Swedish cooperation - Swedish society is a collection of
farmers who traditionally had to cooperate in order to survive. This was
the explanation I heard on a few occasions to explain why the Swedes
are really good at political cooperation. If they find some bad element
among them–like a toxin in plastic– they ban it. It's not like in the US
where you have the democrats who want to ban something and immediately
the Republicans defend the producers and rile about how many jobs will
be lost and swear they will bury the democrats. Borlege (where we
performed) in fact has the most eco-friendly mine in the world. Their
goal is to make it the first non-toxic mine in the world. It's a good
idea, and they prodeed with the expense knowing that the market will
reward that idea. Brilliant!
Bicycles in Copenhagen - We arrived in Copenhagen at night. This is one of many Scandinavian cities known for its bicycle traffic. There are bike lanes everywhere and they are well-used, reducing car traffic by unimaginable amounts. But I was astonished to see many bicyclists racing around in the inner city without helmets and wearing black clothes! I don't know how many of them die, but it says to me that they are pretty confident about not being plowed over by cars.
One lovely day we registered for the "CityBike" program, where you can take one of hundreds of bikes stationed all over town. You enter your membership number in a kiosk, remove a bike from the rack, and cycle whereever you want. Then when you're done you can locate a station, return the bike to a rack and be on your way. It's not only a great system, but the bike you get is a wonder! It not only has a GPS device and a screen that shows you your location, shows your route, nearby attractions and locates drop-off stations, but when you start pedaling an electric motor kicks in, making pedaling nearly effortless! All for a very few $ per hour! What a concept!
Bathrooms - As soon as I hit European soil I knew we were not
in Kansas any more. I entered the bathroom at the airport and there
behind the men's urinals was a woman calmly swabbing the floor. I soon
discovered this was not uncommon. It didn't freak me out to have a woman
in the men's room as long as she knew where she was, but obviously this
is normal in Europe, a practice that would drive some Americans
appopleptic. At the Brody Studio–where we performed in Budapest–we found
a very reasonable solution to the bathroom issue: a unisex bathroom for
everybody, built just like a woman's bathroom. Except for us confused
Americans, it's a great system; all are accepted here except for any
inappropriate sexual paranoia, which seems to rule only far-away places
like North Carolina.
We also saw a great design at a public park in Vienna, where the porta-potty-sized toilet was a big stainless bowl with a seat that folds over it. Then after you flush you push a button and wash your hands over the same bowl. Hey, as long as it's clean, it makes for a very efficient machine!
Cobblestones - I'm amazed that in our age there are still billions of cobblestones making up the streets and sidewalks of Europe. Essentially these are hand-made streets, as each stone must be set into place by a person. This not only makes for very snappy street repairs as the paving can be replaced quickly, but the effect is very beautiful. Of course it makes for a rougher surface, but I also hear that studies show that walking on cobblestones is better for the brain! Apparently the minor adjustments needed to walk on the surface keep the brain in good shape.
I asked a fellow I sat next to on the bus about how cobblestones can still be justified. He said "Well, it sure keeps a lot of people employed." That I thought was a very generous answer, rather than, "More damn tax money down the drain!"
Constant Elevator - We saw one door-less elevator (on its weekend day of rest) that when it's working constantly moves, one up, one down. When the elevator hits your floor level you step on and it glides you to your new floor where you step off. Yes, it takes coordination but most of us are probably not going to decapitate ourselves (and really, what fun!) I don't think such a dangerous concept would survive for a week in letigious America, where I came back to see an innocent beachball with one whole panel taken up by warnings! God, I'd forgotten the world is so dangerous!
Windows - I'm not sure why in America we don't adopt the very clever European window design. There many of the new windows have two sets of hinges. If you turn the handle down, the window swings open to the side. Turn the handle up and the top opens up, hinging on the bottom. for ventilation. Even some doors work this way, so you can walk out, or–as we did on occasion– you lock the place up but leave the door open at the top for ventilation: secure and open at the same time.
Snogging - British expression for French kissing! (Sounds like something salamanders do). Who'd-a-thought?
Bicycles in Copenhagen - We arrived in Copenhagen at night. This is one of many Scandinavian cities known for its bicycle traffic. There are bike lanes everywhere and they are well-used, reducing car traffic by unimaginable amounts. But I was astonished to see many bicyclists racing around in the inner city without helmets and wearing black clothes! I don't know how many of them die, but it says to me that they are pretty confident about not being plowed over by cars.
One lovely day we registered for the "CityBike" program, where you can take one of hundreds of bikes stationed all over town. You enter your membership number in a kiosk, remove a bike from the rack, and cycle whereever you want. Then when you're done you can locate a station, return the bike to a rack and be on your way. It's not only a great system, but the bike you get is a wonder! It not only has a GPS device and a screen that shows you your location, shows your route, nearby attractions and locates drop-off stations, but when you start pedaling an electric motor kicks in, making pedaling nearly effortless! All for a very few $ per hour! What a concept!
Bathrooms - As soon as I hit European soil I knew we were not
in Kansas any more. I entered the bathroom at the airport and there
behind the men's urinals was a woman calmly swabbing the floor. I soon
discovered this was not uncommon. It didn't freak me out to have a woman
in the men's room as long as she knew where she was, but obviously this
is normal in Europe, a practice that would drive some Americans
appopleptic. At the Brody Studio–where we performed in Budapest–we found
a very reasonable solution to the bathroom issue: a unisex bathroom for
everybody, built just like a woman's bathroom. Except for us confused
Americans, it's a great system; all are accepted here except for any
inappropriate sexual paranoia, which seems to rule only far-away places
like North Carolina.We also saw a great design at a public park in Vienna, where the porta-potty-sized toilet was a big stainless bowl with a seat that folds over it. Then after you flush you push a button and wash your hands over the same bowl. Hey, as long as it's clean, it makes for a very efficient machine!
Cobblestones - I'm amazed that in our age there are still billions of cobblestones making up the streets and sidewalks of Europe. Essentially these are hand-made streets, as each stone must be set into place by a person. This not only makes for very snappy street repairs as the paving can be replaced quickly, but the effect is very beautiful. Of course it makes for a rougher surface, but I also hear that studies show that walking on cobblestones is better for the brain! Apparently the minor adjustments needed to walk on the surface keep the brain in good shape.
I asked a fellow I sat next to on the bus about how cobblestones can still be justified. He said "Well, it sure keeps a lot of people employed." That I thought was a very generous answer, rather than, "More damn tax money down the drain!"
Constant Elevator - We saw one door-less elevator (on its weekend day of rest) that when it's working constantly moves, one up, one down. When the elevator hits your floor level you step on and it glides you to your new floor where you step off. Yes, it takes coordination but most of us are probably not going to decapitate ourselves (and really, what fun!) I don't think such a dangerous concept would survive for a week in letigious America, where I came back to see an innocent beachball with one whole panel taken up by warnings! God, I'd forgotten the world is so dangerous!
Windows - I'm not sure why in America we don't adopt the very clever European window design. There many of the new windows have two sets of hinges. If you turn the handle down, the window swings open to the side. Turn the handle up and the top opens up, hinging on the bottom. for ventilation. Even some doors work this way, so you can walk out, or–as we did on occasion– you lock the place up but leave the door open at the top for ventilation: secure and open at the same time.
Snogging - British expression for French kissing! (Sounds like something salamanders do). Who'd-a-thought?
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