The Boar Topic

From both the Local and various German news sources....there was a story over a wild boar attack in Germany, which injured four folks (even going to the hospital).

This kinda brings up this odd topic that most Americans might not face or think about if in Germany.....wild boar attacks.

Germany has done a great thing in pushing trails and paved walking roads out into fields and the wooded regions around towns and villages.  You can take a two-hour walk....lower your blood pressure, and feel like you are totally in nature.  The truth is....you aren't more than a mile or two from a significant road, a small village or a urban area.

They built these roads and trails around areas where wild boars like to hang out.  I would be the first to admit that in ten years....you might be lucky to see a deer once or twice, and maybe a fox on one occasion. Wild boars?  You might not see any.  Course, on the other hand....you might walk around the corner and be standing in front of a 200-lb wild boar.

If the boar hasn't noticed you....you might try to quietly back yourself out of the situation.  Plan B here is to assess which trees that you might be able to quickly climb.  The worst case scenario is the wild boar is a female with piglets around her, and she wants to protect them.

How many boar attacks are reported in Germany each year?  It's hard to say.  It usually might make the local paper but never the national news, and I'm guessing that the cops really don't care to collect statistics on this.

So I don't really want to frighten you because most Germans have walked for decades and never seen a single wild boar.  Most of these urban walking trails are close enough to society.....that you probably won't find any threatening boars.  On the other side of this....when you start to drive for an hour and do some walking way out in the boonies....don't be surprised about what you run into....in the German woods.

Pirate Party Ship Sinking?

This past week in Germany....things started to occur with the new German Pirate Party.  It's best to say that the party has taken on water, and sinking badly.  Six months ago....folks were talking about six to eight percent of the national vote in 2013 with the bold new German Pirate Party.  Now?  I doubt if they can clear two percent, which means they are a non-player in the 2013 Bundestag.

The truth to the matter?

It was an inflated balloon of youth voters....who just wanted to slam the major parties who had been around for decades and weren't talking over youth-issues.   The leadership in the Pirate Party?  That was a continuing issue for discussion. Most folks would say that they never had a true four-star person at the top.  For a brief time....the general opinion was that they could mount some marginally capable folks, and at least sneak by with no serious questions.

What happens now?  All of the major parties will reshuffle the deck and look at new polling numbers in December.  The Greens might benefit the most from the youth voters leaving the Pirate Party....but it's not huge numbers.

So we come to this sad tale.  The Pirate Party had potential and could have taken seven to ten percent of the national vote....just based on disenchanted voters and the youth vote....if they had simply one decent four-star candidate who could argue on the Sunday night political chat show.  It was a simple recipe for the party, and they just couldn't find that four-star character.  

My suggestion?  The Pirates need to go out and find some young business guy or gal...in their 30's.....who is angry over the direction of the government.  This person needs to talk about youth issues, and how a new direction for Germany is needed.  A seven-percent vote carves out a mess for either the SPD or CDU....with neither wanting to accept a Pirate partner.  But this won't happen now.  The ship has sunk.

The Beerfest Table

This is your typical-looking German beerfest table and seating.  The colors change, but the construction is always the same.

For an American, there are four basic observations that you will quickly make about the arrangement.

First, a truck can pull up and you can toss up a dozen tables in half-an-hour with just two people.  No buttons, no screws.....just physical labor.

Second, it looks weak....I admit that.  But you can typically seat three big heavy German guys on one bench, and it always holds.  Heck.....you could probably put six folks on a bench, and hit holds.

Third, they always look old....mostly because they are old.  No one retires their beerfest tables or seating until they are literally falling apart. Folks will brag that they've had their tables for twenty years.

Fourth and final.  Yes, they are a bit unstable....especially around folks who have been drinking substantially.  It doesn't take much for a guy to lean back a bit too far, and throw the balance of the seating off....tossing it backwards.

The worst thing about the seating?  My own personal view is that you can sit at a table like this for an hour or so....before your butt starts getting tired.  The idea of sitting for four hours?  I don't even want to imagine that.  I'd have to stand every forty minutes and move around....to survive a four-hour episode.

German Bomb Story

This week, the topic came up in German news of German states now wanting the German federal government to pay up and cover bomb disposal....which has typically been mostly a cost for each German state.

For an American, it's an odd topic....that you rarely if ever come across in the United States.

Over the years I spent in the Kaiserslatuern area, I can remember at least two episodes where WW II bombs were discovered while digging, and a massive episode unfolded.

Typically, Huns the back-hoe operator will come to a metallic like item in the ground.  There's three scenarios here.  First, he's hoping that it's just some old junk that got buried during WW II....from wreckage or garbage.  Second, he's hoping it's a water pipe that no one knows about but that's rarely the case because Germans are so particular about drawing their maps and knowing about all pipes in a town. The third scenario is that it's a leftover bomb from WW II.  Huns will usually back off upon this discover and call the fire department.

In an hour....a crew will respond and view the bomb from a distance.  They usually have one guy who has studied all the bombs and know the various types.  A plan will be devised at this point.  It's possible....a bit of digging by some dedicated men will occur and ensure the bomb is in full view.  A schedule is drawn up.....to detonate the bomb....which becomes a major news item in less than twenty-four hours.

