Hello From Germany

[GeoffS]

Hi Sabine,

I got from Scotland to Australia in a plane

It was a work related thing.

Thankfully AA is strong here in Melbourne, with many groups and many meetings. We just had AUSYPAA - Australian Young People in AA convention with many speakers from overseas etc. Great stuff. Organised by people young in sobriety but open to all of course.

Please please take as much of our heat as you want, send us some rain in retun please.

Geoff

[MichalF]

it´s great to hear that AA is also now in Poland. How known is ist there ? How many groups do you have in a city like Lodz ? And it´s been brought now alos to the ukraine ? - I went 4 years ago to Sibiria for a vacation, to take a hike at lake Baikal (GREAT lake, actual more a kind of ocean than a lake) . I stayed some days in Irkutsk and got the impression that there were many drunk people and that alcohol was a big problem. I have no idea wether there is also AA in Russia but I sure hope so.

Hi Sabine
We have in Lodz the same numbers of groups like you in your city -60. Two years ago I visited with my daughter Frankfurt/Main I noticed through hotels window that alcohol and drugs were a huge problem in Germany as well I had to prohibit her watching pictures from outside because I saw scene where police officer equipped with rubber gloves made search in panties of one gentleman. I must admit that hotel was decent located 500m near Frankfurt Opera. I sure We have the same problem regardless geography.
AA in Russia doing well as I hear from friends from Russia then they visit us. Once with group friends of main went to Kaliningrad ( former Konigsberg, and far former Królewiec) to take part in local AA meeting. More of members were narcotic addict and HIV positive. I didn’t know if we helped them but I did know I helped myself. I am so grateful for AA fellowship.

[Dallas]

Nice to hear from you Mike! Thanks for checking in. I've missed you.

Dallas

[sa]

Hi Michael, Hi Friends,

Oh, Germany is a place with an incredible alcoholic-culture...Drinking ist normal and sometimes it seems to be a human right. Last week we had an interesting scandal here; our leader (and bishop) of the German Protestantic church, Margot Kässmann, got caught drunk-driving (she crossed a red traffic-light, that´s why the police stopped her , then they found she had a high alcohol blood content ). And now comes the interesting part : German media were fully simpathetic with her ! Though it is a felony the reactions were more like >well, everybody does that, it ´s not so bad bla bla bla....It took the the lady 5 day until she resigned from all her functions, she obviously had hoped to get away with it ...!

That´s Germany...


Sober 24 hours

Sabine

[sunlight]

Thanks for that great story, Sabine!

If everybody is doing it, it's got to be right!!! Just ask the lemmings!

You are a welcome fresh breeze today. I'm happy that you share your sobriety with us.

[sa]

Hi Sunlight,


the compariosn with the lemmings is great... But sometimes I really envy you Americans; ther eis much more sensitivity about alcohol in the US than in Europe. We need here somebofy like Betty Ford, somebody famous who makes his or her alocholism public. I always have handled my alcoholism very openöy since I got sober: most of the reactions I have been getting are >Oh- you don´t look like that >...Alcohol is deeply connected to this culture but of course there are many, many alcoholics. And I am glad that I do not have to drink anymore !


Sober 24 Hours

Sabine