Home is where the heart is
It's another Saturday night and Klaus Kroemer is having dinner with his wife at their favorite restaurant, the Mezzo.
"The music here reminds me of the live music in my hometown in the Ruhr district of Germany," says Kroemer, taking a sip of imported German lager.
But Mezzo is, of course, not in the Ruhr, or anywhere near Germany. It's located in a tree-lined lane in a quiet residential area in Taicang.
The bar/restaurant is housed in a red brick building that has a distinct north European style. Inside, the cozy room with exposed wooden beams and subdued lighting reels in the aroma of German sausages cooked on an open grill. A billiards table completes the dcor that is so reminiscent of the eateries familiar to the Kroemers.
Its owners are a pair of vivacious young Chinese women in their 20s, and known to patrons only as Lily and Bobo. They seem to know all the guests, mostly European executives from the manufacturing plants owned by German companies in Taicang.
"We know all our guests by their first names," chirps Lily.
"We're like a big family," says Bobo.
Kroemer nods in agreement. "We usually come to Mezzo's to watch the Bundesliga, the football competition operated by the German Football League. We feel really at home here," he says.
"The people here know very well that we Germans are ardent fans of football and beer. Some companies here organize football games among their colleagues, often with both Chinese and German colleagues joining in. The Taicang government also organizes a beer festival every year," he says.
According to Kroemer, living in Taicang is very convenient. The Germans never have to worry about getting the things they are used to in Germany.
"We get sausages made by the famous Dimo's food shop as well as authentic German bread made by Abend Brot," says Kroemer.
Listening to the traditional local opera and drinking some Chinese green tea can never be absent from German life in Taicang.
Although Kroemer describes himself as a layman of Chinese culture, his close friend Friedrich Lamers, plant manager of Mubea Automotive Components (Taicang) Co Ltd, is a huge fan of Chinese kungfu tea and music.
Dahuange Tea and Music, a local attraction combining a teahouse and a music hall, is Lamers' favorite place for recreation. Sitting by the window of this antique flavored building and sipping green tea from a blue and white porcelain cup, Lamers finds it to be extremely relaxing and refreshing.
"To me, the kungfu tea here is the best in China. Take a sip of the tea, and you will feel really relaxed. At the same time, I find the music played by the traditional Chinese stringed and woodwind instruments have the strength to purify the heart and enhance wisdom," says Lamers.
If time permits, Lamers will listen to Suzhou pingtan, a form of story telling accompanied by Suzhou music, which thrives only in Suzhou, including Taicang. Lamers says he can understand what the performer is telling.
"I can tell from his facial expressions and gestures. Music knows no boundaries or barriers," says Lamers.
