The short answer is... the trip.

The longer answer has a few sections. I'll try to lay it all out below:

1) Surprise. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked Poland. I expected to love Copenhagen - and I did. I knew I'd be glad to again be in the cacophony of Turkey, and I was. I had no idea I'd love Poland. It's an amazingly vibrant country, beautiful and writhing (can I use that word in this context?) with opportunity. I want to figure out how to do business there. The Chinese already have. It's an exciting place.

2) Food. The whole darn trip was full of amazing eats. From the hotel breakfasts (the one in our Ankara, Turkey hotel was particularly incredible; I've included a few photos below, and you can't even see the olive bar) to wine-soaked Parisian lunches, we ate like kings and queens. That's not hard to like.

3) Access. I've met some amazing people in my life, but this trip was a seemingly never-ending parade of amazing people. From one meeting to the next, we continuously met with people in whose company it felt an honor to be. Quite the experience.

4) Tour guides. I've always sworn off guided tours as a waste, preferring to find the deep back roads less traveled. I still like that method of travel... but good tour guides can really shape an experience. Three examples that stand out: at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts in Brussels, we were guided by a woman with decades of art history expertise. She curated a massive museum into an incredibly informative, 1.5hour tour. It was spectacular. Similarly, in Warsaw, we were given a tour of the Old City by a guy who seemed to know everything about Warsaw, and I learned more than I'd learned in quite a bit of reading on the town. Finally, the Auschwitz tour was incredibly provocative (see previous post on Krakow to read more about that one).

5) Time. It was an awesome experience (in the true sense of the word) to simply have time to think about the world and one's place in it. I will long be grateful for that opportunity.

Finally - moving back to a nutshell: it was a very fun, incredibly educational experience.

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Ah, Paris.

From Warsaw, we caught flights to Paris, the massive pension strikes happily not affecting our ability to get to the City of Lights.

I love Paris. It is an incredible city, buzzing with an energy I’ve found in only a few cities (London, Tokyo, and New York, to be specific). It’s full of incredible architecture, an endless array of boutiques, cafes, bars, and alleys to explore.

Upon arrival at CDG airport, we were hustled into a waiting mini-bus and shuttled to Elysee Palace, the home of the President of France. There, we were taken through security by a member of President Sarkozy’s cabinet, only to be told we must wait in the courtyard (i.e. couldn’t proceed to the room in which we were to be meeting) as the President was about to leave. We waited, and waited, but sadly, he didn’t come out; finally, our escort decided we’d best go, as he was needing to get back to running the country. Yes, it’s a busy life.

Our stay in Paris continued with a series of amazing, if somewhat grueling meetings (our longest day went from 8:15am until…approximately 11 at night, though I’m not totally sure, with almost no breaks). We met with a pair of French journalists in the restaurant where the Obama family ate when last in Paris, and there heard their stories of the changing face of journalism and the news in France. We met with the Executive Producer at the relatively new TV station, France 24, which broadcasts simultaneously in Arabic, English, and French (and which, incidentally, has a great iPhone app), who told us of their effort to provide a more comprehensive competitor to CNN and the BBC. We also met with the leaders of a defense think tank, of a massive public park, and of the French equivalent to the US Chamber of Commerce.

It’s fair to say that by the time we got to France, my group was exhausted. All of us had been in more meetings than we could remember, with short nights the result of amazing, if “working,” dinners followed immediately the next morning by more of the same, coupled with a heavy travel schedule (everyone had at least five cities in 24 days; I had the most, at 7 cites). We were all relatively sick of our clothing, and looking forward to no longer washing our undergarments in hotel sinks. However, I also believe it’s honest to say that we are all emotionally, and intellectually, invigorated. It was an incredible trip, a trip of a lifetime, and one that will not soon be forgotten. The friendships developed in those 24 short days will, in many cases, I believe, persist for years.

As I’ve noted, we were in meetings for hours every day. Many of the conversations led my mind to new business possibilities, new opportunities to engage in the world. In a rare turn of events in a person’s adult life, we were endlessly learning, with no obligation to turn those lessons into any immediate “outcomes.” We met people from all walks of life, people doing every kind of work, and were able to talk politics, economics, sociology, and culture, with no expected result save gaining a better understanding of the world and our places in it, and further developing the Transatlantic relationship. It was an incredible experience.

Below, some images of Paris.

