The German word "Katastrophe" translates to the English word "catastrophe". In a lot of cases that translation is pretty correct. Where English speakers would describe the current flooding in Patistan and the BP oil spill in the Gulf as "catastrophes", a German speaker would say they are both "Katastrophen".
The difference is that use of the word "Katastrophe" occurs much more frequently in German than you would hear "catastrophe" in English. I think that if someone don't have clean socks to match the color of their pants, a German would describe it as a "Katastrophe". As in English for such a situation, this is usually done tongue-in-cheek, but the joke is so prevalent in German conversations that it seems to have lost at least some of its humor.
19 August 2010
14 August 2010
Freiburg, August 2010
Generally speaking, I have a more of a preference for the villages and countryside of Germany than I do the cities. In fact, I think I can say that about most countries that I have visited. I just think that is were you find the soul of the county.
However, Germany is blessed with a number of cities that have a sense of uniqueness to them making a visit worthwhile. One of those cities that we keep going back to is Freiburg. Freiburg, on the western edge of the Black Forest, is the major German city in the southwest corner of Germany. It was established around 1120 as a fortified market town of free citizens. This is the basis for the name of the city ("frei" meaning free and "burg' meaning a fortified citry). The city holds on to its roots as a market town in a couple of ways.
First there is a large market around the Freiburg Munster, Monday through Sunday. When we were there on a Tuesday at the beginning of August, I would estimate 30 framer stands selling fruits and vegetables, 4 selling flowers, another 2 stands selling meat, 4 stands selling cheese, 5-6 selling prepared food, 2 selling carved wooden items (a black forest specialty), and another 5-6 selling other items. Really a good size market, especially for an every day market.
The other connection to the roots as a market town is the availability of department stores and shops in the city. Freiburg has a huge pedestrian area that is lined with such stores. Shopping in Germany can be interesting. The sales people in the major department stores tend to be professionals who have been doing their job for quite a while. Many can look at you and tell you what your size is. Not only that they will know there stock and know if they have something that might be the right cut and color for you. If you try something on that is not a good fit or color, they will tell you and suggest you try something else. If they don't have anything, they will let you know that they have nothing that they can recommend.
The church at the center of Freibug is called referred to the Frieiburg Munster. Munster means that it is a major church but is not the seat of a bishop. However, this church has been the seat of archbishop of Freiburg since 1827 and therefore could be referred to as a cathedral. The church in transitional, having been started in 1200 as a Romanesque church but with construction switching over to the Gothic style about 1230. Although the tower is currently under reconstruction and is covered by scaffolding, I know from past trips that the climb to the top is well worth the effort for it's 360 degree views and the close-up look at the intricate stonework of the belfry.
There are a number of other reasons to like this city from the gutter system that dates back to the middle ages to support the fighting of fires, the remains of the wall that fortified the city, the late Gothic Merchant's Hall and the City Hall from the 16th century, to the restaurants along Munsterplatz that have outdoor seating allowing you to enjoy a beer or glass of wine in the shadow of the Munster anytime of the year (in winter, each chair has a blanket or a sheepskin that you can wrap up in). Freiburg is also has one of Germany's oldest universities, which adds to the vibrancy of this city.
The other connection to the roots as a market town is the availability of department stores and shops in the city. Freiburg has a huge pedestrian area that is lined with such stores. Shopping in Germany can be interesting. The sales people in the major department stores tend to be professionals who have been doing their job for quite a while. Many can look at you and tell you what your size is. Not only that they will know there stock and know if they have something that might be the right cut and color for you. If you try something on that is not a good fit or color, they will tell you and suggest you try something else. If they don't have anything, they will let you know that they have nothing that they can recommend.
