Bicycles are on vogue now in New York City. Ten years ago there was not much going with regard to bikes in the City. Yes, we saw bike couriers and messenger bags but wide public use of bicycles like in European Cities? Not really.
Now we see bicycle lanes, bicycles shops, bicycle garages and bike tours. This is great. I have two bikes myself and I love it. But what do I do if I have to use the subway in Manhattan? Or, say, I need to commute between the City and Hoboken with the PATH train? If I have to commute but I do not want to take the bus and ride to the station instead, what do I do? Well, I could leave the bike at the station and take the subway or PATH. But do I really want to do that? Leave my bike at the station? Abandoned? No. And strictly speaking I am not allowed to take the bike on the train between 6.30am and 9.30am and between 3.30 pm and 6.30 pm (see here for rules and scroll down until you find bicyles).
Here is the solution: Take bike like from Brompton. If this young lady can do this and still wear a dress, well then anyone can. I saw her climbing up the stair at Hoboken station coming from the City and she allowed me to take a picture. She actually carried the Brompton bike in a shoulder back when she climbed the stairs. In Europe we call them femme velo (for French: women with the bike). I spoke to her and asked if she new about the rules about bicycles on PATH trains and she said that because she carried the bicyles in a shoulder back she is fine. How cool is that, I said to myself. Check out Brompton.
 A Brompton bike in action |
 femme velo with Brompton bike |
Incidentally, this reminds me that I should really write to the Port Authority of NJ/NY and ask them to revise their rules about transportation of bikes. I have seen empty trains during the day past rush hour and there as sufficient space for bikes.
Best regards,
Mark
A few niche products make it to the top. Ricola is one of them. In case you do not know, Ricola is this healthy candy made out of 13 precious and healing herbs. The recipe for Ricola has been the same for over 70 years. I like that already, at least some good things stay the same. We use it especially when we have a sore throat or are about to get one in the summer with all the blasting ACs around me (bus, coffee shop, department store), in the metro in NYC and in winter against coughing and hoarse or sore throat caused by colds. It is not just the healing effect of the herbs and the taste that we like, but it is also the feeling of cleanliness and good breath. Sure you could take a mouth wash but I do not always like the more medical taste in my mouth. And it’s easy to have a Ricola candy in your pocket rather than a mouth wash, though there pocket sizes available.
With my scientific training, I am naturally very self-observant and I noticed that above all the good features mentioned before, Ricola turns on saliva production. In turn this means more wetness for my mouth and throat and that helps the mucosa to defend itself against summer and winter colds. Makes sense for me. Because a dry mucosa is much more vulnerable for bacterial and viral attacks. Hence, Ricola works for me. Over 70 years Ricola is one of the most trusted brands in Switzerland and I trust it too.
Disclaimer: I do not make any medical claims. This is just my personal observation. But before I resort to cold medications and other things, I try the natural remedies like herbs.
Ricola - herbal candy that works for me
We drive a 1998 Dodge Durango and wanted to do outdoor sports with our Labrador Max. He needs the exercise and jogging with him, although it’s cool for me and Max, it is not something we can do as a family. Hence we decided to switch to mountain bikes. We got ourselves two mountain bikes from REI and put them into the car. so far so good. Bu then we got a second dog, Emma, a Belgian Sheppard dog and the two bikes would not fit anymore into the car. OK, so now what? We went again to REI with the intention to buy a rack for the roof or any other fixtures that would hold these two bikes. At REI they were very helpful and educated us about all options. I particular they said that the strap on racks, though nice, are a bit of a hassle and not so stable. So we decided to go for the roof option. Amongst them we single out one, paid and went home. Monday the following we they called us and informed us that upon double checking, that option we bought would not fit the Dodge Durango. They said that they would research it for us and get back to us with a new option. I said fine. A day later they called me again and said that they found a rack. It’s from Thule, a Swedish manufacturer, and they just announced it’s availability in the US. REI then even referred me to a website where I can buy it. I am a bit reluctant to shop these things on a website, I must admit. I mean I have never purchased something like that on the web. So I went to rackattack, called them and ordered over the internet. I got two Thule 594XT sidearms with no problem and shipment was free (and I mean this is a quite a sizable article to ship). Installation was fine and it works well for us. Now the reason I think I should post it is to say:
- Great attitude and customer service from REI.
- Great product from Thule. It helped us where there was no other option, but
- make sure you check every time before you drive off that back and front wheel fixtures of the bike are put on tightly.
Additionally, they give no information about the sidearm fixture. It may be obvious but this sidearm has to be at a certain angle with the wheel otherwise the bike can still wiggle around and potentially jump out of the sidearm fixture on rough road conditions. In our experience it has to be at least 70 degree angle.
