Blog przeniesiony na http://lettersfromkate.wordpress.com/ .

Notatki z Irlandii

Stany Zjednoczone chcą utrwalenia procesu pokojowego w Irlandii Północnej i doprowadzenia go do "logicznej konkluzji" - przejęcia przez autonomiczne władze prowincji odpowiedzialności za wymiar sprawiedliwości i policję - powiedziała w niedzielę w Dublinie sekretarz stanu USA Hillary Clinton.

na podstawie http://dublin.gazeta.pl/


13 pazdziernika 2009, Hilary Clinton spotkala Naomi Long, Lord Maylor Belfastu w Grand Hall na Uniwersytecie w Belfascie. Rozmawialy o procesie pokojowym, zaangazowaniu Stanow i obecnej sytuacji. Co ciekawe Hilary przywiozla ze soba sluzbe w liczbie ok. 2000 tys osob. Czemu nie mogla zrekrutowac ich sposrod mieszkancow? Srodki bezpieczenstwa. Czy dlugo jeszcze bedzie musialo tak byc?

Wczoraj wrocilam ze spotkania oikos w Belfascie. Nasze zgromadzenie rozpoczelismy w tej samej sali z przemowa tej samej Lord Mayor. Nastepnie mielismy szeroki wybor warsztatow, szkolen, wykladow i wycieczek zwiazanych z tematyka rozwiazywania konfliktow. Wiele kwestii pozostaje otwartych. Ciekawa jest sytuacja mieszanych malzenstw, koedukacyjnych szkol czy druzyn sportowych.

Jednoczesnie mieszkancy chca powoli usuwac slynne malowidla, ktore pojawily sie na murach. Nie chca by ich dzieci ogladaly zamaskowanych zabojcow i pomniki smierci. Z drugiej strony to element ich historii i wielki pomnik walki o niepodleglosc. Ktore racje sa wazniejsze?


W niedzielę jedna z rozłamowych organizacji IRA - INLA (Irish National Liberation Army) wydała komunikat, w którym oświadczyła, iż kończy etap walki zbrojnej. INLA ogłosiła rozejm w 1998 r. W okresie konfliktu w Irlandii Płn. dokonała około 120 zabójstw; dalszych 200 osób zginęło w wyniku krwawych porachunków z jej udziałem. Oświadczenie INLA nie mówi nic o złożeniu broni. Ostateczny termin rozbrojenia północnoirlandzkich organizacji paramilitarnych upływa w lutym 2010 r.

KN

Zermatt

Zermatt (French: Praborgne) is a small town in the district of Visp in the German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It is located at the northern base of the Matterhorn in the Pennine Alps, about 10 km (6 mi) from the border with Italy.

It takes between four and five hours to get from St. Gallen to Zermatt. It is possible to choose Glacier Express or a normal train. The Express is quite an interesting experience but do it once - you can admire almost the same views from the normal train and you don't have to make a reservation. This pays off, as you may get daily card (54CHF with Halbtax) and the whole Swiss teritory is yours. The reservation costs additional 30 CHF. The route may be attractive for newies in Switzerland but after some time you have seen most of these towns.

Zermatt has a permanent population of around 5,800 people, although the actual population varies considerably through the seasons as tourists come and go. The village is situated at the end of Mattertal, a north-facing valley, at an altitude of 1,620 m (5,315 ft). The valley is a dead end; although the border with Italy is close, it cannot be crossed by road, as it traverses a glacier at an altitude of over 3,000 m (9,800 ft). Zermatt is the starting point of the Patrouille des Glaciers and the Haute Route.

We have decided to choose half of the Glacier Express route. From Andermatt the train went forward in the Urserental valley passing the villages of Hospental (1,452 m/4,760 ft) and Realp (1,538 metres/5,050 feet). Then we entered the Furka Tunnel, leaving the old railway line which climbs the Furka Pass (operated today by the Furka Heritage Railway), to emerge in Oberwald (1,368 m/4,490 ft) in the Goms Valley, in the Canton of Valais. We then continued toward the city of Brig following the course of the Rhone and pass along the villages of Ulrichen (1,346 m/4,420 ft), Münster-Geschinen (1,359 m/4,460 ft) and Fiesch (1,049 m/3,440 ft).

