Meine liebe Tante Pili, heute sollte dein Wecker dich aufwachen, um den Artz zu besuchen, aber es klingelte nur in der Leere. Du warst schon gegangen, aber nicht zum Arzt.
Du warst immer sehr still und sprachst nicht so gern wie deine Schwester aber du solltest uns mindestens davor warnen. Alle von uns waren irgendwo (ich in Frankfurt, zum Beispiel) und niemand konnte erwarten, was heute passiert ist. Niemand konnte genau vor dir verabschieden. Ich hoffe, dass du zufrieden im Leben und sehr stolz auf uns warst.
Was mehr kann ich sagen? Nur dass, es war sehr nett dich in meinem Leben 32 Jahren zu haben. Ich werde dich vermissen, wie ich vermisse Onkel Ramiro. Wir alle werden um deine zwei Sohne und deinen Enkel kümmern.
Sag "hallo" aller in Himmel. Tschüss!!!!!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Bamberg again
Today I was in Bamberg, one of my favourites cities in Germany, again, after the visit I paid to my friend Timo two years ago (http://antsanch.blogspot.com/2009/02/something-more-than-basketball.html). I must admit that before buying my Lonely Planet guide of Germany all I knew about Bamberg was that it has a quite good basketball team (Brose Basket), in German terms.
Firstly, it was quite difficult to arrive to Bamberg due to the neverending roadworks we found in the highways there. Germany started to built its net of highways more than fifty years ago and it seems it has decided to renovate all of them at the same time. This trip has also been useful for me to maintain my idea that the lack of speed limits makes driving uselessly dangerous.
Bamberg has its own Little Venice, a group of houses built close to river Regnitz. I was extremely disappointed at first sight, but afterwards the impression was improving. This row of houses (see below) was built by fishermen in the Middle Age, when they prefered to stay outside the city walls, but closer to the river. Anyway, I expect the real Venice to be much more charming that the one in Bamberg (with due respect to Bamberg, of course).
Bamberg's Town Hall was built i
n the Middle Age in an island in the river, just not to favour one of the two neighbourhoods living on both sides of the river. It is quite a remarkable building, with a strange feature: whose the hell is the leg through the wall?
Around the Town Hall there are a number of places when one can taste the local beer, called Rauchbier in German (something similar to "smokebear"). As I do not like beer, I cannot say much about it, but it seems to be quite soft and tasty.
Bamberg is also known as "Franconia's Rome", because it is built on seven hills, like the Italian capital. Of course, both cities are not comparable, but some of the hills in Bamberg are really remarkable.
In one of them, the
cathedral dominates, together with the Bishop's Palace (special attention must also be paid to its rosegarden), the city centre. Inside the cathedral, a statue of a riding knight has become its symbol. Nobody knows who is this knight, but it seems that he holds a crown with the town itself over him, what may imply that he was a prince. But, on the other hand, he is not carrying any weapons and wearing the normal luxurious clothes of princes. The cathedral hosts as well the only Pope buried north of the Alps.
Finally, the former abbey of St.Michael's dominates the city centre and allows to get nice views of the city. Today it is a house for senior people, but it still keeps the air of an ancient abbey. In its church, the tomb of Saint Otto can be visited. I was surprised by the fact that there is a hole in the middle of the tomb (something similar to what magicians do sometimes in their shows). The ceilings of the church are decorated with a collection of medicinal plants, since it seems that this abbey was particularly active in this field of medicine.
All of this makes Bamberg one of my favourite cities in Germany. When compared with other similar towns like Heidelberg, it is not so crowded with tourists, what also adds a positive point to the Franconian town. But, as Heidelberg, it also has a US Facility (whatever it means).
Firstly, it was quite difficult to arrive to Bamberg due to the neverending roadworks we found in the highways there. Germany started to built its net of highways more than fifty years ago and it seems it has decided to renovate all of them at the same time. This trip has also been useful for me to maintain my idea that the lack of speed limits makes driving uselessly dangerous.
Bamberg has its own Little Venice, a group of houses built close to river Regnitz. I was extremely disappointed at first sight, but afterwards the impression was improving. This row of houses (see below) was built by fishermen in the Middle Age, when they prefered to stay outside the city walls, but closer to the river. Anyway, I expect the real Venice to be much more charming that the one in Bamberg (with due respect to Bamberg, of course).
Bamberg's Town Hall was built i
n the Middle Age in an island in the river, just not to favour one of the two neighbourhoods living on both sides of the river. It is quite a remarkable building, with a strange feature: whose the hell is the leg through the wall?Around the Town Hall there are a number of places when one can taste the local beer, called Rauchbier in German (something similar to "smokebear"). As I do not like beer, I cannot say much about it, but it seems to be quite soft and tasty.
