China plates

Why does Germany always look so extraordinarily rich? I know that on a per capita GDP basis it is poorer than the US, even below some other European countries. Beggars (including some Germans) can be seen on the streets, which was unthinkable 20 years ago. But the country still seems wealthy, especially compared to the US.

One reason is the solidity of German buildings. The typical US wooden tent in the form of a frame house essentially doesn't exist in this land of thick walls and codes meant to guarantee that buildings outlast their owners. Such things have a strong visual impact, but the little things are perhaps more striking.

I ate in a fast food Chinese reastaurant yesterday. In the US the food would come on plastic with a plastic knife and fork. Here the plate was china and the tools metal. No cloth napkin, but perhaps that would be going too far, even for Germany. The Soupenbörse (Soup Exchance), which is one of my regular lunchtime haunts, also serves its soup in china bowls. And when guests come to the Institute, we give them coffee in china cups.

I also looked at another apartment today, one of the most expensive that we have considered, but also one of the most lovely. This picture shows only one of its many grand views over the city.