Saturday, June 30, 2012

'Flower city' (Rochester) vs. the 'free city' (Freiburg)

After pinning myself on the map, the next step has entailed familiarizing myself with some quick facts/trivia about Freiburg. But only numbers that characterize a place I've lived in previously can lend any relevance/meaning to the stats about Freiburg! So here we go -->


Criteria
Freiburg, Germany
Rochester, NY, USA




 


Area

153.07 km2
59.10 sq mi

96.1 km2
37.1 sq mi
Freiburg is about half as densely populated as Rochester!
Elevation
278 m  (912 ft)
154 m (505 ft)
Population
224,191
210,855
Population density
1,465 /km2
3,793 /sq mi
2,368.3/km2
6,132.9/sq mi
Avg. High temperature (July)
26.1 C (79 F)
27.3 C (81.2 F)
They’re comparably hot.
Avg. Low temperature (July)
13.3 C (56 F)
16.0 C (60.8 F)
Precipitation
3.5 in
10.8 in
Median Household Income
17,500 ($22,155)
$30,138

Persons below poverty level
22.3%
30.4%

Mean travel time (mins) to work
20
18.4
 Mine is 2 mins ;-)
Unemployment rate
5.8%
10.8




Sunday, June 24, 2012

Pinning myself on the map!

Man has always been curious about his place and rank in the scheme of things - from our place in the universe or the solar system to our physical location on the map of the world. And I am no exception.
I had applied to the International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) simply based on the merits of the program, telling myself 'I won't mind living in a hole as long as they do good science'. But no sooner did I land at the Basel Mulhouse airport, than a hankering to pin myself on the map set in. So here we go...


Click on photo to see in new tab/window & zoom in





The flag of the city of Freiburg is a red cross on a white background. It is the emblem of St. George, the city's oldest patron saint. England and the city of Genoa (Italy) also share the same Holy attribute for St. George.






 Freiburg lies in Baden-Württemberg, which is one of the 16 states of Germany (labelled in blue in the above map). 


Baden-Württemberg is divided into 35 districts (Landkreise) and 9 independent cities (Stadtkreise), both grouped into the four Administrative Districts (Regierungsbezirke) of FreiburgKarlsruheStuttgart, and Tübingen


Freiburg im Breisgau (Breisgau is the region between the river Rhine and the foothills of the Black Forest) is one of the 9 independent cities in Baden-Württemberg.


<Source Wikipedia>


ps - I don't know how to get rid of the random white highlights - they are not intentional.