Month: December 2014

Italy, Germans, the Euro, the Lire and the Road to Moscow*

*Al Stewart’s haunting song about the last time the Germans were in charge. Now you’re asking yourself, what does this have to do with Dauntless and how are events from 75 years ago applicable to today.  Having Dauntless in Europe, gives me the freedom to visit my friends in Italy at a more leisurely pace than any time in the past.  Besides drinking Prosecco, I have the time to think and observe.  It’s quite nice really, but I’m seeing many disquieting signs and the fact that I am at this moment, sitting on the couch, writing this while wearing a tee shirt, a turtle neck, a sweater and a vest, while wondering if I could type with gloves on, says more than I could ever explain about the anemic Italian economy.

Treviso
Treviso

Driving from my friend’s house on the outskirts of Treviso to the little mountain village of Budoia, is a route I have taken countless times in the last 38 years.  It’s a route that provides a lot of variety, from the large factories, stores and shops along the main Venezia to Pordenone state road to the road that skirts the mountains from just north of Conegliano and passes through towns, each with its town center and stores common to almost every town.

This trip however has been an eye opener:   shuttered factories, vacant parking lots, closed stores.  During the last 20 years, I have probably come to Italy almost 20 times and seen the same towns  and roads.  By not living here, it is easier to see the gradual changes that have taken place.  Even in a Province like Treviso, probably one of the richest in the country, one sees vacant stores and prices that hare far higher for virtually everything than one would pay in Germany or the Netherlands.

This annual snapshot  shows a continual decline, only stopped at times with a leveling, a plateau, but not real growth. The advent of the Euro has locked in this decline, but the last few years have seen an acceleration of this decline.

Oh my friends are hopeful, yes, things are tight, but they will get better… it’s a refrain I hear every year.

I on the other hand, see a picture, not so bright and getting even darker.  I’ve never seen so many vacant shops as I see today, but in those vacant shops and factories, I also see the Euro and its impact on the places south of the Alps.  The refrain throughout Europe is the Germans, that altruistic lot; do not mind paying large subsidizes to help their less fortunate neighbors.  But in those vacant places, I see the real motive; whatever Germany must pay to keep the southern littoral in the Euro is worth it, as it eliminates European competition.

Budoia Rooftops
Budoia Rooftops

Having close friends in Germany also, and visiting there only a bit less than Italy, I see another side of the story.  I wonder why prices are actually lower in Germany and the Netherlands, yet their average salaries are much higher than in Italy.  In the old days, I did most of my shopping in Italy, with Germany second and the Netherlands third, and that was based on price.  While the quality of goods was a bit better in Germany, especially clothes, the prices were significantly higher.

With the advent of the Euro, everything got turned on its head.  I have not done any significant shopping in Italy in 15 years.  Prices are totally out of whack; whatever it is, I know I will find it cheaper in Holland or now, Ireland.  Italy is also flooded with items made in China.  It’s become the Wal-Mart of Europe. So now the land is flooded with LED light bulbs that inexplicitly, turn off for a second or two every couple of hours.  Houses are heated or not, to an ever lower temperature.  Every few years I must add an extra layer.  Soon I’ll be as tasty as a 6 layer cake.

Here is a little story I first heard on CNBC’s Squawk Box I think it’s worth repeating:

 Michelle Caruso-Cabrera recounted the comments made by Margaret Thatcher  in the 1990’s. Ms. Thatcher was saying how she had asked the Italian Prime Minister why he thought joining the Euro zone was going to help Italy? He responded that it was the only way for Italians to have any fiscal discipline.

I had not planned on recounting this story until one of my Italian friends used the Euro as the same excuse. But I wonder, what fiscal discipline have the Italians shown in the last 15 years?

In fact, to a certain extent, the Italian bond market certainly does not reflect the coming train wreck and has contributed to spending that cannot be sustained, well, it can be as long as the Germans are there to help!

This brings us full circle back to Al Stewart’s haunting song, Road to Moscow. The last time the Germans were calling the shots, the Italians lost an entire division of Alpini on the eastern front, never to be seen again. In this region of Italy, the Veneto, it’s not been forgotten.  Who knows if the Italians will ever have the discipline to cut the waste and fat that so many in this society benefit from, but one thing I have figured out in my life, it’s far better to suffer the consequences of one’s own mistakes, than those of others.

