German Vote is a podcast about EU consumer issues. Because: these affect all of our everyday lives – very directly. In the Brussels Blues and Strasbourg Blues sections, I describe the atmospheric things that happen to me on my trips to Brussels and Strasbourg. And since I’ve never been to Strasbourg or the EU Parliament in Strasbourg, here’s a short report on my first visit there.
New episodes are always published in the middle of the month, on the 2nd Monday of the month in German (indicated by a [de]). One week later, on the 3rd Monday of the month, there is the same episode in English (indicated by the [en] in the title). It is not exactly identical to the de-episode, but almost.
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Transcription:
Noise
This is what Strasbourg sounds like at 8 o’clock in the morning, like any other big city. This is an episode of my podcast German Vault from the category Brussels Blues or Strasbourg Blues. It’s about the atmosphere, the town, the people, the feelings.
Noise
This is what the street in front of the European Parliament in Strasbourg sounds like. No difference in anywhere else in the world, I guess. The parliament is located in the Allee du printemps, and it’s an imposing building which won an international architecture competition. Its design is reminiscent of a boomerang. It was opened in 1999 after five years of construction.
Thilo Kunzeman, press spokesman for the EU parliament, says:
„They wanted a symbol for this hard fight for European unity, this joint struggle for the best compromises, and they tried to present this in the House in various ways. And the central part is this moat that divides the central building of the parliament into two parts. You can see large black-gray slates at the bottom. It almost looks like a stone river from which climbing plants grow up to the ceiling. On one side is the plenary chamber. On the other our offices and many meeting rooms. And the whole thing is connected by filigree glass bridges.
These bridges symbolize parliament’s attempt to bridge the various divides that have always existed and still exist in Europe, the language borders, the cultural borders between East and west, the political border that existed for a long time, you can find a lot of predetermined breaking points in Europe that need to be worked on. And this is supposed to symbolize that a little.“
Wandering through the corridors of the EU Parliament
Noise
And that’s me wandering through the building. A construction website once describes the parliament building as a labyrinth of halls. And indeed, I must look very confused as I walked through the corridors. In front of me, behind me, to my side, an incredible number of people in beautiful suites and costumes work purposefully in one of the many possible directions. And sometimes I follow them for a few meters only to stop again in confusion.
I occasionally open some barriers with my press card always afraid that I won’t be able to continue or that I’m doing something wrong, especially at the first barrier at the very beginning, I think it can’t be possible open now, but it does.
Or I enter a round glass cube whose door closes after I enter and then opens again in front of me to either let me into the building or let me out again. And everyone around me does this as it was the most normal thing in the world. So aimlessly is now good here.
After a while and a few more barriers, I find the parliament restaurant. The voices here are muffled, but I probably wouldn’t understand anything in the 24 official languages, the parliamentarians speak here, of course. French would be helpful per se in Strasbourg. From time to time, I dig out a few words from my razor dusty vocabulary from my French lessons at school. Merci beaucoup, bon soir, Au revoir, that’s all I need. The rest I manage with hand and foot.
I got into the restaurant, but where is the exit? There is no sign, so I bravely follow a woman only to turn around confusedly on the stairs. As a precaution, I wrote to my family rear messenger to send them a search request the next morning if I haven’t left the parliament by then. Yes, the staircase was the right one, and there, said he, I follow the signs, and I’m proud of myself. It all looks pretty purposeful now. But once again, I have to go through this round glass airlock. I’ve accidentally headed for the one for the important people with the blue badge, but I only have the yellow one for the press. I think the blue one is for the parliamentarians, but I’m unsure because I can’t find any information about it anywhere. But I pray silently to myself. Luckily, this round cube still lets me into the restricted glass area and out onto the street.
My first visit to the EU parliament in Strasbourg.
This was an episode from my podcast section, Brussel Blues, or in this case, Strasbourg Blues. Why Strasbourg? The EU parliament meets their regularity, and I initiated a lot of research on consumer issues on site. Here’s the transparency notice for this episode. This episode includes statements and information from the EU parliament.
Transparency notice for this episode of German Vote
I recorded statements from the EU parliament as part of a trip to Strasbourg. I resigned travel expenses support from the EU Parliament and use the services of the EU Parliament for journalists, for example, the recording studios in Strasbourg. Of course, the various institution had now influenced on the content and direction of this podcast.