These Pictures Are Worth At Least 1,287 Words Apiece

Internet has been installed in my room, which means *hopefully* more frequent updates, as well as photos. The latter is taking a bit of work, so I'll be keeping this short.

Wednesday evening we biked over to Schloss Monrepos, going down a path called the Planetweg, which included placards and scale models at scale distances of all the planets in the solar system, as well as the sun. The first four are fairly close, but Jupiter is quite a way out, and we didn't even get to Saturn and the rest before turning to go back home. I think I heard that the entire thing is around two kilometers long, and the first four planets are within 60 meters or so.

Thursday: ho dee hum. In 12th grade Mathe we had a test today, which I didn't know about beforehand. However, I feel quite good about it, barring any translation problems. I did look up one word this time, though. This was followed by doing nothing of importance in Deutsch and then a Hitzefrei, the third in as many days, since there was one on Tuesday as well, but it didn't affect us, as Geli's class was already cancelled, and mine was 12th grade and therefore not let out. To call a Hitzefrei, the temp must be 86 F at 10:00, and that will usually remain until around 4 if not later. So, if you're wondering about the weather over here, it's quite hot. I have a number of long pants and a shirt that I never wear, and I go through my shorts and Tshirts about 3 times before washing them out of necessity. In other news, internet was hooked up, and Geli, I, Tina, Nico, and Chrissy went to hang out at the Bärenwiese. The pic of the Residenzschloss at the Ludwigsburg homepage shows a little of the vast gardens out in front of it. They are quite beautiful, but require a membership to enter. There's a gate out front, and then proceeding further (behind from where the picture was taken) there is a public park called the Bärenwiese, literally "bear meadow," although its really not a meadow, and I don't know what it has to do with bears. It's a great place to hang out on a hot day, though.

Mail Bag:
The truth on taxes:
In addition to the various forms of income tax there is also a series of sales taxes that significantly impact both individuals and businesses. The major tax is the Mehrwertsteuer (value added tax), which accounts for a quarter of the government's revenue and is second only to the Lohnsteuer (wage/income tax)in this regard. The Mehrwertsteuer assesses a levy on each step in the production and delivery of most items available for purchase. It applies to services as well as goods and the standard rate is 16%. A reduced rate of 7% applies to certain products, including food and printed material. Medical and insurance services are generally exempt, as are exports of goods abroad and services rendered abroad.
Lohnsteuer
The maximum rate for individuals has been decreased. It was 53% in 1998 and is 42% in 2005, while the minimum rate has been reduced from 25.9% to 15%. The "solidarity surcharge" of 5.5% of the tax, to cover the costs of integrating the states of the former East Germany, is still in effect. The corporate tax rate, which was thought to discourage investment in Germany, will decrease from 30%-40% to only 25%.

That's the price of the Abitur, that test granting free secondary ed. ;)
Kid C = Erik Hukriede
El Jefe = Jeff Smith

Classes aren't cancelled too often, but it tends to happen more and more now that we reach the end. It's basically due to a combination of teacher and student lethargy; there are only a few finals left, everything else is just procedure. There's also the Hitzefrei now that its hot enough, and there are various other reasons to cancel class, such as the 5-7th grade track and field day tomorrow, which the 10th graders help with (judging, measuring, whatnot) and therefore get out of school for.

A word on the photos.
These are basically the barest scraps of the photos I have taken, and are sized down to hopefully be reasonably manageable on dial-up. I'm not sure about everything, but I'll try to comment on all or most to clarify. You may comment at the photo itself, but please ask questions or speak concerns here on the blog if you want a reply, because I won't often check for comments on each and every pic itself.
Thanks and have fun!