Torsten Silz/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

The Mercedes-Benz F700 concept car is a rolling test bed of new environmental technologies, including the DiesOtto engine, which produces 238 horsepower and 295 foot-pounds of torque from just 1.8 liters.

FRANKFURT

European automakers, stung by criticisms from environmentalists and government regulators that they are late to the green party, will be using the 2007 Frankfurt motor show to showcase everything in their alternative fuel and powertrain arsenals.

The biennial show, the 62nd Internationalen Automobil-Ausstellungen Cars, will be held at the mammoth CongressCenter Messe Frankfurt convention center from Thursday through Sept. 23. Press preview days began Monday night and continue through Wednesday. Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, will open the show to the public on Thursday.

Organizers boast the show will be “the leading international fair for sustainable mobility,” and millions of euros will be spent on lavish displays touting environmentally responsible motoring. The show, spread throughout 2.5 million square feet of exhibit area, is always brutal on the podiatric health of journalists, some 10,000 of whom have reportedly received credentials. They will have to hustle to see how many of the 88 world premieres they can attend; perfect attendance is impossible because with so many introductions packed into barely two press days, multiple introductions are scheduled simultaneously, at widely disparate locations.

To pound home the sustainability theme, press shuttles are various alternative fuel and propulsion vehicles. Journalists are also being offered “eco-training” classes to learn economical driving techniques. A BioFuels Bar has information about the advantages and possible uses of biofuels and also dispenses biofuel-themed drinks. And the physically fit can hike an “Environmental Trail” around the convention center (a complex of buildings so sprawling it is served by three train stations).

The stars of the show, not surprisingly considering the host country, figure to be the German automakers. Mercedes-Benz is planning to unveil as many as 18 products, including Bluetec diesels and hybrids with both gasoline and diesel engines.

The centerpiece of the newly emancipated DaimlerMinusChrysler is the F700 concept, an S-Class-sized vehicle with five doors and 40 miles per gallon economy. The F700 is a rolling test bed of new environmental technologies, including the DiesOtto engine. This four-cylinder gasoline engine, pronounced “Dees-Otto” (not De Soto), produces 238 horsepower and 295 foot-pounds of torque from just 1.8 liters , using a new technology known as homogenous charge compression ignition. The engine has two ignition modes — compression, under light loads, and spark at other times — to boost fuel mileage. The company said the DiesOtto engine has the strong low-end torque and fuel savings of a diesel, but with emissions that are lower than a diesel.

BMW is taking the wraps off a new X6 crossover, an X5-based S.U.V.-type vehicle, powered by a gasoline-electric hybrid engine. The “sporty, coupe-like” X6, to be built in Spartanburg, S.C., seats four and has five doors. Of interest here to enthusiasts is the much anticipated 1-Series coupe. The 1-Series offerings, the 128i and 135i, are throwbacks to the nimble, quick, shoebox-sized BMWs of 30 years ago. With the same 300-horsepower turbo engine that is in some 3- and 5-Series models, the 135i should be a rocket, perhaps even “a modern BMW 2002”, as Car and Driver magazine gushes.

Another important newcomer is the Volkswagen City Expert concept, which could be VW’s most important new vehicle since the New Beetle. VW will also show the production-ready Tiguan, a smaller Touareg-themed S.U.V., and BlueTec diesel models.

Audi is displaying a new line of diesel engines that the company said have the “cleanest diesel technology in the world.” The turbodiesel powerplants employ a fuel-saving, hybrid-like stop-start system and a chemical injection system to reduce nitrogen emissions. An all-new Audi A4 sedan is also making its debut, as is the A8, the brand’s flagship sedan that has had a facelift.

Not to be outdone by all this emphasis from German automakers on green technology, even Porsche is bringing out a gasoline-electric hybrid version of its Cayenne S.U.V. here. Relax, Porsche-philes, also on tap is the new 911 GT2, the most powerful street-legal 911 ever.

General Motors’s Opel division is in fact headquartered in Frankfurt and is introducing here an Agila minivan and a hybrid concept that will have G.M.’s E-Flex propulsion system (first shown on the Chevrolet Volt concept at the 2007 Detroit auto show). In this variation, an Opel Astra-like vehicle is equipped with the electric motors and a turbodiesel engine. Since Saturn seems to get everything Opel brings out, is this related to the Saturn plug-in hybrid that was announced at the ’06 L.A. Auto Show? Hmmm.

American manufacturers certainly have increased their presence here in recent years. G.M. is expanding its Euro-only Cadillac BLS line with an “estate” or station wagon version of the sedan. The Swedish-built car is essentially a Saab 9-3 wagon in a Caddy-lite disguise. Also showing here: A Chevrolet Aveo hatchback. No crowding, please. Over at Saab, there’s a hot new Turbo X to ogle.

Dodge continues to expand its offerings here with a new Journey crossover that it will sell in Europe. The Journey is built on a stretched Avenger platform and will replace the short wheelbase Chrysler Voyager minivan sold here.

Ford, in the midst of a product realignment that will bring many European versions of its cars to America, is showing two new concepts here. The Verve is supposed to be a sneak preview of the upcoming Fiesta subcompact, due in Europe next year and North America and Asia a year or two later. The Kuga concept is a Focus-based crossover that is nearing production form.

Jaguar, which Ford has on the block, is bringing out the latest vehicle that is supposed to save the company (after previous models failed to do so): the new XF sedan. Shown at Detroit as the sleek C-XF concept, the XF has been plumped up a bit — so people will actually fit in it — and equipped with a high-horsepower V-8. Can the XF make people forget the S-Type? What couldn’t?

Aston Martin, a company also already sold by Ford, is showing that there is indeed life after Ford, with the unveiling of its DBS flagship.

Rounding out the Brit contingent here is the new Mini Clubman, which is 10-inches longer, with three more doors, than a Mini. Alas, no wood-trimmed “shooting brake” wagon.

Other European manufacturers, which don’t sell in the United States, such as Peugeot, Renault, Fiat, Skoda, are also having important debuts here. Of special note is the too-cute Fiat 500.

Asian manufacturers have a solid lineup of Frankfurt introductions, too, including the Mazda6, Mitsubishi’s Concept-cX, Toyota’s unfortunately named Endo microcar, Nissan’s Mixim electric car, and a Honda Accord wagon that may be a design precursor for the next Acura TL. Hyundai has a Veloster coupe to show here, and Kia has a Sports Coupe Concept. Chinese automakers, two of which are already selling cars in Europe, also have displays.

2008 Saturn Vue

THE English have an automotive lexicon all their own, including terms like “bonnet” for hood, “saloon” for sedan and, one of my favorites, “tickover” for idle. Another phrase, “cheap and cheerful” — mentally supply a chirpy British accent — describes a car that doesn’t cost much but is pleasant and enjoyable nonetheless.

