On our recent winter adventure in Finland (Oulanka National Park, near Kuusamo), Frau A and I did more than just hang out in our self-built igloo -- we went snowmobiling, too!
Snowmobiling obviously is not allowed inside Oulanka National Park. Therefore, we rode about 1 hour to the resort town of Ruka (full name is Rukatunturi). Ruka is not an Alpine-level ski resort; the mountain rises to only 490 meters. But it's the best downhill option around! A Finnish ski jumping team was practicing while we were there and I grabbed this shot from afar:
For snowmobiling, however, Ruka offers 600km of trails of which 100km are private routes maintained by the rental/tour companies. We went on one of these "snowmobile safaris".
To start, you need to get outfitted with the right gear, and this means snowmobile suits. It reminded me of my winter attire as a kid, playing in the snow of western New York State. Here is Frau A all decked out, including the helmet and thick mittens. (Mom -- got any old pics of me in a snowmobile suit for comparison???)
We were lucky enough to use relatively new smowmobiles. In fact, these models have a 4-stroke engine (vs. 2-stroke), are more fuel efficient, and have lower emissions. (Finlnad's tour companies are very vocal about their eco-conservatism.) We took turns driving. Here is Frau A ready to hit the gas:
We spent a little time on a warm-up track (for people to get used to driving) and then hit the trails through the woods. Beautiful scenery (but could not take photos while riding). After 45 minutes, we reached something just like an Alpine hut. You know this is a winter country when you get specific parking spots for snowmobiles!
The hut and the weather were perfect. We grabbed a snack (something like a sugar doughnut) and a hot drink, and relaxed at outside tables:
Notice that the seats had reindeer pelts covering them! They weren't needed with such beautiful weather, but deeper in winter they would be a welcome warming device.
After finishing the refreshments, we could explore the area a bit. It turned out that this was an entire family entertainment complex. Options included...
1) Reindeer petting (Santa would not need them for another 9 months)
2) A circular sledding ride (I have no idea what it's called in English, "sled-go-round" or "sled carousel"? Some sites claim it translates as "pole sleigh".). One end of a long lever is pushed -- the sled at the opposite end is further from the fulcrum and therefore has a higher linear velocity... it feels fast. Kind of like a small carnival ride. Kids loved it. Here's the Finnish Wikipedia entry for those interested.
3) Mini-snowmobiling for children! The machines are powered by what was effectively is a small lawnmower engine. Wish we had these when I was growing up!
Once the break was over, we circled back on another trail through the woods to the starting point. We turned in our gear and headed into the small "downtown" part of Ruka to see the shops and have some lunch (resturant entrance below).
Yeah, this was a little less true-to-nature than most of our activities in Finland, but it was great fun.
That might seem complicated, but perhaps nothing will ever match the Honda Accord commercial. It is called "Cog". The team created a Rube Goldberg-type machine using actual parts from an Accord (actually, two). In the end, the commercial required over 600 takes over a week to get it right... this after six months of planning, with total budget of $6 million. It was created in 2003 by London agency Wieden & Kennedy.
No, there is no CGI here either, although the tires rolling uphill make people skeptical. It *is* possible using clever weighting. Final voiceover by Garrison Keillor. However, although it appears that it was one long shote panning with the action, it is two shots linked together.
Honda followed-up with this commercial in 2006, but although neat, just can't compare to "Cog". In this video, a 60-person choir makes the sound effects for driving a Civic. Keep it up, Honda.
One of the more positive stereotypes out there about Germany relates to efficiency and automation. Germany is known for engineering machines and gadgets to solve problems you didn't know you had.
You can see some of this in the wide variety of vending machines here (called an "Automat" here). While some of these now can be found worldwide, Germany (and Japan, too, of course) has been automating sales and billpaying for decades - long before it was popular to sell anything other than coffee out of a vending machine!
Perhaps this is also a partial answer to the early and Sunday closing hours? You will be surprised what you can find in a vending machine here!