From Brig (678 m/2,220 ft) the train continued to Visp (651 m/2,140 ft), then went through the valley of Mattertal and goes up, passing the villages of Stalden (799 m/2,620 ft), St. Niklaus (1,127 m/3,700 ft) and Randa (1,408 m/4,620 ft), where a spectacular debris avalanche completely disconnected the railway and road in 1991. Täsch (1,450 m/4,800 ft) is an important station as it is the end of the open road, therefore a terminal for motorists. After a steeper section the train finally arrived in Zermatt at 1,616 m (5,300 ft), after nearly 5 hours of our travel.

Liechtenstein during the summer

Last week we have decided to vistid Liechtenstein in the summer (after a visit with M. in the winter). The Principality of Liechtenstein is a doubly landlocked alpine microstate in Western Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over 160 km² (about 61.7 square miles) and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is Vaduz, the biggest town is Schaan.

Liechtenstein is the smallest German-speaking country in the world and the only alpine country to lie entirely within the Alps. It is also the only German-speaking country not to share a common frontier with Germany. It is a constitutional monarchy divided into 11 municipalities. Much of Liechtenstein's terrain is mountainous, making it a winter sports destination. Many cultivated fields and small farms characterize its landscape both in the north (Unterland, lower land) and in the south (Oberland, upper land). The country has a strong financial sector located in the capital, Vaduz, and has been identified as a tax haven. It is a member of the European Free Trade Agreement.

We have taken a post bus to Malbun, my favourite place in the whole country. There was a teleferique that took us up to the mountains. Views were really spectacular. You can easily get to 2000 m and then take a walk to the nearest peak.

Così fan tutte

Saturday evening is a perfect time not only for parting but for some higher entertainment as well. K and me, we have decided to visit St Gallen Theater to get to know another opera. Our choice was not made by chance. Big names always are though-provoking. Was he really so good creating this piece? Why is it so famous? Why this subject? Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti (Thus Do They All, or The School For Lovers) K. 588, is an opera buffa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte.

There are three Mozart's operas for which Da Ponte wrote the libretto. The other two Da Ponte-Mozart collaborations were Le nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni.Although it is commonly held that Così fan tutte was written and composed at the suggestion of the Emperor Joseph II, recent research does not prove this idea. There is evidence that Mozart's contemporary Antonio Salieri tried to set the libretto but left it unfinished. In 1994, John Rice uncovered two terzetti by Salieri in the Austrian National Library.

The title, Così fan tutte, literally means "Thus do all [women]" but it is often translated as "Women are like that". The words are sung by the three men in Act II, Scene xiii, just before the finale. Da Ponte had used the line "Così fan tutte le belle" earlier in Le nozze di Figaro (in Act I, Scene vii).

For me the most interestig aspect was how did he feel creating this opera. What is the feeling accompanying the birth of opera? Unfortunately, I may not get an answer. All in all, I enjoyed it a lot. Pity that the audience was mostly in their 50'ties, 60'ties, 70'ties. On our way back, we met youth near the Mc Donald's. They were younger than me, for sure, put with make-up thick as snow on Matterhorn how could you tell their age? How does Madonna feel when she creates new song? The same as Mozart?

a little bit of Swiss traditional music

live from Opening Addresses

I am attending now the Opening Addresses. Ashok Khosla has just started his speech. A few first slides show us how conected we are. Each little action will affect the others. However, there is no comparison in the quality of life. 1.300 million people are suffering from the lack of water. Ashok Khosla calls for the immediate convergence and asking the question: how sustainable is our economy? There is an image of a young girl. She is smilling, looking with hope and trust in her eyes. She is one of people for whom we should develop economically, not the presidents from rich countries.

How big is our ecological rucksack? What can we do to change that? Can we cover the spreading gap?

Dennis Meadows starts with a little exercise. What do we understand by sustainable development? He shows two pens: an expensive brand pen and a cheap pen made from recycled materials. Which one is more stustainable? The question seems to be easy. But after a moment, he explains that the first pen will stay for a long time and will be re-filled, while the second one will be thrown as the ink is more expensive than the pen. Some people after the explanation changed their mind, after being given new information. However, this was only personal opinion. The responsibility is on our side. Will we change our habits? What do we think is more sustainable?

http://www.worldresourcesforum.org/live-opening-addresses