For most of Saturn’s 22-year history, cheap and cheerful described its cars to an English “T.” (Tea?) The prices were certainly cheap, and General Motors’ indie brand built its name on cheerful dealers who group-hugged customers at company homecomings, grilled them hot dogs in the parking lot and sold them cars with no nasty haggling.

The cars themselves, plastic-skinned drones often inflicted by parents on unsuspecting progeny, were altogether less sunny. And when G.M. repaid Saturn’s early success by starving it of nutritious new products, the customers dried up as well.

Now Saturn is making a comeback, but the cars aren’t really emanating from Detroit. There is a good reason that some of the new Saturns — the no-apologies Aura sedan, the new Vue crossover utility wagon and a crisp Astra compact yet to come — are easily the best-looking, best-driving cars ever to grace a Saturn dealership: they’re German.

Specifically, they’re Opels, courtesy of G.M.’s Deutsche division. Sure, they’re wearing Saturn badges on their metal (no more plastic) lapels, and get a nip here and a tuck there from United States designers and engineers. But the Astra, Aura and Vue are near clones of the respective Opel Astra, Vectra and Antara models sold in Europe.

The cultural exchange pays dividends for the Vue. It is one of the shapeliest compact crossovers, with a trendy sloping roof and a crisp, sporty profile. The lines especially popped in Sunburst Orange, which recalls the signature shade of the Range Rover Sport. (Less flattering were the Rover-style fake cooling vents on the sides).

Like its main rivals — including the Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4 and Hyundai Santa Fe — the Saturn is pitched at the general electorate, avoiding both macho bluster and cheek-pinching cuteness.

Now, hold tight, because the ride gets confusing: The Vue offers three engines, two automatic transmissions and multiple trim levels, including a mild hybrid called the Green Line (available in November) and a sporty Red Line. The 2009 Vue, out next summer, will offer G.M.’s more robust two-mode hybrid system, promising a 45 percent improvement in fuel economy. Further in the future, G.M. plans to configure the Vue as a plug-in hybrid.

The basic front-drive XE version employs a 2.4-liter 4-cylinder with 169 horsepower and a four-speed automatic. The XE with all-wheel drive gets a 222-horsepower 3.5-liter pushrod V-6 and six forward speeds. Finally, the XR and Red Line models get a 3.6-liter overhead-cam V-6 with variable valve timing and a whomping 257 horsepower — enough to challenge the burliest model in the class, the 269-horsepower RAV-4.

A 3.5-liter Honda V-6 that was previously available in the Vue is no longer offered.

I tested XR models with both front-wheel drive and the optional all-wheel-drive system, which adds $2,000 to the XR’s $24,895 base price. And the first thing to strike me was the appealing interior, a far cry from the spotty Saturn cabins of old.

Not wanting to be a soft touch, I started feeling around for the usual telltale signs of G.M.’s attention-deficit disorder: ragged plastic edges, wobbly switches, mismatched textures.

There were none. The leather-wrapped shifter felt tight and looked good. The parking brake pivoted with well-calibrated resistance and no ratchety noise. The rear cup holders slid from their cubby with lubricated ease. Could this really be a Saturn?

The central touch screen with the navigation map is a dead ringer for those on Cadillacs. It’s a pricey option at $2,145, but it’s blessedly easy to read and operate. And the XR versions were stuffed with standard gear, including side- and head-curtain air bags, stability control, antilock brakes, 17-inch alloy wheels, a tire pressure monitor, active whiplash-preventing head restraints, foglamps, roof rails, the OnStar communications system and three free months of XM Satellite Radio. The leather-trimmed seats were notably well bolstered and sculptured, even in back. The front seats provoked one demerit: Longer-legged occupants may find the cushions too short and lacking in thigh support.

While the Vue’s interior is stylish, it’s not especially space-efficient. The Vue carves out the least cargo space of its main rivals — whether behind the second row or with all the seats folded — thanks to that low-slung hatch and intrusive rear wheel wells. Both the RAV4 and CR-V can stow 30 percent more gear with the rear seats folded, and the RAV4 and Santa Fe manage to squeeze in toddler-size third rows. The Vue does feature a sliding rail system in the back that lets you adjust the cargo nets to hold items of different sizes.

On the road, the Saturn felt solid, powerful and mostly pleasant. Appropriate for the Vue’s mainstream demographic, the suspension is like Wonder Bread — soft and spongy, with noticeable body lean in turns. (A bit surprisingly, it’s the latest Toyota RAV4 V-6 that is now the sportiest, rip-roaringest half-pint crossover.) But the Saturn’s ride was commendably smooth and the steering predictable.

The Saturn displayed a tendency to roll forward a good three or four inches, before coming to a full halt, after I slotted the shifter into park. A Saturn engineer said the distance fell within company specifications.

If you’ve been known to tromp the gas pedal, you may want to avoid pairing the big V-6 with front drive: That version cooked up as much torque steer — the overstressed front tires twisting the steering wheel in my hands — as any vehicle I’ve tested lately. The all-wheel-drive version, which diverts power to the rear wheels, tamed that sensation.

Unfortunately, that honkin’ 3.6-liter engine produces discouragingly low mileage: its rating is 16 m.p.g. in town and 22 on the highway. The four-cylinder front-drive Vue matches the 19/26 rating for a RAV4 V-6 with all-wheel drive — though the Toyota produces 100 more horsepower.

One culprit is a chart-topping curb weight of 4,325 pounds, which exceeds the comparable Toyota by about 650 pounds and the Honda by nearly 800.

Now about the price: My front-drive XR test car was $28,440, and the nearly loaded all-wheel-drive model ran the tab to $31,295. (A modest XE AWD starts at $24,515; the plainest Vue is $21,395.) The prices are in line with competitors, so they’re not unfair, just unfamiliar. Not long ago, there wasn’t much above $20,000 at a Saturn store; now there’s not much below. That’s the thing about German cars: they’re not cheap.

But for practically the first time, Saturn drivers can find reasons to be cheerful behind the wheel — not just when they’re hanging at the dealership, wolfing down a hot dog or two.

•

INSIDE TRACK: Auf Wiedersehen to the old Saturn.

Gary Bartlett's 1957 Jaguar is the only XKSS that has never been restored.

Pebble Beach, Calif.

WHEN it came time to freshen up Michelangelo’s “David” a few years ago, a spirited debate broke out over which restoration process would be most appropriate for the priceless artwork. Though the cleaning techniques under consideration varied widely in their aggressiveness, it is safe to assume that no conservator recommended sandblasting the 14-foot tall hunk of marble to remove the centuries of accumulated grime.

A similar reverence for original finishes and the patina of time is developing among collectors of classic cars, an appreciation for automobiles that have been well preserved through the years rather than restored to showroom (or better) condition.

