Taxi Drivers

Taxi drivers are interesting people to talk to - if you can communicate with them that is.

There is the taxi driver in Hamburg, who took me to the local office from a metro station (there was a bus, but the schedule was not very regular). He happened to have worked in Johannesburg CBD with a German logistics company until 2001, and has been to SA on numerous occasions. He was particulary sad about the demise of the Carlton Hotel, which he considered one of the best hotels he has ever stayed in.

The second taxi driver in Hamburg (from the office to the airport) was very scathing about debt, capitalism and the financial crisis. He was not impressed that Hamburg (and other cities in Germany) were in debt, and questioned the value and morality of capitalism. The financial crisis has clearly affected his business - he thinks that he is carrying about 50% less passengers when compared to previous years.

And finally, there was the Taxi driver in Frankfurt. With a coffee in one hand, a cell phone in the other - he managed to take us from the hotel to the office through the autobahn in, a somtimes quite terrifying, ride. He was constanly on the phone, seemingly arguing with a number of people, in Hindi - so I did not understand much. But it seems that there are at least some taxi drivers who have universal attributes :)