- Sure, World War II had some bad sides to it.
But at least it got the Oktoberfest suspended between 1939 and 1945. - Many times as I entered Israel, I was questioned thoroughly about the origin of my last name by the border guards. I never understood what was so special or suspicious about it. Until now.
- Vegemite fans all over Europe are rooting for the free-trade agreement between the EU and Australia.
- Thank to Plain Jain for sending Adventures in the Anthropocene: A Journey to the Heart of the Planet we made by Gaia Vince.
- – Turkey: The lira is falling because of an international conspiracy.
– Venezuela: We only have inflation because of an international conspiracy.
– Russia: The drop of the ruble is due to an international conspiracy.
=> I think I have figured out who is to blame for my empty bank account. - John le Carré: “If I had known that most anglophone people pronounce it like ‘curry’, I would have chosen a different pen name.”
- My article about the personality cult in Azerbaijan was featured in The Armenian Weekly.
- Thanks to Edith Lorena Banda Cardona for Playing Dead by Elizabeth Greenwood. This book is giving me some ideas…
- For fellow history students or anyone with an interest in historical maps, the whole History of Cartography is online and searchable. A treasure trove!
- Oops, I booked a flight from Canada to the UK in April 2019, not considering that’s after the effective date of Brexit. Let’s see if I will need a visa by then.
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“He explained in great detail that in Romania, the best deals could be made with the public administration, and that if one wanted to save time and possible bribes, it was advisable to become a member of the public administration oneself.”(Varujan Vosganian: The Book of Whispers)
- Thanks to Ana Alves for The Rough Guide to Canada and for Midnight in Siberia: A Train Journey into the Heart of Russia by David Green.
- Who would have thought that a former Al-Qaeda jihadist can be funny? I really enjoyed this interview with Aimen Dean.
- I am rather surprised that people are still surprised by revelations of Catholic child abuse. It’s long been known as a systemic problem, also in a parish near you.
- People keep saying that flights have gotten cheaper. But in 1992, I flew to Australia, which I couldn’t afford today. So something ain’t right.
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I don’t like flies, and I am not a big fan of butter.But I love butterflies.(How to short-circuit “artificial intelligence”.)
- For my birthday party, I want a show like this. Nothing less will do.
The Happy Hermit 
Had some US people speaking about how great Oktoberfest in Munich must be to visit. So I showed them YouTube videos of the ‘kotzhügel’ there. They changed their minds….
A good deed! – I really don’t understand the attraction of Oktoberfest. In Germany, at least in the southern part, there is a festival with beer and sausages in every town, every village even. There is something to go to every day of the week. And all the other festivals are more authentic, more civilized and food and drinks are much cheaper.
Well, if you’re German it’ so for sure nothing special. But for me, for example, it looks interesting, though I have never been there. Once I hope to see it and to have my own opinion about it. But many of my friends living in Germany detest it just like you.
I understand that a festival with beer and barbecue can be nice, but I don’t understand why all the foreigners insist on going to the least original and most expensive one, when there are hundreds of better alternatives, every week.
We have just not been informed well I suppose. It is like that with almost all turist attractions – millions see the most popular but few see the worthiest. 😊
If you are ever in Germany around that time (end of September, beginning of October), try this: Instead of going to the commercial ‘lets-rob-the-tourists’ Oktoberfest, rent a bicycle. Look on a map for small villages around Munich that have a train station. Google the village name and enter ‘Veranstaltung’. It will list all the upcoming events in that village. Get a train ticket to that place. Go to the local event. You will see the ‘real’ festivals. For half the price. Consider staying a few days. The train trips will give you the chance to see some amazing countryside, you wont be robbed by ‘tourist traps’. And the weather this time of year is perfect for riding around the countryside.
And there are “Kirwas”, these traditional festivals, from May until October. Any village has at least one per year.
Thank you. I just might do that once. 😊
Oktoberfest is the same as if hundreds of thousands of tourists would come to Montenegro every year to visit one mountain. And they all come in the same week, when prices are tenfold, and all go the same mountain, where someone had put up a barrier and was charging an entrance fee. – And you, Armina, would think: “Guys, you know that we have thousands of beautiful mountains that are open to visit all year round, no?” But the tourists wouldn’t get it, and they would continue to go to the fake village, when there are many interesting genuine villages to be discovered in Durmitor.
18. The 2018 Nobel Prize for Peace is more honored by its recipients than it honors them.
Oh yes, this year’s choice was excellent.
No need to write an article like in some previous years: https://andreasmoser.blog/2013/12/11/peace-nobel-prize-2013/
1.- Allá por los años 80, en la ciudad de Tarija existía una fabrica de cervecería ASTRA, en esa época se impulso la Oktoberfest, probablemente por aquellas familias alemanas que vivían aquí, sin embargo, luego de algunos años …desapareció, con seguridad, no porque a los tarijeños no les guste beber, si no porque era una costumbre que venía de otro país…o tal vez porque a los “chapacos” les gusta mas el vino.
14.- Aquí tuvimos episodios de religiosos que convivían con mujeres…o al menos eso se comentaba por debajo de la mesa, alguno que se decía que dejo algún hijo cosas que nunca…nadie se molestó en probar o castigar, siempre fuimos un pueblo muy sumiso a la religión, tal vez nunca nadie tuvo el valor de denunciar los abusos… pero no deja de ser triste y de sorprendernos, la información sobre abusos sexuales no se difundía por medios masivos en esta ciudad, seguramente filtraban la información, en fin … considero repugnante el hecho venga de donde venga.