Dhondy Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 Didn't know they are free in Germany, CC? Even the trains? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CC1981 Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 Didn't know they are free in Germany' date=' CC? Even the trains?[/quote'] local trains (ie, inside a city) are 'free' for German citizens/residents. You can sneak in pretty good but when the ticket-master comes and asks for your IDs, you better 'prove' that you are German/German resident or he'll put a stupidly high fine on your tourist hiney. Atleast, that was the story in 1997. Dunno if its changed. What impressed me most about German transportation is it is very smooth, very efficient ( riding a train in Britain feels like you are riding a bullock-card over rocky terrain compared to riding the German trains) and most important of all, never late ! If your ticket says the train is gonna arrive at 14:25 and depart at 14:30, you can re-set your watch by the train ! And unlike in Britain/Canada, even the middle-of-nowhere boonie villages/towns (i havnt been to much of Germany,only the south- bavaria/black forest region) have perfectly punctual and convinient Public transportation. Its pretty amazing to see a village of 2000 people having tram-lines reaching almost every neighbourhood and the trams running to clockwork precision and far more regularly than bus service in similar sized Canadian or British towns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dhondy Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 It's a country I greatly respect, CC. Their innovation in manufacturing is second to none. Just look at the number of world beating manufacturing firms they have- BMW, Mercedes, Volkswagen (part of one of the other two now, I believe),Daimler-Benz, Porsche, Siemens, Continental, Adidas, BASF, Hoechst, Braun, Bayer....it reads like a virtual who's who of top manufacturing concerns in Europe. A country is doing something right when it has so many world-leading firms. Is a manufacturing based economy, such as Germany or Japan's better than a service based economy, such as the one UK or USA has? I don't know. A few years ago, I would have unhesitatingly plumped for the former, but the world's need for knowledge based services seems to be increasing by the day. Hence, the city of London's pre-eminance as Europe's financial centre, as pointed out by Lurker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CC1981 Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 But isnt Germany still the biggest economy in Europe comfortably ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dhondy Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 It is, but it also has the biggest population. Some countries like the UK have overtaken it in GDP per capita. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ram Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 Is a manufacturing based economy, such as Germany or Japan's better than a service based economy, such as the one UK or USA has? In terms of sustainablity ( i guess that is what you are talking about when you compare manufacturing and service based economies) , I would rather talk about whether the economy is export driven or mostly due to internal demand. Whether you are goods or services based , if your demands falls, then profits will bre hit , no matter what. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gorah_pindu Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 Online I am detecting that white Brits are getting VERY pissed off with immigrants. Specially when it comes to ROP ones. Lot of Brits do differentiate between Indians and nutty followers of ROP but some Brits don't care anymore and want all the foreigners to f@k off. I have a feeling that if few more attacks happen in England then sh*t will start hitting the fan and Indians will end up being victims. Do you think that large scale race/religious fighting is possible in our lifetime in UK? I am talking the type that took place in X-Yugoslavia? I must say that I don't feel very safe in UK these days. There is that "look" thing going on :angry_smile: People are suspicious of anyone who even remotely looks like a follower of ROP. I will gladly start wearing some kind of official infidel badge to protect my @ss :hysterical: Any views from fellow UK walle? I dont see any evidence of this really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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