Writing this from inside a metal cylinder flying at 30000ft from Munich to Manchester. Short but memorable trip. Market surveys in stores of Munich from hypermarkets to department stores from the suburbs to the high street.
In the midst of this came across 2 very different individuals who are earn a living working with people: a taxi driver and a tourist guide. I met the taxi driver outside a Real hypermarket on the North East suburb of Munich. Wearing a leather Fedora and sporting an engaging smile he spoke excellent English and made me feel welcome as I waited in his new Mercedes while he finished his coffee and a chat with a fellow taxi driver. I was quite impressed by his customer service as he switched on the radio. Spotting a Mate tea set in his car, I was quite curious to know how did an Argentinian drink end up in his car. He did offer to make me a cup but I politely declined. Engaging in a friendly conversation, the man suddenly started hustling me: offered me fake receipts to claim from my company in return for taking a ride to the airport. I had to turn his tempting offer down but now I wasn’t as enamoured about him as my initial impression was. He tried to be friendly but was very cagey when I was trying to elicit some response from him about his past and his thoughts on the economy. Made me wonder….
The 2nd experience was this high energy young Canadian from western Montreal (English speaking suburb) who provided free walking tours of Munich as part of the New Munich tours. Malcolm Gladwell author of The tipping Point would call Ricky, the tour guide, a Connector. Someone who loves being with people and meeting them. Robin Sharma would call him a leader without title. Enjoying what he does and making a difference to people. People visiting Munich would take back happy memories of their visit because of their encounter with Ricky. Its people like Ricky who inspire us to excel at what we do and be passionate about our work and life – making a difference.
Ricky moved from Canada to Munich 2 years ago to play ice hockey. He speaks excellent German and really loves the city. He loves talking and radiates energy as he spoke passionately about Munich and the Nazi era with its effects on Munich. Munich was the centre of the Nazi movement, a past that residents of Munich try to come to terms with. As Ricky pointed out, the 21st century Germany is finally showing its patriotism after 75 years of trying to deal with its dubious past. Germans are now proud to wave their national flags and proud of their country and heritage.
Ricky is an excellent raconteur mixing up his stories with humor and factual inaccuracies but it really enlivened the experience. I am going to relate some of the things he told us about Munich. Unfortunately I could join only the first half of the tour since I had to catch a flight. But the 90minutes were really good. I will try to cover here what I learnt about Munich in the 90mins. Ricky claimed to have prepared the tour script for the Dachau concentration camp and one could feel his passion about the holocaust events come through. I liked what he said. Summary of what he wanted to convey was that its important to visit Dachau or talk about the Nazi movement rather than sweep it under the carpet. By talking about it, he hopes that people will learn from it, remember it and help avoid history repeating itself. Genocides in Congo and African countries are quite similar to the Nazi era activities.
Another important lesson from history was the hyperinflation that affected Germany immediately after the 1st World War, US $1 was equal to 4.3 Trillion marks. Apparently there is a story of a American who came to Germany back in the late 1910s with $15 in his pocket which amounted to an astronomical sum in German marks. He ended up buying a hotel. As the inflation came down, the guy was a millionaire. In the days after the Great War, Germany was badly affected and demilitarised: a stunning humiliation of the most powerful European nation at that time.
The money was worthless and things like bread and eggs cost some ridiculous sums as $80million marks. A woman went to buy a loaf of bread carrying 2 bucket loads of cash. She put the buckets down to identify the loaf she wanted to buy. When she turned to pick them up, she found the cash on the pavement and the buckets missing! Buckets were worth more than the cash. The government printed 1 side of currency notes because the printing ink was more expensive. Zimbabwe is undergoing a similar hyperinflationary experience. If the world is not careful, countries of the world may find difficulty coming out of the recessionary environment we face. History has plenty of lessons for all of us.
In the wake of his economic struggle and political humiliation, the Nazi party started gaining in popularity in the 1920s with Hitler rising to power in 1933. In 1938 the Final Solution was formulated. Before Hitler came to power, he was almost killed by the police in a shoot out when he and his supporters indulged in violent protests in Munich. His bodyguard took 11 bullets protecting him. Imagine how history would have taken a different course if Hitler had died much before his time. The building where the Final Solution was identified is now a Teddy bear museum. WOW!
Munich is part of Bavaria, a rich country. Bavaria, Prussia and Saxony merged together to form Germany. They were united together in their war against France. The German country was born on the outskirts of Paris in 1870.2 contrasting experiences with people in customer service – WOW! I am a student of life and everyday I learn a lesson. Today’s experiences teach me the importance of being passionate about what I do and helping others enjoy what they do – make a difference starting now!