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We went directly from Auschwitz, via Krakow, by train to Warsaw. Warsaw and Krakow could not be more different; compared to Krakow’s Old Europe charm, Warsaw is a lively, modern, buzzing metropolis. Our first night there, immediately after arriving, we broke into two groups and went to the homes of two European Marshall alumnus, who provided us with wine, cheese, and conversation.

My hosts were with the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and they were wonderful. We discussed politics and the state of the world over a spread of olives, poached pears and gorgonzola, Polish cheeses, and wine; needless to say, I was in my element.

The next two days flew by in a whirlwind of meetings and tours. I met with a senior urban planning consultant, with newspaper editors, and with the founders of Poland’s version of the Huffington Post. The food was amazing, with visits to local restaurants proving that Poland is every bit the culinary destination. We also got a tour of the old town, as well as the Warsaw Uprising museum (opened last year), which were fascinating. I’ll do my best to summarize my learnings below.

Poland was the first country invaded by the Nazis in WWII, with Germany rolling in on 1 Sep 1939. 16 days later, the Soviets, too, declared war on Poland. The country was sandwiched, with enemy troops rolling in from both sides. The Nazis got to Warsaw and began cutting it up, bombing the historic downtown and moving Jews to the newly-created Jewish Ghetto. The citizens of Warsaw undertook the Warsaw Uprising, determined to fight the Germans. It was amazing – they lasted 63 days, and scored some impressive victories, given that they were regular citizens with few provisions and weapons fighting a legitimate army. In the end, of course, they lost. Warsaw is divided east/west by the Wisla River, and at the end of the fighting, the Soviets controlled the east side and the Germans the west.

Hitler decided to make an example of Warsaw, to demonstrate to other European cities that resistance was futile and would be met with aggressive destruction. As such, Nazi troops continued the destruction of Warsaw long after the Uprising had been beaten, bombing the historic Old Town endlessly to the point that, at the end of the war, it was approximately 85% destroyed. The Soviets were, of course, allied with the US. Nonetheless, they sat patiently on the east side of the river as the Germans destroyed the historic capital.

Amazingly, post-war, a decimated Warsaw population returned and began to rebuild. Warsaw’s pre-war population had stood at ~1.1M; post-war, it was at 450k. However, the citizens began to re-build the old town from its very ashes, literally using bricks from fallen buildings to rebuild them. They eschewed more modern construction methods and technologies in favor of recreating an authentic version of the old city – and were so successful that Old Town Warsaw is now a Unesco World Heritage Site. It’s a beautiful place, and all the more incredible when one considers it was literally razed 70 years ago. 

Jumping back to modern Warsaw, our last dinner was in the company of a true legend, Janus Onyszkiewicz. A leader, with Lech Walesa, of the Solidarity movement that led to the downfall of Communist rule, Janus went on to become a Member of European Parliament, a member of the Polish Parliament, and the Polish Minister of Defense. An accomplished mountaineer, he also summitted K2 and Annapurna. Needless to say, it was incredible to be in the company of such a historic person, and I was again blown away by the caliber of people with whom this program enables us to engage. Oh – and the dinner was fantastic.

Below are photos of the Old Town (entirely rebuilt), a beautiful park, a Chopin statue, and of our last dinner, where we were served by a number of people. The gentlemen with white hair, in between my colleagues Brandon and Katya, is Janus.

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This trip has been amazing, and exhausting, and amazing some more. Not surprisingly, it’s knocked my plans to blog regularly off a bit.

I’m writing this en route back to the US, the travel for my Marshall Fellowship now coming to an end. However, this has also given me time to reflect a bit. So, with that…. Back to Poland.

I think it’s safe to say our group had low expectations for Poland – sadly, we all had visions of Soviet-era concrete buildings, drab landscapes, a beaten-down place. Nothing could be further from the truth.

We arrived in Krakow first. It’s a beautiful city, simply gorgeous. The town is dominated by a gorgeous castle, the Wawel Castle, which dates from the 1500s . Krakow was, happily, spared destruction during World War II, so it also has the largest city square in Europe, an amazing place surrounded by sidewalk cafes and hosting regular markets, performers, and the like. We began our time in Krakow with a liter of hot beer – yes, hot beer, mulled similarly to wine (with, I believe, cinnamon, cloves, an orange, and some honey). It was deliciously perfect on a snappily-cold day. The Old Town city center is also surrounded by a gorgeous green belt, with two walking trails and full of people nearly ‘round the clock. Simply put, it’s a lovely city.

While there, we met with an American-Polish professor, who filled us in on Polish life and history of the last few decades. We also shared drinks with the professor and a few of her students, which was great, giving us further context for the current situation in Poland.

