1st Anniversary of Erich’s Wuerstelstand Blog

A few days late with this post due to computer problems but I finally managed to get it going again! Here’s the blog story:
It was a fun night out end of April 2007 at the Wuerstelstand. We actually had a farewell party for our Austrian Kathy who was about to leave us for another job assignment this time unfortunately based in Dubai.
Where else to celebrate for this “Stammtisch” crowd as at Erich’s with lots of delicious sausages, Leberkaese (meat loaf), the tasty onion bread, Semmel and Pretzels . To add liquid we ordered the best and freshest fruit juices in town from Stanely the neighbor stall and last but probably the most important ingredient to a successful party “Erdinger Weissbier” from the Thai coffee shop.
It was a perfect night besides the thought of Kathi leaving Singapore. But as an Expat you see so many people come and go, so many welcome and farewell parties that you lose count.
And suddenly we found us in midst of a discussion how to stay in contact with the ones that left Singapore, how to spread all the gossip and ramblings, to keep them updated about events, happenings, changes and so forth. But also for people in Singapore it would be nice to keep informed about things not always told in news or papers.
The idea of a website was born!!! We knew it wouldn’t be easy since it was only a niche and mainly insiders would be interested in our postings. However we tried to diversify and wrote various stories from outside the Chinatown Night Market and Erich’s. It was great to see the very positive responds.
After 130 (!!) postings and 5500 visitors – which exceeded our expectations by far- we are very proud of our product and will try to bring you more interesting posts.
Thank you all so much for your blog and Wuerstelstand visits as well.
Anything you think we should cover please let us know.

ERICH im Deutschen TV: KABEL 1

Eine wichtige Info fuer alle die deutsche Sender empfangen. Laut unseren Informationen wird in der Sendung: "Abenteuer Leben - täglich Wissen" am Freitag, 9. Mai 17:45 ein Bericht ueber Erich ausgestrahlt!
Wer Zeit und Lust hat kann da ja mal reinschauen. Wuerden auch gerne Kommentare von euch hoeren wie und worueber die Sendung genau war, da sehr viel gedreht wurde, wir aber uber die Endfassung nichts genaues wissen.

German TV Channel: Kabel 1 Friday, May 9 broadcasts a report about Erich's Wuerstelstand.

5th Austrian- International Daemmerschoppen

Another Daemmerschoppen last Sunday can only mean one thing: Helmut is back in town!
Even welcome signs were put up to appreciate his return!!!

Welcome back Buddy, it's always good to see you.

Exorbitant Hotel Rates During F1 race !

It's a very thin ice Singapore hotels are walking at with their (way) overpriced hotel rates during the Formula One period. Of course they can argue using the demand and supply marketing rule, however hotel managers should make a quick research during the F1 races in Europe who are the majority of visitors.

And I beg to differ and not use Monaco as an example. Singapore is slowly becoming a world class city, no doubt, and to aim becoming like them is probably not bad as well, but Monte Carlo is still light years ahead in terms of being a fun city, night life and glamour.
Check it out how many celebrities do have second (3rd, 4th) homes in or around Monaco on this southern coastline of France! How many are visiting on a regular basis for summer holidays there that includes a visit -to be seen- during the race days. These guys are booking five and six star hotels and don't care about rates.

But think about it, do they come in thousands? Definitely not they are actually a minority.

So who is making the bulk of visitors, the tens of thousands needed? It's the 'ordinary' sports fan! But they do want or cannot afford these hotels, so they stay in Budget Hotels, B&B's, Pensions, etc. and in camper vans or tents around the Grand Prix cities.

This unfortunately is impossible in Singapore because there are no such facilities.

As a result many of that specific group of fans, may give Singapore a miss, maybe not in the first year since it's a new venue and the first F1 night race ever!

Therefore I fully understand the concern about soaring hotel rates by Senior Minister of State (Trade and Industry) S. Iswaran.

This F1 race is not a "One Night Stand" it should become a "long term relationship" for visitors, so the first impression counts most. Don't shy them away being 'Kiasu' and rip them off at their first visit.

Please them, give them more than they expect and receive from other F1 sites. Show Singapore from it's best side ever, on and off the race track, create a memorable impression of our wonderful city state and they will return the following years and spread the positive message among their friends.

Beijing Olympics: Lost in Translation (Part II)

I wouldn't dare...

One lump or two?

Thank you for open!

Translation: "no parking on bicyclists at any time"

How do you do?

