Syrian Chatter

 Back in 2015, Chancellor Angela Merkel went onto the Sunday night public forum show....the Anne Will Show....to say that 70-percent of Syrians in Germany....want to return to their homeland as soon as the war is over.

A fair number of Germans remember this, and occasionally it comes up....in a negative way.

Around  this time.....2015/2016....I was taking German language classes...with most classes filled with 30-to-50 percent Syrians.

It came to be a interesting topic in the class...with the majority of Syrians over the age of forty....absolutely set on leaving Germany and returning home (probably 90-percent of them).   But the crowd under age 30? Well....it was probably 90-percent set staying.

Logic to this?   No matter how you sold living Damascus....Wiesbaden won out on safety, transportation, job-potential, and living standards.

My gut feeling at the time? The civil conflict would likely continue, and you'd be looking at five to ten years before it ended.   The longer it took....the more likely they'd stay.

Merkel wasn't wrong.....she probably saw the war ending in a year or two.  She simply judged all Syrians feeling home-sick and wanting to return. 

Drinking Chatter

 Sat and read a piece from Focus....two days ago....alcohol consumption/alcoholics per region in Germany.  You can read the article....here.

Gazing at the map....the least drinking state in Germany....oddly enough....is the Pfalz (I wouldn't have said that).

The heavy consumption states?  Mostly eastern states (old DDR), Bremen, and Berlin-City.

Bavaria?  Mostly average consumption (I would have said otherwise).

Any reason for wide display of numbers?  I'd suggest that where you have higher unemployment....you have higher drinking rates. 

Drinking rates less than the 1960s/1970s? From my  prospective...1978/1979....Germans were mostly drinking only beer, with wine and cocktails being far second.  Data says....around 1979 to 1985...the peak for  consumption was 'hit' and Germans were consuming less.

Oddly, Germans drink more today, than in the 1960s....but less than early 1980s.

The one thing you notice....especially in smaller rural villages....village pubs/gasthauses have disappeared.   Even in my village....which had three pubs through the 1980s....is down to one single drinking establishment today.

Where Money Matters In Spain?

 One of my favorite countries for vacations....is Spain.

I saw this graphic chart today.  So the way to read this....the more red the region....the lesser-income levels you should expect.  The more blue....the  more that money flows through the region.

So the crappy region?  Well....SW-wise, it's the Andalusian area....which is popular with tourists but produces very little.

The NE region?  Industry, agriculture, and commerce.

Is Spain basically two to four regions tied together....mostly by language and nothing else?  Well....you might ponder upon that idea. 

1 Jan 2026: Germany: 5 Things

 1. New Years Eve went off in my village, without police sirens, or ambulances. Elsewhere....not so safe.

Explosion at some ski-resort in Switzerland....several dead.  Two dead in Berlin (18-year olds)....attempting to make  home-made fireworks.

2.  2nd bank box robbery?  Well...out of Bonn....two boxes were broken into....significant amount of gold coins/bars taken.

3.  N-TV news item....2023 numbers....over 1-million Germans had some form of alcohol rehab during that year.

4. I watched the ZDF (public TV, Channel 2) New Year's eve program last night. First year it was ever  done in Hamburg.  Outdoors....on the harbor....max of maybe 9k folks. Awful cold....drizzle....camera would try to show people, but at time I thought there were fewer than 3,000 watching the show.

5. Some effort.....trying to create a way for you to walk into a German train-station....hand over your bags as you travel to Frankfurt's Airport, and the bag is sent onto the airline terminal automatically. Airlines think it's a great idea....Bahn folks aren't happy over it.