German City Designs

Ok, so I've been picking a bit on Germany, but they have some pretty nice ideas, (if they decide to avoid complicating them too much).

There's a district of Freiburg called Vauban - that's pretty much car-free. Its sort of a "green-experiment" where many homes are powered by solar energy, cars are only allowed through the main thoroughfare, and parking must be at the outskirts of Vauban.

This new way of life, has even been noticed by the NY Times!
Read the article!

It just goes to show that things like US urban sprawl is avoidable, and an environmentally, and lifestyle favourable alternative is possible!

French words polluting the German language

I really am annoyed with the amounts of French words that occupy everyday German vocabulary. I'm not really sure why Germans tolerate them, since they have their own words for them, but for some reason, want to use French words in their speaking.

I think it spoils the beauty and unity of the German language - but what can you do?

Here a list that I came up with (I think most Germans are oblivious to their usage of French):

Restaurant (just say Gaststätte)
Saison (just say Jahreszeit)
Serviette (just say Handtuch)
Vision (just say Traumbild)
Niveau (just say Stufe)
Étage (just say Stock)
Cousin (just say Vetter)
Recherche (just say Forschung)
Chance (just say Gelegenheit)
Revanche (just say Rache)
Version (just say Ausgabe)
Detail (just say Einzelheit)
Orange (just say Apfelsine)
Balance (just say Gleichgewicht)
Portemonnaie (just say Geldbeutel)

Omas Küche

Sometime in January, we went to a nice restaurant in Freiburg called "Omas Küche", which means "Granny's Kitchen". In Taiwanese, that's: 阿媽的灶腳.

It's a pretty casual place with a relatively young crowd (most customers are 25-45 or so), and pretty reasonable prices. I definitely recommend it!

Here's a picture of: Onkel Alfreds Lieblings Buletten (Uncle Alf's favourite meatballs)

Really tasty meatballs with mustard, glazed carrottes and fried potatoes...mmmm, good!

Here's a nice picture of another dish: pork chops with special sauce.....


Good stuff!

Switzerland and the European Union

Switzerland is blessed with some beautiful scenery - great mountain scenery in the Alps, some beautiful lakes, and quaint little towns. It really is a country that is situated smack dab in the middle of Europe.

But something about its people - what's their problem?
What gives them such aversion to the European Union?

Sure, Switzerland has this tradition of "independence" and "non-alignment". But come on! It needs to face reality! Surrounded by EU countries everywhere....Germany to the north, France to the west, Italy to the south, and Austria to the east.....

How much trade does Switzerland do with the EU? How often must its citizens change currency every time they go outside Switzerland (which is not very big). Because the Swiss are outside the EU, but still want to partake in the benefits - so they have so many diplomats in Brussels trying to ink agreeements that aren't EU agreements (as Switzerland is not in the EU), but have basically the same effect.

Well - just join the bloody EU! And adopt the Euro for heavens' sake! Do you think its pleasurable to have to change currency constantly? Losing 2%-5% of every transaction to the greedy banks?

STOOOOPID!!!!