One sign of the evolving attitudes can be seen at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Élégance, taking place here today on the Monterey Peninsula. Considered the premier American concours, Pebble Beach added a Preservation Class for unrestored prewar cars in 2001; this year, a second Preservation Class, for unrestored postwar cars, is included.

The new class is a validation of the values held dear by collectors like Gary Bartlett of Muncie, Ind., who owns one of the most significant unrestored postwar cars, a 1957 Jaguar XKSS. One of 16 built before a factory fire ended production, it was the ultimate supercar of its era, essentially a street-legal version of the D-Type Le Mans racecar, and a favorite of celebrity playboys.

Mr. Bartlett purchased the Jaguar at a 1998 Christie’s auction, virtually untouched from new — a time capsule — and the only one of the 16 XKSS’s that had never been restored. The car, which was displayed at the 1957 Chicago Motor Show, had been all but given up for lost. In fact, it was hiding in plain sight, still in a garage, still in Chicago and in the hands of the second owner who had bought it in 1960.

Sloppy handwriting had resulted in the misreading of the owner’s last name and sent searchers on wild goose chases over the years. A dealer of rare cars, contacted by the second owner, took charge of the XKSS and consigned it to the Christie’s auction in London.

Externally, the car is exactly as it appeared in Chicago in 1957. The paint, the interior and even the tires, convertible top and top cover are original. Naturally, the car has a patina but it is utterly authentic and remarkably well preserved. Mr. Bartlett had the mechanical systems inspected and reconditioned as needed with original parts.

As a comparatively new pursuit, car collecting has yet to adopt the guidelines typically followed by collectors of other historic objects. Europeans have been a bit ahead of the curve on this; the mandate of the Fédération Internationale des Véhicules Anciens, founded in 1966 in France, is to identify and classify vintage vehicles of all types and to assist in sorting out the differences among vehicles that are original, reproductions or fakes. No equivalent organization exists in the United States.

Tom Cotter, co-director of the Amelia Island Concours d’Élégance, a major show held in Florida each March, said he thought the psychology of car collectors was somewhat different from that of other collectors. Cars are an expression of one’s personality, and “car collectors are often perfectionists who simply cannot resist putting their thumbprint on a car,” he said.

“The first thing a lot of car collectors want to do when they buy a car is to tear it apart and make everything like new and to their particular preference.” That is understandable, he said, because cars, unlike most other types of collectibles, are actually used.

Collectors and preservationists outside the old-car hobby take exception to “better than new” restorations that result in cars finished to a level of perfection no production line could have achieved. According to Linda Edquist, a conservation specialist at the National Postal Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, the prime directive among preservationists is to do no harm.

The Smithsonian’s philosophy of preservation and conservation — among other things, knowing when to leave well enough alone — clearly resonates with Bloomington Gold, an organization based in Normal, Ill., that certifies vintage Corvettes based on levels of authenticity and preservation.

David Burroughs, founder and chief executive of the organization, said that cars were among the few collectible objects for which refinishing generally did not have a negative effect on value. “With nearly any other collectible object you can think of, whether it is a coin, a stamp, a piece of furniture or a firearm, refinishing harms the value.”

Mr. Burroughs recounts with a sense of resignation the large numbers of Corvette owners, who, disappointed at not winning top honors with their unrestored cars at the annual Bloomington Gold show, would return the next year with the same car, this time freshly redone. Mr. Burroughs would lament that “another authentic, original Corvette had been lost forever.”

In an effort to end Bloomington Gold’s unintended contribution to the practice of restoring cars that might have greater historical value if preserved in their original state, Mr. Burroughs created the concept of Survivor cars and registered the term as a trademark. Survivor certification is a straightforward and simple process that Mr. Burroughs says is applicable beyond Corvettes to other collectible cars and even nonautomotive historic items.

Survivor certification simply asks whether the car remains essentially intact — unrestored and unaltered — and whether it is preserved well enough to be a model for authentic restoration.

In simpler terms, Mr. Burroughs calls it a “worn-in but not worn-out” standard. In his opinion, restoring a car that has been certified as a Survivor is tantamount to an act of vandalism.

Mr. Burroughs’s preservationist zeal is such that Bloomington Gold will happily license its Survivor trademark free to any organization that wishes to use it, provided they adhere to the proper certification guidelines. Additionally, Mr. Burroughs and Bloomington Gold are planning for 2008 what will be the country’s first concours open only to well-preserved unrestored cars.

The Survivor concours seems like an idea whose time has come. In 2008, the Amelia Island Concours will add a class for them, said Mr. Cotter, the event’s co-director.

Mr. Bartlett’s XKSS has been successful in many shows; on a number of occasions, it has beaten competently restored cars. In addition, more people appreciate his car for the historic artifact it is, he said.

Several years ago, in the Louis Vuitton Concours at the Hurlingham Club in London, Mr. Bartlett watched the owner of a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spider unload his car from a trailer with the help of workers wearing white gloves and outfits that resembled hazmat suits. As they were removing the plastic covers from the sealed Ferrari, Mr. Bartlett drove up in his Jaguar.

When the judging was done, the Ferrari owner was outraged at his defeat at the hands of the slightly scruffy Jaguar, but it was impossible to argue with the charm of the rare unrestored XKSS.

Its authenticity is what appeals to Mr. Bartlett. “Every rivet, the paint and the leather is as it was applied by craftsmen in Coventry, England, a half-century ago,” Mr. Bartlett said. “When I first purchased the car, whenever I’d show it, people would ask me, ‘When are you going to restore the XKSS?’ My answer was always the same: Never.”

Personenwagen auf Schweizer Stassen
[Bild: Keystone]

Über die Hälfe der Personenwagen auf den Schweizer Strassen fahren auch tagsüber und bei schönem Wetter mit Licht. Die Zählung im 2007 ergab einen Anteil von 53 Prozent - praktisch gleich viel wie im Vorjahr (54 %).

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[sda] - Noch im Jahr 2001 waren erst 11 Prozent der Personenwagen tagsüber mit Abblendlicht unterwegs, teilte die Schweizerische Beratungsstelle für Unfallverhütung (bfu) mit. Im Jahr 2004 waren es 39 Prozent.

Grosse Unterschiede finden sich allerdings zwischen den Sprachregionen: Während in der Deutschschweiz 56 und im Tessin 50 Prozent der Autofahrerinnen und Autofahrer auch am Tag mit Licht fahren, sind es in der Romandie nur 32 Prozent. Auch dort ist der Anteil jedoch seit 2004 um 12 Prozentpunkte gestiegen.

Auf Autobahnen (60 %) wird eher mit Licht gefahren als ausserorts (52 %) und innerorts (49 %). Doch gerade im dichten Verkehr der Stadt ist die Massnahme laut der bfu sehr wirkungsvoll. Das bfu befürwortet ein Lichtobligatorium.

