" Lilium Frankensteinaeus " ...

... is the name of the beauty to the left, grown and cultivated in the hospedaje " Royal Frankenstein ". Truly a real gem !

Peru

This BBC documentary was partly filmed near my current  residence of Cusco. It shows the amazing friendliness and hospitality of the population living in the highlands despite the harsh conditions they have to cope with. Furthermore it gives some insights, how a guinea pig is prepared for dinner or the breeding of the alpaca. Interesting indeed.
Sad news reached me recently. Jeff Powers, owner of one of Cusco´s premier waterholes, the " Norton Rat´s Tavern", passed away after sustaining grave injuries following an motorcycle accident near his home of Tarapoto in Northern- Peru. Jeff  is well known among bikers all over South America for riding a Norton " Commando " and his willingness to give useful advice and support.I will keep him in good commemoration.

Switzerland

Last week Switzerland had a referendum about the free movement of persons within the EU and the majority voted in favour of a more controlled migration, something that is common practice in most countries outside the EU. Now many EU politicians are not used anymore to sovereign decisions made by sovereign people of sovereign countries and started to howl in outrage. Right now the discussions mostly concern Bulgaria and Romania and i ask myself , whether it is a good thing when many of their brightest minds leave their countries instead of staying home trying to improve the economic situation. On the other hand lots of  have-nots immigrate in search of a better life, what is completely understandable, and try to abuse the German social system ( a trade licence for 5 Euro enables that), while others are willing to work in the low wage sector and therefore are saluted by the German economy, which will keep undercutting wages in some areas. Germany meanwhile is a gangster´s paradise,  partly because of the EU . Egbert Buelles was a German senior prosecutor for 30 years and in his book " Germany - Country Of Criminals " he describes his war against the organized crime, where he fought a losing battle against slave traders or organisations like the Camorra - open borders make their criminal mischief a lot easier. Now i am not xenophobic and prefer to live in a multicultural society, however the EU with their free movement of people comes with plenty of negatives. Writing of the EU i still want to mention the approaching EU-USA free trading zone, something Switzerland  neither likely has to deal with. I already can envision myself , how CEO´s of big US corporations rub their hands, who after they have wiped the floor with EU politicians  got the go-ahead to export all sorts of garbage like gen manipulated seeds or chlorine chicken into the EU. Should a EU country refuse the entry of some of these goods the manufacturer can sue the country in question for compensation and certainly we are looking at many millions of taxpayers Euros changing hands. Congrats to the Swiss for the outcome of their referendum and not being a part of the EU.

" You took the words right out of my mouth " ...

... is not only a great song by Meat Loaf, but also a line fitting nicely to a quote from Victoria Nuland, U.S. agent for Europe. In a telephone conversation with the U.S ambassador in the Ukraine she said : F*** the E.U. ! A slogan, who woke up chancellora Merkel out of her winter sleep ( " Absolutely unacceptable " ) and will pretty soon be popular on t-shirts and bumper stickers. In an earlier post i already mentioned , why i am strictly against the E.U. and the parlament elections in May are the next opportunity to put matters straight. If every country minds his own business according to its economic power, mentality and culture and they all live and trade peacefully together this is something i certainly prefer to becoming enslaved by a financial elite. Meanwhile the German constitutional court expressed concerns about the purchase of bonds by the EZB - i can help out there. Article 125 of the  Lisbon treaty from 2009 clearly states, that a Euro bailout fund is forbidden, however this is just another example, where the government breaches the law and unfortunately the constituitional court buckles under their and the EZB´s pressure.

World Beer Drinker´s Forum In Pilcopata

... discussing the simplicity of the Peruvian bar culture. No fancy decoration, no sports blaring flatscreens and no rip off merchants. Only a table, something to sit on along with a bottle of beer and everything is set up for a freaking good time.