Swimming hamster

"U vertraagd de vlucht..."

I am not a frequent flyer so for me this was big news:

While waiting for my flight to London this week, which was delayed for 3 hours, due to a mistake in the planning of the airline, I heard a very interesting airport-call at Schiphol, Amsterdam:
Whenever a passenger is being late at the gate it will be announcement in the form

"[Mr./Mrs.] [name] travelling to [destination], you are delaying the flight. We will proceed unloading your luggage. Immediate boarding, please."

So, this means whatever the reason is for you being late (traffic jam, delay of your first public transportation, relaxed shopping in the Duty Free, sleeping in, ...), airlines do now remove your luggage from the plane and will fly without you. For those always trying to be on time or those who have a tight schedule, this must be a great relief. Why should 199 travellers wait for number 200, if she is still trying out the newest perfumes in the Duty Free?
Yet, when you hear that your airline assigned the plane you were supposed to sit in to another flight by accident and now you have to wait for your plane to fly there first and come back again to pick you up, this kind of call is rather ironic.

Here you can hear the Dutch version of the call, while I am filming the air plane that was supposed to fly me to London Luton, but flew to London Heathrow first:



And a similar call in English, as I found on the web:


And here you can read a discussion about that topic on the web:
Click for the discussion (in Dutch)

Holland macht sich auf

Ganz Europa ist im Fussballfieber! Ganz Europa? Naja, es gibt einige Fußballzwergnationen, wie England, denen das ganze geschehen nicht so interessant vorkommt. Aber in Holland, ja, da geht es ORANJE her. Alles, was bei 3 nicht auf den Bäumen ist, oder selbst ein Baum ist wird in der knallen Nationalfarbe unserer lieben Nachbarn geschmückt.

Auch die Mannsjaft, von Bondscoach Marco van Basten, möchte dieses mal nicht anbrennen lassen und hat sich daher einiges einfallen lassen. Auch in Holland ist man dahinter gekommen, dass eine Reise mit einem guten Reisemittel beginnt. Daher wurde im Vorfeld der EM-Vorbereitungen den Spielern die Frage gestellt, mit welchem Verkehrsmittel sie gerne den Olymp in der Schweiz und in Österreich erklimmen möchten. Hier die Ergebnisse der offiziellen Infratest-Nederland-Umfrage:

75% Prozent der Spieler entschieden sich demnach für die Anreise im modernen, klimatisierten Reisebus, 25% blieben jedoch beim traditionellen Verkehrsmittel in den Niederlanden, dem FIETS (Hauptwort).
Gründe für die Entscheidungen der Spieler wurden ebenfalls erfragt.
Stimmen für den Bus:
- "Wer weiß, wann wir uns das nächste mal wieder in ein mit Benzin betriebenes Gefährt setzen können, dass dann tatsächlich auch fährt"
- "Ich radel ja schon zum Training, außerdem habe ich keine Winterreifen auf meinem Drahtesel, die sind ja jetzt gesetzlich verpflichtet in den Alpen NATIES".

Stimmen fürs Rad:
- "Ich vertraue dem ÖPNV in den Niederlanden nicht, Fahrpläne werden nicht eingehalten, er ist teuer, die Mitarbeiter unfreundlich und die ewigen Streiks, da FIETS (Verb) ich lieber.

Letzlich blieb den Verantwortlich nur noch über das Unterhaltungsprogramm während der EM nachzudenken. Nachdem mit den 3 sämtlichen großen Firmen in NEDERLAND beraten wurde, hat man sich einstimmig für die großartige Zusammenarbeit mit dem bekannten Herstellers eines unDRINKABLE Gerstensaftes einzulassen. Den kreativen viel nichts besseres ein als ein tolles Wortspiel, mit weitreichenden Folgen: Der Trom-Pet (Trommelhut) wurde geboren. Nachhaltige folgen für die Anwender dabei nicht ausgeschlossen, so wie das Testervideo hier beweist:



Letzlich bleibt uns von dieser Stelle nur noch eines übrig: Wir wünschen Holland nen unterhaltsamen Kurztrip, und falls ihr doch noch länger bleiben wollt, dann schautst auch mal bei uns vorbei. HUP HOLLAND, HUP!

"[America] is a small isolated island in the middle of the ocean"

Have you ever wondered how Europe looked like in the 18th century for someone travelling a far way?
Well, as you can see from that quote: "[America] is a small isolated island in the middle of the ocean", not every assumption was correct, yet very interesting to have a look at and create one's own view on how much has changed here in the past 200 years, or not...

Please follow that link.

Invest in China! Really no news...

...as you can find out on the webpage http://www.china-institut.org/gedanken-zum-heute/sparbuechse.htm, there was a China-boom, before we thought about China's boom for the past years:


"Jetzt habe ich soviel Geld in das verfluchte Ding hineingeschmissen, und es kommt nichts heraus!" [Early frustration of a German investor in China: "I have put so much money in that damn thing, and nothing comes out of it!"]