First Aid Automats:
First we have the First Aid Vending Machines, which you'll find around Munich in several subway stations. We don't quite understand the Obama-looking cartoon doc, but it is useful to be able to buy headache medicine, tissues, or bandaids while out and about.
First Aid vending machine in Isartor station
Here, a closeup of the contents...water, juice, cough supressant, gum, first aid products, etc. We're not really sure what the red "Alkohol Test" is - if it's rubbing alcohol wipes or a breathalyzer.
You can actually find the Swiss-made Alkomat in the toilet areas of some bars. It is a breathalyzer type vending machine. Though, I have to wonder how often this more challenges drunk people to see how high they can blow rather than people checking to see whether or not they can drive...
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Speaking of drinking and vending machines, the First Aid Automat (same brand and logo) in the Karlsplatz station has an interesting selection. To me, this looks more like a hangover cure machine rather than a first aid one. It's all water, tomato juice, tissues, breath mints, and gum. Not really going to cure much other than bad breath, dehydration, or hangovers, but still it's there.
McDonalds EasyOrder automats:
Even McDonald's is getting on the automat bandwagon, with its new EasyOrder kiosks. McDonald's can get quite busy at peak hours. This new system lets you place the order AND PAY at the kiosk, then pick up in the Easyorder line. Quite smart!
FotoStation:
The photo booths aren't exactly unique, but the quality and number of them here are impressing. There are photobooths (usually at least 2) in every subway station. And they're preset to give you the accurate size for a variety of different bureaucratic needs. And in Germany, you're going to have bureaucratic needs.... They will also reject your application for having the wrong size photo, having too big of a smile, and other issues of non-conformity. As usual, there is a logic behind these frustration - Germany adopted biometric technologies long before anyone else, so the pictures must be in the correct size and proportions.
Art/Design Automat:
This vending machine in the Hauptbahnhof (Main Train Station) is unique. It sells limited edition, one-of-a-kind, or hand-made art and design products. Stationery, porcelain, shirts, earrings, and other trinkets. It seems that artists can rent a slot to sell goods through the UnikatAutomat, with the Automat taking a commission on the sold goods.
You can see some of the products available on their online shop.
Right now there is only one of these, but they are planning to expand. I have not idea if this will really work or not, but it's an interesting idea.
Überweisungsautomat:
The one below is rather interesting and more uniquely German - the Überweisungsautomat (the "bank transfer automat"). Basically it is an ATM for paying bills and making transfers. In Germany, there really aren't checks. Companies will have them, but private individuals rarely do. Virtually all bills, then, must be paid by bank transfer. You can set up a recurring transfer, fill out an authorization and mail it in, transfer online, or use one of these machines.
What's unique, however, is that it will automatically scan the form. You'll see the small box on the right above the keyboard, marked "Transfer Form." Every bill comes with a preprinted form that contains the recipient's bank info, your invoice number and amount, and your customer number. It's an orange and red form that looks just like the version on the screen below. You enter your bank account number, sign it, and stick it in the "Transfer Form" scanner. It scans it in and pays the bill for you. If you are transfering funds for other reasons, or you lost your form, you can also use the keyboard to type in the data yourself.
Virtually all bills here are paid by transfer - efficiently and without having to mail anything - and most bank accounts include some number of free transfers per month.
What's fascinating to me is how long these have been around. There are some bill-pay kiosks in the US now, but these machines have been around at least a couple of decades. Herr J remembers them (looking exactly the same) from his study abroad here circa 1993!
CigarettenAutomat:
And we couldn't discuss German vending machines without mentioning the beloved and controversial cigarette vending machines. These have been around for a long, long time. They used to be controversial because anyone could buy cigarettes and tourists always found it a bit odd to have cigarette machines on the street corners. They're controversial today because they're a bit complicated to use and don't always work, causing smokers much annoyance.
I assume they take cash (but I'm not sure), but they do take EC cards (the standard debit card here).
However, you additionally need to scan your German drivers license or ID card to verify your age. I'm guessing that does make it a bit difficult for any foreigners who don't have the required documents. We also noticed how high the slot is for the debit card - it's close to 6 feet off the ground. I guess that's a clever low-tech way of discouraging children from buying - the old "if you're tall enough to put your money on the bar" test.
