Troubles in Greece and everywhere

Greece has roughly the population and probably a lower GDP than the City of Chicago, and yet its financial troubles are affecting the US economy. Because there is so much uncertainty about the Euro, the dollar is strengthening, which makes US exports more expensive to the rest of the world.

It looks like Greeks are unwilling to do what it takes to pull themselves out of this mess. The Finance Ministry employees, who, of all people, should understand the severity of the problem and the ways to fix it are on strike, protesting pay cuts. And, yes, George is making sure people know he is Cypriot, not Greek, these days.

A week of labor protests in Greece began with workers from the finance ministry protesting salary cuts as part of the finance minister's ambitious three-year austerity program.

The four-day strike by Finance Ministry officials is expected to affect services ranging from Greece's statistics office to operations at the country's market watchdog, the Hellenic Capital Markets Committee.

At the same time, and more disruptively, thousands of customs officials have declared their own three-day strike starting Tuesday, while tax officials will hold a one-day strike Wednesday.

On Thursday, taxi drivers will also hold a one-day strike, their second in less than a week, while fuel truck drivers have also threatened a walkout for this week.

"What we are protesting is the reduction in wages and also the elimination of the autonomous tax rate enjoyed by ministry employees," said Yiorgos Samaris, president of the Federation of Unions of the Finance Ministry, known as OSYO.

The three-day strike by customs officials is likely to be the most painful strike of the week. The closure of ports and border crossings has sparked fears of crimped exports and imports sorely needed by a country in its worst recession in 16 years. [WSJ.com]

Ahh!

Here is a beautiful slide show of Greece by National Geographic. Just thought these could bring light to your winter day.

Brits behaving badly

The NY Times has a big article about the scourge of drunken Brits who descend on the Mediterranean, behave badly, get arrested or injured and basically make a nuisance of themselves.
I don't this comes as any surprise to anyone who's visited Britain or any place in southern Europe. It's become the standard stereotype of Brits.

The only up side is that by comparison, "ugly Americans" aren't so ugly any more.

Speaking of Architecture

I've finally downloaded my pictures from my trip to Europe, and I was struck by the similarities between the "puzzle wall" at Delphi in Greece and the famous Incan wall in Cuzco.

This top one is from Delphi, which you would have guessed because of the column, I'm sure.

This second one, I found on the web. I'd like to go to Cuzco some day. I've been to Peru twice, but always for work and only to Lima, which is hardly a tourist highlight.

A roadside restaurant anywhere in the world

On the coastal road on the west side of the Peloponnesus in Greece, we stopped for the night in an unpromising village 15 kilometers outside the big, ugly port town looking for a hotel. We found quite a nice, modern guest house just above the municipal beach, with a view of the Ionian Sea and olive trees.

For dinner, the proprietor suggested either of the two tavernas on the main road through the village just 2 blocks away. Both had tables in the open air facing the road with the kitchens at the back. The one we chose was lit by an abundance of florescent lights, making it a pool of white in the black night that was otherwise broken mostly by headlights. As we sat down and ordered a very simple, very Greek dinner of souvlaki in pita it occurred to me that I had eaten at this same place by the dusty side of the road in Panama and in Brazil. Each time I’ve wondered, why would anyone want to eat along the side of the road with exhaust fumes and grit? Why wasn’t the restaurant designed with the outdoor seating to the side, or to the back, protected from the road by the building?

Is it that outdoor seating at the back would isolate the patrons from the people passing by? Is this type of set-up more conducive to drop-ins and impromptu gatherings, thereby benefiting the proprietors? If you can see as you pass by that a group of your friends have gathered for a meal or a drink, you’re likely to join them. If on the other hand they are hidden in the back, you may not realize they are there and therefore will not become another paying customer. Perhaps this outweighs any disadvantage that the patrons might want to be secluded from the hustle-bustle and grit. Besides, if that were the case, they might have just stayed home.

So, does such a roadside restaurant only exist in small communities where one is more likely to pass by and recognize other patrons? Or does it exist on thoroughfares where the outdoor roadside presence is advertising, letting passers-by know that a restaurant exists?

I do know that the ones I’ve eaten at tend to have simple, good fare. Perhaps nothing to write home about, but nothing that’s made me ill either.

There is also a different sense of private space in restaurants in much of Europe and Latin America than in the US or Britain. In the US few restaurants would allow people to wander into the restaurant or even any outdoor seating selling flowers, serenades or sunglasses, but sitting for lunch on a Greek Island the passing hawkers approached the diners both inside and outside. Is the restaurant more of a communal space in Europe and Latin America than it is in the US? And by communal space, I mean that it is accessible to all parts of the community, not just the customers.