There are a number of other reasons to like this city from the gutter system that dates back to the middle ages to support the fighting of fires, the remains of the wall that fortified the city, the late Gothic Merchant's Hall and the City Hall from the 16th century, to the restaurants along Munsterplatz that have outdoor seating allowing you to enjoy a beer or glass of wine in the shadow of the Munster anytime of the year (in winter, each chair has a blanket or a sheepskin that you can wrap up in). Freiburg is also has one of Germany's oldest universities, which adds to the vibrancy of this city.
09 August 2010
Air India
Returning from the US on Air India was a trip. Which is to say, it was an interesting experience.
I had decided that buying US to Germany air tickets with a 6 or 7 month durations was not the cheapest way to manage my returns to Columbus. Plus it required me to lock in my plans that far in advance, and that was becoming a problem. Of course, usually a one way ticket cost as much or more than a round trip. That is with the exception of Air India. They were offering a one way ticket for just about one half of what I was being offered a round trip. So I decided, why not.
The flight from Columbus to Chicago was on United. Checking in, I found that United could not give me a boarding pass on the Air India flight. I would have to go to the Air India check-in counter in terminal 5 and get it there. Which, of course might mean a standing in a line with other passengers checking in. United could check my bag all the way to Frankfurt, so at least I did not have to drag that along with me.
Arriving in terminal 1, I made my way to the train that connect the terminals and got to terminal 5. All the ticket counters seemed empty. I found a sigh directing me to the left for Air India and started walking pass one empty counter after another until I noticed at the end of the terminal a huge mass of people in front of one counter. You guessed it, in fount of the Air India counter. I have only seen lines like this checking in at Frankfurt. But this was different. Most of the people in this line seemed to be with a large family group, and each family had one or two carts overflowing with luggage. My heart sank as I figured that this meant a minimum of an hour standing in line to get a boarding pass. An hour and a half was more likely. I checked my watch to see how much time I had before the flight, I would still have to get through security. I wasn't sure that I'd make it.
Then a guy in a uniform asked what I needed. When I explained that I just needed a boarding pass, I got put in the line for first class passengers. In five minutes I had my boarding pass, problem solved.
Security was no problem. Surprisingly, the gate was not at the end of the terminal that way the check-in counter was. Although the gate was pretty full, I was able to find a seat to wait for boarding. After a little while, the same guy that had directed me to the first class line asked to see my boarding pass and told me that I was in group 3. I noticed that there was a team of about 5 people doing this to everyone at the gate.
Later, I found that this team where the "herders". Boarding began by calling group 1. As the line formed, one of the herders positioned themselves at the head of the line. Their job was to turn back anyone that was not in the correct group. Once the group 1 line had formed, the other herders went through the gate lobby and called group 2 into line. Then later, group 3. I didn't matter that to get into line, you had to leave the gate. Their job was to keep a continuous flow of people in the line. Never seen it done quite so forcefully.
As I entered the main cabin, one of the stewardesses was positioned to greet each guest. The Air India uniform consisted of a black top, a white sari with black and red print, a red belt and a black sort of pill box cap. An attempt to appear modern, and still have a bit of the flavor of India.
The plane was a new one, a Boeing 777. The seating configuration was 3-3-3 instead of the 2-5-2 that I have usually seen. Each seat had a 10 inch screen and a control indicating a personal entertainment system. This might me fun. The only problem with these entertainment systems is that there is a box attached to the leg of the seat in front of you that takes some space. Why they cannot come up with a form factor that gets this out of the way of the passenger's feet, I don't understand.
As the plane started to taxi, the screen came on showing the view in front of the plane. They actually had a camera positioned so that the passengers can see the taxi and takeoff. During take off, the camera angle changed to show the ground directly below the plane, until we got above the clouds. I liked this idea.
I checked the available movies. Their where 4 relatively current US films, and about 6 classic US films. But their where about a dozen Bollywood films. I looked around, and these where definitely popular. There where also a number of games, music options and maps. There was a option to view the cameras out the front, down or sides. But these must have been turned off during the flight.
Dinner was a curry, not too surprisingly. Other than that, the in-flight service was pretty much what I have come to expect.