Matt Gross for The New York Times

Lunchtime at the Pink Store, which draws lots of tourists over the Mexican border into Palomas.

By MATT GROSS

THE border towns of Columbus, N.M., and Palomas, Mexico, lie just three miles apart, but that short distance — what you might drive to the supermarket, say — encapsulates a world of difference.

Columbus is sparsely built and sparsely populated: fewer than 2,500 people, living in trailers, RVs and modern ranch homes in the desert, with low, dry scrub never more than a rabbit’s hop away. Each downtown block contains at most four buildings, painted yellow, blue or pink, and between them are dusty lots. From the outside, it can be hard to tell whether anything — three cafes, a library, the chamber of commerce — is open, so still is the air and so empty are the streets. It’s like a well-tended house awaiting its owners’ return from vacation.

By contrast, Palomas is dense and lively. Concrete buildings cluster around the port of entry into the United States, and street vendors sell decorative saddles and paletas (similar to Popsicles) to American tourists. Errant mariachi bands patrol the streets, and at noon men sit under shady trees in a park to hide from the sun. When it rains, the streets, many of them dirt roads, flood badly, and shoeless children appear even more pitiful as they beg for pesos. Farther from the border, the houses are frequently unfinished gray concrete shells with “For Sale” signs hanging in glassless windows. A few kilometers out and you’re back in the desert.

This border zone might not seem like a pleasant place for any traveler, frugal or otherwise, to spend a few days, yet it appealed to me for two reasons. First, with immigration a hot political topic, I wanted to witness life as it’s lived on the front lines. Second, Columbus is home to Martha’s Place, a bed-and-breakfast with raves from TripAdvisor.com (“Charming & Comfortable,” “An Oasis in the NM Desert”) and an eminently affordable room rate: $40 a night, since I was staying three nights. Most nightly rates are $60 to $70.

Just after 5 p.m., following a daylong drive from Odessa, Tex., during which the front wheels of the Volvo made a worrisome sound like a helicopter’s whump-whump-whump, I arrived at Martha’s Place (204 West Lima Avenue, 505-531-2467; www.marthasplacenm.com). It is a wide adobe-style building, with balconies and a homey interior that lived up to the Web reviews. Martha Skinner, a real estate agent and the town’s former mayor, showed me to a pale-blue bedroom and gave me my first tutorial in Columbus life: If I wanted to eat, she said, I’d need to do it soon — all the restaurants close at six o’clock. Fifteen minutes later, I was tucking into a “wet” burrito ($7), full of luscious shredded beef and smothered in red chili sauce, from the Pancho Villa Cafe (327 Lima Avenue, 505-531-0555).

The restaurant’s name, it turns out, comes from the town’s history. The next morning, I visited the Columbus Historical Society Museum (505-531-2620), in an old train station full of archival photographs, old newspapers and other artifacts. There I met W. Lee Robinson Jr., a talkative, balding man who said everyone calls him Radar because he looks like Radar from “M*A*S*H.” Back in early 1916, Radar explained, Mexico was in upheaval, and Pancho Villa, a revolutionary general, was feuding with the federal government in Mexico City. This conflict might have stayed within Mexico’s borders, except that Woodrow Wilson decided to end his support of Villa and back Mexico City instead. In revenge for this slight, Villa sent his forces across the border on March 9, 1916, to raid Columbus. They burned buildings, looted businesses and killed 10 citizens and 8 soldiers before being routed.

The attack left Columbus with an acute sense of the border, its identity forever intertwined with Palomas’s. For decades, residents have been freely crossing into Mexico for taco dinners, duty-free cigarettes and liquor, and even visits to the dentist. But they’ve also become hyper-aware of their counterparts — the Mexican immigrants, illegal or legal, who cross over into America, some carrying drugs, others dreams. And whatever their feelings about the border, they seem to understand that Columbus would not exist, either in history or today, without Palomas — and vice versa.

That strange symbiosis has gotten stranger in recent years, with post-9/11 security measures and anti-immigration policies making the journey from south to north tougher.

And it may get harder still. One evening, I drove out to look at what is known simply here as “the fence,” the controversial barrier being built between the two countries. My guide was Radar from the historical society, who also happens to be a radio operator for the Minutemen Project (www.minutemanproject.com), a border-watch group seeking to stanch the flow of illegal crossings.

As a light rain fell, Radar explained that his group had developed a harmonious relationship with the United States Border Patrol — the Minutemen spot Mexicans crossing illegally, then pass the location to law enforcement. I was skeptical, but when we neared the fence, he chatted amicably with several Border Patrol officers and they let us through without a problem.

The fence, it turned out, is far from finished. There was a concrete foundation that went down six feet (too deep to tunnel under), steel pylons that soared 15 feet (too high to jump from), and X-shaped beams constructed from railroad ties (too tough to drive over). But its various sections each run for only a few hundred feet.

We walked to one end and Radar pointed across the border, to an unfinished concrete house surrounded by garbage. “Look how they live!” he said, disgusted.

The rain fell harder, and as we drove away through the mud, his words rung in my ears and I had to question his remark. After all, for many people in Palomas, the town is hardly home, hardly worth keeping up — just a stopover on the way to America.

One day, just before lunch, I set off for Mexico. The well-paved road to the border was barren most of the way, but ended in a shopping center that included a Western Union, a Family Dollar supermarket and a duty-free liquor store. The Mexican border guards waved me through, and I was in Palomas.

Compared with Columbus, the roads were rougher, the buildings denser and the people poorer. The Pink Store (Zaragoza 113; 505-531-7243), however, shone like a beacon of affluence. It is the town’s prime tourist attraction, a kitschy restaurant and handicrafts shop, and amid tin crucifixes, vividly painted mirrors, carved wood animals and several other gringos, I ate O.K. chili and drank a slightly better margarita (no extra charge, with a coupon). Lunch cost $7.15 with tax, but I left craving more. Luckily, this was Mexico, and down the side streets were taco and torta stands. A pair of tacos de barbacoa cost $1.25 and were a million times better than that chichi chili.

The sun was hot and high in the sky, but I walked around Palomas anyway, curious about who I’d meet. One guy approached me, asking if I wanted “coke, whiskey, weed, girls.” (I declined.) At a brand-new hotel, the owner asked me to say hello to Martha Skinner; he is her dentist. At a shaded park, another man told me he was on his way to Phoenix, Ariz., to do roofing work in the 120-degree heat.

I kept returning to Palomas over the next couple of days, not only to fill my belly with inexpensive food (Gámez, on Cinco de Mayo Street, had excellent grilled chicken) and my car with inexpensive gasoline ($31.25 for a full tank at Pemex, about $8 less than in Columbus). But life here was also more vibrant — and didn’t shut down at 6 p.m.

