"now or never,"
we thought, and booked the year on a Russian travel agency abruptly a week-long trip to Beijing. After only five hours, very pleasant Night flight, we landed on one - thanks to the 2008 Olympics - ultra modern, huge airport - a foretaste of the dimensions of this city, which should allow us more than once in surprise. We already experienced here, what it means to be in the "Land of Smiles" stop: Extremely helpful staff edged our way through the spotless halls. At passport control, before we tightened inwardly out of habit and repaid any trace of kindness in our faces, we should give even by pressing a button on our level of satisfaction with the work of the lady-friendly information. Cara: "That I would like in Novosibirsk may also push it!". Of course Women got the switch four times the green smiley.
First we were taken by our guide friendly smile in welcome. Were we under the young man whose beautiful Russian name Maxim had already told us before departure, presented a lingering in Beijing Russian students, he now proved to be true-Chinese who are just kind enough to not bother with the pronunciation of his real name wanted to do. Polite and open-minded
as we are, we asked anyway for the "real" name - then also a friendly smile, but to resort to the Russian ...
The Russian tour group we belong to believed there was, then, surprisingly, only made us four. This led to the great comfort that we have exclusively in the next two days, a more convenient and technically very confidence-inspiring Mercedes minibus with a driver and that very Maxim were available. While we tried to us as invisible as possible to lexically Maxim's excellent, but get used to in the debate, but clearly Chinese-influenced Russian (in the set "U nas 10 k r assov" we were able to close only on the right statement because we knew that he explain the Chinese school system was, in the according there are 10 K l), we let him first in the mistaken belief He was actually a "Russian" tour group in front of him. Until later in the drive to the hotel to all parties was the absurdity of the situation awareness: four German and one Chinese talk in China in Russian!
How pleasant it is to be able to express, at least in a foreign language to some extent, then we realized over the next few days when we were traveling without our Chinese Maxim. While the spatial orientation represented through English lettered subway stations and street names no major problem, we all fell into such a state of speechlessness never experienced. While all of us were raised in English Chinese are patient, but helped the friendly smiles and a flood of Chinese words are not always more real.
Even in restaurants in the city center to us - thank goodness! - Submitted illustrated menus with English subtitles so that we at least have an idea about what animals we would rather not eat, the staff was usually quite helpless when Klaus said in his excellent English school special requests like another beer. So we could soon all politeness aside and called the waiter only to nouns, which often leads to the desired success. At a special treat at the end of each restaurant visit us, the question was for the bill, after we had noticed in the first days that the call: "The bill, please!" quite different responses elicited, we concluded soon from betting on what we would do well this time: fresh water for the jasmine tea, the menu or equal to the longest-serving waiter? Our money, we were usually only go when Klaus took his wallet from his pocket and waved a few yuan.
, equally, the Chinese employees and guests in restaurants, at least smiled inwardly at us: Not only do we stick with the hired initially somewhat awkward, so we once even a personal Instruction received, we realized after a few days ago that the pleasantly warm water, which was moved forward to greet us each in small cups, the guests should avoid the obvious way to the wash hand basin. We had been drinking until then always like ... Not
we had expected, that in a world city in the year after the Olympic Games, a European family in the street scene particularly struck by - especially since our big hats, at least in part, blond hair veiled reliable. Particularly on children, Chinese passers-by like to hint attention and above all Cara was often asked to stand by for photos.
The numerous and very active street traders turned their sales pitches like, first to the children, they moved to him, they put on caps or expressed their toys in the hand. A great trial for Julius, who had found so much pleasure in the glass, metal or plastic shaped dragon and Buddha. Only after he had promised himself that he "when he grows up" with a "big" suitcase once again travels to Beijing, he was able to relatively quickly go through with "kitajskij scrap" filled streets.
Of course we visited the major tourist highlights were at Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and were on the Olympic grounds, in the Lama Temple and have a piece of the Great Wall of China climbed. We did the most beautiful parks due to temperatures well below freezing do not enjoy an icy wind really. Impressed us but the groups of retirees in significantly advanced age, gathered around a CD player to dance in pairs or even to practice karaoke. , Ball games of any kind we have seen with young and old in parks often. We ourselves are preferred, however, from time to time to visit a cafe to warm up to us - unfortunately, often without success, not all facilities were equipped with a heater, so we prefer our jackets as the Chinese do not even undressed.
was fascinating architectural contrast between the ultra-modern glass buildings "up in the sky" in the immediate vicinity of the original buildings from Beijing Hutongs: one-story, gray courtyard houses, similar to the Roman atrium houses. Originally designed as a comfortable residences of several square arranged living and economic areas is a clear and often leafy courtyard for a large family, they are now in the face of the exploding urban population at all shared by several families - what in the the street front-mounted electric meter point.
On New Year's Eve then suddenly we felt completely in our current election back home, we scheduled a Russian New Year at our hotel had booked. Russian tourists gathered there to follow menu in Chinese and Russian dance music into the new J
to slide ahr. Fortunately, this could be triggered every hour, because at the beginning of the evening so we had to douse the year in Vladivostok and then work through all time zones, and was reached in the early morning hours, Moscow. That evening, Russian and Chinese traditions complemented into a colorful - And very loud - a mixture of dance evening with games and prizes, promotional event of the involved Chinese-Russian tour operators and Chinese show program. As
then the next day was even snow, which said the Beijing population in a state of emergency and any road and air traffic paralyzed, we knew: We can not yet escape our Siberia really!
