Not too bad for such an old guy.

So, this probably didn't get too much coverage in the U.S., but yesterday was the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome, which set the stage for the development of the European Union. There were a lot of festivities here in Berlin, including a "European Club Night" on Saturday, where 35 clubs in Berlin hosted DJs and bands from different member nations. I went to a few of the venues, but apart from gathering that they apparently like trance music in Slovakia (just like . . . everywhere else in Europe), I'm not sure I learned that much. I did spend a good half hour talking to a Brit, two Germans and a guy from the Netherlands while we were all waiting to get into a club, though, so that lent an appropriately multi-national favor to the evening (plus we were talking about gentrification in Berlin and elsewhere, so it was topical as well). Then, yesterday, representative from EU countries had set up stands around the Brandenburger Tor, where you could buy a cup of Sangria or a slice of pizza and peruse brochures for your next trip to Spain or Italy. It was incredibly crowded, so I didn't stay long.

So, the European Union. It's eliminated most internal border checks (good) and passport stamps (bad), created a common currency (good), therefore getting rid of a lot of interesting national bills and coins (bad, speaking as a pro-drachma person). There are all sorts of issues with the constitution and the abilities of all the countries involved to actually get along and work together (bad), but usually just the mention of the EU is enough to enrage and provoke into huffiness most of the conservative, America-centrist people I know (good, and very funny).

Good luck, Europe, and here's to the next fifty.