Sign of the Times

Munich has seemingly refused any signs of economic crisis. I posted a few weeks ago about the closing of several large auto sellers, yet when you go to the city center it is swamped by shoppers. The National Theatre is still full before performances. There’s no shortage of nice cars on the road. Really – you don’t see all that much that would indicate any crisis. Yet throughout town, you see a quiet sign of struggle – as business signs disappear from entrances of apartment buildings. In Schwabing, particularly, it seemed that every other sign post was missing several businesses. I suppose even in strong economies like Germany (fourth largest in the world/biggest in Europe), and in one of the strongest economic cities like Munich (boasted by headquarters of Siemens, BMW, Man Truck, Linde, Allianz, and Munich Re), you see the struggles that are hitting small businesses around the world.