In Bremen on the street Buntentorsteinweg, there are a lot of stores which have been vacant for a long time. If you stay at a tram stop on this street for a while, you'll have an idea why that's the way it is. You'll see people, who get home from work, holding a briefcase or a laptop bag in their hand. You'll see young, happy families. But you'll also frequently see people who don't have much money - pensioners, obviously cheaply clothed juveniles and middle-aged persons and immigrants who don't carry any status symbols of advancement yet.
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And sometimes a bottle of beer is peeping out of the pocket of an old parka.
There are other sections of the Bremen district Neustadt where obviously many families live who rank among the upper middle-class. In this sections former stores have been converted, for example, into private kindergartens. Stores with select products have moved into the one or other of the small shops.
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These shops, which have obviously been vacant for a long time, are in those houses, adjoin to the area with remains of demoliton I reported about in the previous issue.
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At the top of the side wall of this house is the cornice I mentioned in that issue.
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The advertising sign above the entrance door of the right-hand shop signed the proprietor as a distributor of a famous toy brand.
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The heydays of this toy brand were about forty years ago.
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You can see the 'shadow' of a long ago dismantled advertising sign in the entry area of the shop. It was an advertising for expensive pens and ball pens which one could buy in this shop.
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There were obviously buyers of those premium writing instruments in the street in those days.
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You can also see very slight vestiges of a dismantled advertising sign above the entrance door of the left-hand shop.
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One can (almost) uncover the lettering string SPIELW (the first six letters of the German word SPIELWAREN =toys )by means of digital lab work.
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Neighbourhood pensioners told me that this shop has been vacant for more than ten years.
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One could formerly buy notions, tunics, sweaters and other textiles in this shop.
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This house is in close vicinity to the above pictured draper's shop.A large window was taped shut with paper.You see the shadow of a dismantled illuminated advertising above the entrance.
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To the left of the entrance you see a raised awning and the closed shutters behind which the rooms of a recently shut down shop are located, as people from the neighbourhood told me.
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Remains of an ancient company nameplate in the city centre
Please also read Charlie Dittmeier's report about traveling salesmen on the sidewalks in Phnom Penh. The report is dated September 25 2009. The link leads to the latest entry of the diary. Please scroll down.
The international poster organisation Loesje has started a project to train young people from all over Europe and Asia in how to organise and coordinate information campaigns about the Millennium Development Goals. These goals are set by the United Nations to fight poverty and to improve living standards world wide.
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Next issue 'The Daily Groove'
on Friday February 5 2010.
This is the three hundredth issue of 'The Daily Groove'. Please allow me to take a break from my column for a month. Regardless of my need for rest, I have to do some website maintenance. Thank you!
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We would like to point out that we translated articles from German into English for the purpose of service. We would like to make it clear that the German translations are deciding, because the articles are directed to users who live in Germany.
Wir möchten darauf hinweisen, dass wir zu Servicezwecken englische Übersetzungen vorgenommen haben. Klarstellen möchten wir, dass maßgeblich die deutsche Übersetzung ist. Grund dessen ist, dass wir uns an in Deutschland ansässige Nutzer wenden.
Please also read Cats Talk (44)
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