Bamberg is also known as "Franconia's Rome", because it is built on seven hills, like the Italian capital. Of course, both cities are not comparable, but some of the hills in Bamberg are really remarkable.
In one of them, the
cathedral dominates, together with the Bishop's Palace (special attention must also be paid to its rosegarden), the city centre. Inside the cathedral, a statue of a riding knight has become its symbol. Nobody knows who is this knight, but it seems that he holds a crown with the town itself over him, what may imply that he was a prince. But, on the other hand, he is not carrying any weapons and wearing the normal luxurious clothes of princes. The cathedral hosts as well the only Pope buried north of the Alps.Finally, the former abbey of St.Michael's dominates the city centre and allows to get nice views of the city. Today it is a house for senior people, but it still keeps the air of an ancient abbey. In its church, the tomb of Saint Otto can be visited. I was surprised by the fact that there is a hole in the middle of the tomb (something similar to what magicians do sometimes in their shows). The ceilings of the church are decorated with a collection of medicinal plants, since it seems that this abbey was particularly active in this field of medicine.
All of this makes Bamberg one of my favourite cities in Germany. When compared with other similar towns like Heidelberg, it is not so crowded with tourists, what also adds a positive point to the Franconian town. But, as Heidelberg, it also has a US Facility (whatever it means).
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Angeli come te
Molto spesso mi racconti quello che credi sugli angeli, come pensi che loro sono tra di noi, aiutandoci e prendendosi cura di noi. Io te ascolto con attenzione ma ci credere diventa molto difficile per un cervello così racionale come il mio. Comunque ogni giorno che sto con te, divento più convinto che gli angeli non sono tra di noi, ma che alcune persone veramente sembrano angeli, dato che sono molto gentili con noi. Perché dico questo? Non mi sentivo bene questo pomeriggio e tu mi hai invitato a un cioccolato al latte con tortina. Dopo ti sei preoccupata per me e mi hai invitato da te per prenderti cura di me. E tutto con un bel sorriso slovacco nella tua faccia. Davvero, oggi ho conosciuto un angelo e quest'angelo sei tu.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
"Blitz" visit to Slovenia
Yesterday I made a very short trip (less than ten hours) to Slovenia, more specifically to Ljubljana (quite a difficult name for a city, isn't it?). Until then, all I knew about Slovenia was that they have a lot of basketball players and that they were the first (and the only one so far) ex-Yugoslavian republic in joining the European Union and, afterwards, the euro.
First thing that wondered me in the visit was to fly over the Alps. I could clearly see from the plane the valleys and how roads and villages are spread around them, without ever getting too high up in the mountains. When approaching the Alps I could even see the clouds stuck in the mountains, covering the valleys but not the peaks of the mountains (some of them with snow), like a carpet laid on the floor.
Once landed in the cosy airport of Ljubljana, the impression I got from Ljubljana is that it is quite small for being the capital city of a country. The city centre is quite nice, although it looked like too new and renovated for me in the fifteen minutes I spent there. I cannot say much more about tourist attractions, because, as previously said, I exactly had fifteen minutes to walk to the town hall (see picture below) and back to work. I have been told that Ljubljana is quite a nice town, but, believe me, I did not have the chance to walk around it for long.
All I could do was spending one hour in a traffic jam on the way to the aiport, with a final amount to pay of 71 euros. In this sense, the highway itself and the airport seemed to me to be quite small, again. With such a short stay, I am afraid that all I can say about Slovenia is that it is quite a small country, but very attractive in what I could watch is concerned. Next time, I will try to stay longer in Slovenia; promised!
First thing that wondered me in the visit was to fly over the Alps. I could clearly see from the plane the valleys and how roads and villages are spread around them, without ever getting too high up in the mountains. When approaching the Alps I could even see the clouds stuck in the mountains, covering the valleys but not the peaks of the mountains (some of them with snow), like a carpet laid on the floor.
Once landed in the cosy airport of Ljubljana, the impression I got from Ljubljana is that it is quite small for being the capital city of a country. The city centre is quite nice, although it looked like too new and renovated for me in the fifteen minutes I spent there. I cannot say much more about tourist attractions, because, as previously said, I exactly had fifteen minutes to walk to the town hall (see picture below) and back to work. I have been told that Ljubljana is quite a nice town, but, believe me, I did not have the chance to walk around it for long.
All I could do was spending one hour in a traffic jam on the way to the aiport, with a final amount to pay of 71 euros. In this sense, the highway itself and the airport seemed to me to be quite small, again. With such a short stay, I am afraid that all I can say about Slovenia is that it is quite a small country, but very attractive in what I could watch is concerned. Next time, I will try to stay longer in Slovenia; promised!