During the landing, the video screen once again showed the view from the front of the plane so you could see the runway breaking through the clouds and appearing to come closer up to touchdown. This is a cool idea.
All and all, I was happy with the flight. Thank goodness that I did not have to stand in that line in Chicago. Than might have changed my opinion drastically. And I wasn't all that thrilled about the feeling of being herded. But in-flight, everything was a good or better than any of the American carries I have used. Not that they are setting a very high bar to exceed.
I had decided that buying US to Germany air tickets with a 6 or 7 month durations was not the cheapest way to manage my returns to Columbus. Plus it required me to lock in my plans that far in advance, and that was becoming a problem. Of course, usually a one way ticket cost as much or more than a round trip. That is with the exception of Air India. They were offering a one way ticket for just about one half of what I was being offered a round trip. So I decided, why not.
The flight from Columbus to Chicago was on United. Checking in, I found that United could not give me a boarding pass on the Air India flight. I would have to go to the Air India check-in counter in terminal 5 and get it there. Which, of course might mean a standing in a line with other passengers checking in. United could check my bag all the way to Frankfurt, so at least I did not have to drag that along with me.
Arriving in terminal 1, I made my way to the train that connect the terminals and got to terminal 5. All the ticket counters seemed empty. I found a sigh directing me to the left for Air India and started walking pass one empty counter after another until I noticed at the end of the terminal a huge mass of people in front of one counter. You guessed it, in fount of the Air India counter. I have only seen lines like this checking in at Frankfurt. But this was different. Most of the people in this line seemed to be with a large family group, and each family had one or two carts overflowing with luggage. My heart sank as I figured that this meant a minimum of an hour standing in line to get a boarding pass. An hour and a half was more likely. I checked my watch to see how much time I had before the flight, I would still have to get through security. I wasn't sure that I'd make it.
Then a guy in a uniform asked what I needed. When I explained that I just needed a boarding pass, I got put in the line for first class passengers. In five minutes I had my boarding pass, problem solved.
Security was no problem. Surprisingly, the gate was not at the end of the terminal that way the check-in counter was. Although the gate was pretty full, I was able to find a seat to wait for boarding. After a little while, the same guy that had directed me to the first class line asked to see my boarding pass and told me that I was in group 3. I noticed that there was a team of about 5 people doing this to everyone at the gate.
Later, I found that this team where the "herders". Boarding began by calling group 1. As the line formed, one of the herders positioned themselves at the head of the line. Their job was to turn back anyone that was not in the correct group. Once the group 1 line had formed, the other herders went through the gate lobby and called group 2 into line. Then later, group 3. I didn't matter that to get into line, you had to leave the gate. Their job was to keep a continuous flow of people in the line. Never seen it done quite so forcefully.
As I entered the main cabin, one of the stewardesses was positioned to greet each guest. The Air India uniform consisted of a black top, a white sari with black and red print, a red belt and a black sort of pill box cap. An attempt to appear modern, and still have a bit of the flavor of India.
The plane was a new one, a Boeing 777. The seating configuration was 3-3-3 instead of the 2-5-2 that I have usually seen. Each seat had a 10 inch screen and a control indicating a personal entertainment system. This might me fun. The only problem with these entertainment systems is that there is a box attached to the leg of the seat in front of you that takes some space. Why they cannot come up with a form factor that gets this out of the way of the passenger's feet, I don't understand.
As the plane started to taxi, the screen came on showing the view in front of the plane. They actually had a camera positioned so that the passengers can see the taxi and takeoff. During take off, the camera angle changed to show the ground directly below the plane, until we got above the clouds. I liked this idea.
I checked the available movies. Their where 4 relatively current US films, and about 6 classic US films. But their where about a dozen Bollywood films. I looked around, and these where definitely popular. There where also a number of games, music options and maps. There was a option to view the cameras out the front, down or sides. But these must have been turned off during the flight.