Once, I stopped in at a La Reina de Michoacán ice-cream parlor where I had a fantastic guava paleta ($1) and met an older man carrying a fat pet lizard. While he let it run around his table, he told me in awkward English that he used to work illegally in San Diego before being deported. Now he was holed up in Palomas, biding his time till he could cross the border again. As he pronounced his name — Charles, not Carlos — I could sense his pride in simply having lived on the other side.

When I drove back to New Mexico that night, the United States border guards pulled me over for questioning — apparently, they don’t see many New York license plates and even fewer visa-filled passports. They were friendly, but still, my heart beat faster, and I tried to imagine how a foreigner must feel. A single wrong word, a misunderstood cue or bureaucratic slip-up might be enough to strand you in Mexico, three miles from the sleepy town that might be your gateway to a new life.

After several minutes, the guards handed me my passport and sent me on my way. The Volvo wheezed into gear, and I returned to my pale-blue bedroom in someone else’s house.

Next stop: Colorado.

 

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»Kommentare zum Artikel

Es ist ja  nun wirklich nicht so, dass der 2001 vorgestellte Peugeot 307 auf der Strasse irgendwie schlecht aussehen würde; sein Design ist zeitlos, und deshalb wirkt er immer noch frisch. Es ist auch nicht so, dass er sich schlecht verkaufen würde (insgesamt sind es bisher schon über 3 Mio Exemplare) – seinen Zenit hat er zwar überschritten, doch es wäre noch manch ein namhafter Hersteller froh, wenn er solch ein Modell in seinem Programm hätte.
Aber Peugeot will nichts anbrennen lassen, und deshalb kommt der Nachfolger des 307, in logischer Folge 308 genannt, bereits in diesem Herbst. Vorerst als Drei- und als Fünftürer, 2008 dann als SW, 2009 auch noch als Coupé-Cabriolet. Das gleiche Programm wie bisher also; wir durften auch den Kombi und den CC schon anschauen (dürfen sie hier aber noch nicht zeigen), beim Modell mit dem faltbaren Metalldach haben die Franzosen beim Heck eine sehr adrette Lösung gefunden, das Hinterteil wirkt nicht mehr so pummelig, sondern dank einem interessanten Bogen ganz schön sexy. Der Kombi, na ja, da hält sich die Begeisterung in engeren Grenzen, ihm wurde ein ziemlich barock wirkendes Heck angebaut.
Logischer Nachfolger
Doch zuerst geht es einmal los mit den klassischen Modellen. Der Radstand ist gleich geblieben wie beim 307, also 261 cm, in der Länge sind 7 cm dazugekommen (jetzt 427 cm). Im Gegensatz zum 407, dessen lange Nase stark an einen schnüffelnden Ameisenbär erinnert, konnten sich die Designer um Gérard Welter diesmal zurückhalten; nicht gerade schön ist die schwarze Plastikstossstange inmitten des Kühlergrills, doch sie macht wie beim 207 Sinn, absorbiert kleine Unfälle, ohne dass gleich die ganze Front ausgewechselt werden muss. Trotzdem, die mit Chrom und Lampen bewaffnete Vorderpartie des neuen 308 ist gewöhnungsbedürftig – und stellt einen starken Gegensatz zum etwas gar nackt wirkenden Heck dar. Das fällt besonders beim Dreitürer auf, bei dem das Auto optisch quasi in zwei Teile zerfällt; der Fünftürer sieht harmonischer aus. Doch das sind erste Eindrücke, ganz subjektiv, man muss den 308 dann einmal fahrend auf der Strasse sehen, um sich ein endgültiges Urteil bilden zu können. Was Peugeot aber auf jeden Fall gelungen ist: Der 308 ist ein modern wirkender, logischer Nachfolger des 307, der für gewisse Märkte weiterhin gebaut wird und dort nicht alt aussehen wird. Erfreulich: Das jüngste Kind der Löwen-Familie ist trotz deutlich verbesserter Sicherheitsausstattung (bis zu 9 Airbags) nur knapp 70 kg schwerer als sein Vorgänger.
Ansprechend ist auch der Innenraum. Sehr schön aufgeräumt, die Materialien wirken hochwertig, man setzt sich rein und hat eigentlich keine Fragen mehr. Es ist überall viel Raum und Luft (auch dank eines riesigen Glas-Panoramadachs, das allerdings Aufpreis kosten wird), die hinteren Passagiere werden sich über einen Knieraum freuen dürfen, der in der Golf-Klasse neue Massstäbe setzt. Weniger zu überzeugen vermochte uns der Kofferraum, weil er sehr schmal ist: Peugeot hat uns aber noch keine genauen Zahlen geliefert.

2009: Diesel-Hybrid
Das Antriebsprogramm des 308 wird bei den Benzinern von der gemeinsam mit BMW entwickelten Familie von 1,6-Litern dominiert, die Leistungen werden wohl von 100 bis etwa 175 PS reichen. Es wird einen 1,6-L-und den bekannten 2-L-Diesel geben, beide serienmässig mit Partikelfilter. Der Verbrauch soll bei einzelnen Modellen um bis zu 15% gesenkt worden sein, dies auch dank einem hervorragenden cW-Wert (0,29) und gemeinsam mit Michelin entwickelten, besonders widerstandsarm laufenden Reifen.
Den Coup auf der Motorenseite wird Peugeot bereits auf der IAA in Frankfurt im kommenden September präsentieren: einen Diesel-Hybrid. Doch dieses Aggregat wird 2009, vielleicht auch erst 2010  in Serie gehen; wir freuen uns trotzdem schon jetzt darauf.
2008 will Peugeot insgesamt 350000 Exemplare des 308 in den Verkehr bringen. Das ist eine zurückhaltende Schätzung. In der Schweiz sollen es im nächsten Jahr 2000 Stück werden, auch da wird eher knapp kalkuliert. Die Preise bewegen sich in etwa auf dem Niveau des Vorgängers, was bedeutet, dass der Einsteiger-Löwe für rund 25000 Franken zu haben sein wird. Das wird zusammen mit der coolen Einschätzung von Peugeot, in der hart umkämpften Golf-Klasse keine unnötigen Experimente zu wagen, sondern sich auf seine Stärken zu konzentrieren, eine Erfolgsgarantie sein.

AS BEFITS an event in its back yard, the Paris Air Show has brought good cheer for Airbus. As the show opened on Monday June 18th, the European jetmaker announced a raft of new business. It says it has gathered new or confirmed orders and more tentative commitments for 339 planes with a list price of $45.7 billion, beating previous air-show records.