MediaMarkt toGO:
And finally we have MediaMarkt toGO. MediaMarket basically is the German version of BestBuy. I know vending machines selling iPods are not exactly new, but this is unusual for Germany. And has quite a variety as you can see in the smaller pictures below - it sells everything from video game DVDs to hair dryers to Garmin navigation.
(Also, it's always good to know where you can buy things like batteries, chargers, adapters, and SD cards on holidays and Sundays!)
Not surprisingly, this is in the subway station to the Hauptbahnhof, being a good stop for forgotten gadgets, chargers, headphones or whatever else you need for your trip.
In Germany, it is now Spargelzeit -- asparagus season. "Discovering" the almost emotional German relationship with this flowering perennial is one of the standard rites-of-passage for a foreigner living here (and re-lived to some degree each Spring). There are many blogs & web sites about spargel, but we'll try to take a fresh look here at Schnitzelbahn, including 5-course asparagus meals, asparagus liquor... and a song about asparagus.
But first, here is the Spargelkönigin 2010/2011! ("Asparagus Queen")
This title has been awarded every year since 1975 in a small town called Schrobenhausen, the self-proclaimed largest and most well-known location in Bavarian "Spargelland" (asparagus country). They have over 600 independent farms, plus a daily asparagus market (in season) in front of the Rathaus -- very much like a Christmas market. They are also home to the Asparagus Museum (quite a collection, 2000 years going from Pompeii to today)!
According to the website, winner "Monika I" won not only due to her beauty, but to her knowledge of asparagus. Not to be confused, of course, with the asparagus queens in Nienburg, Füchtorf, Abensberg, Nettetal, or Beelitz.
Monika came to Munich on the 15th of April 2011. She marched past the Rathaus to the Viktualienmarkt and ceremonially unearthed the first asparagus to kick off Spargelzeit in Munich.
Let's get started:
1) Germans grow and eat a lot of asparagus. (obviously)
Asparagus plants flowering in Summer: Protecting the asparagus for Winter:
Asparagus is grown all over Germany, with the highest output coming from the northwest states of Niedersachsen and Nordrhein-Westfalen. Likewise, the most well-known locales for festivals and asparagus markets are spread out too -- Schrobenhausen and Nürnberg are the focal points in Bavaria:
Production of asparagus in Germany, by state Significant asparagus locations in Germany
Germany exports very little asparagus. In effect, their production is simply not enough to meet local demand! The contrast with the U.S. is getting stronger -- Germany is continuing to use more hectares for asparagus (doubled since 1995: 9,100 to 18,400), whereas the U.S. is using fewer hectares (halved since 1995: 29,200 to 13,000).
Planting and covering the (white) asparagus Harvesting the (white) asparagus
China 1,265,865 6,352,667 5.0 Peru 23,547 284,103 12.1 Germany 18,436 92,653 5.0 United States 13,030 43,180 3.3
Unfortunately I found conflicting statistics on the Internet (some have the U.S. with twice the hectares and production as above), but in every case Germany is in the Top 4 global producers, just behind or ahead of the U.S.. China is by far the top producer, but Peru is the productivity and export king (they grow a lot and could not consume all they grow).
2) Asparagus in Germany usually means the white variety.
"White asparagus is cultivated by denying the plants light while they are being grown" (Wikipedia). Lack of photosynthesis supposedly keeps the stalks a little sweeter and more tender. Almost 80% of German production is white asparagus. This is in stark contrast with the U.S. which has "minimal production" and consumption outside the green variety.
To deny the plants light, asparagus are grown covered in soil, a practice called "hilling". Sandy soil is supposed to be ideal, as found in Schrobenhausen. You can take Spargel Tours to learn hands-on too:
At the cash register, Germans pay up to 30% more for asparagus by weight than a typical shopper in the U.S.. My local store has 1kg for 6.99 euros (about $4.50 per pound) where my hometown Wegmans has 1lb for $3.49.
