I got these pictures from a Swiss associate a couple of days ago. Then, on a whim, I asked him if I could publish them.

Snow in Switzerland

Guess I have withdrawal symptoms – no snow in Germany. Don’t even mention green Christmas to me. Due to the lack of snow, everything seems greyer than usual. There is no snow to reflect the light.

Switzerland

The last time I was in Switzerland was in 1977. Time to head back.

The list of 20 of the most ridiculous complaints made my holidaymakers was compiled by TripAdvisor – Greece forum.

The complaints themselves range from all kinds of nationalities and tourist destinations. Pick your favorite one. Mine was about parents shocked to find fish in the sea, which had startled their poor children (location not mentioned).

Wildlife in Germany

I’d suppose you don’t always have to leave the country to find your warm spot in the sun.

Some of you might wonder why I would report about Huang Ming receiving the 2011 Right Livelihood Award (a.k.a. alternative Nobel prize). My blog is usually about Oberursel, tourism, and my own trips.

But one of those trips took me to Mr. Huang’s home in 2005.

Starting fall 2003, I started tutoring his daughter who, at that time, was attending a boarding school in Switzerland. As half of her education was conducted in German, along with English, she then spent most of her school breaks with me in Oberursel learning English and German, respectively.

Mr. Huang had enrolled his daughter with HB.Language, a Swiss language agency, which places students for language studies in various countries. I am one of those teacher/host families.

During her first visit, her dad would call everyday to check on her progress.  With each further Study and Homestay program she enrolled, the phone-calls became fewer.

C. (name withheld) eventually left the Swiss boarding school to attend Frankfurt International School (FIS) in her final years, while being hosted by an FIS family.

Because of C., our son became interested in learning Chinese. After six years of private lessons, he had to give it up being a senior in high school now.

In 2005, with a little pressure from C. and our son, I agreed to visit the Huang family in China. Of course, we were splendidly hosted, but frankly speaking, I only learned about C.’s dad’s business/entrepreneurship while we were there. Yes, I was a little surprised to learn of  his 40 patents he holds in inventions, being a member of congress, the factory tour, and many other things.

During this time, we stayed in an apartment in Beijing. Then we were carted off to Dezhou (hometown), where we stayed in one of those worker hotels. The remainder we spent in a big beach house in Qingdao.

We were given many guided tours, served the best food, and were treated like special guests. Well, the Asian way.

The last leg of our time in China, we spent in Shanghai on our own. I like Shanghai the best, even though I learned there how polluted these big cities really are. While we were guests of the Huang family, we were driven around by a private chauffeur on every occasion. So we hopped into the van and out.

But in Shanghai, we walked everywhere. Each time we returned to our hotel to take a shower, we had blackened feet. We actually had to scrub our feet to get the dirt off.

Anyway, we got to see Mr. Huang a couple of times after that. This was usually while he was passing through Frankfurt on his way back from meetings in other parts of Europe.

Article in German: Alternativer Nobelpreis für chinesischen Solar-Unternehmer

Another article from news.xinhuanet.com

Congratulations to the Huang family!

Ever since my trip to the Faroe Islands in May 2008, I have become a big fan of this pristine location in the North Atlantic Sea.

One of my facebook friends, Tollakur Hansen, is an awesome photographer and regularly publishes his photos on facebook.

Quoted from the Faroe Islands Tourist Guide 2011:

Take a deep breath ! Fill your lungs ! Let them open all their folds and leaves and cavities, and from all directions the clean air of the sea comes flowing towards you, into you and through you.
Suddenly the dusty continents of the earth are far away; right now it’s only the winds and the seas and you.

The Faroe Islands

A few days ago, I had to go to the pharmacy to get our son’s prescription filled.

I was surprised when the pharmaceutical assistant pointed out the issue date. It had been posted by error for 01 July when the current date was 02 September. She went on to explain she could not fill the prescription as is. Only if I paid in cash, I could take home the medication. I dished out € 469,90, picked up the prescription, and called the doctor’s office.

After I briefly explained the situation and asked for a correct prescription to be sent by mail, I heard the doctor’s assistant saying, “OK.”. I waited two more seconds to hear a simple “Tut mir leid”, but instead she responded with, “Yes, we will mail it to you”. And the receiver was slammed down.

I received the correct prescription in today’s mail and have to return to the pharmacy once more to reclaim the funds.

They must have had some office problems, obviously. But friendly customer service and the usage of a simple apology are not on their maintenance list.

Sorry to have bothered you, Frau Naumann.