Watching the demise of my hometown

New & shiny: the first fast-food place in Zeitz

As one of my U.S. friends with “immigration background” frequently says, it’s always good to see the homeland. But it is sad to see my hometown, no matter how glad I am to walk on the pretty old cobble stones and ride the old routes to see family and friends.

Over the past ten years I have been witnessing its demise. It still retains roundabout 29.000 inhabitants, is located geographically almost in the center of Germany, politically in the East, for most statistics that count for anything its doing badly, just like its state Saxony-Anhalt. Recently the demise seems more acute. Maybe this stems from having lived abroad for the past four years with fewer visits to the small city. But my friends tell me they share a similar sentiment after flocking themselves to other German towns where they find a job and career.

Past summer talk of the town was a new mini-mall at the periphery of town. The German word is Einkaufspark and criticism leveled against it included the absence of greenery – why call it a park when there are no proper trees, flowers, and grass? – its location that requires a car for most inhabitants to get there, and its effect on downtown business. At least two shops jumped ship in the city center to join the new u-shaped shopping area. While U.S. malls try to imitate picturesque European city centers with their boulevards, Zeitz is going the other way, draining its center to centrifugally disperse business around city limits. I am tempted to call it "AmericaniZeitzion". Then I remember that the school of thought called globalization has a second interpretative branch apart from Americanization, hybridization, so maybe Zeitzer adopt and mold the newest edition to the city their advantage.

This spring, during my most recent visit to the homeland, the Einkaufspark was an established fact. The new talk of town was the McDonald’s –- the first and only fast-food restaurant in town. It opened its doors since my last visit past summer on another spot along the city limits. “It was time that we got one, it was missing,” one person said about the new food place. Asking why it was amiss, he replies that people always had to drive to nearby cities such as Gera or Weißenfels for burgers and fries. Twenty-two years after the Berlin Wall fell, America has arrived in Zeitz. Even people who don’t like and don’t eat fast food are drawn to the polished place: “I sometimes go and drink my coffee there because I was curious to see it,” another person said adding somewhat disappointed that it seemed small.

Luring in coffee lovers with an invitation spelled out: "A good day always starts with a good coffee"

Meanwhile in the city center, I spotted two empty shops. Past summer they were still operated by a budger and an independent bookseller who carefully set up his selection. The budger moved to the mini-mall, the bookseller left town for lack of business. The only movie theatre closed, the theater was dismantled a few years back already.

I can’t help but go shop at the mini-mall because the CVS-like dm market is located there, the only shop, my mom tells me that carries her favorite perfume. Before it was located downtown. I can’t help but go to the McDonald’s to see for myself what it is all about. They are selling veggie burgers, rather rare in the United States I would say. But that was about the only difference. With a McCafé selling cake over a shiny glass counter, cream-colored fake leather armchairs, and bar-style eating areas, it’s also waging a battle against Starbucks in Germany –- not that Zeitz would have one, yet. But who knows what happens the next time I come back. Burger King anyone?

PS: Later I discuss this change with another couple of friends. As always, Zeitz is late in its development, the draining of downtown areas, one of them tells me, long happened in her small West German town. Yet, just recently new hip young business owners have resettled the center with alternative shops, she adds. A hope for Zeitz to follow again belatedly? Barely, unemployment remains notoriously high, buying power lives elsewhere, the town is already called a giant senior citizen home. ZZ used to be displayed on license plates as an abbreviation for cars registered in Zeitz. As high school students we thought it symbolic: the last in line, as always.