Below are some photos of and from the castle, and one in the main square.

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(Warning: this blog post from here on out is a bit heavy)

Closing out our stay in Krakow, we visited Auschwitz-Berkenau. As students of history know, this was one of the worst of the Nazi concentration/extermination camps. Auschwitz was the parent camp for approximately 40 camps of varying sizes and purposes; some were pure concentration camps – places prisoners (mostly Jews) were sent to live while working for the Nazi war effort. Others were closer to pure extermination camps, their purpose being fairly obvious. We heard awful stories of the methods, the severity, the extent of the exterminations, and needles

s to say, it was horrible. We visited both Auschwitz and Birkenau, the former a relatively small (but brutal) place, the latter an enormous complex that at its height had five gas chambers and crematoriums running beyond capacity.

I have visited a concentration camp before, Dachau, in Germany. It was, in some ways, similar – impressing upon me the horrendous atrocities committed to so many. It was emotionally draining and memorable. However, our tour guide left me with something far more substantive on this trip. Specifically, he pointed out the following:

People visit these camps and see the atrocities, learn the stories, and seek meaning. In most cases, they seek that meaning through empathizing with the victims – a very human response. However, he continued, it is crucial, indeed arguably more important, to try to understand the motivations, the emotions, of the Nazis themselves – for it is only through this understanding, through gaining some sense of how the Holocaust came to pass, that humanity can ever hope to put an end to genocide everywhere.

Our guide continued by pointing out that there are four behaviors that lead to genocide (prepare here for oversimplification, of course): having a national culture that does not place a high value on human life; identifying a group, seen as not quite fully human, as the “other;” vilification of the “other” by the mainstream society, devaluing their lives; and finally, people willing to undertake the extermination of the “other” (by that point, the only “solution” to the problem of the “other”). Obviously, as he went on to point out, not everyone can stop genocide… but we can stop violence directed toward others in all its forms – whether in the form of domestic violence, racial violence, or by supporting organizations working for human rights across the globe.

His point really hit home for me; as I thought about it, I realized that I wanted to believe that somehow the circumstances of that time – an economically depressed Germany, an incredibly charismatic, morally-bankrupt and convincing leader (Hitler) with some equally morally-corrupt lieutenants, that somehow these circumstances were unique, and thus, couldn’t happen again. Of course, anyone knows it not only can happen again, but it has – to wit, the Cambodian genocide under Pol Pot, or the genocide in the Balkans in the 1990s. Indeed, as I’ve previously noted, the term “genocide” was coined to describe the Ottoman annihilation of the Armenians (though that particular piece of history is still debated by some in Turkey).

History continues; we must all be witnesses and provide voices for those without. While this has been repeated many times, it is worth remembering the following quote:

“They came first for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.  Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.  Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.  Then they came for me and by that time no one was left to speak up."

Below are some photos from Auschwitz, including of the end of the train tracks where incoming prisoners (mainly Jews) were divided for either work or immediate extermination (by one of the gas chambers).

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Wow, Istanbul. As noted in my previous post, I have been in Istanbul before, in 1997. The city has changed tremendously, but remains fascinating.

First, it has grown significantly; in one conversation we had, with a man I’d guess to have been in his 60s, he remembered an Istanbul of his youth of around 600,000 people; it now is estimated at over 18M, and growing. Imagine the infrastructure needs of running a city with that kind of growth rate! Many of these immigrants come from the country, from less-developed areas, bringing with them different social mores and tremendously mixed skill-sets. Somehow, though, Istanbul has thus far managed to integrate them into its (fast-changing) culture and structure.

Istanbul has also, in my view, grown up considerably. My memory – admittedly not great, and traveling then as a college-aged back-packer (as opposed to a professional on a highly organized tour) – is of a far more chaotic city, a dirtier city, a city where we felt ourselves to stand out as tourists. Today’s Istanbul has (as our guide described it) too many tourists, almost overwhelming its infrastructure (the two main tourist attractions, the Aiya Sophia and Blue Mosques, draw an average of 12,000 visitors every day of the year), it has all the major brands (Diesel, H&M, MAC, Sephora, and of course all the usual fast food restaurants, including quite a few Starbucks), and its prices have gone up. Even the Grand Bazaar, which I recall as having been a chaotic, developing country-esque shopping experience of bargaining for hand-crafted goods, now has the requisite tourist-oriented handicrafts, but also highly glossy jewelry stores, leather shoes wearing the Prada and Boss logos, and numerous other shops. And here, too, the prices have risen with the gloss.

