Why is New York being invaded by German tourists like ‘Troy by the Greeks?’
According to Die Zeit’s New York Correspondent Eva Schweitzer, they come to the ‘Big Apple’ for Apples – the computer kind … but the hardships that they endure are nothing compared to the bind that American find themselves in.
“Those who, like me, live far from our homeland, enjoy reading German newspapers to learn of what’s happening at home. There it seems, a wave of poverty has erupted. This didn’t really surprise me since New York has been overrun by German tourists stocking up on the essentials of survival: Levi Jeans, Abercrombie & Fitch T-Shirts, North Face jackets, Nike sneakers and iPods. Above all iPods. And MacBooks. … MacBooks and iPods are paid for in dollars here, whereas in Germany one pays more in euros, so Apple stores have had to extend their hours. Apple has four stores in Manhattan, and they are besieged by tourists like Troy by the Greeks or, for younger readers, like the planet Coruscant by the powers of the Dark Side [from Star Wars].”
“It’s not unusual for a New Yorker to barely manage to get his or her salary to last to the end of the month – the next paycheck arriving just before the three day grace period on their banking accounts expire, and two weeks before all of their credit cards are maxed-out. Six weeks of annual leave; parental leave and paid sick leave are unknown here. … Sometimes I wonder about what they may be thinking when they see hordes of European tourists at Apple and Abercrombie & Fitch? Thrilled, I think not.”
By Eva C. Schweitzer
Translated By Ulf Behncke
May 3, 2008
Germany – Die Zeit – Original Article (German)
Those who, like me, live far from our homeland, enjoy reading German newspapers to learn of what’s happening at home. There it seems, a wave of poverty has erupted. This didn’t really surprise me since New York has been overrun by German tourists stocking up on the essentials of survival: Levi Jeans, Abercrombie & Fitch T-Shirts, North Face jackets, Nike sneakers and iPods. Above all iPods. And MacBooks.
MacBooks and iPods are paid for in dollars here, whereas in Germany one pays more in euros, so Apple stores have had to extend their hours. Apple has four stores in Manhattan, and they are besieged by tourists like Troy by the Greeks or, for younger readers, like the planet Coruscant by the powers of the Dark Side [from Star Wars ]. And of course there aren’t only Germans, but Swiss, French, Italians and Scandinavians as well.
Recently I had to spend half an hour at the check-out at Apple’s SoHo store just to pay for my headphones – this is the impact that Germany’s grinding poverty has had on me. This has made it increasingly difficult to sell stories of everyday New York life to German newspapers, since editors aren’t interested in reading accounts of how Bose headphones are three times as expensive as those from Sony, despite being much better, or that fresh lobster is best purchased on Grand Street.
To be sure, tourism from overseas has dropped in spite of a dollar that – if the German mark [Deutsche Mark] still existed – would be worth 1.27 Deutsche Mark. But that doesn’t apply to New York. About 40 million tourists a year visit the city – a fifth of them from overseas. According to our mayor Michael Bloomberg, this is because New York is tolerant and cosmopolitan and not xenophobic, unlike for example, Utah. He doesn’t say this of course, he only thinks it.
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