Dear Friends,
Twelve years ago, when I lived in Cologne, some of my friends went to Budapest on the May 1st holiday. In our group of friends there were three girls from Hungary: Zsofi I, Crista and Moni. Moni had just returned home and they wanted to visit her. At that time I was on a business trip to Brazil, so I couldn't join them. The following year they went again to Budapest on the same date. This time I was part of the group. In 1998 Zsofi I had returned home, so again a group of friends decided to go there on May 1st. I couldn't join them, because I went to Berlin with Paulo that at that time lived in Brussels.
* * * * *
In 1998 many of the friends from our group in Cologne had either moved somewhere else or were about to do it: Via went to Lyon, I came to Barcelona, Gianpiero went to Venezuela, Cai went to Hamburg, Zsofi II went back to Hungary and so on. We then decided that every year we would try to meet somewhere in Europe on May 1st. This is what we did last week in Sardinia, Italy, when we celebrated our thirteenth annual meeting. This
time we were nine people: Zsofi I, Cai, Julica, Eva, Christian, Nadine, Gianpiero, Monica and I. We rented a house south of Olbia and stayed there one week, until last Saturday. The house was big and from the veranda we had a gorgeous view of the sea. The photo beside may give you an idea of its garden.
* * * * *
The week was very relaxing. We had good weather and could have breakfast outdoor, read and write in the garden, make excursions, swim in the sea or have a siesta in the afternoon. At night Cai lit the fire at the fireplace in the living room and we enjoyed great dinners cooked by Zsofi. She is not only a very competent culinary writer, but also a fantastic cook. We had a great time together and could only regret that, as every year, some of our friends could not be there with us. Well, they will have the opportunity to catch up next year, when we next meet in Greece.
* * * * *
Last Saturday most of us left Sardinia. I went to Rome, where I stayed until Monday night. I had been there only once before, in 1988, when I made a two week tour around Italy with friends from São Paulo. In 1988 I could speak fairly well Italian and was very excited about my first trip to the country. However, a number of small incidents and bad treatment resulted in a great disappointment. To a point that during many years I made the joke that when I threw the two coins at Fontana di Trevi one was for a wish and the second one was for never going back there again (tradition has it that the second coin is to come back to Rome again…).
* * * * *
At that time we were young backpackers, travelling on low budget during the high summer season. We occupied space and spent too little money. Very soon it became clear to me that we were unwanted, that people in general were more interested in elder and richer tourists, with deep pockets and ready to spend real money. Today I understand how short sighted and silly this approach is. There are lots of interesting places in the world that are worth a trip. If you treat young visitors badly, they won't feel like coming back. In 1988 I didn't have money enough either to travel frequently or to expend nicely. Today my budget is more generous, but Italy lost me as a potential customer already during my first visit. Since then I have spent my money somewhere else while on vacation. It was no surprise to me when I read that Italy has fallen from being the world's most popular tourist destination 30 year ago to the fifth place today - despite of its unmatched heritage and beautiful landscape.
* * * * *
Once in Rome, I was shocked how little I could remember from my previous visit. Usually I have a good memory for cities and how to move around them. From Rome I could remember being to the hot spots, but couldn't recall how to go from one place to the next one, or how far things were, or even how to locate them on the map. From this point of view, it was like visiting a new city. Even more so because I also realised that there were lots of places where I hadn't been before. I wondered what we had done during almost one week in town twenty years ago.
* * * * *
Going around, another thing was also evident: Italy's stagnation in the last decade or so. When the economy stops and the country doesn't grow, the signs are easy to see: buildings that are not renovated, decaying infra-structure, old cars on the street, dirty streets, parks that are not properly taken care of, people looking tired on the buses, poor service... Even the good news was actually bad news: it was substantially less expensive to dine out compared to Barcelona, what probably means that local people have a reduced budget to expend in restaurants (and I must admit, everywhere the food was great). If you give a look to the figures, the Italian malaise is clear: the economy has underperformed compared to other European countries in almost every indicator. This year and next Italy is expected to experience the lowest growth in the European Union.
* * * * *
In the mid of XIX century Tsar Nicholas I of Russia is believed to have called the Ottoman Empire "the sick man of Europe". Lately "The Economist" is using this expression to label the appalling performance of the Italian economy. Talking to people there you realize that most of them blame external causes for their poor performance: the immigration, the Euro, the EU, the oil price, ECB interest rate policy, globalisation, you name it… However, the sad truth is that their problems are almost entirely home-grown and only they can fix them: red tape, tax evasion, corruption, inflexible labour laws, state companies, budget deficit, public debt, huge civil service headcount, high taxes, low productivity growth, protected business sectors, heavy regulations, poor education at school and university levels, the list is actually far too long. Of course it is easier to blame others than to face all these problems. Unfortunately, as Argentina has already proved, a rich country can decay for decades if they don't fix their problems - and then one day they are no longer a rich country. Considering the results of recent elections, the record track of previous Berlusconi governments and the mood on the streets, there is little reason for hope that Italy will do any better in the next future. That is a shame, but ultimately it is up to them: they must know best what is convenient for them, and then live with the consequences of their choices!
Wish you a nice week,
Maurício
PS - This time I went again to Fontana di Trevi and threw two coins for two wishes. They were very similar to those made twenty years ago. I find it amazing not only that I can remember exactly what my wishes were twenty years ago, but also how consistent I have been for decades…
Twelve years ago, when I lived in Cologne, some of my friends went to Budapest on the May 1st holiday. In our group of friends there were three girls from Hungary: Zsofi I, Crista and Moni. Moni had just returned home and they wanted to visit her. At that time I was on a business trip to Brazil, so I couldn't join them. The following year they went again to Budapest on the same date. This time I was part of the group. In 1998 Zsofi I had returned home, so again a group of friends decided to go there on May 1st. I couldn't join them, because I went to Berlin with Paulo that at that time lived in Brussels.
