A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to spend almost a week in Ireland, Followed by a Few days in Germany. It was the first business travel fro me in over a decade. Let me share a few of my observations and adventures.
I have concluded Europeans in general have amazing bladder control. They must. Because how else can they get through day in a city with virtually no public toilets? I did finally manage to find one in the open market in the middle of Cork, Ireland.
Oh yeah, when you travel in Europe, you are going to want to have a few coins in the local currency. The door to the toilet doesn't take credit cards.
Fortunately, a compassionate shop-keep noticed my plight and provided me with the necessary coinage to spare me from disaster.
The fish market in Cork was amazing! Perhaps more so to an inland dweller like myself than to others but...
And there was a restaurant right upstairs which was supplied directly from the market.
I grew up during the cold war, so the "enemy du jour" was the communists, specifically the USSR. But It was still close enough to post WWII, that I was privy to considerable WWII propaganda, in the form of cartoons, Hogans Heroes, etc... I also have vague memories of News reports during the Red Army Faction Era. So, I entered Germany with some subconscious bias, that Germans were abrupt, stern, easily angered... I did my best to ignore it, but it was still there.
My travel plans for that leg of the trip were not especially solid.I arrived in in Hannover late at night, needing to travel to Einohoven, which was a considerable distance away. I couldn't bring myself to spend the roughly $150 for cab fare (even if it was the company's money), so I decided I would try to get there by using the trains.
I don't speak German.
I managed with some small amount of luck to acquire a ticket. I even manged to find the right platform for the first leg of the trip. I knew the name of the stop where I would need to switch trains. I had no idea when that stop would occur.
I managed a timid "Sprechenzie English?" to the train conductor, who gave the the correct stop count, and he even let me know my next train would be at platform C. Arriving at the correct stop I exited the train.
Panic.
There was platform A, and Station B. There was no platform C. Just then a sweet old lady tapped my shoulder, she had overheard my query on the train. Observing my panic she came over to direct me to a staircase which would lead me to platform C.
I Finally arrived in Einhoven at 11:30 pm. My heart sank. All I could see was darkness. This was a tiny station, not directly in the city. It was unmanned. I was arriving in the dark of night, and oh yeah, my cell phone wasn't working. I had a brief vision of a news article about a stupid American found beaten to death by an angry Neo-Nazi gang. As I exited the train, I saw a young woman ahead of me. I ran up, got confirmation that she spoke English, then began to explain my situation, I asked if she could possibly call a cab for me to take me to the Hotel. She called the cab, and then walked me to the location the cab would arrive, letting me know he would be there in 3-5 minutes.
At the end of my work, I got back to the Airport in Hanover the same way. relying on the kindness of strangers. In one case the individual didn't speak English, but by pointing to the tracks and saying "Flughaven?" I was able to express my need to get to the airport. He helped me get onto the correct train.
I spent a bit of time just wandering the streets in Germany. I didn't think to ask about safe or dangerous parts of town. I never found myself concerned for my well being. Everyone I encountered was very kind, very warm, very willing to help.
I contrast that with Seattle.
Due to a medical emergency which delayed our departed from London Heathrow. (That is an intimidating airport. It is enormous, you need a big layover just to get from one part to the next. But, once you understand their process, it is incredibly efficient, and consistent. It is also nice that virtually every airport in Europe uses the same security procedures, unlike the US, where I am never sure when or where I need to remove my shoes, belt, etc...). Once I arrived I went looking for the correct place to work out alternate arrangements since I had missed my connection. The airport employees were too busy playing on their phones to even bother to look up as they gave me terse, and generally inaccurate directions. It took me losing my temper and becoming... ahem... assertive... to finally get some attention. It won't hurt my feelings if I never set foot in Seattle again.
Oh, there was an amazing Motorcycle museum in Einhoven also, which I got to tour. That was a treat!
They discussed the various unsavory aspects of Germany's history as well in the tour. It was - I felt - impressively frank, fair and honest, without being unnecessarily condemning.
Oh, one particular note I observed which I thought worth considering and taking heed, lest we continue on the path of history repeating...
I also learned in both Ireland and Germany that America has a solid stereotype. Large portions and large girths. A few jokes were made in both sites about my size and appetite being atypical American. Though both sites also commented that was probably an unfair stereotype. More interestingly, In Germany the individual observed that Germany was beginning to experience a problem of growing waistlines. We conversed about it at some length, and concluded the likely key contributors were the growing number of sedentary jobs, the proliferation of electronics (games, TV), and the increased consumption of industrial food (i.e. not fresh, high in preservatives, sugar...)
We also talked healthcare. That was an enlightening conversation. I concluded that there really is no such thing as socialized healthcare. In the countries we classify as having socialized medicine, there are essentially two healthcare systems. There is the "Socialized" system that we clamor for - that we believe will solve all our problems and make everyone equal. This system is the one for the average and lower class folks it is the one the government pays for. It is the one with four to six month waiting times to see the doctor. Then there is the healthcare system for the upper-middle and wealthy. It either exists as a 2nd tier, or as an under-the-table (aka bribery) system.
In every conversation we came to the same conclusion. We all want everyone to have good healthcare. And we all recognized that "Good healthcare" is entirely too objective, entirely too relative, and is ultimately infinite in size and cost. We all seem willing to give up some of what we have to help others in need, but at the same time we all seem to agree that those who have gotten to where they are by blatant disregard (emphysema from smoking, diabetes from a consistently bad diet...) should be held accountable for their bad choices. We all seemed to realize and acknowledge that at some point, tough decisions must be made, and compromises must be established. Who then makes those decisions? That was the unanswered question.
I noticed that architecturally, Germany was kind of... boring. The houses were all square boxes with unadorned, simple roofs. They all looked the same. And it struck me how incredibly practical it was. They were built to get the most real estate for the least money. Not to impress the neighbors. It is worth noting I did not see large swaths of the country, and much of what I saw, though on the western side, was near the east/west border. I did catch a glimpse of a castle, sadly I wan't prepared and missed the photo opportunity. :(
While In Germany, an article was released in a business magazine, essentially blaming Germany for Europe's financial struggles. The argument was that the Germans were too thrifty, they were "hoarding" their money instead of "investing in the economy". It occurred to me, that what the business article was actually complaining about was that fact that the German people hadn't bought into the popular "eat, drink, and be merry" mindset that everyone else has. Instead of living right on the ragged edge of disaster and hoping someone will come along and bail them out when something doesn't go according to plan, the Germans are largely living within their means, saving for that inevitable rainy day. Good on them.
One last interesting observation: During one of my Heathrow layovers, I was sitting near a group of young British girls (as in mid 20's to mid 30's). I overheard them discussing various locations in the US, which were far superior in culture, custom, politics, etc... than their own home country. That was an unexpected eye opener for me. Perhaps it was naive of me, but I honestly thought Americans were the only people people who spent a couple days in another country, and then went about snobbishly denigrating their own country based on their now "vast knowledge" of said other country.
People really are the same everywhere.
