Merkel- Iron Chancellor

Hopefully Angela Merkel stands her grounds and does not allow further bailouts. Why should Germany pay for the other countries' Dolce Vita??????????????

Big freeze in Germany

These days we had -20C at night. Siberian temperatures, brrrr. But we survived, paying an enormous gas bill. Berlin, Germany.

Eurozone in 'Different Light'

Hape Kerkeling schreibt in seinem Buch Ich bin dann mal weg. Meine Reise auf dem Jakobsweg. (Muenchen: Pieper, 2006, p. 62):

"Ein spanischer Koenig hat mal etwas gesagt, woran ich heute viel denken muss:
In Italienisch singt man,
in Englisch dichtet man,
in Deutsch verhandelt man,
in Franzoesisch liebt man,
und in Spanisch betet man."

Ahhh, wie poetisch.....

Money for Pakistan

Now, southern province of Pakistan is affected. In Germany, all TV channels are constantly calling for donations....last night, 8 million euros donated alone! Impressive. 

Nuclear Waste in Germany

Nuclear waste is hard to dispose of. Often far-away countries or the oceans serve as dumping grounds, but this time a deserted salt mine in Lower Saxony/Germany tells the story. Having been a deceptively safe 'storage' of Germany's nuclear waste for almost 50 years, the mine has grown instable, is filling with water and on the verge of collapsing. Now, a new solution must be found quickly before more radioactive water leaks into the environment. (National Geographic)

This is how it looks above the hazardous source:

Whose Six Packs are those?

(German Focus No 24/2010)

Worldcup Chatter

I chatted with an English academic about football, the classic game England vs. Germany in particular.
He coolly said that the best team should win. However, upon leaving the room he mumbled: “But my money is on Germany” and grinned all over his face. Well, Germany won (4-1).

Kerkeling ueber Rhythmus und Menschen

"Rhythmus und Tempo trennen die meisten Menschen auf dem Weg. Es ist schwer, jemanden zu finden, der in einem aehnlichen Takt ueber den Weg tanzt. [...] Erst muss man sich seines eigenen Tempos ganz sicher sein und kann sich dann vielleicht jemandem anschliessen. Die Pilger sind, fuehlen und denken, wie sie laufen." (From: Ich bin dann mal weg. Meine Reise auf dem Jakobsweg, 2006)  

Invasive Ants from the Alps Spread North in Germany

The German magazine FOCUS features an article about ants which seem to be exceptionally aggressive as they keep heading north. Nothing can really stop them. Coming from the Alps, where they are from, they have come as far as Munich. As soon as people sit down outdoors on benches, in parks or playgrounds, they ‘attack’ their invader by crawling all over. Experts say that not even poison does the job because the queen who is the only one producing eggs is fed with the best food. Hence, the ants workers may end up taking poison to their ‘quarters’ and eliminate part of the brood, but in several months, if not weeks, they have compensated the loss. The queen is not affected.
National Geographic issued findings of a study on ants living in the city as well. Scientists revealed that they have never before seen an ants species invading cities and building like this. As they move on, their colonies become larger and more complex than before, which makes them invasive. On the other hand, ants spreading in the city is not surprising since it is the ideal place to nest and eat for them. (Source Photo: National Geographic)

Graduates' Favourite Work Places

(German Focus No 24/2010) 

SOFIA Science Center - What is it?

SOFIA stands for Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy and is a Boing 747 with a German telescope. Cruising 12km above Earth, it is able to capture photographically and study 80% of infrared light that is normally studied by telescopes orbiting in space. Even though the development of this project cost $1 billion dollars, it is thought to reduce maintenance cost in the long run since space telescopes are a lot more expensive to upgrade or repair. There we have another interesting achievement of science & technology, costing the tax payer hard-earned money. Hopefully it serves mankind well.

(Picture: www.sofia.usra.edu)

Satellite - Love - Eurovision

How does that go together? Well, easy: A love song called 'Satellite' wins the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo. And it was Lena who sang and won for Germany. Nice surprise. As an expatriat living in the UK I heard of Germany's victory several days later and checked out the song. Well, I am surprised that she won. Was it because of her cheaky innocence, the casual freshness and clumsy dancing? Well, whatever the reason, she won! She touched people's minds, which is more important than a perfect voice or perfect artistic performance. Hear the song here.   (Photo: Amazon)

Eurozone Shocker

All members of the European Union violated their own rules: not to exceed debt of 60% of the GDP and 3% deficit. Even Germany cannot put on an innocent face....(source: bbc.co.uk)

Second World War Bombs Still Kill

In Goettingen,in the heartland of Germany, a 500kg bomb from the time of World War II was found during excavation works to build a stadium. The alerted specialists, experienced sappers and combat engineers, evacuated the surrounding area immediately and initiated defuse action. But before they  could actually deactivate the bomb, it exploded. 3 specialists died. Bombs, which where dropped by allied air fighters in the 1940s, are still found quite often. Normally they do not explode unexpectedly, but they become increasingly instable with age. Sadly, despite its official end 65 years ago, WW II has claimed further three casualties. (Adapted from BBC; Photo: Spiegel)

Bailout

Bailingout might be the most-used and most-hated word of 2009 and 2010, most-hated at least by those countries which have to pay the bailout bill. Last year governments in Europe and America had to bailout their banks. Now bailing-out has reached the highest ever form of preventing total and utter ruin: countries bailing out other countries. The bailout contenders in the moment of truth: Germany and Greece. The Germans - with utmost reluctance  and unwillingness - were forced to give billions to the Greeks because the Greek system had gone bust. It happened in April 2010.

There is one man who had predicted exactly that: Nouril Roubini, Economist. That was in March 2009! Time Magazine published his assessment.

Who's Europe's Engine?

Cover of the magazine The Economist (March 13-19th 2010)

Hometown Snow Wonder

New Year's Eve 2009 was a blast, for various reasons. People were excited about the chance to ignite their fireworks AND freshly fallen and settled powder snow coated nature and the city...just like in the story book...source of the photo: local newspaper "Maerksiche Allgemeine".

Start of Big Freeze in Germany

December 2009. Heavy snowfall affected most countries of Middle Europe. These are impressions from norther Germany during the first day. The pictures speak of tranquility and calmness, just as the snowflakes floated down, slowly and silently.

Massive Christmas Tree

My first impressive Christmas tree this season I saw in Dresden. It's probably 6-7 metres high, set in the main hall of Dresden Central Station. The buzzy  atmosphere attracted large numbers of people; it was cosy and "Christmassy".