I want to understand one thing: how can we, the land of poets and thinkers, be so ignorant of the battle between prosperity and culture? I want to understand even more: When and how did prosperity become the greatest enemy of culture? I thought prosperity was the breeding ground for all culture? I just don’t get it. Someone please explain it to me! Or all of you!

I’ve been a Regensburg resident for 20 years. I never gave a shit about the reputation of having the highest density of pubs in Germany. I just enjoyed life in Regensburg. By day and by night. But now our prosperity is destroying any culture outside the Grand Duchy. The gentrification of Regensburg is turning the former capital of the Holy Roman Empire of German Nations into a central cemetery. (more…)

Tell me, dear people, why are concerts in Regensburg always so boring and bland? Is it just because I’ve just read a stupid article on Zeit-online that claims that we young people (at least in our heads) simply have nothing left to sing against the tsunami of opinions of 50-year-olds?

Or do the concerts in Regensburg just suck? Alte Mälze: For 15 years, the booking has been more conservative than the CSU’s stance on gay marriage. Danube arena? Yes, of course, my tinnitus likes endless reverb, my Schedl likes being naked and somehow only having the feeling of really being THERE at the concert – I’ve always been totally fed up. (more…)

Ground control lost contact with Major Tom years ago. We are no longer heroes. We don’t build castles out of sand. The only thing I ever managed to do was to get it on the toilet door of the new film stage. Today I’m standing in front of this door again and see a sticker in front of my face: Down with the manhood craze!

Nobody is playing the doctors on me today. No circles are closing. It’s like always, and always means: reading too much Bukowski doesn’t work, just too much limping after the same dreams. The theatre people scattered all over the world years ago, and with them all the magic of nights that I will always praise. (more…)

We celebrate for two days and two nights. Sin is followed by repentance. I’m an atheist, so I don’t go to confession. My psychotherapist despaired of me years ago and the Way of St James is too crowded for me. Meditation makes me aggressive. I’m afraid of yoga because of the threatening upper arm muscles of some of my friends. So how can I wash myself clean of sin?

I look out of the window. It’s raining. Perfect! I’m going to make a pilgrimage to IKEA. IKEA on a rainy Saturday turns the innermost human being inside out. Deepest abysses and manifold possibilities of repentance lurk around every corner. IKEA on a rainy Saturday is better than any social pedagogy exam. (more…)

When was the last time something like this happened? Ten minutes of news about a failed deal? General Motors is not selling Opel to Magna. But the deal is only now starting. General Motors’ long hesitation in selling Opel already indicates that they never intended to sell the crown jewel of the group.

Great hypothesis, isn’t it? I don’t have any proof, but anyone is welcome to add it in the comments below. I write with a certain amount of anger. Opel has been building really good cars for several years, producing very profitably. GM is like a sick tree before winter: first suck the sap out of the leaves. (more…)

Every two years, Regensburg celebrates its citizens’ festival. Even if it is otherwise often quite contentious: for two days in June, we forget all contentious issues such as the town hall and celebrate what the festivals have to offer. There’s no forwards, there’s no backwards: the world cultural heritage site becomes a potential Domestos advertising clip.

I’ve been back in Regensburg for four months now. Nothing is planned, but everything is going well. Perhaps because good things can only happen unexpectedly, I’m enjoying the Regensburg Bürgerfest more than ever before. Good bands, lots of fine food, a bit of rain, some sunshine and quirky moments: that’s how it should be! (more…)

T.Raumschmiere is DJing in Regensburg. We’ve been looking forward to it for weeks. Shortly before, only I was left of us. So I’m sitting at Bismarckplatz. A husband comes over and asks: What are you doing sitting there all alone? I look round. The square is full. My table is empty. Alone, not lonely! They sit down.

Blogging is the art of walking the tightrope between pornography and irrelevance. No one is interested in boredom, and I only undress to take a shower. So: What’s there to write about on such a trivial day? And how do you save a great world travel blog from a slow death? Maybe I need a code… (more…)

It’s raining. I’m driving home from a customer. Suddenly the world is spinning. Wait no, that’s my car. The airbags explode. Smoke and shards. I skid 10 metres across the junction, just past a set of traffic lights and a parked BMW, into a raised flower bed. Then everything stops, only my ears are ringing.

I get out of the car and stagger through the rain. On the other side of the junction is a big BMW. It has hit me from the right at high speed. I immediately try to find a witness. After an endless 30 seconds, someone comes up to me. Yes, you had the green light. I think so too. Unless the person in front of me also crossed the junction on red, and the witness behind me did the same. (more…)

Emergency landing at ff-webdesigner. Unfortunately, I hadn’t worn my latest traditional outfit underneath. Nevertheless, I had a roast pork with free beer… Big praise to the poor, deliciously prepared pig, which will receive a worthy finish tomorrow at the end of my digestive tract – mixed with Weltenburger Urtyp Hell.Conclusion: It was worth it for me, less so for the pig. Welcome back to Regensburg! (more…)

I’m back in my new old home in Regensburg. After a year travelling the world and half a year on the road, it was time for a permanent home. There are strange challenges: Staying in one place. Not making new friends every day. Finishing a book and starting a new one.

A long search led me to my dream flat. I’ve been living in an art nouveau villa in Luitpoldstraße in the centre of Regensburg for four weeks now. My gas boiler has already exploded, the boiler has failed, the RCD has jumped, the couch has broken, the ceiling has fallen on my head and the walls have come crashing down. In other words: I feel very comfortable here. (more…)

I spend my days commuting between work and friends in Regensburg and Munich. I still don’t feel like I can sit still anywhere again after the long journey. Maybe the change will remain my home. Regensburg. Dj Shantel is playing again. You can recognise beginners by the fact that they are afraid they might get wet because of the rain. I queue for 1.5 hours, then our reserved tickets aren’t there. In other words: we can’t get in. One night in many pubs.

Olli gets married. As he has a sense of humour, he slips on his 10m staircase the day before and breaks his nose. His boxer face prompts every other guest to joke “You should have told her earlier that the marriage wouldn’t work out.” . He takes it very calmly. (more…)