The last time I went to Buenos Aires, I left Hannover Airport on September 13th 2001, just two days after September 11th. I remember that the wife of my young colleague and travel companion was very worried, because for days it felt that the world might go to war for a third time. After we had our first glass of wine in the airport lounge, the airport was evacuated and we had to withdraw to the parking place. There was a bomb threat and nobody knew where the potential bomb might be. I thought going to a public parking lot when there is a bomb threat is not the best option and we made it back into the lounge and had a second glass of wine. There was no bomb. Then we flew off to Argentina, while the US airspace was blocked for any aviation.

I remember that we went for dinner and paid quite a price for a steak. I wondered that if this is expensive for us, then how do the Argentineans pay for their steak? Weeks later they rose up. There were street riots, looting of shops and people died in street fights. Then Argentina un-pegged the Peso from the US$ while I was sitting in a tango bar in Buenos Aires. The currency literally collapsed and the country declared default on their debts.

Now, more than 10 years later I returned to Buenos Aires as a stop over to Patagonia. It is one of my favorite cities. The artistic and creative output is ranked as one of the word's highest. Who ever knows how to do such rankings?