Some of this difference is due to the relatively cheap asparagus from Peruand Mexico that the U.S. imports, but ultimately we're not comparing apples-to-apples. White asparagus costs more to produce (hilling and covering / uncovering processes). Also, much of the asparagus here is organic due to strong German preference. This results in higher growing costs plus a price premium for perceived health benefits. An additional consideration is that white asparagus should be peeled before cooking, effectively increasing the net price per pound after purchase.
3) Asparagus is more than just food - you can accessorize!
Any major food source will be reflected in the culture. Amazon.de has a "Spargelsaison" with an amazing array of asparagus-themed items. Forget the vegetable peeler and go with a suction-sup or c-clamp mounted gizmo:
If you're even more lazy, or just like cool contraptions, my local grocery store will use the industrial machine below to peel your asparagus for an extra 1 euro per kilo. The manufacturer's web site claims 100 stalks per minute... if it's fed fast enough. In any case, here's my handheld video of this power tool at work:
Not sure how to prepare the peeled stalks? Go for one of the 100+ asparagus cookbooks (I stopped counting), or be adventurous with an erotic cookbook (and, ideally, appropriate artistic ambiance from the Asparagus Museum):
Once you're ready to start cooking, you need to bring out the asparagus steamer, asparagus tongs, and serve them on an asparagus plate with matching dish for asparagus sauce:
There are hundreds of other novelties available: deck yourself out in hat, t-shirt, tie, and shoes... "zombie asparagus" pin, necklace, and t-shirt for your dog too... coffee cup (of course), water pitcher, and I recommend reading Schnitzelbahn using the asparagus mouse pad:
There is one especially interesting category of curio -- things referring to the chemical effect asparagus has on the eater's urine. Wikipedia states: scientific studies have shown that "producing odorous uring from asparagus [is] a universal human condition" but fortunately only 22% of people have the genes to smell the specific asparagus-created odour. Ironic that the "German" (web site here) t-shirt, pin, and greeting cards are in English:
4) Love of asparagus leads to wild culinary results
The range and adventurousness of German spargel cooking is astounding. On a popular website there are over 2400 posted recipes. Commercially, you see packaged items like the "asparagus-ham lasagne" mix, or dine out and indulge in a 5-course asparagus meal at top restaurants (yes, every course has asparagus, even the dessert UPDATE: page removed by the Bayerischer Hof!):
Mark's in the Munich Mandarin Oriental (from 2007):
- Salad of asparagus and crab - Wild garlic veloute with scallops (and asparagus) - Turbot on asparagus-pea ragout - Veal with asparagus and morel - Roasted asparagus with vanilla foam (dessert)
Each course is served with a matching wine, Price was 135 euros per person (and it was booked out).
Speaking of wine... this is the one food where beer is not the preferred accompaniment. German Silvaner (white) is the most common type served with asparagus, and a decent bottle can cost just 4 euros.
Some of the online recipes can go well beyound my American tastes, such as (see below): asparagus and egg ragout, asparagus with baby shrimp ("krabben"), asparagus with salmon and cream cheese ("frischkäse"), asparagus with creamed spinach sauce, and asparagus with butter bananas...
I can understand that the market has also developed "wild asparagus pills" and "slim spargel capsules" because many healthy vegetables are evolved into such products... but asparagus liquor (middle, below) and schnapps (with stalks in the bottle)?
5) The asparagus craze is another [good] excuse to have a festival and enjoy life
There is no official starting point to "Spargelzeit"; different regions/towns kick it off throughout March and April. Asparagus time does end formally on "Johannistag" -- June 24, just a few days after the Summer Solstice.
