat your Nutella, sell your Mercedes-Cars and generate some illegitimate children but you should never be so impolite as you were in Geneva. No, he represented not “my” state.
The big finale was „Redemption Song“, could another person than Yannick Noah do it…? Really I had a goose-skin when he sung this song. It was a “Dream Night” – best words to describe it.
For yet another exciting event I would like to say “Thank you” to Nicole Frey, Alexandra Hebeisen, Caroline Küffer and Patrick Jaron (in alphabetical order). You made, as every time, a good job. Next time please use more often a microphone for people hard of hearing like me sometimes J.
‘ Hope to see you all soon in 2004. Swiss rumours looking for the first weekend in February. Damn – I will have a final examination at that time. I can’t miss it. Swatch The Club or the final examination?
© & ® 2001 by NCK