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Capacidad de autocrítica hispana
Uno de los errores puestos de manifiesto por la crisis financiera actual se refiere a la inadecuada supervisión de las entidades financieras (principalmente, de los bancos). Como consecuencia de una supervisión muy relajada y poco estricta con las arriesgadas apuestas de algunos bancos, algunos de ellos se situaron a un paso del colapso, amenazando con arrastrar en su caída a muchos más agentes económicos inocentes.
Muchos países, conscientes de este error, han reformado su arquitectura supervisora. Así, la otrora todopoderosa FSA británica ha sido dividida y pronto dejará de existir. En Holanda, un informe presentado en el Parlamento ha recomendado algunas modificaciones en la forma de realizar la supervisión. Bélgica ha presentado recientemente un nuevo esquema de entidades supervisoras.
Y, en España, ¿se ha hecho algo? Pues, sorprendentemente, no. Pese a que algunas cajas de ahorro han tenido que ser restructuradas (eufemismo de "entregadas a competidoras más solventes a cambio de dinero público") en el último segundo, nadie ha demostrado tener capacidad de autocrítica para intentar analizar qué se hizo mal en la supervisión bancaria en los últimos años y cómo evitar que estos errores se repitan en el futuro. Porque, a pesar de que el Banco de España viene presumiendo de sus "provisiones dinámicas", éstas no constituyen sino una medicina, que ayuda a afrontar las dificultades una vez que han aparecido, y que no debería ocultar el problema de fondo: unas prácticas supervisoras, como mínimo, cuestionables.
Durante años asistimos a una exuberante burbuja del crédito ligado a la burbuja inmobiliaria, con tasas de variación interanuales de dos dígitos. Todas las cajas de ahorro se embarcaron en una expansión descontrolada, abriendo oficinas por todo el territorio español. Se concedían hipotecas por el 110% del valor de la vivienda a personas con trabajo temporal y sin muchos indicios de ser económicamente solventes. Además, algunas cajas se metieron a fondo en arriesgadas aventuras como Valdeluz, Martinsa o el Aeropuerto de Ciudad Real.
Y, en este punto, lo que me pregunto yo es, mientras todo esto sucedía, ¿qué estaba haciendo el supervisor (esto es, el Banco de España? ¿Es que ninguno de sus inspectores pudo deducir que en algún momento estas prácticas podían acabar con la caja en cuestión? Y una vez que la cosa ya está hecha y no tiene solución, ¿cómo es posible que absolutamente nadie levante la voz para criticar al supervisor que, aparentemente, no ha supervisado tan bien como se le suponía? Se ha dicho mucho de las empresas inmobiliarias y de la burbuja que crearon, pero en cambio no se ha dicho nada de todas aquellas entidades financieras que concedieron créditos con demasiada alegría; créditos que ayudaron a inflar la burbuja inmobiliaria. ¿Es esta toda la capacidad de autocrítica de la que somos capaces en España?
Muchos países, conscientes de este error, han reformado su arquitectura supervisora. Así, la otrora todopoderosa FSA británica ha sido dividida y pronto dejará de existir. En Holanda, un informe presentado en el Parlamento ha recomendado algunas modificaciones en la forma de realizar la supervisión. Bélgica ha presentado recientemente un nuevo esquema de entidades supervisoras.
Y, en España, ¿se ha hecho algo? Pues, sorprendentemente, no. Pese a que algunas cajas de ahorro han tenido que ser restructuradas (eufemismo de "entregadas a competidoras más solventes a cambio de dinero público") en el último segundo, nadie ha demostrado tener capacidad de autocrítica para intentar analizar qué se hizo mal en la supervisión bancaria en los últimos años y cómo evitar que estos errores se repitan en el futuro. Porque, a pesar de que el Banco de España viene presumiendo de sus "provisiones dinámicas", éstas no constituyen sino una medicina, que ayuda a afrontar las dificultades una vez que han aparecido, y que no debería ocultar el problema de fondo: unas prácticas supervisoras, como mínimo, cuestionables.Durante años asistimos a una exuberante burbuja del crédito ligado a la burbuja inmobiliaria, con tasas de variación interanuales de dos dígitos. Todas las cajas de ahorro se embarcaron en una expansión descontrolada, abriendo oficinas por todo el territorio español. Se concedían hipotecas por el 110% del valor de la vivienda a personas con trabajo temporal y sin muchos indicios de ser económicamente solventes. Además, algunas cajas se metieron a fondo en arriesgadas aventuras como Valdeluz, Martinsa o el Aeropuerto de Ciudad Real.
