Visitors from Abroad

Family of Smilies

A colleague of mine from the UK was in town yesterday so we met up for dinner at Il Fornaio. A lovely time was had by all. We discussed various topics, among them that Germany's economic slow down has different root causes than the US and the UK's. Germany's consumers did not overindulge in credit card debt nor did they experience a housing bubble. However, the German economy is disproportionately dependent on exports for its growth, so when the world slows down, Germany inevitably must as well.

BTW, I was writing Christmas greetings in today and I think I might have committed a language faux pas by accident in the Christmas cards that I sent out earlier. I wanted to wish people some contemplative time (besinnliche Stunden) to themselves this holiday, but instead I think I wished them an alarming time (bedenkliche Stunden). I really hope I didn't make this mistake, but if I did, I hope they realize it was a slip of the brain and was an unintentional mistake.