The idyllic coin

I've lived in the Marburg area of Germany for over 10 years now and I really like it here. One of the things I like is that the area is very rural. Lots of countryside and lots of trees. Another aspect that I like is the attitude of Marburg to the environment. Many buses run on natural gas, and there are many private vehicles that run on bio-diesel or gas. One of my neighbours has an all electric scooter which he charges up from the PV solar on his roof. The powers that be in Marburg also want to make it the first city in Germany to require all new buildings to have solar included on the roof. This is I think is an excellent idea.

Of course there are always two sides to every idyllic coin, and this week the new virus lab opened up in Marburg. Here scientists will work on some of the most deadly virus known to man, including Ebola. Interestingly enough if you Google Marburg you will find out just as much about the Marburg virus (and it’s pretty damn dangerous) as you will about the University city. In fact the virus is named after the city after an outbreak of the virus here in 1967.

So if we have an ever have a bad earthquake here I just hope that the prevailing westerly wind are blowing, as I live north of the lab. But I guess it must be safer than living close to a nuclear plant. Over the years I have worked and lived in a few places around the world, all had their good and bad sides. Here I have settled and I'm glad to call Marburg my home.