Germans and Nature

During Interim of this year, I had the chance to go to Germany and travel around with fellow classmates. I recall a particular experience in Husum. Husum is located right on the North See. So on this occasion, our group and the German host-families were lead by a tour guide through the city at night.

Husum

 Suddenly, the rain poured and thundered. If this was America, I think the tour would have been canceled due to complaining of the tourists. However, even though some of us did complain, the tour went on. It was January, right on the North See, raining, and thundering, and the tour went on. As I was shivering from the coldness and rain, I realized that Germans have a love for nature. They embrace the natural way. Just by looking at any auto magazine, one can determine that the Germans care for nature. Every car advertisement or report has an indication of how much the car emits carbon dioxide. In Stuttgart, there is an ongoing intense battle over Stuttgart 21. Stuttgart 21 is a multi-billion euro project that will redesign the whole downtown area of Stuttgart and the main train station. For over 2 years, there has been conflict. Couple reasons why people are against Stuttgart 21. If the construction proceeds, many old trees (about 50) needs to be cut down.  Second, Stuttgart sits on top of probably Germany's most abundant and biggest natural springs. By building the train station underground, there is a risk of draining the springs. Some believe that this will cause the whole city of Stuttgart to collapse or deform. So one can imagine the radical German nature lovers opposing this strongly. When one takes a walk in the downtown park, one can notice tens of tents and teepees set up. There are people even living on top of trees!

Stuttgart 21

DEMONSTRATION AGAINST STUTTGART 21!