OMV Krampus in Tripoli

Luckily some things don´t change. Mainly if some persons keep old and well established traditions. One of these traditions is the OMV Xmas / Nikolo invitation.
By tradition, Franco Caparotti of OMV comes as "Nikolo" or "Krampus" and gives out presents to persons who have deserved it during the year.
Unfortunately the OMV guest house in Regatta has not been available for this event in 2012, so it was held in a smaller setup.
However, I heard that 2013 will see the return of the BIG Krampus party.  

The Future Development in Libya

Just in time for a Christmas gift, Colonel Pusztai makes his analysis on the future development of Libya available to everybody interested.
Above you just see one slide (the one on economy), the full presentation also covers all different kinds of risks.
It that can be downloaded with the link below.
 
Presentation Col.Pusztai

Tripoli´s 9 hole championship course

Many foreigners complain that weekends are boring in Tripoli. Well, I am sure they have not discovered all the beauties here.

Like "Ghargharesh International Golf course" for instance. A true 9 hole championship course, though a bit different from what you might expect.

Starting off Tee number 1 you have a wonderful view to the clubhouse. Ok, at the moment it is still under construction, but one can already now imagine the unique architecture filled with marble, chandellier and state of the art locker rooms with jacuzzi, steamroom and sauna. Overlooking the deep blue mediterranean with the sun setting over the ocean.
Sorry, I got carried away...

 Later on, my golf buddy Stefan and me found out that hole no 1 is actually hole no 5 but we probably missed the signs that pointed towards the starting tee.
Two dogs showed us the way and we thought they must know it. On the first T-box an old shoe was waiting already to be used as a tee.

And what a golf course the "Gharghares championship course" is: If you are not playing accurate, you easily end up in the rough. And believe me, you don`t want to to be in the rough on that course. Very challenging to get out again, and no "ground under repair sign which would let you have a free drop". Also no red stakes which would let you drop with a penalty, so one must play the ball as it lies.

Even on the fairway you sometimes make acquaintance with objects that do not belong to the course.  According to the rules, man made objects can be removed without penalty, or you have a free drop. So I could move the broom without penalty and luckily the tablet blister did not hinder my swing.

Finally we arrive at the signature hole. "The brown double monster" it is called. Always well protected by a local dog who takes away each and every ball that does not land on the green. 

Stefan is playing a very ambitious round. No wonder, after the first few wholes he is only very few shots over par. But then the unavoidable happened: The ball goes into the heavy rough. Very heavy rough. But he does not give up. Do some of you still remember the French Jean Van de Welde? Who did not give up at the 18th hole, played into the water and then even out of the water (where he actually lost it). Not giving up is also Stefan´s thing.

 Finally we meet the "real guys" Those local golf fanatics that would come every weekend to play a round on this challenging course. On the picture we see Ramadan, doing his last business call before starting off tee number 1.
And those guys really know how to play.

Of course, golf fashion is slightly different than in Continental Europe: The revolution left its footprint and thus military look is very much en vogue.

Oh, and I nearly forgot to tell the best thing about golf in Tripoli: It´s completely free of charge... but I guess not for long anymore.

Post aus Feldkirch

Na das ist ja eine Überraschung! Da flattert doch tatsächlich ein Brief aus Feldkirch im Büro ein. Naja, fast - denn eigentlich flatterte er beim Hauptpostamt (äh, soll heissen DEM Postamt) in Tripolis ein. Dieses befindet sich unweit unseres Büros am Midan Jazair (Algerien Platz), aber auch das ist schon eine kleine Sensation, denn bisher haben Briefe entweder monatelang gebraucht bis sie angekommen sind (eine Weihnachtskarte aus dem Jahr 2011 erhielt ich im Juli 2012)  oder sie kamen überhaupt nicht an.
Aber die eigentliche Situation kommt erst: Der Postbeamte rief bei uns im Büro an und teilte mir persönlich mit, dass ein eingeschriebener Brief gekommen sei. Ich solle binnen der nächsten Stunde unbedingt kommen, dann könne er mir den Brief persönlich übergeben.
Und jetzt kommt noch die dritte Sensation: Der Brief hat von Feldkirch nach Tripolis nur 17 Tage gebraucht !!!
Schön auch in diesem Bereich kleine positive Veränderungen zu sehen.  

New parking technique in Tripoli

There are various explanations why you would park your car like this:

1. You want to prevent your car from being stolen
2. You figured out the parking slot was just the right size for you
3. Nobody told you this was a "Handicapped only" parking space
4. You woke up one day and realized there was a revolution

Nobel Prize for the EU

When it was announced in autumn this year that the EU will be awarded the Nobel prize for peace, it took many by surprise.
On monday, the prize was officially handed over to the EU in Oslo. This needed to be celebrated, also in Tripoli. So I followed the invitation of the EU Ambassador to Libya to hold a ceremony at the Corinthia hotel. Peter Zsoldos told the audience about the European sucess project of maintaining peace in Europe for so many years and about assisting other countries in need.

European politicians stressed out during the last few days that the prize was awarded to each and every citizen of the EU and it was also those people who deserved the prize.
So I was confident that also the prize money (roughly 1m million Euros) would be distributed among the EU citzens. I took my wallet with me, but figured out that in the end the  money went elsewhere.
Too bad......
I guess I will have to win the prize myself.

Corinthia vs Radisson Blu in Tripoli

Interestingly, when it comes to hotels with international standards, Tripoli can offer only two of such kind:
The Corinthia Bab Africa hotel and the Radisson Blu. Of course, if you ask the management of either hotel, then the reply must be "There is only on hotel fulfilling international standards".
For me, it is still an open battle. At the beginning of the economic boom (2006/7), Corinthia was the only top end hotel in town. That´s also why they could charge rates of 350 EUR and above. No discount. For anybody. However, as of 2010 other hotels entered the market: Intercontinental with the Waddan, Rixos (Al Nasr), Four Points by Sheraton Hai Andalus and of course Radisson Blu Mahari. Oh, I nearly forgot, Mariott also opened a hotel. Actually it was opened on 17 February 2011. Great day for a grand opening. Too sad it was closed the next day again. I dont want to give a Tripoli hotel history lecture here, but rather compare the two only remaining int´l hotels in town:
When it comes to price, Radisson is up by at least 10-20% over Corinthia. However, I consider amenities more or less the same. In both hotels you have gyms, spas, outdoor pools, restaurants, etc. Radisson claims to have the best Italian restaurant in town (I must admit, it is good...) while Corinthia has the largest buffet style lunch and dinner (and a brunch at weekends). From the location it depends what you need to do. Traffic has become a nightmare and both hotels are equally convenient located. However, Corinthia definitely does have better parking facilities. If you have an appointment in Radisson, you rather go by Taxi, or you have to take the car with you inside the lobby.
During the sunny months, Radisson has a nicer atmosphere, sitting on its terrace either overlooking the pool (in the restaurant) or just having the chillout feeling on the outside terrace in the coffee shop. But this was not always like this, as it opened only 2010 after a complete refurbishment of the old Mahari hotel.
And the future ?
Well, lets see: Two days ago I was attending the handover ceremony from the current Marketing & Sales Manager, Unay Turkoz and his succesor Silvia Jurecka (see also photo). Listening to the words of the Director Generall of Radisson, Silvia shall continue the succesful way of her predecessor who started in Libya over a year ago.
I wish her good luck.
She will need it.