Butt talks?

The pool man is gonna freak

Yeah, cheated out of breathing...

Stylist Ben Dover at your service...

Operators standing by....

Damn, these fireworks reek....

Press it because you want to....

I'll keep a look out....

New in this section: 'Bowling with Bilbo'

I give my life and my company, but they just keep demanding more...

Bejing Olympics: Lost in Translation (Part I)

No worries guys I'm not going into the troubles accompanying the world wide torch relay or the terrible air quality there. However I'm really tempted because a lot of happenings drive me crazy, especially when I read how China is trying to show the world that air quality is better then the evil Western media are constantly reporting.

They want to close most of the power plants, cement factories, construction work, etc. the most polluters obviously. Plus some car owners will also have to leave their vehicles at home ordered by the government! And all that should happen at least a month before the official opening to improve air quality. They are cheating again, as always, with fake goods, DVDs, poisoned toys, etc, etc, etc. TV cameras have to broadcast beautiful pictures to the viewers worldwide.............

Oh, see just got into the issues I wanted to stay out of. Sorry folks!

However some you guys might still want to go there. I just received a very funny email and I really want to share this with you. It's hilarious!
Check it out:

First rule: don't smile........... or at least not in public

......and if you're dead, please get to a hospital...

A difficult meal...

For children from other countries its OK...

I think it was that "screw you" comment...

Start with the big toe...

Well, it is free...

That would explain the beer cubs outside...

Flavor with heart...

Falling should be planned...

I told grandma to use protection...

Plenty of meat for everybody...



Got too many kids?



Ouch!



Oh really! Wouldn't have guessed that...


To be continued.............

5000 Visitors and Counting

Today we have a reason to celebrate we reached the 5000 mark! A visitor from Salzburg University was our fifth thousand's! Thank you very much to everyone who's checking out our Wuerstelstand site. I know there will be some bloggers out there laughing because what's 5000 compared to other blogsites getting this every day or even more and it took us almost one year

Never mind we are just a niche blog on the WWW and therefore never expected being so succesful, so it still makes us very proud!

Thank you very much again and keep visiting not only our blog but for the local visitors keep patronizing also erich's ventures, Wuerstelstand, Backstube and Imbiss.

For friends or tourists who unfortunately had to leave Singapore check out the blog and stay informed what's going at the Wuerstelstand, Chinatown Nightmarket, Singapore and the region.

Drinking Kills Driving Skills

We are a 1000% percent supporter of Mika Häkkinen's and Johnny Walker's campain: Don't drink and drive. See here some statistics why it makes sense:

48% of all accidents are alcohol related. 52% of all accidents are caused by sober drivers.
Alcohol is responsible almost a quarter of the people killed on our roads. With a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.05 the risk of being involved in a crash doubles, with a BAC of 0.08, you are seven times more likely to crash and 25 times more likely with a BAC of 0.15.
Alcohol-related fatal crashes cost the world community billions of dollars a year.
The hospital and rehabilitation costs of alcohol-related crashes where people are seriously injured are even higher.
Alcohol is a major factor in 26 per cent of road deaths.
It doesn't take much to put drivers over the legal alcohol limit of 0.05 and it is well known that drinking before driving increases your chances of crashing.
Intoxicated drivers involved in fatal crashes are three times more likely to have been speeding than sober drivers.
Alcohol affects decision-making, reaction times, speed and distance judgments, concentration and perception, balance and alertness.
It can also give a driver a false sense of confidence which may encourage him or her to take more risks.
Becoming a more global city Singapore is also seeing a growing drinking culture – market intelligence surveys indicate that alcohol consumption in Singapore is on the rise. There is nothing against moderate (!!) drinking per se - it is the irresponsible patrons who choose to take the risk of driving after drinking that calls for tougher action on the part of Traffic Police.
The significant rise in drink-driving arrests is a worrying trend – recording a 7% rise from 3,733 cases in 2006, to 4,009 cases in 2007. The total number of drink-driving cases in 2007 has also been the highest for the last 10 years. This is largely contributed by a 9% increase in the number of drivers who were detected for drink-driving in non-accident cases.
The message is simple - if you are going to drink, plan not to drive. Designate a non-drinking driver, ask someone to collect you, call a cab, take public transport or stay overnight.

