Modern

Back in Argentina, I commented on the hi-tech lift ticket system that they now use at Cerro Catedral. At the time, I was quite impressed. However, I now have to say that the Catedral tickets aren't so funky after all: Kitzbühel's redefine the notion of funk altogether. Instead of merely sporting scannable barcodes, the tickets here at Kitzbühel are true RFID devices. No need to pull them out of your pocket, wave them under an infra-red reader, and wait for the beep. No, sirree! These babies require no effort whatsoever: you just leave them in your pocket, and walk right through the turnstiles — they register as soon as you reach the barrier, at which point you hear a little beep, and in you go. As long as you make sure to keep your ticket in your left pocket (as all the sensors seem to be on the left side of the turnstiles), it's as easy as pie.

For my first day here in Berlin, my mate John and I embarked upon an epic exploratory tour of the city. We began in the city's east, and gradually worked our way west, towards the old wall. Berlin is a fascinating city to walk around in — especially if you're aware of the troubled history behind its sparkling new façades.

After my amazing breakfast this morning, I was ready to go out and explore Santiago, the city that I'd just arrived in late last night, and easily the furthest place south that I've been so far, in South America. I was planning to head straight to the downtown area, to start taking care of some housekeeping tasks that needed to be done. But I ended up spending several hours just walking around, staring in awe at this city, that's nothing like anywhere else I've been in South America. This place is really, really... well, really nice! It's so neat, the people are so trendy, the buildings are so grand, the buses and trains are so new — it's like being somewhere in Europe. A whole different world to PEB (Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador). A world called the Western world. The world that people like you and I live in. People from Santiago live in it too.