Day Trip Yesterday

 I spent four hours yesterday walking around the Mannheim Maimarkt area.  It's a commerce 'fest'....held yearly....which features a lot of different stuff.

Of the 3 top things I noted....a lot of landscaping ideas popped up.....like this stone fountain deal (1,800 Euro without the installation cost).

This company had forty different items for your backyard....to impress guests.  

Then there was the sauna crowd....probably ten different companies which featured the newest in design.  

I'd say in the past ten years, this trend has started to catch on in Germany, and it's part of some wellness trend. 

Then to my third item.

Bar-b-q grills.  There were probably twenty different companies there with the newest in designs. 

This one?  You could have seven different things on the grill, at the same time....with the same fire cooking away.

I would suggest there is more to the 'show', and sampling food/beer ought to be on your list.  

Some advice (this ends on Sunday).....it's a lot of walking, and marginal stuff for kids.  I should also state.....food has gone up on pricing.  

The Oligarch Shuffle

 N-TV in Germany this morning.....pointed out a curious fact.

In three months, seven Russian Oligarch folks have been found murdered.  Connections between the seven?  Only that they were among the rich and elite of Russia.

What's really happening?  

I would put up a scenario where you have various Oligarch people who have a political agenda at work.....decreasing the number of Oligarchs for some reason.  

When you go back to the end of the Soviet Union (1989/1990), it was the Oligarch crowd who saw the commerce angle, and how the Russian empire could emerge (wealthy and respected).

In 2000, as the smoke cleared and Putin was promoted to the 'chiefs' position.....he did something that no one really expected....promoting a couple of KGB guys up to be Oligarchs themselves.  A sort of inner and outer circle formed....with the KGB Oligarch folks on the inside circle. 

I would make a guess that this inner club has decided to clean things up, and lessen the influence of the outer circle. 

Matter finished now?  No, I doubt it.  Once you start something like this.....you never know where it ends.  I also suspect that some will just view the escape exit....disappearing into some third-world country.  

Car Chatter

 I noticed on Focus news this AM.....chatter about used car prices in Germany.

The current hype?  Well....diesel car (you know, the evil diesel cars)....were supposed to be edging downward.

Focus points out that on the VW diesel Polo.....used.....it's price went up 38-percent over the past year.

Looking good across the landscape for all used cars?  No.....in fact, the BMW 5-series and the Audi A6 lost a chunk of value (28-percent for the BMW 5's and 21-percent for the A6).  

It's not what I'd call a normal market right now.

My Train Adventure Today

 To make this one-day MaiMarkt trip to Mannheim, I traveled via train, and that meant 4 changes each way.

Yes, it was fairly screwed up.  The 7 AM ICE train started late, and the whole day went this way.

Plan A, onto plan B, onto plan C.

At one point, on the return, I boarded the wrong back-up plan train.....going 15 minutes in the wrong direction before grasping 'issue'.  

Anyone really relying upon German trains....has to accept that one day out of seven.....will be this way, and you just grit your teeth when things go this way.  At least the toilets worked, and I didn't require air conditioning.  

Five Euro Donuts

 I spent the day out....going down to Mannheim to a 'fair'.

So I needed a pick-me-up situation.  The Wiesbaden train station has now (for about 4 years, a Dunkin Donuts.  I stopped in for 2 (with coffee), and the lad responded the price just for two donuts (with sprinkles) was five Euro ($6).

It was a bit of a shock on the increased price.....so I parted with one (being cheap).

Another sign of the times.....where inflation even hits donuts.  

Germany News

 1.  If you were looking for a good daily source on war-news (German prospective), I advocate N-TV.  Click here, and ensure your browser (preferably Chrome), will translate.  They update the page throughout the day.  Each midnight, they start fresh.

2.  It did interest me....the EU put the head of the Russian Orthodox Church on a sanctions list.  

3.  I talked about that odd story.....guy on the street in Mannheim (Monday) that the cops wanted to ID check, and he got all bothered by this.....causing the police to use 'force'.  Then within minutes, the guy died?

Well....report today says the guy had a heart attack. Course, it doesn't absolve the police of anything, but the guy seemed pretty determined not to ID himself (note German law.....anytime the police stop you for an ID....you must provide it).

4.  This three-month deal with the nine-Euro-a-month for the regional train-bus ticket deal?  Well....it's not guaranteed yet (was supposed to come up on 1 June).  

Apparently, some consumer group is fighting the government and saying this is not the best use of funding/effort.  

If you asked me on the deal....I'd say it might  be worth the money, but you can't use it for ICE-travel (high-speed rail) and locally, it'll fill up trains a good bit (to make a miserable trip).  

German News

 1.  I noticed off N-24 news this AM.....the beer folks across Germany are saying a 30-percent up-swing on pricing is to occur.  It's not the end of the world, but it'll obviously be a problem for the hefty drinking folks.

2.  EU is openly chatting of a oil embargo to be put upon Russia in six months.  Odds of this happening?  I'd say it's less than 25-percent.  

3.  Macron says he had a 2-hour chat with Putin yesterday.  Beyond saying that....not much was openly conveyed to the public.

4.  Anton Hofreiter (Green Party) was offered a board job at the Bahn (national railway company) yesterday.  No comment yet if he'll take the job.  He was supposed to be going to the EU. 

German News

 1.  Political polling done over the weekend.....the SPD Party?  They can only get about 23-percent of the public vote, if there were an election now.  CDU?  Three points ahead, and the Greens sitting at 20-percent.  Trend is hurting SPD.

2  Six out of ten European proclaimed too chunky (N-TV article).  I'm pretty sure the EU can pass a law to fix this.  Maybe they can set aside Mondays as a doom/gloom/starve day.  

3.  Mannheim police went to do a ID check on 47-year-old guy in the middle of town....mid-day.  Journalists say the guy went a bit 'nuts'....arguing with the police, and they had to use some physical force.  Guy collapsed on the ground....dying there.

Lot of discussion going on.....what triggered this?  Unknown.

Mental issues?  Well, there is some chatter going on that he might not be all 'there'.  

About a hundred folks gathered in the evening to protest his death.