Fulda

This winter has been a long one and we were glad to get out of our apartment and take a half-day trip to Fulda (English version of the site is not very complete). The town is located about 1.5 hours northeast of Frankfurt.

We were surprised to find a big pedestrian area and baroque historical buildings, including a palace. One of the coolest structures is the "Hexenturm" or witches tower. We also found a street sign in the old-style German lettering. This being a university town, it is also very popular with students.

I can't wait for spring to start!

German School Shooting in Winnenden

Winnenden German School Shooting

Hard to believe that this type of tragedy (from Spiegel's website in English) happens in Germany almost as often as in the US given that gun licensing (in German) is much stricter and tighter than in the US.

Having witnessed the aftermath of a shooting outside my own university dorm a long time ago (which resulted in an acquaintance of mine being seriously wounded and her ex-boyfriend committing suicide), I feel very strongly about gun ownership. I hope this opens the possibility of higher taxes for gun owners and making private gun ownership a much more difficult privilege to enjoy. I think banning guns will never be a reality as there are too many gun manufacturers lobbying to keep them around.