The news brought little more than a disdainful response from Boeing, its arch-rival. The American firm chooses not to save up news of big sales for set-piece events, although it did announce on Tuesday June 19th a deal for 60 planes worth some $8.8 billion. Before that, totting up orders for the year so far, Airbus and Boeing were at roughly the same level of over 400 orders apiece. Airbus, which had slipped behind its transatlantic competitor over the past couple of years, may be starting to catch up again.

Not all is rosy for Airbus. The company expects to suffer a loss this year, just as it did in 2006. The main reason for Airbus’s ongoing troubles is also one of the star turns at Paris—the A380 superjumbo. It is destined to become as readily recognisable as Boeing’s hump-backed 747, another plane that saw a far from comfortable birth. Production delays have pushed back its entry into service by two years to October which, along with the strains of the weak dollar, is responsible for Airbus’s losses. Yet Airbus might hope that the worst is over for its 555-seat monster.

A clutch of new orders in Paris suggests that the A380 will eventually start to pay. Emirates, a Gulf-based airline and the first to take the plunge with the vast aircraft, has agreed to buy another eight planes. Qatar Airways wants another three. But the delays are hitting Airbus’s bottom line. The European firm admits that it needs to sell more than 420 planes just to break even. So far orders are around 170 and growing slowly. But even Boeing admits that the market for passenger jets with over 400 seats should top 960 over the next 20 years.

Just as important to Airbus is the fate of its A350-XWB. This long-haul, wide-bodied jet also caused much grief last year. Customers turned up their noses at its original design. In contrast Boeing’s competitor, the 787 Dreamliner, has grabbed some 660 orders. Airlines wanted Airbus to match the advantages offered by Boeing’s new composite body. This lighter and more rigid material allows a larger fuselage and greater fuel efficiency. But redesigning the plane will cost Airbus some $10 billion.

Before Paris, Airbus had managed to extract just a handful of orders for this plane. Now, in a day, it has amassed 127 firm orders and caught the eye of other airlines. Huge discounts must surely have been offered, yet the interest also reflects booming demand for passenger jets. Airbus expects sales of around 22,700 new passenger and freight aircraft up to 2025. Both firms have bulging order books. The 787s ordered today will not start to roll off production lines until 2014, the year that the A350 should enter service, making more of a straight fight for future business.

In a periodic plea for more state aid Louis Gallois, Airbus’s boss, says that the firm was in “the worst state it has ever been”. But Airbus is restructuring and may be past its darkest days. Nicolas Sarkozy, the new French president, also seems keen to break the political stalemate with Germany that is hobbling EADS, Airbus’s parent company. Airbus is beginning to copy Boeing’s practice of outsourcing production and sharing risk with partners.

The rivalry with Boeing will continue, not least because the strong euro could force Airbus to turn to suppliers in dollar-denominated regions, reigniting political warfare. But another rival may be on the horizon. China’s leading state aerospace firm says that it will bid for six plants that are being auctioned off as part of Airbus’s restructuring. The Chinese firm has also signed important deals with Bombardier, a Canadian company that makes smaller regional jets but could have bigger ambitions. Jim McNerney, Boeing’s boss, admits that “There is room for a third large planemaker in the next two decades,” and that China is the likely source.

ONLY the barest of murmurs greeted the arrival at the bustling Café Vian of a dozen or so kilt-clad Scots in their late teens and early 20’s and what looked to be their middle-age coach, also in tartan. They ordered a round of vodka shots and erupted in Highland cheers, drawing worried glances from patrons hovering over sweet multicolored cocktails at nearby tables.

Finally, the Scots’ skinny young waiter valiantly ordered them to keep it down. “This is not a soccer bar,” he told them.

Cultures have been clashing in Budapest for a good many centuries, and usually not to Hungary’s benefit. But through several waves of occupation, tyranny and heroic revolt, it has become one of the few places on earth that have learned the trick of transforming that clash into music.

A spectacularly beautiful and subversively lively old royal capital, Budapest has in the last decade or so languished in the shadow of Prague, which emerged more quickly as a tourist destination after the Communist era. Even Arthur Phillips’s best-selling 2002 novel, “Prague,” was actually about expatriates in Budapest dreaming of the higher life across the Czech frontier.

But now the foreign investment that only trickled into Budapest in the 1980’s has become a gusher, spilling new and ostentatious hotels, boutiques for luxury brands like Salvatore Ferragamo and Louis Vuitton, teeming pedestrian-only nightlife districts and smoky bars full of satirical and world-weary graffiti. Budapest seems ready to claim the light.

For more than a decade — since work-related happenstance led me there — Budapest has been one of my favorite places in Europe. When I first came to know it, the city was still fresh from the Soviet collapse, an eager place full of downtrodden buildings, dingy marketplaces, makeshift nightclubs, gypsy violinists and restaurant after restaurant serving goulash and little else. In Buda, the once aristocratic old capital on the west side, bicycles navigated near-desolate cobbled medieval lanes. Russian caviar and Hungarian foie gras could be had for a song.

When a local paper advertised the arrival of a six-month-old Hollywood movie (“Sneakers,” with Robert Redford), I took a rickety trolley to the foot of the Buda Hills and found an old garage with a white sheet hung from the cinderblock wall and a few dozen happy families seated on wooden benches, unpacking dinner. The projector made an awful racket. Everyone had a wonderful time, eating and laughing, and I walked back to my Danube hotel alone through dark Buda streets.

When I went back this summer, I found a city very much changed, and not just because the movies are in multiplexes.

Budapest, with a population of more than 1.7 million, still has bedraggled and struggling outer districts. But Nagyvasarcsarnok, the Central Market Hall in Pest, is a bright, dynamic place full of paprika, aromatic food stalls and sweet Tokaji wine. Sidewalk cafes are alive with thrift-shop fashionistas, canoodling couples and joyful chatter in a dozen languages. In Buda, tourist buses cluster like seagulls at Castle Hill, discharging sightseers from all over the world.

Yes, goulash — that old soupy peasant staple of beef stewed with vegetables and paprika — is still on pretty much every menu, but I also found the world’s cuisines on offer. Where $5 once bought a brick of foie gras big enough to gorge four adults, a few bites in a small appetizer serving now run around triple that.

A collision of forces is transforming Budapest into one of the continent’s liveliest, prettiest and most animated capitals. Attractive prices, especially for housing, have set off a mini-invasion of foreigners setting up second homes in the stylish 19th-century apartment blocks of central Pest. Retail chains from around the world have followed, along with the hoteliers and commercial developers.

The rush of foreign capital and the rising standard of living for Budapesters lucky enough to catch the wave has helped the city resuscitate many lavish buildings that had fallen into ruin, from the spectacular Secessionist-style Gresham Palace — now a Four Seasons Hotel — to lesser-known gems like the Egyetemi Konyvtar (University Library), a pale yellow confection of wedding-cake swirls, and the stately mirror-image Klotild-Palotak buildings, whose imposing Baroque towers rise like sentries at the foot of the Elizabeth Bridge.