Like seasonal points for beer (e.g., Maibock, Oktoberfest) it's a great reason to have a local street fair or festival, grill some meat, and listen to music with cool drinks... sometimes followed by fireworks in the evening. In Effeld, they have (see below) street vendors, rides for the kids, and a stage with asparagus-green dancers & music acts (the photo in the lower right says "Effeld Spargelfest - here the asparagus rocked")
Here is a 2:40 news reel of the Spargelfest in Hügelsheim that shows the opening parade, their Spargelkönigin, workers harvesting the asparagus, and lots of beer being consumed:
Another amateur blogger / web meisterin captured the domain www.spargelzeit.de and her banner graphic says volumes about the national feelings toward asparagus season (Google translated version here):
In other media, there are 4 MP3s on Amazon.de (one cooking tips, two weight loss, and one schlager song). In addition, one of the longest-running and most popular detective series on German TV called "Tatort" (it means "scene of the crime") had an episode called "Spargelzeit" where the heros had to solve the stabbing murder of the Spargel King's wife!
But I promised a song about asparagus... and will deliver two! First is an old-fashioned television program with a song called "Veronika, the asparagus is growing". Is that a metaphor for something else...?
And lastly, from 2009, is a singer/songwriter at Munich's Viktualienmarkt ceremony to open Spargelzeit. He plays guitar and proclaims "Ich bin ein Spargelesser" (I am an asparagus eater). His part starts after the Spargel-Queen peforms the traditional first unearthing, at about the 1:30 mark in the video. This fun is why you don't want to miss Spargelzeit in Germany!
You know that MTV show that was made into a movie, where crazy (stupid?) teenage guys perform stunts that inevitably result in bodily harm? (Name: Jacka**)
Unfortunately, that culture has migrated across the Atlantic, although to some extent boys-will-be-boys all around the world.
In this specific case some German, um, innovators lay a motorcycle on its side so that it can power a playground carousel. And we're talking real pocket-rocket... lots of power available. The guy in the red pants is great -- his friends keep it slow for a few revolutions so he has time to get another drag on his cigarette before handing it to a nearby friend. Then he gets a short but thrilling ride:
Just before they really get going you hear "halt fest!" which means "hold on tight!". At least one guy listened.
#1 Oktoberfest! #2 Day of the Dead (connected to All Saints Day and All Souls Day) #3 Diwali #4 La Tomatina #5 World Cup Final (check the flags to see which year...) #6 Dragon Boat Festival #7 Guy Fawkes #8 Lantern Festival
In my Schnitzelbahn post about Munich Figures, I realized that I walk by so many interesting things every day and often don't notice them. So taking a minute to photograph and look up some of the small statues and building details here in Munich really was a satisfying experience.
Well, I never though I'd be linking to the web site of Jeff Bridges, but here it is. In his recent post, he describes a "social experiment" organized by the Washington Post. (Wikipedia describes it too.) It took place on January 12 2007, at the L'Enfant Plaza Washington D.C. Metro station during the morning rush.
"A man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes".
What happened? We know, because it was videotaped.
Over the duration of his performance, about 1100 people passed by. (Bridges claims 2000, but I'm sticking with Wikipedia here.) His first dollar came after 4 minutes from a woman as she walked right by. Children repeatedly seemed to be interested in lingering to enjoy the music but were pulled away by hurried parents. Eventually 20 people gave the man a little more than $32. Only 7 really stopped and spent time listening.
The irony was this: the musician was an incognito Joshua Bell on his 3.5 million-dollar Gibson Stradivarius violin. A Grammy award winner who sells out the biggest and best concert halls with some tickets topping $100 per seat. In other words, the pieces were composed by an all-time great and the performance was world-class. (The acoustics were likely very good too, knowing the subway and where he would probably choose to play).
And it was free, for those that realized what was right in front of them. Only one person the entire time recognized him. (This person gave Joshua $20, pushing his total take to a whopping $52.) Probably made their day -- much better than an iPod!
The experiment highlights, of course, how our flurry of activity and work orientation probably leads to us missing some experiences that could make life, well, nicer. (Today, it's almost as if we need to have things marketed to us -- that we're told how great something is and then we'll get excited, pay attention, and "enjoy" it.) Gene Weingarten won a 2008 Pulitzer Prize for his article on that experiment.
Sunday, May 29, 2011 at 9:00 
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