So, let’s see if the Italians can be their own masters and become competitive again, while they won’t be cannon fodder, they will be Euro fodder.

Reflections through Books, Moves & Music

Reflections through Books, Moves & Music

I have decided to start another blog that focuses on books, movies and music.  Not all books, music or movies, no, just the few that really touched me and I think will be of interest to the readers of my blogs.

This will help me to keep the Dauntless blog more focused directly on the adventures and shenanigans of Dauntless and its intrepid crew.

So here is the link, to Reflections through Books, Moves & Music,https://richardbost.wordpress.com/

Dauntless’ Spring & Summer 2015 Cruise Plans

Currently Dauntless is wintering over in Waterford, Ireland, a wonderful town in the southeast of the country, full of really nice, interesting, outgoing people.  Ireland has so exceeded my expectations, it will be hard not to return next winter, but we have six months of exploring and cruising before that decision must be made.

Dauntless in Waterford November 2014
Dauntless in Waterford November 2014

As of now, I am subject to the 90 days out of 180 days Schengen Visa requirements.  Worst case, this means I can only be in the Schengen area for 90 days and I would then plan those 90 days to be 1 June to 1 Sept.   There is a possibility that the Schengen area countries will offer a 180 day Visa in the near future.  That clearly would solve my issues and I could stay in the Schengen area for April, May and September.

Ireland, Scotland, the U.K. and the Channel Islands are all out of the Schengen area.

So worst case, only 90 days,is once I leave Ireland in the spring, stopping in France and Belgium only for a week or so, before retreating to the Channel Islands.  Then by the end of May, start heading east, first into Holland, then Germany ending up in Gdansk by mid-July, starting our Baltic explorations as described below.

Spring and Summer 2015 Cruise Plan

When Where What
March Waterford, Ireland Prepare Dauntless for the cruising season
Early April Depart for France/Belgium Channel Islands, enter French Canals, Dunkerque-Escaut, in NE France or go to Belgium direct
April, May France/Belgium or Channel Islands Explore NE France & Belgium Canals, subject to our Air Draft of 4.5m
June Head NE, Belgium, Holland and Germany Find the most interesting route to the Kiel Canal, the Baltic adventure begins
End of July Germany and Poland Eastern Germany and Poland, Gdansk last two weeks of July
August Baltic Republics Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland. Russia?
September The Baltic or the North Sea Finland, Sweden, Baltic Republics, Russia???
October Winter Haven? Returning to Ireland ,Scotland or the Orkney’s

 

The Pacific Northwest

I’ve been spending some days in the Pacific Northwest.  Drove to the entrance to Mt. Rainier national Park, but they had a requirement that even with four wheel drive, you had to show you had chains.

Puget Sound
Puget Sound

Don’t you feel safer knowing the bureaucracy is protecting you from yourself?  I know I do.  Hardly.

But driving along the tree lined roads, walking under moisture laden evergreens, is still almost a religious experience for me.  In fact about as close to religion as I will ever get.

To think that my life outside NYC started here 45 years ago and it turned out to be a long path, my love for these west coast rain forests has never abated. I still feel an energy coming from every tree.  Now the only difference is I feel an energy coming from every wave on the ocean.  And waves actually have energy, so maybe much like a self-winding watch; I am being constantly energized being on the ocean.

Julie and I’s discussions are centered around the triple points of her school, our next dinner and our life on the ocean.  Upon arrival on Flores in the Azores, after our first steps on land, our initial conversation was that having just completed 14 days at sea; we could have easily done another 14.

Many people have asked us about being afraid on the ocean during storms.  As I looked at the dark green of the forest, I was reminded of our last camping trip, where we camped, on a small logging road midway between Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helens.  This was a route I have taken a few times since I discovered this route that goes south all the way to the Columbia River back in 1997.  A beautiful drive through forests surrounded by the three mountains (Mt. Rainier to the north).

Rte 706 Mt. Rainier
Rte 706 Mt. Rainier

Well, that night, after finishing our steak dinner cooked over a wood fire, as we finished up our bottle of wine, we heard three distinctive log thumping’s, like someone swinging a baseball bat at a tree trunk.  Thump, thump, thump.  It seemed close, the sun was just setting, as we walked down the path about 100 meters looking to see what could have made that noise.

Seeing nothing, we walked back to the car, but then our imaginations got the better of us and we slept in the car.  That night, I was more afraid than I have ever been on the ocean.

What a fraidy cat.