First taste of F1 in Singapore

We finally got the first real peek what to expect from the F1 race in September and it turned out to be a real magnet to the Singaporeans. Over 10,000 showed up Sunday afternoon to get their guaranteed adrenaline rush when two-time Formula One Champion Mika Häkkinen took to the streets in a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes F1 car to launch Johnnie Walker’s latest responsible drinking campaign.
Hosted by celebrity sports presenter Jaime Yeo, Mika Häkkinen, the Global Responsible Drinking Ambassador, officially launched ‘Join the Pact’ an initiative by Johnnie Walker to remind members of the public to

‘Never Drink and Drive’.
The Finn thrilled the crowds with a series of stunts at the Padang, along St. Andrew Road, demonstrating the clear need to be in complete control when competing in world’s most-watched automotive race. Some of the audience might have already been in Malaysia for the Grand Prix but I’m sure the soon found out that there will be no comparison to the Singapore Grand Prix, since the F1 cars have to negotiate their way between high rise buildings, sharp bends and a very narrow Anderson Bridge which will extremely challenge the drivers.
Reporters and TV teams following every step Mika made.
After some sprints and turns in an AMG tuned Mercedes the McLaren pit crew finally pushed out the F1 car
Waiting for the "GO"
and off he zoomedEveryone had his camera or mobile ready to shoot.......
but sorry....... just missed it, maybe a little tooo fast. He already passed!
Coming back to the pit pushed in by the crew they finally got their shots
Another big difference to race track races will be the noise level when the roaring sound of the engines is reflected echo like by the buildings. This time it was only one car racing a short distance; imagine 20 of them for at least 90 minutes. At full throttle, each car's noise level could go up to 130 decibels (dB) - just shy of the 150 dB produced by a jumbo jet.

But back to the main purpose of this event: Häkkinen and Sponsor Johnny Walker tried to show consumers the importance of staying in control when you’re behind the wheel and to highlight the most important thing not only for yourself but also your family and all the other road users to NOT DRINK AND DRIVE. So be responsible leave your car behind and take public transport.

The aftermath of this spectacular event was another problem we all and especially the responsible government agencies have to be aware of is to fence off everything which should not be touched by the public. Some “ugly” Singaporean displayed the other side of such mass events: No explanation needed I assume...........
When we asked to use the walkways the reply was: “No lah cannot, so jammed, don’t want to wait!! None of your business!
But there were only some thousand and for the race in September about 90,000 are expected!

Volkswagen Radio Ad

I've been a frequent listener of Class 95's morning show with Glenn and FD since ever. I like the fresh humor of these most popular DJ's. However it I cannot always agree with some of Glenn's, let's put it this way, "interesting" comments.

But lately I'm getting irritated by this particular Volkswagen Ad, where a guy with a very Germanized ;-) English accent is complaining that it is impossible to get his favorite German sausage in Singapore but (thank god) his VW!!??
What a nonsense, isn't it?

Have these Volkswagen guys really never heard of Erich? Never watched Channel News Asia or Discovery Travel & Living? Or read Straits Times or Today? Or, if they've got a problem with the English language, the Singapore Japanese Community News? Or, at least the German Magazine "Impulse"??

Even President Nathan knows about Erich and awards him with the Enterprise of the Year Award.

Do I really need to continue how often Erich's Wuerstelstand and his Backstube have been featured in TV, News Papers or Magazines, etc since he opened his ventures?

It is really frustrating that the usually smart Germans don't know about Singapore's most famous Wuerstelstand.

Volkswagen Guys: Give us a call and we will introduce you to the best German-Austrian sausages and bread in town and probably in the region!

I hope you do a better research when developing your cars and don't forget to include Erich as a pit-stop in your car navigation systems.

Oh, and by the way the next edition of Lonely Planet will also recommend Erich's sausages and bread. He had a photo shooting yesterday.

Aiyoh, writing this post, just now, the ad came on air again!

HAPPY EASTER - FROHE OSTERN

Whether you celebrate Easter or not, you can't get away from the fact that the minute the fairy is removed from the Christmas tree and the last baubles packed away in the attic, the supermarket shelves, at least in the Western world, start to fill with fluffy bunnies, chocolate chicks and extravagantly wrapped eggs.
The giving of decorative eggs at Easter as symbols of rebirth and fertility dates back hundreds of years.
However Easter is not only about bunnies and eggs.
It is the most sacred of all the Christian holidays or celebrations: Jesus Christs death and resurrection.
It is also a family festival, a time for love!
We want to wish you all very Happy Easter - Frohe Ostern.

