GERMANY — I am winding up my three-month sojourn, a frozen-kind-of vacation, in this wintry land of plenty.  So I now know how it feels to be in a negative 3 (-3) environment. Christmas Day was spent in Interlaken and Grindelwald in Switzerland. They’re the most picturesque destinations where calm lakes and undulating roads littered with white brick farmhouses dot the snow-covered landscape with the Rocky Mountains behind. It’s like the old Christmas cards of my generation come to life. 

No wonder the most popular Asian love stories are filmed in the most scenic places on earth.  

For us Filipinos who were glued to the TV watching the Korean telenovela, “Crash Landing on You,” many of the scenes were filmed in Interlaken Lake Brienz and in Grindelwald-First. The famous South Korean actors, heartthrobs Son Ye-Jin and Hyun Bin, eventually got married in real life in March 2022.  So do not be surprised if Interlaken and Grindelwald are swarming with Korean tourists — young and old — and Pinoys of course.

But here is another big surprise. Interlaken is a global hub for all nationalities from all over the globe, with its massive tourism. Not a few Indian nationals have made this lakeside city their second home. They run rows of restaurants that cater to Indian tourists. Yes, Indians reside and work here. 

They were initially lured to Interlaken out of curiosity following a heartrending love story, “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge,” about the triumph of true love over betrothal to another. The blockbuster movie, popularly described as Raj and Simran’s story, was filmed in Switzerland, mostly in Interlaken, which drew Indian tourists in droves. The impact of the movie on Interlaken tourism was so significant that the city government put up a statue of the film producer and director Yash Chopra. On top of that, the city officially recognized him as an ambassador. 

So there. Traveling the distances between cities in Germany, France and Switzerland is a cinch with the superb network of trains and trams. Commuting by car at dizzying speeds seems extremely perilous and crazy in Germany’s state-controlled autobahns — highways with no speed limit. But then you get to realize that the drivers strictly follow traffic rules and road courtesy. 

Highways and bridges are built to the highest standards, including the roads leading to inner towns, cities, and communities, as well as farm-to-market roads.

All these make one wish our infrastructure could approximate the standard of quality that Germany strictly adheres to. As an afterthought, we can if only our government officials, politicians and contractors cease indulging in insatiable greed and corruption. 

I’m flying home as this piece goes to print, sad because we have a President who presides over the fate of my native land, whose trust rating has plunged to an inconceivable negative 3 percent, dragging with him the economy and the future of the nation. 

No wonder Marcos’s economic and financial team had conditioned our minds to believe that P500 was sufficient for our Noche Buena. What a transition.  I am leaving Germany, which is immensely developed and progressive, where it is winter, and heading home to my beloved country, which is in its worst winter of discontent.

Here’s hoping Kara David’s birthday wish will continue to take its toll in this new year!