The mosques remain amazing; the Hagia Sophia was built in the 3^rd century as a Greek Orthodox Church (interestingly, the Greek Orthodox Church’s headquarters remain in Istanbul, a hold-over from its days as Constantinople), modified in the 6^th century, and eventually became a mosque. Following the creation of the Turkish Republic in 1923, the church became a museum, and it serves as a fascinating exhibit. Similarly, the Blue Mosque, still in operation as a mosque but likewise dominated by tourists, is an incredibly beautiful building decorated in large part with blue tiles, from whence comes its name.

The city remains fascinating, and just chaotic enough to still feel somewhat out of the ordinary. While there, I explored some of the backstreets, we had meetings with various leaders (including, in my case, the founder of the Turkish Slow Foods movement), learned a good deal about Turkish culture, and had more amazing food. Indeed, our final night in Istanbul featured a spread fit for a king, with a seemingly endless stream of mezzes accompanied by Raki (a local drink similar to Ouzo, the licorice-flavored Greek alcohol that becomes cloudly when mixed with water), and accompanied by great conversation.  Phew! I'm now in Warsaw, having been in Krakow between the two cities, but move on tomorrow to Paris.

Photos below include:

1) first lunch in Istanbul, with my colleagues Bob Aber, Tamara Prather, Turkish MMF program coordinator Ceylan Akman, Turkish program assistant Petek (?), Anna Schleunes, and Elizabeth Aguilera.

2)  the Blue Mosque

3) the kitchen of the founder of the Turkish Slow Foods movement

4) The mezzes (appetizers) at our dinner the last night in Istanbul.

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Our time in Turkey has already long passed (that is, I left there 4 days ago…), but it was a fascinating adventure. We spent just under two days in Ankara, the time mostly filled with meetings with politicians and eating amazing meals. My colleague, Elizabeth, and I also made time, as previously logged, to visit the ancient Citadel (if you haven’t already, check out the video I took from the top; it was an amazing experience). And, the group visited the monument to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (the leader largely credited with creating the modern country of Turkey, and whose last name, given after he successfully led the creation of Turkey, means “Father of Turkey”). We met with leaders of both major political parties (AKP, currently in power, and the more left-leaning CHP, which was Atatürk’s party but has been out of power since the early 2000s).

Much of our conversation and the myriad meetings involved discussion centered around Turkey’s role vis-à-vis the US, the EU, and its neighbors. It’s a fascinating debate, centering as it does on a country with one of the world’s 20 largest economies (and one of the top in Europe), a country with a population of over 72M, which would put it with Germany at the top of the population list for European countries. It is a tremendously dynamic country; in the last 20 years it has gone from 80% rural/20% urban to the exact reverse, with Istanbul growing from just a few million to a booming metropolis of 18M. Finally, the country borders Europe on one side, and Iran, Iraq, Syria, and obliquely, Russia, on the other, making it tremendously strategically important. It is also a country of whom approximately 97% of the population is Muslim, though the country itself is secular.

The conversations we’ve been having in non-Turkish EU countries center around a few things: fear, economics, and demographics. Specifically, the populations of most of Western Europe are aging, meaning fewer workers to contribute to expensive social support systems. However, many of these countries have also long been relatively homogenous, and have been struggling with integrating other cultures. However, the aging population means they are in need of new energy, new people, in their countries. Turkey has, for many, been the source for those laborers.

Turkey began, in 2005, proceedings for accession into the EU. Should it enter the EU, the borders will be open for free transit of people, goods, services, and money. It will also give Turkey a seat at the governing table of all the European countries, a body that deals with issues ranging from economic policy to continental security to agriculture policy. As part of the process of entering the EU, countries have to bring their institutions and laws up to the standards of the EU – a process that can be harder or easier depending on the state, will, and legislative abilities of the country in question. In the case of Turkey, they have had amazing change over the last five years, change that seems largely to be seen as a good thing, as a result of the accession process. Indeed, some people told us that regardless of the results of the EU negotiations, those internal changes may be the most important aspect of the process.

The main barriers to Turkey entering in its current form are twofold: the “Armenian Question,” as the Turks call it (though it’s also known elsewhere as the Armenian Genocide) and the Cyprus question. The former dates back to the early 1900s, and revolves around whether the Ottoman Empire, from which Turkey was born, committed genocide on the Armenian population (the Wikipedia article to which I’ve linked gives fascinating background on this period of history). The problem of Cyprus, or as the Turks call it, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), revolves around the small but strategically important island divided by Greece and Turkey and which has been a simmering diplomatic challenge since the 1970s; globally, only Turkey recognizes the TRNC. Should those two issues be resolved, the question becomes: should Turkey ascend to the EU?