Backstube and Imbiss Menu update

Please check out the latest promotions at Erich's ventures: If you want to have a delicious and inexpensive lunch remember Imbiss & Backstube (the corner shop next to the Thai drink shop) open from 10am to 8pm whereas the Wuerstelstand only starts at about 3pm but is open till midnight or longer.
At the Backstube you will get the best and most inexpensive Austrian bread, Pretzels, Onion Buns and Muffins in town.

Porsche Carrera Cup Asia part of the Formula 1™ Singtel Singapore Grand Prix

The official Carrera Cup Asia 2008 season launch was held at the Porsche Pit Stop Singapore at Singapore Cricket Club. They will participate in the 2008 Formula 1™ Singtel Singapore Grand Prix as a support race. Grand Prix visitors not only will be able to watch the first F1 night race ever but also roaring Porsche Carrera’s around the Marina Bay race track which will be one out of 7 races of the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia series.
This annual launch traditionally held at Sepang Int. Circuit was bigger than ever with a convoy of more than 30 Porsche’s including

a Carrera GT,

a 911 GT3 RSR
and the Cayenne S Transsbyeria as well as road and heritage cars driven by Singapore Porsche Club members, through Orchard Road leading the way to the Porsche Pit Stop for public showcase at the Padang. At the same time Porsche Club Singapore was celebrating its 20th anniversary. Hundreds of Porsche owners and interested spectators came by to check out all the beautiful showcases. I was amazed to learn how many Porsche’s actually are registered to negotiate Singapore’s congested roads nowadays.
Porsche now and then

To add to the racing atmosphere there was also music, a giant TV screen with race footage and information videos, information on the 2008 Formula 1™ SingTel Singapore Grand Prix, the Porsche Club Singapore and the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia......

plus (surprise, surprise in Singapore!!!) a food and beverage tent.

Race simulators were also a hit among young and old.

198 days to the F1 Singtel Singapore Grand Prix

This year seams flying by faster than usually and I can't believe its only less than 200 days until the first night race ever will be started.

Wouldn't it be a great idea and opportunity for all overseas friends of Erich's Wuerstelstand and Singapore to combine a visit at Erich's ;-) and be part of the first night race in F1 history and the probably most spectacular Formula One Grand Prix of the year?

Today's Straits Times reports that there are still tickets available. Check out the official F1 webpage for more details.

The map below (+ pix above courtesy of ST) will give you an idea where the viewing areas will be built.

Don't wait to long to make a decision!
Race tickets and hotel rooms are selling fast!

Just First Class Allowed In Singapore?

Last week we proudly announced of getting another award for being ranked 1st. But there are some news lately that make me a bit worried Singapore heading in the right direction long term.

Here are just a few:

• The rising prices for rentals and daily needs is a developmet that not only happens in Singapore but you can find similar reports in European which is a downside of a good economy.

But the following 2 headlines are more of a concern to me:

• Parkway to build hospital with A Class suites only
• SIA to convert all direct non-stop flights to Los Angeles & New York to Business Class only

Is this a healthy direction for Singapore? Does that mean, reading in between the lines, Singapore only want's to attract the rich and famous in future? Some Singaporeans are already feeling the pinch and to calm them down the government is giving out insentives for their citizens.

From a business perspective it's understandable everything "First Class" shows better figures in a P&L than "Coach"and I'm talking in general not about airlines only.

However in long term isn't a "coach class" customer the one who has to be groomed, to be pampered for he might be a faithful future customer and step up to business class once or maybe even to "First Class"??

Isn't it very dangerous for potential Singapore visitors to everywhere read how "First" everything here is, because to many of the average tourists, "first" will always be equaled with "expensive" as well. Reading about how many million visitors Singapore wants (or has) to attract every year "first class" passengers would not be enough to satisfy Singapore's appetite of the travel cake.

Talking about Singapore Airlines decision to convert all direct flights to the US into Business Class only, again I do understand the big profit they will make, however have they forgotten about the not so great times just few years ago when September 11 and SARS hit the economy so bad? When hotels and flights were almost empty and many companies had their staff fly economy or not fly at all?

Non of us hopes these things to happen again however there is always the possibility, just watch the US and oil prices now..........

What about families flying to the US many of then were ready to pay the premium for a nonstop flight for the convenience of shorter flying times but paying business class fees only for a minority. I've seen quite a few split families where either dad or mom fly business (for whatever reason) and the rest of the family coach. Not possible anymore, even the business class dad has to take a longer flight now! Mind families with kids, they are your future customers and you're pissing them off at a young age already! They might consider using other carriers and liking them since all want to catch up with Singapore Airlines standards.