Dinner was a curry, not too surprisingly. Other than that, the in-flight service was pretty much what I have come to expect.
During the landing, the video screen once again showed the view from the front of the plane so you could see the runway breaking through the clouds and appearing to come closer up to touchdown. This is a cool idea.
All and all, I was happy with the flight. Thank goodness that I did not have to stand in that line in Chicago. Than might have changed my opinion drastically. And I wasn't all that thrilled about the feeling of being herded. But in-flight, everything was a good or better than any of the American carries I have used. Not that they are setting a very high bar to exceed.
26 July 2010
Nice to be Home in Columbus
It has been awhile since my last post, partly because Ive been in Columbus for about 3 week. Spending the time in Columbus has got me thinking about some of the things that I enjoy about being here. So on the eve of my return to Germany, I thought it would be fun to mention a few of them.
- Chillin' on my front porch in one of our Adirondack chairs on a summer morning before the heat of the day sets in is one of the things that feels so right. In Germany, we have a 1 meter by 5 meter balcony with awning, quite a bit smaller than my covered 10 foot by 30 foot poach. Plus,being on the street level here surrounded by 80+ year old homes and trees, you feel more connected with the neighborhood than from our 4th floor balcony in our 50 year younger German neighborhood.
- Grillin' on the back deck is another thing I truly enjoy when I'm in Columbus. We are not allowed open flames on the balcony in Koblenz. Some people use electric grills, but that fails to satisfy on some primal level. Here, I'm able to carry a plate of meat right from the kitchen less than 10 steps and slap it on the grill over open flames. That's satisfaction.
- It certainly is nice meeting with longtime friends. Of course when meeting friends from my previous work life, it is also nice not being personally effected by the latest management efforts to push ahead on a product or get control of the workplace. That's all behind me.
- Did I mention that we lived on the 4th floor in Germany. That means four flights of stairs between us and our freezer and wine rack in the basement. You want rolls for breakfast, down 4 flights to the freezer and back up. You want meat from the freezer for dinner, down 4 flights and back up. Bottle of wine with dinner, down 4 and up. In Columbus, worst case in one flight to the wine rack in the basement. I must say there are a couple of advantages to the arrangement in Germany. I certainly helps with fitness. Plus it rewards a bit of thinking ahead.
- Air conditioning on 90 degree days is nice. I'm not a big fan of air conditioning. I actually turn it off when I can. But when the temperatures get above 90, it goes on. Not many folks (us included) in Germany have it. 90 degree days don't happen very often there, although in the last couple of years there have been 4 or 5 days per year. On those days, we just have to suffer (or go to the movies).
- Roads and cities here are designed for autos. The lanes are wider, and there are not the same kind of twist and turns that are needed in Germany. Plus there is parking near the most stores in Columbus. Road surfaces in Germany are actually better than in Columbus though. But parking in German is usually at meters on the street or in relative expensive parking garages.
- Clothes prices in Columbus look so cheap. I don't know what it is, but I can buy designer label clothing here much cheaper that any label clothing in Germany. It is tempting to fill the bag with clothing for a year. Too bad there is that 40 kg weight limit.
- There is a comfort associated with command of the language that I feel here, and am missing in Germany. While learning a new language is fun, there are times you just love being able to express yourself fully. Like that cell phone salesman at the Saturn store in Koblenz that treated me like an idiot when I asked a couple of question about using a phone they had on sale with my current contract. I would have loved to have had full command of the German language to let him (and perhaps his manager) know what I was thinking. Here, in Columbus, I won't have that problem.
- Morning newspapers are a nice addition to chillin' on the front porch. The tradition of the newspaper in German is a bit different than in the USA. Not so many folks take the daily paper in Germany. Still, it is sad to see what is happening to the American newspaper. And with the recent increase in the price of a Columbus Dispatch subscription, I think it is only going to get worst. But while they last, I, for one,do enjoy them, especially Sunday mornings.
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