The basic arguments for ascension are that Turkey is European in its orientation and society, that it would bring value to Europe, and that strategically, it makes sense to have Turkey more closely tied to the EU than not.

The central arguments against ascension are that Turkey is too different from the rest of Europe (largely, this argument seems to be derived from its religious make-up, as compared against the other, predominantly Christian-rooted European countries), and that (from the Turkish side) the EU sees it as a second class country. Also of contention is the value Turkey would derive from membership, an argument that is growing as the EU’s economy continues to struggle while Turkey’s is experiencing double-digit growth.

Interestingly, the Marshall Fund regularly runs surveys, called the Transatlantic Trends survey, to gauge public opinion on various issues on both sides of the Atlantic. Their most recent asked whether people felt Turkey should join the EU, and whether they thought it would. Overwhelmingly, EU member citizens felt Turkey should not join the EU, but that they probably would; conversely, most Turks surveyed felt membership would be a good thing but that it was unlikely to happen.

My view? Europe should invite Turkey to join the EU. It is a country of tremendous strategic importance, and it has a huge population (and eager potential work-force) under the age of 30. While the country clearly has a different religious foundation, in the form of mosques, rather than cathedrals, on every corner, but the people seem culturally to look west…the streets bustle with smartly-dressed people, prices are competitive with EU countries, advertising is similar to that in the EU (that is, provocative, very western) and the infrastructure in Istanbul and Ankara does not seem terribly dissimilar to that of many European cities. However, once the EU invites Turkey to join… I’m not entirely sure whether Turkey will, or should, agree. Indeed – if they join, their energetic young work force will surely leave for other European cities, taking with it some of the engine of their current economic growth. However, in balance, I believe their ascension would be a good thing, for both the west and for Turkey.

Here're a couple of photos of Ankara.

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I've been to Turkey before, though admittedly only to Istanbul. Tonight was an incredible evening - we went to visit the Citadel, a ~2000 year old fortress above Ankara. It was beyond spectacular, in the true sense of the word.

I'm too tired to type much tonight, but wanted to post this video. It's the view, panorama, from the Citadel. Ankara is in a valley of sorts, surrounded by mountains. It was a village until Kamil Ataturk, the father of modern Turkey, led the country through battle to become Turkey. In so doing, he moved the capitol to Ankara, which happened to be roughly in the middle of the country. This village didn't intend to become a massive city - but now holds around 4M people. It is a cacophony, beautiful, crazy, and more. It is also, of course, Muslim. The video below shows, as mentioned above, the panoramic view from the Citadel, with the sounds of Muslims being called to prayer echoing off the mountain walls surrounding the city. The calls to prayer come from the innumerable mosques scattered across the city, but the incredible thing of being at the top of this building, in the middle of the city, was hearing the echoes (if you're having a hard time imagining it, picture a bundt cake pan). Hopefully this video will give some idea of this phenomenon; I have never experienced anything like it.

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I wrote this en route to Ankara, the capitol of Turkey, where we arrived just a bit ago. It’s fascinating to be there, for a number of reasons: Turkey is arguably the least “European” of the states in or being considered for the EU (considered, in the case of Turkey, who has been in talks w/ the EU since 2005). It is a secular Islamic state that has wielded tremendous power over the centuries, and that if it were to enter the EU, would be arguably the largest state by population in the EU (rivaled only by Germany). It is also a highly challenging and controversial subject in the EU, being the home country of many of the EU’s current and past immigrants, a topic that is being hotly debated currently.

Below I shall write about a few topics on which I’ve been thinking. Be forewarned; this is a random collection of musings, in no particular order. 

The opportunity

This opportunity is amazing. When else does one get the chance to step outside one’s daily life, connect with the broader global community, and connect with highly-placed leaders in multiple other societies, all with the sole goal of building a better transatlantic relationship? In Copenhagen, we met with Members of Parliament, heads of government ministries, leaders of companies and NGOs, and we got to hear their challenges, concerns, and hopes. Fascinating. For those who don’t know, I’m doing this trip under the auspices of the Marshall Memorial Fund, which manages all logistics, connects us to the various meetings, and supports the trip. It has been amazing so far, and everyone I’ve met who is associated with the program has been phenomenal, giving much of themselves to improve this transatlantic relationship and ensure an interesting and fruitful trip for our group.