“Ten years ago, you’d come to Budapest and it was cheap and a little rough and everything was in cash,” said Colin Burns, who was visiting the city for the fourth time with his Welsh choir group. “Now it’s all cutting edge and credit cards and trendy restaurants. There’s better Italian food here than back in Wales.”

There have been missteps. The New York Cafe, long a center of Hungarian intellectual life, was a smoky, murmuring and impossibly grand space where patrons seemed to have stepped from an Eric Ambler thriller. It has become a gaudy patisserie attached to a swank hotel. The huge and hugely popular Westend Center shopping mall is a flavorless glass-and-steel arc of shops wrapping around the back side of Gustav Eiffel’s soaring Nyugati train station.

Yet odd, distinct elements speak to the atmosphere of dynamic upheaval. An underground market of cheap clothes and bad CD’s blends seamlessly into the mall above it, asserting an older, Oriental culture that refuses to be drowned entirely by American-style blandness. Big, clanging storefront casinos sit comfortably beside the boutiques and bookstores.

A member of the European Union since 2004, Hungary still uses its old currency, the forint, and only its most optimistic economists hope for a conversion to the euro as soon as 2010. Budget deficits are swollen after years of overspending by Hungary’s Socialist government, which was re-elected in April.

At the same time, wages are up and the standard of living has noticeably improved, at least for some. Those new luxury boutiques and elegant cafes are not just for foreigners.

MY wife, Barbara, and I divided this trip in half: two nights in Buda, with its domed Habsburg palaces and crenellated fortifications stretching along craggy hilltops west of the Danube, and two in Pest, the more populous 19th-century commercial city of grand boulevards on the flats east of the river.

Tourism is on the rise in Hungary, up nearly 7 percent in 2005 over 2004, according to the Hungarian Tourist Office. Yet escaping the crowds is still quite easy.

In Buda, while tourists concentrated on Castle Hill, we found everyday life in the sprawling shopping mall and food market near Moscow Square. Perfectly coiffed mothers in blue jeans pushed baby strollers through narrow aisles of peppers and cabbages while older, weary workmen in gray shirts and kerchiefs sipped tumblers of blood-red wine from nearby lunch counters.

An elderly woman pushing a metal cart paused to scream at a young couple who had parked their Mercedes convertible illegally. They smiled at her impassively and strode away.

Even on Castle Hill, the crowds thin once you get away from Matthias Church, with its architectural elements from the 16th century, when it was a mosque; the 17th, when it grew a Baroque facade; and the 19th, when Gothic design celebrated Habsburg supremacy.

A decade ago, I had a memorable meal at the foot of Castle Hill, with strolling gypsy violinists pouring out the Brahms at a place called Kacsa Vendeglo that looked as if it hadn’t changed its menu or decorations since the Great War. On this visit, we found a fresh violinist, still playing Brahms though he had added some Billy Joel and had his CD’s for sale.

The tablecloths were white and the menu was still an old-fashioned ramble through Hungary’s familiar dishes, emphasizing duck (kacsa in Hungarian) in a blizzard of forms. The place is decidedly out of step with Budapest’s cutting edge, which leans toward fusion at places with names like Baraka, Kepiro and Voro es Feher Borbar (Red and White Wine Bar). Across the river in Pest, a central pedestrian strip called Vaci utca contained the most wandering foreigners, who were weaving among buskers and trying to remember where their tour buses were parked.

Two semicircular boulevards, the Inner Ring and the Outer Ring, end at Danube bridges and define the heart of Pest. Local residents can be found by day in American-style malls along the Outer Ring or in one of the new pedestrian-only shopping areas, echoes of Vaci utca, that are now sprinkled around the city and serve as centers of its street life. One of the biggest, Raday utca, a little east of the Central Market Hall, is five blocks of sidewalk tables, multiethnic restaurants and music-pulsing bars.

“We came up from Vienna by boat and just wandered around all day and just found our way here,” said Carlos Hererra, who runs a design store near Los Angeles and was sipping a tall glass of wheat beer one day at a Raday utca cafe. “Just sitting here for an hour, I’ve heard more foreign languages than I heard in three days in Austria or that I ever hear back in Orange County.”

Tourists and locals mingle in the Great Market Hall, where shoppers should be prepared to prowl. The price of a 400-gram tin of foie gras ranged from $37 to $45, depending on the stall. On the market’s second level are a series of inexpensive minicafes offering German beer, Hungarian wine and all sorts of sausages, pies, sandwiches and paprika stews.

On my early visits to Budapest, I often came across other visitors who had just arrived from Prague or were about to go there. This time, most tourists we met were visiting only Budapest or had arrived from Vienna on one of the Danube cruises now connecting the two old capitals of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

New in the past half-dozen years, the riverboats seemed emblematic — part of Budapest’s shrugging off its midcentury past, when connections were to places like Prague and Krakow, to reflect an older and more durable relationship. One couple we met, travelers from San Diego fresh off a river boat, said they were delighted with Budapest’s street bustle and food — and its prices, significantly lower than those they had found in Vienna.

Most cities have different day and night personalities, but the contrast in Budapest seems particularly stark, almost as if an entirely different geography and cast of characters has been imposed upon the place.

The Danube comes to life as a kind of a kind of floating smorgasbord of moored barges: one offers jazz dinners, another a pulsing disco, yet another a quiet seafood restaurant. Places like Raday utca and Liszt Ferenc Square, just off the fashionable boulevard of Andrassy, attract crowds that are younger, more chic and louder. Often, a club catering to 20-somethings on the prowl reveals itself down a dark Pest side street with a dim glow from a door opening into a hidden warren of lounge rooms and lantern-lit gardens.

For a symbol of how Budapest has changed, an obvious first choice would be Roosevelt Square, at the foot of the Chain Bridge. Previously dominated by hulking old buildings and the state-operated Forum Hotel (now an Inter-Continental), it is now overlooked by the Gresham Palace and a gaudy casino, and it is thick with limos.

If you’re looking for the heart of the city today, I’d make a case for sampling Lizst Ferenc Square. That’s where we found Café Vian, in which Budapest’s clashing cultures made a particularly sweet sound. The youthful crowd, hovering over sweet cocktails and yelling to be heard in the din, was flecked with a handful of older faces, mostly fresh from hearing Stravinsky and Gulda at the venerable Zeneakademia a few steps away.

The State Opera House was doing Wagner that night, “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg,” so no telling when that crowd would arrive and what mood they’d be in.

