Today is 11th September 2011 and most of the media in Germany has at some point in the last week been looking back at the events in New York 10 years ago.

I’d like to tell you how I spent that day.

I was at home in my flat at first.  I had left my job at Psion in Bad Homburg and was using up the rest of my holiday allowance.

Ironically, I had just watched the film “Independence Day” and turned on my computer to look at my e-mails.  At that time I was still using an analogue modem to go on-line, and I believe my browser was set to load a page called “My Yahoo!” where I had, amongst other things, a news ticker.

It was on that news ticker that I first read about the attacks in New York.  At first the headline just spoke about a plane flying into the World Trade Center, and I imagined something the size of a Cessna.

But then I turned the television on.  It was just before the second plane flew into WTC2.  I knew then, that the planes were a lot bigger. (more…)

This is a guest post by Mary Conlon-Förster, President of the British Club of the Taunus e.V.

Preparations for the British Club of the Taunus’ celebration of the marriage between HRH Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton started in January this year. As the Charles and Diana party had been so successful in 1981, it was decided to again hold the BCT celebrations in the home of one of our long-standing members. It did not take long for such a member to offer her home to us for this illustrious occasion and soon plans were being made for erecting pavilions in the garden and televisions and beamers in the living room. Getting 40 chairs together was quite a feat, but not as difficult as telling the ladies that although hats would be most appropriate, stiletto shoes would not go well with the parquet flooring! (more…)

For the past few weeks, the German news has been full of reports about the “Stuttgart 21″ project.

“Stuttgart 21″ is the re-development of Stuttgart’s main station and the surrounding railway lines.  At present, Stuttgart is a “Kopfbahnhof”, meaning that it was built as a Terminus and the tracks end there.  Trains go in and out through the same entrance, consequently passengers in high-speed intercity trains change direction when the train stops there and train crews have to change ends to continue their journey.

It is not the only such station in Germany.  Frankfurt and Munich, for example, were built this way as well.

But now the station is to be transformed into a “Durchgangsbahnhof” – one where the tracks run through and out the other side.  This is said to save time, because the stops will be shorter – the train crews can stay where they are.

At the same time, new lines should improve connections to Paris and to Stuttgart’s airport. (more…)