Luxembourg-Séoul, Korea

On the road again. Heading this evening to Seoul via Amsterdam and Beijing. It is Design week in Seoul and we will be doing a story about that and about Hagwons. Stay tuned to find out what that is all about!


This flight is a long one because of the long wait in Beijing... almost 6 hours! But it shouldn't be too bad. The airport in Beijing is very modern and I hope they have a nice business lounge. I am flying economy of course, but have a gold card on Sky Team of which China Southern is a member, so I should be able to use the lounge.


Got a traveller's surprise yesterday in a packet from Lufthansa. I had just made the silver level with Star Alliance! Their silver level is about the same as the gold on Sky Team, meaning I can check-in business and use the lounges. That makes a huge difference in the travelling experience. Plus the card is good for two years instead of just one year at Sky Team. My next trips will be on Lufthansa, not because of the card. The television buys the tickets and looks for the cheapest fares of course. So when I get back from Seoul next Thursday I get ready to leave for Astana, Kazakhstan the following Sunday. Back from that trip I have almost a week before taking off for Los Angeles on the 15th of October. So, lot's of air miles in 3 weeks!

La Traviata à la japonaise!

This is the result of our work in Japan. A great editing job in Euronews... have a look!!!


http://www.euronews.net/2010/09/22/taking-la-traviata-to-tokyo/

Report on 3D art from Greece, Paris and Brussels

http://www.euronews.net/2010/09/08/cultural-heritage-a-new-dimension/

Tokyo, Japan

Last day in Tokyo. We filmed a temple, an interview with the main singer of the opera and then some shots from a boat and more nighttime shots of the city. It has been very easy to film here as no one has bothered me and people are usually happy to be filmed. You also see a lot of people out with their cameras as well as other crews. I remember there was a book written judging countries on their openness, their level of democracy by how free the press can work. It must be very high here, because I have had no problems either coming into the country or working in it.

Tonight we had dinner at a sushi shop where the small plates go around on a small belt and you just grab what you want. If you've never been to a place like that, the waitress comes around when you are done and counts the number and colors of plates you have left to calculate your bill. Green tea comes from a spicket along the counter and is free.


I feel bad leaving Japan so quickly and would love to discover much more. But maybe that will be for another day.

Yokohama/Tokyo, Japan

Michael, me and Jiro at the Opera in Yokohama.

Yokohama is about an hour, hour and a half drive from Tokyo. But you really never see the territorial division because it is city the whole way. Jiro and Michael are the Japanese team we are working with on this shoot. Jiro was born in France. Michael's father is German and he lived in Germany for his studies and speaks German with a south German accent. I was born in Japan. So it is a real international mix. 


Filming at the Opera house was a bit stressful, even if it was just a dress rehearsal. We could only film the first act and then had three interviews after that. The forth with the main actress/singer was cancelled because she had to go see a doctor. We're hoping to do that interview tomorrow if she feels better.

The Yokohama skyline.

In the evening we filmed a bit of the city of Yokohama and then on to film one of the most famous night spots in Tokyo, the Shibuya Crossing, where hundreds of mostly young people in the latest fashions walk around on a Friday evening. When the report is ready on Euronews, you'll see what I mean.


One thing interesting, smoking can be against the law on the streets in some neighborhoods. You can see smoking areas on certain corners with 10-15 people standing around, smoking in this open designated area. But... you can smoke in restaurants!

Dinner was tempura!  Even shrimphead tempura dipped in curry salt. MMMM!!

Luxembourg-Tokyo, Japan

Back in a familiar place… the airport. It’s a cloudy, cool day, but the planes should be on time. Today I am off to Tokyo via Frankfort. I will meet up with Luca, the journalist from Euronews at Narita, the airport in Tokyo tomorrow morning at around 7:30 Tokyo time. We are working for a report called Musica and will be filming the Royal Opera House as they perform La Traviata in Yokohama. It should be interesting. We can’t film the performance, but will film the repetition beforehand. We will work with two cameras, having hired a Japanese crew as well.

One of the best things about being a cameraman is that you are always doing and learning new things. Yesterday, I filmed for the local Luxembourg TV in the north of the country. An association there won two prizes for their hiking trails and organisation. You can go there and they will lend you all the gear you need, boots, pants, jacket, backpack, everything ! And for free ! And the area is very beautiful. I’ll have to go back for a hike !

The double decker A-380.

Frankfort Airport:  Still very difficult to make a Frankfort airport employee smile. Even my excitement about flying on the new A-380 only managed a quiver at the corners of the employee's closed mouth.

But the most important is that I get to fly on the A-380! An unexpected treat! With 526 seats, the boarding has to be organised and organised it is! There are three different corridors to reach the huge plane. 72,5 m long, 24,06 m tall and 79,75 m wingspan. There are 8 first class seats, 98 business and 420 economy seats where I am at 54A near the nose! Talking to two stewardesses, they said working on the A-380 was easier in that there is more cabin crew (21) and it is larger, easier to get around. Even in economy, the seats had good legroom and the windows are much larger than in other planes. And the individual video screens are wide-screen! It was a smooth flight and a pretty good landing to arrive in style in Tokyo!

Bruxelles

Arrived on the TGV (the fast train) from Paris. There was even internet on the train but only free for 1st class. Another beautiful day to be travelling in Europe.


Today we go to the Electrical Engineering department of the Catholic University in Louvain. Here they are doing much the same work as in the Louvre, but with simple cameras rather than with lasers. They have a website where you can take 10-50 pictures of an object and upload them and they will send you back a 3D model of what you took. When the report is on Euronews, you can see how that works.


Took a small tour of Louvain, a student town with very nice pedestrian streets, a fantastic town hall, but not very good ice coffee.

Belgian beer, mussels and fries in Brussels!

In the evening, Anne and I did the typical Brussels tour. It was her first time in the European capital. We saw the sights and had a delicious waffle (with chocolate, bananas and strawberries... don't drool on your computer!) and then ate moules/frites! Mussels with french fries!