München und Stuttgart

Vorsprung does an excellent job of making Deutschland seen like Paradise. Stuttgart's "leisurely pace of life" with vineyards and the Staatsoper Stuttgart, and München's "outstanding quality of life" with amazing museums and gardens make me want to move to Germany immediately! Like Natascha, I become a little sad when I compare American lifestyles with what is presented in Vosprung. Long working hours, the necessity of driving everywhere, huge chain supermarkets with crummy, processed food...ugh. I do think that there is some movement towards returning to a more European-style lifestyle in the States, at least in some towns. My neighborhood in Brooklyn, for example, had a bakery, a butcher, fishmonger, pasta shop (hey, it was an Italian 'hood!). I loved it, but sometimes it was a little bit of a pain coming home late from work with almost no food options available to me. I understand, to a degree, why the supermarket became a necessity in the States. Working people don't always have the time to shop at different markets in the middle of the day. But I'm hopeful that a happy medium can be found, perhaps like that available here in Ann Arbor. There are a few specialty shops in Kerrytown where one can buy bread and meat, the Produce Station has great fruit and veggies, and of course the Farmer's Market is open early on Wednesdays and most of the day on Saturday for working stiffs like us. By throwing our money in the direction of these kinds of businesses, hopefully we can demonstrate that even poor students want better food, sourced locally. And the more people that demonstrate a desire for it, the more accessible this kind of lifestyle will be.