Smoking in Germany

Way too much smoking in Germany. You can even buy cigarettes from a machine on the street.

FLiXBUS

We are taking the FLiXBUS from Oldenburg to Amsterdam. It's the equivalent of a "MegaBus" in the US.

Train to Germany

We are now on our way to Germany from Amsterdam, by train.

The windmills in Holland are quite modern now!

"Hotel Rwanda"

Yesterday afternoon we visited the Rwanda Genocide Memorial and learned more about the atrocities of the 1994 Genocide of the Tutsi by the Hutu.

Today we had lunch at the Hôtel des Mille Collines, which is the hotel where the 2004 movie "Hotel Rwanda" takes place. The true story is about the manager of the hotel, a Hutu, and his wife, a Tutsi, and how he essentially turns the hotel into a refugee safe haven. It's a really good movie... But it focuses on the heroics of one man rather than the hundreds of thousands of victims. There's so much more to the story of genocide in Rwanda, but thank goodness for the heroics of a few.

Hotel security

The backlighting in this picture makes it difficult to see, but our hotel requires all to go through a metal detector when entering. Also, luggage goes through a scanner. The whole process seems identical to airport security. I'm sure our hotel is not unique in this regard. 

Most stores of any significance require going through a metal detector or at least being scanned with a wand. This would be like going through a metal detector every time you entered a grocery, a mall, or Walmart.

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Susan presenting

Susan presenting at the 2016 All Africa ENT and Audiology Congress in Kigali, Rwanda

It's good to be me

Travel time from our house in Ukiah, California to arriving at our hotel in Kigali, Rwanda, was about 26 hours - with about 20 of those hours trapped in a cramped aluminum tube flying above the earth.

But now we've had a little sleep and are settled in. Susan is in a conference room doing her thing.  But it's good to be me.  I'm having lunch poolside, enjoying chicken somosas, chips (fries), and a cold Mützig beer. My watch says it's 4:00 at home.

Mützig beer is considered to be the best "local" beer by many.  According to Wikipedia, it dates to 1810 in Mutzig, France.  Mützig is considered a flagship African brand and is currently owned by Heineken.  The name was Germanicized by adding the umlaut (for marketing purposes) and launched in Africa in 1987.

Kigali Serena Hotel

Probably... No,... DEFINITELY the nicest hotel we've stayed at in Africa.

(But we still have to brush our teeth with bottled water.)

I'm Rich!

The currency in Rwanda is the Rwandan franc, with origins from when Rwanda became a colony of Belgium in 1916. (previously German colony.)

My FIFTEEN THOUSAND FRANCS are worth almost $19 USD.

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Rwanda 2016

Susan was invited to be a speaker on a panel at the All Africa ENT meeting this year, so we arrived in Rwanda last night and will be here until Wednesday evening when we head to Germany for a couple days before returning home.

We are in the capital city, Kigali, at the Kigali Serena Hotel, where the conference is happening. This is a very nice hotel and I hope to enjoy some relaxing time while Susan is in business mode.

Below is from the organization's website.

INVITATION

Dear Colleagues and Friends; It is our great honour to invite you to the "All Africa ENT & Audiology" (AAENTA) congress and exhibition which will be held from 20th - 22nd June 2016 at Kigali Serena Hotel. 

Rwanda Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery Society (ROHNSS), an organisation that brings together ENT surgeons and audiologists in Rwanda is proud to host All Africa ENT and Audiology (AAENTA) congress 2016. AAENTA congress is a four-yearly scientific conference that brings together ENT surgeons and audiologists in Africa with guest speakers and delegates from the American Academy of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery Society and other leading otolaryngologists in the world. 

The objectives of this conference: 

Promote regional and international collaborations in ENT Head and Neck Surgery and Audiology

Promote and strengthen ENT and Audiology training in Africa

Promote and encourage best practices by utilising evidence based medicine from local research output

AAENTA congress 2016 is a joint conference between PAFOS and the AAO-HNS and shall be organised under the auspices of ROHNSS, PAFOS and AAO-HNSS. We expect 200-300 ENT surgeons, audiologists other related specialties from Africa and the rest of the world to attend this congress.

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