Y, en este punto, lo que me pregunto yo es, mientras todo esto sucedía, ¿qué estaba haciendo el supervisor (esto es, el Banco de España? ¿Es que ninguno de sus inspectores pudo deducir que en algún momento estas prácticas podían acabar con la caja en cuestión? Y una vez que la cosa ya está hecha y no tiene solución, ¿cómo es posible que absolutamente nadie levante la voz para criticar al supervisor que, aparentemente, no ha supervisado tan bien como se le suponía? Se ha dicho mucho de las empresas inmobiliarias y de la burbuja que crearon, pero en cambio no se ha dicho nada de todas aquellas entidades financieras que concedieron créditos con demasiada alegría; créditos que ayudaron a inflar la burbuja inmobiliaria. ¿Es esta toda la capacidad de autocrítica de la que somos capaces en España?
Monday, October 04, 2010
What a sunny day in Mechelen
Last weekend, I paid a visit to my friends Saskia and Peter, and their twins, the cutest babies on Earth. They were born in December 2008 and they are really, really cute; believe me, I am not saying it with the passion of an uncle, je, je, je. The only problem I am starting to have with them is that their Dutch is by now much better than mine (reduced probably to no more than ten words).
As usual, I took the train to go there. Generally, it takes less than three hours to go from Frankfurt to Brussels and it is much more comfortable than going to the airport. From Brussels, I need an additional 20 minutes to reach Mechelen. The trip between Frankfurt and
Cologne is probably one of my favourites, I think I could spend a whole day doing it: the train goes parallel to a highway and it goes so fast (around 300 km/h) that cars are overtaken without difficulty.
Once in Mechelen, I tried to cook Spanish tortillas for Saskia and Peter. They came this time with strange requirements: they wanted to put tomatoes, salt and pepper on it and I did my best to preserve this Spanish "delicatessen" but I was their guest so I had to give up in some points... Anyway, the final result was really a success and I felt very proud of my skills as tortilla-cook. I must admit that the previous try was such a disaster that it was very easy to improve.
On Sunday morning, it was sunny so we decided to go for a ride with the bycicles. First thing to note is that Belgium (Flanders to be more accurate) is extremely flat, not like Guadalajara. It was a real pleasure to cycle close to a canal for 10 kilometres without going up- or downhill for more than 5 metres (see picture below). On the other hand, that may be the reason by Belgium has not win a single Tour de France in the last 30 years. Anyway, it was absolutely delicious, probably one of my best experiences in the last year.
Lastly, I think I must partially explain myself. In my previous post, I stated that Belgium seemed to be a country in decadence, especially in towns, such as in Brussels. This time, though, I visited the nice part of it: the small villages full of peace and quality of life (for example, Boortmeerbeek). So, probably big towns are not so pleasant for the visitor, but definitively Belgium seems a nice place to live (when it is not raining, of course, je, je, je). I will seriously consider whether to buy a piece of land in Boortmeerbeek and build a house there...
As usual, I took the train to go there. Generally, it takes less than three hours to go from Frankfurt to Brussels and it is much more comfortable than going to the airport. From Brussels, I need an additional 20 minutes to reach Mechelen. The trip between Frankfurt and
Cologne is probably one of my favourites, I think I could spend a whole day doing it: the train goes parallel to a highway and it goes so fast (around 300 km/h) that cars are overtaken without difficulty.Once in Mechelen, I tried to cook Spanish tortillas for Saskia and Peter. They came this time with strange requirements: they wanted to put tomatoes, salt and pepper on it and I did my best to preserve this Spanish "delicatessen" but I was their guest so I had to give up in some points... Anyway, the final result was really a success and I felt very proud of my skills as tortilla-cook. I must admit that the previous try was such a disaster that it was very easy to improve.
On Sunday morning, it was sunny so we decided to go for a ride with the bycicles. First thing to note is that Belgium (Flanders to be more accurate) is extremely flat, not like Guadalajara. It was a real pleasure to cycle close to a canal for 10 kilometres without going up- or downhill for more than 5 metres (see picture below). On the other hand, that may be the reason by Belgium has not win a single Tour de France in the last 30 years. Anyway, it was absolutely delicious, probably one of my best experiences in the last year.
Lastly, I think I must partially explain myself. In my previous post, I stated that Belgium seemed to be a country in decadence, especially in towns, such as in Brussels. This time, though, I visited the nice part of it: the small villages full of peace and quality of life (for example, Boortmeerbeek). So, probably big towns are not so pleasant for the visitor, but definitively Belgium seems a nice place to live (when it is not raining, of course, je, je, je). I will seriously consider whether to buy a piece of land in Boortmeerbeek and build a house there...
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