Talking About Health, Mental Health & Recovery

December 28, 2009Daily Archives

Katryna Tan in Singapore

There are a wide variety of cultural offerings in Singapore every day of the year.  This speaks to Singapore’s spectacular mix of cultures that make up this unusual island city state, defining it as a truly cosmopolitan place.  Visitors here will be surprised and delighted by all the attractions and events that happen here, and will find many places to get distracted from the business of touring, and get caught up in the beauty of the moment here.  It’s a wonderful place for a vacation, because it offers a sense of difference from the usual day-to-day grind, in true tropical splendor.  There is also a very lively urban scene, with many different kinds of art being practiced in all corners of the city.  There are fantastic sections that appeal to a broad section of travelers, as well as a magnificent share of side streets offering interesting diversions of their own.

You’ll no doubt notice that there are a gorgeous array of restaurants, with food from all over the world.  They reflect the island’s cultures, and there are plenty of Malay, Indian, and Chinese restaurants, and for those who love Italy, restaurants also offer up sumptuous Italian food.  The availability of fresh seafood, as well as a host of other ingredients which are difficult to find anywhere else, make Singapore an eater’s paradise. It also offers a fantastic place for culinary artists to do their work, specializing in innovations on old familiars, as well as the necessary ingredients to perfect traditional recipes from all over the planet.  Interest in Italy here does not end with the food, and there are some fascinating ways to get to know about Italian culture here as well.  The Italian Cultural Institute in Singapore offers some excellent events, such as evenings of classical Italian music.

At a recent event, one of the local heroines, Katryna Tan, played Italian music and showcased her expertise on the classical harp.  She studied interior architecture in Sydney before moving to the US to get her master’s in harp music from the University of Michigan.  She decided to return to Singapore and set up her home and artistic base here, to bring her talents to the region.  It will be exciting to see what she does in the years to come.

Military Town

Well the forces have dwindled in German over the past few years but there are still many military bases in the country. The barracks were taken over after the win in WWII and American forces have been there every since. The economies in many of these base towns actually really rely on the soldiers being there. The United States has kept these bases active for a couple of reasons. There is a security commitment to Europe and NATO and these bases a key area to house the different branches of the U.S. military. The Middle East has always posed a threat to the western world and so they have the military placed around the world in anticipation of some trouble happening with countries like Iran, Afghanistan and their surrounding neighbors.

If you find yourself at one of the many hotels Mannheim has to offer it may interest you to know what the city is all about. This city has been a heavy military force for years. The official name of the collection of bases is the Mannheim US Military Community Activity or USMCA and it also merged with th USMCA-Worms in 1990. There are six major barracks included in this 293rd Base Support Battalion. They are named Funari Barracks, Coleman Barracks, Turley Barracks, Spinnelli Barracks and Sullivan Barracks. The Friedrichfeld depot is also near and it lies outside Schwetzingen towards Heidelberg. The main branches of military located at these bases are mainly Army and Air force. As an American visiting the area, it is a real treat to see our fighter planes patrolling the area. Now a days it is hard to get onto the bases with out knowing someone.

There are other things to see near Mannheim if you find yourself with a day to explore. Euro Disney is not far as well as some of the great beauty of the Black Forest. I found the Neuschwanstein Castle to be the grandest of castles in the area.