First we were taken by our guide friendly smile in welcome. Were we under the young man whose beautiful Russian name Maxim had already told us before departure, presented a lingering in Beijing Russian students, he now proved to be true-Chinese who are just kind enough to not bother with the pronunciation of his real name wanted to do. Polite and open-minded
as we are, we asked anyway for the "real" name - then also a friendly smile, but to resort to the Russian ... The Russian tour group we belong to believed there was, then, surprisingly, only made us four. This led to the great comfort that we have exclusively in the next two days, a more convenient and technically very confidence-inspiring Mercedes minibus with a driver and that very Maxim were available. While we tried to us as invisible as possible to lexically Maxim's excellent, but get used to in the debate, but clearly Chinese-influenced Russian (in the set "U nas 10 k r assov" we were able to close only on the right statement because we knew that he explain the Chinese school system was, in the according there are 10 K l), we let him first in the mistaken belief He was actually a "Russian" tour group in front of him. Until later in the drive to the hotel to all parties was the absurdity of the situation awareness: four German and one Chinese talk in China in Russian!
How pleasant it is to be able to express, at least in a foreign language to some extent, then we realized over the next few days when we were traveling without our Chinese Maxim. While the spatial orientation represented through English lettered subway stations and street names no major problem, we all fell into such a state of speechlessness never experienced. While all of us were raised in English Chinese are patient, but helped the friendly smiles and a flood of Chinese words are not always more real.
Even in restaurants in the city center to us - thank goodness! - Submitted illustrated menus with English subtitles so that we at least have an idea about what animals we would rather not eat, the staff was usually quite helpless when Klaus said in his excellent English school special requests like another beer. So we could soon all politeness aside and called the waiter only to nouns, which often leads to the desired success. At a special treat at the end of each restaurant visit us, the question was for the bill, after we had noticed in the first days that the call: "The bill, please!" quite different responses elicited, we concluded soon from betting on what we would do well this time: fresh water for the jasmine tea, the menu or equal to the longest-serving waiter? Our money, we were usually only go when Klaus took his wallet from his pocket and waved a few yuan. , equally, the Chinese employees and guests in restaurants, at least smiled inwardly at us: Not only do we stick with the hired initially somewhat awkward, so we once even a personal Instruction received, we realized after a few days ago that the pleasantly warm water, which was moved forward to greet us each in small cups, the guests should avoid the obvious way to the wash hand basin. We had been drinking until then always like ... Not
we had expected, that in a world city in the year after the Olympic Games, a European family in the street scene particularly struck by - especially since our big hats, at least in part, blond hair veiled reliable. Particularly on children, Chinese passers-by like to hint attention and above all Cara was often asked to stand by for photos. The numerous and very active street traders turned their sales pitches like, first to the children, they moved to him, they put on caps or expressed their toys in the hand. A great trial for Julius, who had found so much pleasure in the glass, metal or plastic shaped dragon and Buddha. Only after he had promised himself that he "when he grows up" with a "big" suitcase once again travels to Beijing, he was able to relatively quickly go through with "kitajskij scrap" filled streets.
Of course we visited the major tourist highlights were at Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and were on the Olympic grounds, in the Lama Temple and have a piece of the Great Wall of China climbed. We did the most beautiful parks due to temperatures well below freezing do not enjoy an icy wind really. Impressed us but the groups of retirees in significantly advanced age, gathered around a CD player to dance in pairs or even to practice karaoke. , Ball games of any kind we have seen with young and old in parks often. We ourselves are preferred, however, from time to time to visit a cafe to warm up to us - unfortunately, often without success, not all facilities were equipped with a heater, so we prefer our jackets as the Chinese do not even undressed. 
was fascinating architectural contrast between the ultra-modern glass buildings "up in the sky" in the immediate vicinity of the original buildings from Beijing Hutongs: one-story, gray courtyard houses, similar to the Roman atrium houses. Originally designed as a comfortable residences of several square arranged living and economic areas is a clear and often leafy courtyard for a large family, they are now in the face of the exploding urban population at all shared by several families - what in the the street front-mounted electric meter point. On New Year's Eve then suddenly we felt completely in our current election back home, we scheduled a Russian New Year at our hotel had booked. Russian tourists gathered there to follow menu in Chinese and Russian dance music into the new J
to slide ahr. Fortunately, this could be triggered every hour, because at the beginning of the evening so we had to douse the year in Vladivostok and then work through all time zones, and was reached in the early morning hours, Moscow. That evening, Russian and Chinese traditions complemented into a colorful - And very loud - a mixture of dance evening with games and prizes, promotional event of the involved Chinese-Russian tour operators and Chinese show program. As then the next day was even snow, which said the Beijing population in a state of emergency and any road and air traffic paralyzed, we knew: We can not yet escape our Siberia really!