Perhaps a generous, $9 plate of chicken paprika or a $7.25 helping of tagliatelle would get their heads out of Wagner and back into Liszt, where they belong. Who knows, they might even share a round with the Scottish soccer team, assuming everyone is still playing nice together.

VISITOR INFORMATION

HOW TO GET THERE

Malev Hungarian Airlines (www.malev.hu) and Delta Airlines offer nonstop flights between New York and Budapest’s Ferihegy Airport. An Internet search for late September found round-trip fares starting around $840.

A taxi ride from the airport to central Pest, where most hotels are situated, should run about 4,000 forints, with a small tip, which is about $18 at 220 forints to the dollar. But some drivers might charge closer to 6,000 if you don’t shop around.

GETTING AROUND

A three-day metro pass (2,500 forints) gives free access to all subway lines and trams. For 6,500 forints, a three-day Budapest Card adds discounts for museums, attractions and restaurants. See www.budapestinfo.hu/en/budapest_card.

WHERE TO STAY

At the Corinthia Grand Hotel Royal (Erzsebet korut 43-49; 36-1-479-4000; www.corinthiahotels.com), peaked glass roofs enclose once open courtyards around an opulent inner structure. The 414 rooms start at 40,680 forints.

Nearby is the Boscolo New York Palace Hotel (Erzsebet korut 9-11; 36-1- 886-6111; www.boscolohotels.com), even more gleaming and gilded than the Corinthia. It has 107 rooms, starting at 50,000 forints. The legendary New York Cafe is adjacent.

The city’s premier hotel, the 179-room Four Seasons Gresham Palace on Roosevelt Square (36-1-268-3000; www.fourseasons.com/budapest), is sophisticated and luxe. Rooms start at 87,000 forints.

On the Buda side of the Danube, the starkly modern art’otel (Bem rakpart 16-19; 36-1-487-9487, www.artotel.hu ), offers sweeping views of the Chain Bridge and the ornate Parliament building, and is a short walk from Castle Hill. The 164 rooms start at $184, $242 with a river view.

WHERE TO EAT

Where goulash once ruled all and still makes a pretty good showing even at the fanciest places, Budapest is now home to pretty much all cuisines. One of the earliest harbingers of this trend was Restaurant Lou Lou, a French-leaning bistro unobtrusively nestled at Vigyazo Ferenc utca 4 (36-1-312-4505), on an otherwise unremarkable side street between Roosevelt Square and Parliament. An antique horse perches over the bar; huge mirrors glisten on the salmon walls while spot lighting illuminates individual tables. A foie gras appetizer is 3,200 forints, and scallops and gravlax are 3,300; among main courses, a duck duo is 3,900 forints and sautéed goose liver is 4,100. Yes, there is goulash, for 1,400 forints.

Costes, at Raday utca 4 (36-1-219-0696), is one of the nicer places along Raday utca, a bustling pedestrian strip, with a menu that stresses game and includes French, Italian and Hungarian flavors. A game consommé or goulash runs about 890 forints, a rack of venison with wild mushrooms costs 4,590 forints and a monkfish filet perched improbably atop a thick omelet is 4,000.

Less than a block away is the louder and more informal Soul Café, Raday utca 11-13 (36-1-217-6986), with all manner of Mediterranean dishes in a California-style setting. A mozzarella and tomato salad is 1,500 forints, asparagus cream soup 913 forints, a Thai cashew chicken only 2,200 and a delicious butterfish in lime sauce over jasmine rice 2,936. Goulash, if you must, is 1,500 forints.

For a blast of old Budapest, Kacsa Vendeglo is across the river in the Watertown area of Buda, at Fo utca 75, (36-1-201-9992). The specialty here is duck in many forms — in a strudel, crispy, stuffed with prunes, as a pâté, homestyle, Tisza style, Rozsnyai style or atop mashed apple. If you’re sick of duck, there’s also goose, as well as pike, perch, lobster, chicken and sirloin steak Budapest style. Paprika plays a prominent role. The wandering violinist accepts requests and tips.

A particularly pleasant place to begin the day is the Angelika cafe (36-1-212-3784), tucked into one wing of an old church building on Batthyany with a terrace overlooking the river. Inside, the dark rooms are arched and illuminated through stained glass. A café American runs just 400 forints and a fortifying four-egg omelet about 980.

WHERE TO DRINK

The swank spot is the Gresham Bar, just off the lobby in the Four Seasons Gresham Palace Hotel on Roosevelt Square, just at the Pest foot of the Chain Bridge (36-1-268-3000). The style is international business luxe, and there’s the marble, the dark wood and the recessed lighting to prove it. A glass of palinka, the traditional fruit brandy, is 2,200 forints, and a glass of Calvados 2,400. Good free snacks, though.

For a more atmospheric, smoky and downscale alternative, there is West Balkan, a warren of darkly lit rooms at Kisfaludy utca 36 (36-1-371-1807), where a happy crowd lived out its John le Carré fantasies — or maybe that was just me. The Calvados here was 550 forints. Beers, of which there were dozens on offer, averaged around 480 forints.

The coffeehouse is also a Budapest staple, beginning with the venerable Café Gerbeaud on Vorosmarty Square in the center of Pest (36-1-429-9000). This 19th-century palace with a huge outdoor patio spilling into the square has been around since 1858 and is famous for its pastries. A chocolate torte is 590 forints and a cappuccino 680.

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In Frankfurt sprach der deutsche Bahnchef Hartmut Mehdorn von einem "historischen Tag" für die Deutsche Bahn und die SNCF. Die Strecke Frankfurt-Paris sei die Initialzündung, um in Europa grenzüberschreitend mehr Verkehr auf die Schiene und mehr Gäste in die Züge zu bekommen.

Der ICE wird für die Fahrt mit einem Spitzentempo von 320 Kilometern pro Stunde nur gut vier statt bislang mehr als sechs Stunden brauchen.

Der französische Hochgeschwindigkeitszug TGV rast in knapp vier Stunden über Karlsruhe und Strassburg in die französische Hauptstadt. Auf beiden Strecken beginnt der reguläre Betrieb am 10. Juni. Vom 9. Dezember an wird die Zahl der Verbindungen erweitert.

Auch die Schweizer Zugpassagiere werden von der neuen Strecke mit der Höchstgeschwindigkeit von 320 Stundenkilometern profitieren. Ab Basel wird Paris ab 10. Juni in nur 3,5 Stunden erreichbar sein.

Basler und Zürcher werden in den Genuss von vier beziehungsweise zwei täglichen Verbindungen kommen. Der TGV Lyria ist zu 25 Prozent in Besitz der SBB und zu 75 Prozent der SNCF.

Unklar ist noch, ob die Berner in Zukunft über Basel oder weiterhin über Neuenburg reisen werden. Die Frage hängt von der Anzahl der verfügbaren Sitze in den Zügen ab Basel ab.