Thule 594xt sidearm
Victorinox is a brand with a great history. The news president of Victorinox Mr. Joachim Beer knows how important that is for a successful brand and a strong identity. Especially men like a strong story. That is one of the key factors in any successful men collection.
Victorinox has a history 126 years and it all comes from the Swiss Army Knife. Mr. Beer has recently said that a lot of inspiration for the design and development of that brand comes from the knife. The army knife, he says, is a hobby tool and not a professional tool used by craftsmen. As a corollary the collection is now more a European modern sportswear rather than a very functional outerwear collection. The design is done by a team and overseen by him rather than by a VIP designer according to Womens Wear Daily. Victorinox apparel is currently sold in 45 monobrand stores and 800 wholesale accounts. It’s a great product and is almost a household name like the Swiss Alphorn and the Swiss Army knife.
Value chain: From the Alphorn to the Swiss Army Knife to Victorinox apparel.
Designing fashion for men has its particular challenges. I want it to be functional but not too much because I do not want to look like a camper (sorry no offense). It has to be fashionable and designed but not too much either because it still has to be wearable. This light jacket for men is an excellent compromise. It’s a hooded jacket from Stone Island, an Italian fashion company. This jacket is made of a highly reflective fabric coated with thousands of glass microspheres. Wow, that’s what I call that technical design and I love that.
stone island designer men jacket
Also that jacket is spray painted by hand and then during the manufacturing process placed in an oven to dry. That’s what I like. The beauty of the garment is actually under the hood. The handmade aspect of the process makes each garment unique and unrepeatable. Well that’s nice but not really a requirement for me. From the point of design I like the placement of the pockets very much. They are vertical on the front and chest with tape edged zip fastening.
The hood can be folded and fixed to create a raised collar. The lining is made of light wool and Velcro bands are used at cuffs. This garment by its design is a must have. It fulfills my need to be functional yet I can wear it on may occasions, I may even play soccer wear it on a rainy day or go out for a casual date as well.
What is European Lifestyle? Is it Soccer or Fussball? I would say yes. Europe is already fully absorbed with watching soccer on TV or in common places, with family and friends. It gives them a great pleasure when their nation wins, or it is a country wide mourning if they loose. Living in the US as an expatriate, I feel for the first time that there is now some interest from Americans to follow soccer in the world cup. The US team so far has played well, very well indeed if you looka t the result against the UK when they could impose a draw on the UK team. Other surprises so far was also that Switzerland could win against Spain with 1:0 – that was big, and also Germany lost against Serbia.
We followed the game Germany against Serbia on big TV at a German Restaurant in lower Manhattan. they opened their door at 7 a.m. in the morning, and to our surprise, we could hardly find a place at 7 a.m. becuase there were already so many spectators, mostly ex-patriates from Germany, who already drank beer and ate Leberwurst for breakfast. They were in great spirit early in the game when Germany put a lot of pressure in Serbia, but after the red card, and Germany had to play with only ten people for the rest of the game, and serbia led with 1:0, the good mood was over. When Germany could not even realize a goal with the free kick, people knew they will have a hard time to win this game. At the end Germany lost. Still it was a great atmosphere to come out at 7 a.m. to hang out at the Germa restaurant to watch this game on a Friday morning. This is european lifestyle.
I am traveling again. From the US to Europe, and I have to fly between cities in Europe. Ever wanted to have a stylish handbag and can be converyted to a portable vest when you go to the airport? That would reduce your number of carry on bags, and tjhey would not take it away frrom you, make you pay for an extra carry on bag or force you to check in an additional bag. The solution is the portable handbag.
First Greece, and now downgrades for Portugal, and Spain is not in much better shape. In addition, Europe has the volcanic ash from Island. It hits them hard these days. Still, a vacation in Greece, Portugal, or Spain is very nice – except when no planes are flying.
Courtesy of Getty Images
Roger Feder celebrates his 16th Grand Slam title while Andy Murray cried for Britain. Can this be tracked back to Swiss Quality and Precision? It is exceptional that a small country like Switzerland, in the middle of Europe, can present outstanding talent like a tennis pro of the format of Federer. While most of the manufacturing of goods is no longer baesed in Switzerland, and no more many articles really can claim to be Swiss made, the Swiss quality is still living to this date. Have you ever visited Switzerland? Did you notice how clean everything is? Even in big cites like Zurich everything is clean. Even the garbage trucks operate with high precision.
Finally, there are colorful carry on bags and suitcases from Hey. They have designs full of happiness, and traveling will be easy with these suitcases. Check them out, really refreshing.