In the midst of this came across 2 very different individuals who are earn a living working with people: a taxi driver and a tourist guide. I met the taxi driver outside a Real hypermarket on the North East suburb of Munich. Wearing a leather Fedora and sporting an engaging smile he spoke excellent English and made me feel welcome as I waited in his new Mercedes while he finished his coffee and a chat with a fellow taxi driver. I was quite impressed by his customer service as he switched on the radio. Spotting a Mate tea set in his car, I was quite curious to know how did an Argentinian drink end up in his car. He did offer to make me a cup but I politely declined. Engaging in a friendly conversation, the man suddenly started hustling me: offered me fake receipts to claim from my company in return for taking a ride to the airport. I had to turn his tempting offer down but now I wasn’t as enamoured about him as my initial impression was. He tried to be friendly but was very cagey when I was trying to elicit some response from him about his past and his thoughts on the economy. Made me wonder….
The 2nd experience was this high energy young Canadian from western Montreal (English speaking suburb) who provided free walking tours of Munich as part of the New Munich tours. Malcolm Gladwell author of The tipping Point would call Ricky, the tour guide, a Connector. Someone who loves being with people and meeting them. Robin Sharma would call him a leader without title. Enjoying what he does and making a difference to people. People visiting Munich would take back happy memories of their visit because of their encounter with Ricky. Its people like Ricky who inspire us to excel at what we do and be passionate about our work and life – making a difference.
Ricky moved from Canada to Munich 2 years ago to play ice hockey. He speaks excellent German and really loves the city. He loves talking and radiates energy as he spoke passionately about Munich and the Nazi era with its effects on Munich. Munich was the centre of the Nazi movement, a past that residents of Munich try to come to terms with. As Ricky pointed out, the 21st century Germany is finally showing its patriotism after 75 years of trying to deal with its dubious past. Germans are now proud to wave their national flags and proud of their country and heritage.
Ricky is an excellent raconteur mixing up his stories with humor and factual inaccuracies but it really enlivened the experience. I am going to relate some of the things he told us about Munich. Unfortunately I could join only the first half of the tour since I had to catch a flight. But the 90minutes were really good. I will try to cover here what I learnt about Munich in the 90mins. Ricky claimed to have prepared the tour script for the Dachau concentration camp and one could feel his passion about the holocaust events come through. I liked what he said. Summary of what he wanted to convey was that its important to visit Dachau or talk about the Nazi movement rather than sweep it under the carpet. By talking about it, he hopes that people will learn from it, remember it and help avoid history repeating itself. Genocides in Congo and African countries are quite similar to the Nazi era activities.
Another important lesson from history was the hyperinflation that affected Germany immediately after the 1st World War, US $1 was equal to 4.3 Trillion marks. Apparently there is a story of a American who came to Germany back in the late 1910s with $15 in his pocket which amounted to an astronomical sum in German marks. He ended up buying a hotel. As the inflation came down, the guy was a millionaire. In the days after the Great War, Germany was badly affected and demilitarised: a stunning humiliation of the most powerful European nation at that time.
The money was worthless and things like bread and eggs cost some ridiculous sums as $80million marks. A woman went to buy a loaf of bread carrying 2 bucket loads of cash. She put the buckets down to identify the loaf she wanted to buy. When she turned to pick them up, she found the cash on the pavement and the buckets missing! Buckets were worth more than the cash. The government printed 1 side of currency notes because the printing ink was more expensive. Zimbabwe is undergoing a similar hyperinflationary experience. If the world is not careful, countries of the world may find difficulty coming out of the recessionary environment we face. History has plenty of lessons for all of us.
In the wake of his economic struggle and political humiliation, the Nazi party started gaining in popularity in the 1920s with Hitler rising to power in 1933. In 1938 the Final Solution was formulated. Before Hitler came to power, he was almost killed by the police in a shoot out when he and his supporters indulged in violent protests in Munich. His bodyguard took 11 bullets protecting him. Imagine how history would have taken a different course if Hitler had died much before his time. The building where the Final Solution was identified is now a Teddy bear museum. WOW!
Munich is part of Bavaria, a rich country. Bavaria, Prussia and Saxony merged together to form Germany. They were united together in their war against France. The German country was born on the outskirts of Paris in 1870.2 contrasting experiences with people in customer service – WOW! I am a student of life and everyday I learn a lesson. Today’s experiences teach me the importance of being passionate about what I do and helping others enjoy what they do – make a difference starting now!
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