Taxes

Denmark has among the highest tax rates in the world; if I understand it right, they pay approximately 56% of their income in taxes. They also have an incredible social state; all citizens (and immigrants) are entitled to free education (including advanced degrees), health care, etc. The citizens pay the taxes willingly, both on a sort of trust system (“I know my neighbor will pay this, so I, too, am so obliged”) and because they rather like the benefits of the system. In Copenhagen, we met with various people from across the political spectrum (a spectrum which, we were told, lies to the left of most of Obama’s policies), and while there was some disagreement over the level at which they should be taxed, even conservatives with whom we met felt they should still be heavily taxed. This reality sparked a discussion amongst our group in which some felt the taxes too onerous. I was intrigued not so much by the tax rate, but by its results: the Danes, from what I could tell, have an extremely high standard of living, are well cared-for and have tremendous opportunity. If that is the result of their system, it seems rather appealing! That said: I can’t imagine how we could implement something of this nature in the US. Core to the Danish system is that trust in each other, something inherited from being a relatively closed, homogenous society. They know all about each other (in the case of the government, this is particularly true; citizens are tracked in all ways from birth via their CPR number, without which they are unable to go to school, get health care, open a bank account, or any number of other things), and as such, have great faith that all will play by the rules. Further, they seem to have a shared sense of obligation to care for one another, acknowledging that some are better off than others and that those should help care for those less well-off.

Immigration

Immigration is a significant challenge in the EU, and Denmark is no exception. As noted above, the Danish system is partially built on a strong social and cultural bond with broadly-understood expectations and obligations. New immigrants, no matter how they try, do not immediately understand these social bonds, and understandably can have a hard time at first (not least due to a challenging language). Further, as was explained to us, many immigrants arrive and learn of the welfare state and, understandably, think a place in which they can not work yet still be provided for seems like a great thing. Finally, many immigrants, as in other countries, seek to maintain their cultures, including their languages and styles of dress. In a country as homogenous as Denmark, that is understandably a challenge, both in terms of developing cross-cultural understanding and ultimately in allowing different cultures not only to co-exist but also to grow together. It is interesting to compare this with the US style of integration, which I would argue tends to allow for other languages and certainly styles of dress and eating to persist while simultaneously integrating immigrants into the mainstream. The US struggles, perhaps, with effective immigration of massive numbers of first generation immigrants, but by the second generation, most immigrants have adapted to the US, learned English, and become part of the system.

Transportation

One of the things I loved most about Copenhagen was that it is incredibly bike-oriented, with one estimate I heard being that nearly 60% of citizens bike to work in Copenhagen. There are bike lanes segregated from car lanes and sidewalks, giving cyclists a safe and fast transit. While plenty of people drive, in a few conversations people told me it was “simply faster” to ride bicycles. Myriad bicycles served a wide range of needs, from box-oriented bicycles for carrying people or luggage, bicycles with flat hauling beds, and of course, kids’ seats galore. People rode in high heels, skirts and dresses, suits, and all other conceivable outfits, with chain and wheel guards assuring they didn’t get greasy. Riding around the city, cars seemed very aware of our presence, again contributing to an overall safety. The genius of this easy system: one can drive, but if one wishes to avoid doing so, one has other options. This, to my mind, is the core of a great livable city: a wide variety of transportation options enabling true mobility.

Money

Dang, Copenhagen’s expensive. Think $6 for a doppio espresso (Seattle price ~$2).

Renewable Energy and Climate Change

Europeans I’ve met believe in both. Seriously. And they see them as a huge opportunity for economic growth and innovation. So do the Chinese, if the news reports I’ve been reading are to be believed. I love that some US companies agree, and remain disappointed that the US resists acknowledgement of the greater opportunity climate change presents. Preaching to a choir, I imagine, I’ll assert that never in human history has something been as thoroughly studied as climate change, and there is no doubt that anthropogenic climate change is occurring. Further, even if that weren’t true, the rest of the world generally believes it is. Given that, how can a country so generally pioneering and innovative as the US not rise to the opportunity to lead in developing new products and services and financial mechanisms to reduce greenhouse gases?? Have we lost our edge? Scary thought.

Finally, Biodiversity

A recent report on biodiversity asserted that the economic threat of decreasing biodiversity could rival that of climate change. Of course, they’re linked. Of course, if one is concerned with such things (you know, survival), one now must begin thinking about how to make a case to a global population to whom the very idea of biodiversity is likely a new one that they should care. Oh – and about that climate change thing…

Now, to see a bit of Ankara!