The Fat Lady is about to Sing

Our stay in Austria ends soon, with a flight from Salzburg
early Monday. Our arrival in Spokane will be late evening
so our motivation to get up to Sandpoint will war with our
need to stay in Spokane for a night's sleep.

We have continued to do bike rides. Yesterday Georg, Julie,
and I did a long ride featuring a 4000+ foot vertical climb, some
bike dragging & pushing when the terrain became unridable,
beautiful views etc. Tomorrow Eli and I are planning a
ride, weather permitting - as always.

Some random thoughts in the face of our imminent departure:

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Transportation:

Jessica will be taking driver's training here within a year
or two. As a prerequsite she must take 20 hours of first
aid - an interesting concept.

Drivers here must be insured. They do have a 14-day grace
period, but when that expires the Polizei are notified. The
Polizei then confiscates the automobile license plates of the offender.

Gas prices are not all that consistent throughout Europe.
Austria's are currently among the cheapest, perhaps 2 1/2
times the price in the USA. We saw one Hummer while here
(Italian license plates), but a number of the smaller SUV's.

My enthusiasm for driving in Europe is close to zero and
becomes more negative the further south I go (as the pace
becomes more frenzied). Of course, there are times and
destinations where the auto is the most efficient choice.
We get around quite well with bicycles, trains, buses, and
on foot. Mass transportation remains readily available,
although it is under assault by the increasingly popular
and affordable automobile. Nevertheless, for tourists
visiting Europe, the auto tends to become a cocoon,
isolating them from the culture they have traveled so far
to experience.

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Wisdom from the Ancient Geek:

A man who prefers tall blonds has a greater selection if
he's short.

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Water:

Rivers, streams, and lakes are much prized here. Waterfront , wherever possible, is made into a pleasant place to walk, bicycle, etc. Something like Sandpoint's proposed Sandcreek Byway (a.k.a. the City Beach Freeway) would not only not succeed, but would not even be contemplated.

Water in Austria is exceptionally clean with respect to sewage and farm runoff (I've not seen a 'feedlot' or large scale hog farm). The swimming lake in the town where we are staying is fed by the same source as the drinking water. It is continuously fed through the season.

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Forests

The forests here have been reestablished. Of course, to reestablish the original ecosystem is probably not possible. However, the forest is healthier and more diverse than 20 years ago.

The diverse animal population will likely be impossible to reestablish in any semblance of the original. Nevertheless, what remains is treasured and will receive attention.

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Americanization

Automobiles are becoming common/prevalent.

Coprporations have growing political influence here.

Processed food is becoming more common, but there is resistance.

American movies and music are readily available.

The Bush administration is widely considered as a catastrophe, but the american political system is believed to be broken anyway (because of corporate influence).

The american electorate is seen as ignorant of the world in general and naive about politics in particular. After all why would they be incensed about Clinton's activity with Ms. Lewinski and not about his inactivity with respect to the genocide in Rwanda (editorial comment).

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Pluses and minuses

We see pluses and minuses for life in Europe, just as we do for life in the USA. For us, home is the Northwest USA and we will be happy to get home despite the hospitality, generosity, and friendliness we have again experienced in Tirol.

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Richard
2004.07.23