How will the all the "First Class" oriented react to lure back customers if something happens.......?

How everything got started with Erich's Blog!

Here she is: Kathi "The culprit" It was all her fault that we got started with the Wuerstelstand Blog. When she announced leaving Singapore for a "better" life in Dubai (who says? Not even the guys are better there {?} and difficult to officially get a beer- don't know about her priorities though- and how can you even leave a place that sells the best sausages in the world anyway) we finalized this idea to record all the happenings at Erich's Wuerstelstand, Chinatown, Singapore, Johor and some even say Batam and beyond.
Last week Judith went there and met up with Kathi to celebrate the reunion with a couple of drinks. Nur böse Zungen behaupten die leicht geröteten Gesichter stammen nicht von der Hitze!
We do hope she soon makes her promise come true and finally visits us again to celebrate an even greater reunion at the Wuerstelstand!

Singapore: Another #1 Ranking: Best Place To Live In The World

Lately Asian expatriates have ranked Singapore as the best place to live in the world for its safe and clean environment. Sydney was rated second in the survey, with the third spot shared by Melbourne and Kobe in Japan.
ECA International, a human resource consultancy for multinationals, said the island-state, Southeast Asia's most advanced economy, was ranked above the other cities also because it offered Asian expatriates a similar feel to their home countries.It says Singapore's solid infrastructure, low crime rate and clean air made it a favorable place to live.The annual survey is based on categories such as climate, air quality, health services, housing, political tensions and personal safety.

Singapore’s long-running regional competitor Hong Kong as a location for banking and financial services came in at 15th place with the territory's air pollution cited as a drawback.
Shanghai was seen as the best place for top Asian professionals Among Chinese cities while Xian ranked as the worst location which compared living standards in 254 locations worldwide. Beijing, host of the 2008 Olympic Games in August, scored worse than other Chinese cities such as Nanjing and Tianjin as a result of its notorious air pollution.

It’s definitely great news for all responsible institutions in Singapore however they also have to be careful since the ranking is also moving upwards in a category which you definitely don’t want to be ranked as a No.1: Cost of living!! Here the trend is unfortunately also shooting steeply upwards.

Top 10 list for Asian expatriates to live in:
1. Singapore
2. Sydney
3. Melbourne/ Kobe, Japan
5. Copenhagen, Denmark
6. Canberra, Australia
7. Vancouver, Canada
8. Wellington, New Zealand
9. Yokohama, Japan
10. Dublin, Ireland

HAPPY BELATED VALENTINES DAY

A thousand apologies to all of you for not having featured that very important day, however I was out of town and not able to post. But it's never to late for a recap. Today our friend and paparazzi photographer Reinald (Hamburg) mailed the priceless prime footage.
No need for comments I guess: Pictures say more than 1000 words!
Who is this mysterious old lady? She's not even hot!
Don't tell me that was Erich's Valentine???

Wondering what Helen has to say about that?
Thank you Reinald for these shots.

The Singapore Flyer is ready to spin

The Singapore Flyer will officially open on March 1. Since a view weeks they've already been spinning the magnificent wheel in a soft launch.
We've been lucky to grab some tickets in advance taking the change to be among the first to experience the tallest ferries wheel in the world. And I have to say it's really breathtaking to slowly climb the highest point at 165m.
It is 30 metres higher than the London Eye and 100 m higher than the Vienna Ferries Wheel. The wheel's diameter is 150 meters.
It takes about 30 minutes to hover to the height of a 42 storey building and back to ground level.
It's a very quiet and smooth ride in these 28 fully air conditioned and UV protected glass capsules with capacity for up to 28 people each. You can experience some of the best views in the entire region, Singapore's city from Changi Airport to Sentosa Island, the container port and on clear days beyond into parts of Malaysia and the Indonesian Islands.
Its exciting to watch the enormous construction activity in our city from a birds eye view. You can spot hundreds of busy cranes all over the island.
The construction site for the Integrated Resort seems to be huge from here.
A lot of construction activities are related to the Formula One Night Race in September. Below you can see the shell construction of the pit stop.
Only a few month more and the peaceful spinning of the flyer will we interrupted by the roaring sound of highly powered Ferrari or Mercedes engines. Reaching the highest point after 15 min.
Looking 165m down.Unfortunately our "friendly" neighbours sent us over s