The authorities will evacuate everything within the "zone", and blow the bomb up.  From most of these stories I've observed.....things tend to go as planned and rarely are buildings around the bomb damaged. The cost of an operation like this?  Well....it's hard to say.  I'm sure that the fire department charges for their services, and the bomb experts have a cost attached to them.  I would imagine each single episode costs a minimum of a million Euro by the end.

The argument over a state issue or a federal issue?  The truth is that the state gets it's revenue mostly by property tax and some money handed down from the federal government (via income taxes and the VAT).  State government spending generally have to stay within a certain limit, and if you had a sudden surge of twice as many bombs found as usual.....they'd have to cut state funds from someone to make up for the issue.  I could see the state government guys making a pretty clear argument on this.  The federal guys?  The problem is that you can't forecast very clearly each year how many bombs will be found, and that's something that bean-counters hate.

How many bombs are still sitting there in an active state?  Anyone can take a guess.  There could be ten thousand of them.  You just don't know.

Wiesbaden Bahnhof

I have an appreciation of German train stations.  They are an architectural bit of interest, and relate back to an era that we all have forgotten.

One of the finer ones to observe is the Wiesbaden Bahnhof....built in 1906.  If you happen stand out front of the building....there's some changes in the landscape, but it's basically the same structure as it was a hundred years ago.

Roughly 30k folks travel in and out of the station on a daily basis.  It's not huge....like the Frankfurt station....but there's around a dozen platforms in operation.

A hundred years ago....this was a major public works project and established a status symbol for the city.

For an American, there are few major train stations left today.  It's true....Union Station is still around....but most of the rest have been shut down and taken apart.

So if you happen to be around the central part of Wiesbaden.....stop in and check out the station.

A Deal

Occasionally, I hand out advice.  This time....it's chiefly aimed at Americans on a lengthy stay in Germany and want a new Euro-spec's car....for a cheaper price than the dealer can offer downtown.

There's this web site....Jutten-Koolen.de.....which you might want to know about.  Course, you'd have to accept some factors on this deal.

It's a internet company which deals direct with the car companies.  You agree with the deal via the internet.  Typically, you are saving around twenty percent of what any car company in Germany will offer on a deal.

Course, when you want to discuss matters with them...it's all in German.

A German typically goes over to the local dealer in his town...rides around in his choice of car....and negotiates with this guy.  It's a face-to-face situation.  The dealer is getting full-price.  He needs to pay the bills, the real estate he rents, and benefits of the employees.  He might cut 200 Euro here, and maybe 300 Euro there, but that's it.

The Jutten-Koolen guys tend to offer anywhere from ten percent to twenty percent off what any dealer can offer.  Yes, you can arrange to pick it up at the Jutten-Koolen shop, or go down to the actual VW or Audi factory.

The negative?  They sell only Euro-spec's cars, and for guys who want to feel good with a local dealer....there might be enough reasons to avoid an internet deal.

Ghost Driver

There's this term used by Germans, which basically means...."Ghost Driver".  For an American, it's an odd phrase, and needs some explanation.

To get onto a German autobahn....there's a entrance, and to get off....there is an exit.  Both have signs and it's more than obvious.

Well....there are Germans who typically drink a bit and aren't grasping the entrances.  So you have some guy who will enter an autobahn on the exit area, and then travel down the autobahn.  Sometimes....oncoming traffic will avoid the guy and things turn out ok.  Most of the time....someone crashes into the guy, and lives are lost.

As far as I know....there aren't statistics collected on this....or the cops just don't want to publish these.  If you asked me how often it occurs in Germany....I'd take a humble guess of six to ten times a year.

Are there people who commit suicide by ghost driving?  Yes.  This has occurred....once in fact by an American in the Kaiserslautern community.

So when you hear the odd phrase, and you've translated it over....to ghost driver....you know the general meaning.

This Thing About Soccer

Germans tend to have an obsession about soccer, and the Bundesliga (the national league).  For an American, you tend to notice this after a couple of months.

The truth here?  Out of eighty million Germans....there's probably twelve million (my humble number) that keenly watch the scores, the league, and the games.  

The current league was formed up in the early 1960s, and it basically runs an entire season with eighteen teams.  There's a second league below the big guys....which lesser teams survive, flourish, or get worse.  The thing is...at the end of the season for big league....if you were one of the three worst teams, then you get a ticket down to the second league, and in the second league....the three best teams get promoted up to the big-time.

All of this tracked....day by day.....and discussed by German men.  Out of a hundred German women....I doubt if more than two of them really watch or care about soccer.  So it's mostly a men's sport.

The survival of the whole thing today....is tied to the TV networks and what they will pay.  Naturally, you need the optimum package to watch every single game of the week....so you pay more.  During the week off free-TV?  You can probably catch three games a week.

Going to a game?  It's not a difficult thing.  You find the nearest team and schedule on the internet.  Stadiums are typically fixed up with public transportation so you get dropped off near the site.  Prices tend to run from forty Euro, on up to one-hundred-fifty Euro.  Prices for 2nd league are usually half that amount.

Problems?  Well....sometimes....Germans get to drinking at these games and start to challenge each other over various issues.  So fights break out.  You tend to see at least hundred cops around the stadiums as a minimum....but there could be 500 cops brought out for intense games....to protect the public.

It is a national topic, and folks do get into this.  Course, ladies tend not to be interested and it's best not to bring up the subject with them.

What an American should take home on this subject is that soccer is about as big as the NFL is in the US.  There's only one national sport in Germany....and this is it.