What? Why? When?

If you really need those questions answering, you may find you're reading the wrong node.

Oh! sorry. December 21, 2004. As in solstice. As in we would have met for Christmas but had other plans. It further appears that we will meet sometime around 19:30.

Where?

Tough one. First things first: Switzerland and Sweden is not the same place. The capital of Switzerland is Bern. The chief noder-residence of Switzerland is same. Swiss people are highly intelligent and accept that the obvious solution is best.

We therefore meet in Bern. Possibly near the station. Itinerary thereafter is at best sketchy. Your best bet is to /msg someone or wait under the nearest feminist graffiti.

Then what?

It has been clearly demonstrated in the past that good plans and forethought can be advantageously replaced by synchronous mobile communication and thorough knowledge of the meet location. We possess both in ample quantities.

The meet may or may not include: a tour of Bern; drinks in the markthalle; supper at the tramdepot; going to siobhan's because she likes to have visitors; a fondue; snow; snowball fights.

Who cares? I'm not crossing the Atlantic just for you guys!

Although you can now tell the difference between Sweden and Switzerland, you are probably not aware of the fundamental identity of Switzerland. We don't like anyone. As a Swiss, I am forbidden from liking other Europeans. As a French-speaking Swiss, I hate to cross the Röstigraben and find myself on the German-speaking side; I also don't like Swiss-Germans. I also am not permitted to sustain friendly conversation with anyone from the Valais, from Fribourg or, Deity forbid, Geneva.

What it boils down to is that we are breaking a whole load of taboos here, all in the name of e2. Your participation in all of this would not only be applauded and welcome. It would mean your taking part in an event of historical significance. We will not, however, be speaking Swiss-German. Don't push it. We will be speaking English. This language has hitherto been thought of as the imperial symbol of anglophone dominance. It is in fact, as all Swiss people know, the language which is spoken when meeting people from the wrong side of the Röstigraben.

So while you're all pleased with yourself about crossing the pond, we're crossing the Röstigraben here! That is not to be sneered at.

Who?

• mirko, from the wrong side of the Röstigraben. Apparently, this particular kitten is francophone. He may be French.
• siobhan, also from the wrong side and Valaisanne to boot.
• zarkonnen, also from the wrong side.
• themanwho, inhabits the civilised whereabouts of Lausanne.
• you? (bonus points if you are not Swiss!)

Will there be snow?

Probably not. Sorry. I blame global warming, George Bush and the letter Q.

The following people would like to have their place in the history books but find themselves forced to decline

• Wiccanpiper
• Apatrix
• IWhoSawTheFace
• toalight
• StrawberryFrog
• Adebaumann
• wertperch

It's been some time, now and I realise I have not given this event a chance to remain in our memories so here I am:

I was there!

Minutes before I had to leave my warm flat to attend this nodermeet, my NATEL rang. It was themanwho.

And yes, I was coming. :)

10 minutes later : Bern Hauptbanhof. At the "Tibits". My NATEL rings again.
Yes : themanwho. He was outside, violently hurting a poor laptop computer for nerdy reasons. As I was also suffering from the Tibits übercrowd, I went outside. We chatted in English a little. Then we switched to French for obvious reasons... Not our accents. But the "enemy", l'alémanique Zarkonnen was approaching.

Later, the Swiss she-noder, Godmother of this long-awaited nodermeet, the charming siobhan, NATEL'ed themanwho. As we already lost the Röstigraben Battle of the language, we agreed to give up our male-onlyness for her warm feminine presence.

You know how women are... Siobhan first words were: "Hi all, I'm cold and hungry, where shall we go ?"

Being 100% Berner since last millennium, I proposed a few places and we agreed that Vatter, the bio-place, was the best choice. We'd still have had Maksim : the Turk restaurant (not a Kebab-place, it has to be considered as a luxuous ethnic restaurant with genuine Anatolian cooks).

There we are, around a table. The Maître d'Hôtel knows me and we discuss a little. I feel sorry for just not being around quite as much as I should but I had a few matters to discuss with this person. Anyway, despite the not-so-cheap bill, it was delicious meal (Siobhan and I went for veggy stuff while the others went for animal-proteined food). The Greek wine was really good.

So, what could we say ? We met E2ers in our country (of residence, for me). I was surprised by Siobhan and Zarkonnen's accents : They really have this Oxbridge/Camford accent it's a pleasure to hear.

Zarkonnen and I ended in Mr. Pickwick Pub where we discussed a little about my Hacker's Diet before we both went.

Final impression : Switzerland has 7 millions inhabitants. USA have 278 millions. If we gathered 4 persons here, then a typical US-ian nodermeet should gather 158 noders.

So, it was a success !