* * * * *
In 1998 many of the friends from our group in Cologne had either moved somewhere else or were about to do it: Via went to Lyon, I came to Barcelona, Gianpiero went to Venezuela, Cai went to Hamburg, Zsofi II went back to Hungary and so on. We then decided that every year we would try to meet somewhere in Europe on May 1st. This is what we did last week in Sardinia, Italy, when we celebrated our thirteenth annual meeting. This
time we were nine people: Zsofi I, Cai, Julica, Eva, Christian, Nadine, Gianpiero, Monica and I. We rented a house south of Olbia and stayed there one week, until last Saturday. The house was big and from the veranda we had a gorgeous view of the sea. The photo beside may give you an idea of its garden.* * * * *
The week was very relaxing. We had good weather and could have breakfast outdoor, read and write in the garden, make excursions, swim in the sea or have a siesta in the afternoon. At night Cai lit the fire at the fireplace in the living room and we enjoyed great dinners cooked by Zsofi. She is not only a very competent culinary writer, but also a fantastic cook. We had a great time together and could only regret that, as every year, some of our friends could not be there with us. Well, they will have the opportunity to catch up next year, when we next meet in Greece.* * * * *
Last Saturday most of us left Sardinia. I went to Rome, where I stayed until Monday night. I had been there only once before, in 1988, when I made a two week tour around Italy with friends from São Paulo. In 1988 I could speak fairly well Italian and was very excited about my first trip to the country. However, a number of small incidents and bad treatment resulted in a great disappointment. To a point that during many years I made the joke that when I threw the two coins at Fontana di Trevi one was for a wish and the second one was for never going back there again (tradition has it that the second coin is to come back to Rome again…).
* * * * *
At that time we were young backpackers, travelling on low budget during the high summer season. We occupied space and spent too little money. Very soon it became clear to me that we were unwanted, that people in general were more interested in elder and richer tourists, with deep pockets and ready to spend real money. Today I understand how short sighted and silly this approach is. There are lots of interesting places in the world that are worth a trip. If you treat young visitors badly, they won't feel like coming back. In 1988 I didn't have money enough either to travel frequently or to expend nicely. Today my budget is more generous, but Italy lost me as a potential customer already during my first visit. Since then I have spent my money somewhere else while on vacation. It was no surprise to me when I read that Italy has fallen from being the world's most popular tourist destination 30 year ago to the fifth place today - despite of its unmatched heritage and beautiful landscape.
* * * * *
Once in Rome, I was shocked how little I could remember from my previous visit. Usually I have a good memory for cities and how to move around them. From Rome I could remember being to the hot spots, but couldn't recall how to go from one place to the next one, or how far things were, or even how to locate them on the map. From this point of view, it was like visiting a new city. Even more so because I also realised that there were lots of places where I hadn't been before. I wondered what we had done during almost one week in town twenty years ago.
* * * * *
Going around, another thing was also evident: Italy's stagnation in the last decade or so. When the economy stops and the country doesn't grow, the signs are easy to see: buildings that are not renovated, decaying infra-structure, old cars on the street, dirty streets, parks that are not properly taken care of, people looking tired on the buses, poor service... Even the good news was actually bad news: it was substantially less expensive to dine out compared to Barcelona, what probably means that local people have a reduced budget to expend in restaurants (and I must admit, everywhere the food was great). If you give a look to the figures, the Italian malaise is clear: the economy has underperformed compared to other European countries in almost every indicator. This year and next Italy is expected to experience the lowest growth in the European Union.
* * * * *
In the mid of XIX century Tsar Nicholas I of Russia is believed to have called the Ottoman Empire "the sick man of Europe". Lately "The Economist" is using this expression to label the appalling performance of the Italian economy. Talking to people there you realize that most of them blame external causes for their poor performance: the immigration, the Euro, the EU, the oil price, ECB interest rate policy, globalisation, you name it… However, the sad truth is that their problems are almost entirely home-grown and only they can fix them: red tape, tax evasion, corruption, inflexible labour laws, state companies, budget deficit, public debt, huge civil service headcount, high taxes, low productivity growth, protected business sectors, heavy regulations, poor education at school and university levels, the list is actually far too long. Of course it is easier to blame others than to face all these problems. Unfortunately, as Argentina has already proved, a rich country can decay for decades if they don't fix their problems - and then one day they are no longer a rich country. Considering the results of recent elections, the record track of previous Berlusconi governments and the mood on the streets, there is little reason for hope that Italy will do any better in the next future. That is a shame, but ultimately it is up to them: they must know best what is convenient for them, and then live with the consequences of their choices!
Wish you a nice week,
Maurício
PS - This time I went again to Fontana di Trevi and threw two coins for two wishes. They were very similar to those made twenty years ago. I find it amazing not only that I can remember exactly what my wishes were twenty years ago, but also how consistent I have been for decades…
2 comments:
Lieber Mauricio, ja - wir hatten eine tolle Zeit zusammen in Olbia. Nachtreffen am 7./8. Juni! Kommst Du? Letzte Gelegenheit, Zsofi in Brüssel zu besuchen. :-) Liebe Grüße - Eva
You have been good time, but now is time for work and take money, very money for new trips (with me, of course). In 2009 Greece!!!!
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