My worktrip to Germany (5 of 7): Immigrants.

During my worktrip to Germany, it was very interesting to see how recent and older immigrants were woven into everyday life.

At the tram station near my hotel, a(n older) (Turkish) woman manned the little ticket booth / convenience store kiosk where I'd buy my daily tram tickets and a copy of Bild, the trashiest (German) tabloid that I could find.

I noticed that her store - or, rather, the store where she worked? - had a framed picture of Ataturk up on the wall.

Also, in the downtown of the major city near where I was, I noticed that this one edge of the downtown area off to the west of the train station started to blend into Turkish barber shops and Syrian restaurants and whatnot, and some (very dark) (presumably African) (illegal?) immigrants started to appear here and there among the passers-by.

Also also, on a daytrip I took to see a historic site to a much older and much smaller town near the city where I was, there was these like (sunglassed) (leather jacketed) (Turkish? Syrian?) (young) guys just standing outside the train station, smoking and lingering and seeming on edge, and every once in a while answering their cell phones.

It was like they were full of energy, but had nowhere to go.

All in all, just very turgid.