(Der chinesische Automat, Karikatur von Th. Heine, Simplicissimus, 1901, aus: Thomas Brandt, Asia in those Days - A Glimpse Into the Past)

Dazu muß man wissen, was die Studie China and the World Financial Markets 1870-1930 (Yale School of Management), kürzlich herausfand:

Early in the 20th Century, China was one of the hottest emerging markets for global investment. One estimate of total foreign capital invested in China in 1938 put it at $2.5 billion, third behind India and Argentina ... and not dramatically less than the $7 billion of foreign investment in the United States at the time.

Dutch - a lovely language!

Some things must be said in every language, that's for sure. The Dutch have a very nice collection of this kind of language. Whenever unhappy about your behaviour, they might call u a "scrotum" or even more delightful a "cock". You don't believe me?
Well there are two ways to find out that I tell the truth"
1. Piss off the nearest Dutchman around you.
2. Click on the video below and have a look for yourself.

Scandal: German flag in Leiden seen from outerspace

I just discovered a big scandal:
Between the historical city of Leiden and the nice upper-classy village of Oegstgeest (both in the province Zuid-Holland, The Netherlands), some supporters of the Federal Republic of Germany's football team flew the German three stripes, black, red and gold!
Scientistic approval has shown that the visual evidence is clear and no doubts can be stated about this scandal. Sociologists argued that this 'flying of the German flag' might have some connection to the recent successes of the German national football team (in spite of the great disgrace against the Czech national team) and be a reaction to the enduring weakness of other national teams. Some sceptic tried to spread the rumor that the 'black' stripe of the German flag is a shaddow, this has to be denied strongly and even the Queen asked those sceptics to denounce their theories.

Dagje uit...Vlietland recreatie

Nice daytrip close to Leiden! The canoes can be hired for 3 Euro per hour! More info here: Watersportcentrum Vlietland

More from Shanghai

The development of Chinese script, shown in the Shanghai Museum of Sciene and Technology

Masses of people in the Shanghai Metro System

Modern Shanghai (as seen from the Museum of Science and Technology)

A little nap in the Museum of Science and Technology.

Relaxing on the marble floor

Chinglish, can still be found...

...and enjoyed in a lot of different situations.

Pictures below: Shanghai Metro

深圳之早餐店

He, She and You

在国外,介绍不认识的人的时候要叫姓.

今天,朋友去Amsterdam机场接新同学.

我这个朋友姓 尤.

接一个男生姓 佘

接一个女生姓 何

在机场海关外面,一个荷兰工作人员拦住他们三个人，要求察看他们的入境卡。拿到卡后，工作人员用英文大声念:

So, He is She (他是她)

She is He (她是他)

朋友马上接话：Yes, and I am You（尤）! (我是你！)

海关工作人员顿时疯掉.........＂

邓丽君 - 甜蜜蜜

Some thoughts on Global Warming

Where the hell is Matt?

Funny idea of a guy dancing around all over the world. According to his webpage a travelmate gave him the idea to make videos dancing, wherever he travels to. I turned out to be a great success. For the next world trip he even got paid...funny video with nice music in the background. Enjoy!

More videos can be found on his website.

台灣紀念片

我爱的中国

Alte Zeit

Video Leids Ontzet

It rained in Shanghai (08-04-2007)

CHINA - pics

The most expensive brand name world-wide, also well-known in China - ENJOY!

Another very famous product from another famous brand - unlucky us, this product cannot be ENJOYed as often as we might wish to. (Porsche in Shanghai)

和谐号 - Harmony a very important goal for the Chinese government to reach for the Chinese society. With this train they are on a good way. 330 km/h from Shanghai to Suzhou! Worthwile being ENJOYed!

From the mud underneath the water, through the root, grown to be the most beautiful flower of the Chinese perception. The famous and most ENJOYable lotus flower. Is the lotus also a symbol for the development of mankind?

外国人！ A foreigner in Shanghai. A great sight, at least for me, as he is ENJOYing his bread while riding a bike.

ENJOYing a cigarette? Neighbourhood watchers in Shanghai. What a great life...

'Which one safes on gas?' A taff question for the growing Chinese economy and the new wealthy class. Why should they safe on resources, while others used to and still spoil a lot of resources? Don't we all just want to ENJOY life!

Metro in Shanghai, the best way to ENJOY modern city life's traffic.

Another shot of the Metro in Shanghai. High-speed for a better future.

Thinking about a lot of things going on around him? A man standing besides the road in Shenzhen.

Anyone ever seen that font type? I don't think so, and even if any Western company has a patent on that font type, didn't your forebears colonize China and steal a lot of wisdom through the force of violence?

China is moving fast. Not everyone is moving at the same pace, but the direction is set: Straight ahead into a better future for the next generation.

ENJOYing the sun in Zhuhai. But why do you protect your skin from these UV-rays? So uncool! Don't all of you want to be nice and tanned as your Western idols are? Stop caring about things like health...

Here we are, some stars, but no stripes! Does China make a difference?