To: euro@neurostyle.net
From: Emilio Gonzalez 
Subject: 5.21.00 - 14:24 - munich, germany


(joy, more german keyobards. and i'm in germany, too - what were they thinking?
i'm getting used to it, tho, which should be interesting when i get to a us
standard keyboard) 

it seems like almost every city i've been in (which, admittedly, hasn't been many
at this point) has had a nice, broad, long pedestrian mall lined with shops and
cafes, sculptures and restraunts, all alive with people. it makes the
ultracommercial "malls" i'm used to in the usa seem pathetic and overly
consumerist in comparison, much like everything else. instead of spawning
community, relaxation and liesure, we spawn consumption, corporations and waste.
but i'll step off the soapbox for now.

the trainride to munich from stuttgart was fast, quiet and efficient - something
lacking in most north american train travel (ok, ok, now i'll step off the
soapcbox. shush). the ice (intercity express) hurtled us across the countryside
at 200km/h (120mph), making the trip in just a few hours, long enough for a
couple cd's through the sony and some relaxation. 

(bah. a can of red bull cracked in my bag on the train. the damage was minimal,
so the loss of the can is more annoying.) 

my camera is working beautifully, i'm glad i blew the cash on it before my trip,
it will be definitely worth it, especially the wideangle lens. stuttgart has a
beautiful central park, where i snapped chess players, birds and statues. i'm
resisting the urge to develop a couple rolls to see how they turned out and
scanning them to put up on a page somewhere. must... save... money...

(i saw an audi s4 avant last night, the first audi s series i've seen here so
far. the importance of this will be lost on all but a handfull of you - but it
was badass nonetheless) 

the bmw museum is here in town, so that will definitely be a stop this week, plus
ingolstadt, home of volkswagen and audi, is just an hour away by train. hey - i
like german cars, so i have to make a tour of the manufacturers. but bah! i think
the same rules apply here as in the us, so since i'm not 25 i won't be able to
rent a car to travel to ingolstadt on the autobahn - good news to my mother, no
doubt.

dachau isn't far... it will have to be in my visits. it is true that if we do not
learn history we are doomed to repeat it, but perhaps those who are aware enough
to know this rule aren't the ones we shoule be worried about.

...emilio...