On to Köln

As it was Saturday we did manage to snooze a little bit in the morning, but got out and about to have a little look around first Bonn, and then on up the road to Köln.

It had turned decidedly cool, and we did wander around in the market area for a bit, but there was nothing that was jumping out at us.
Gabe was about to make a small purchase in one store (after what I thought was a painfully long time) but when she came out empty handed she explained that they not only didn't take American Express, but only "German cards". Huh??
She left her purchase on the counter.

Most of these market areas all look the same, with the only difference being the decorations used, and the cold.
If I look cold, it's 'cause I am.


Not sure what caught my interest here. But you can see they have their Christmas trees out and on sale.
I just realised that I never did look at a price.






Just more examples of really cool old architecture. I took no pictures in this particular church, as it didn't seem appropriate. (hey, sometimes it just doesn't feel right)

Skaters in the town square is probably another fairly typical thing...




So....headed to Köln, because we definitely wanted to see the cathedral.
Didn't seem like a long drive, no more than maybe 30 to 40 minutes. Didn't really need stupid GPS, but it's reassuring to get the voice prompts at the intersections.

I mean, you could see the spires from well outside of town.



You read about how huge it is, but then up close and personal, it's a little overwhelming.
I now get why it took six hundred years to complete. And it looks like they're still working on it. (ok that's not fair, I'm sure maintenance is never ending)


I couldn't resist including that other well known landmark in most cities all over the world...



....wait for it.....

There ya go.....and yes, I had to go in for a....well, I won't repeat that. Let's just say I didn't buy anything, but did part with some dough.


Such "relief" when I see those golden arches.


I'm going to throw in some random pics, just to try and convey the grandeur of the inside.
...and , even though it was not the best weather, there were many tourists, quite a few of whom were German, judging by the number of tour groups getting the mini lectures.




The twelve apostles came out a little blurry, since I was taking all photos without flash, and once in a while that doesn't quite work.







A person could stay there for hours reading and wandering around, but the day was passing us by so it was time to get home.
Darkness comes pretty quickly these days, and muggins here isn't overly keen on coming home too late at night.
As it was there were a couple more snow squalls, and I see on the news that there were a few traffic mishaps.
We didn't see any of that, thankfully.

A woodworker's dream

Got jolted out of bed by the six a.m. wake up call on Friday morning, had a cup of coffee at the restaurant in the lower level of the hotel and set off for Moeller.
After dropping off Gabe and one passenger, I was off to pursue my mission for the day.
You see, a few months back, I decided to look into the exact location of a company that makes a particular wooden hand plane (amoung other things) called E.C. Emmerich.
I currently own a couple examples of these really fabulous hand planes, one of which I bought from Lee Valley Tools, while the other one was a gift from my sister that she purchased from Garrett-Wade.
Suffice to say, I'm certainly willing and interested in adding to the collection, even though I wasn't all that sure that the "factory" would also have a retail site.
Just the same, I left Bonn for the 50 or so km trip up to Remsheid.
Got there probably around nine or so....raining like crazy the whole time.
Stupid GPS couldn't actually find the address, and the nearest I could come was a Post Code, so I asked a postal employee where the street was, and did manage to get a little closer, but ended up getting directions from a customer at a gas station who looked to be right around my age.

In other words, an older gentleman.

It was still a few kilometers away, but he gave good directions....

...and found it with no trouble.

Now, the reason I say "factory", is because there's really not that much to the place. On the left is the original house in which Herr Emmerich started making hand planes 150 years ago.


That's Hans-Jörg Emmerich there on the right. He's the fifth generation of Emmerich's, and the current owner.
Let me just say....a very nice fellow who, even though he didn't know me from a hole in the wall, gave me the complete tour, which he suggested after first inviting me in to his office.
(I mean, I was prepared to be on my way and really didn't have the gall to ask to be shown around.)


If you look up above his head, there's a picture of his Dad, who is now gone.
Oh, and I met his Mom, although I didn't get a pic of her. She had brought in the mail, and we struck up a brief conversation.
I was left to sit in his office for a few minutes in awe of the tools that were out on display...




You don't have to be a woodworker to appreciate the beauty of these things.


I can't quite make out the inscription on this trophy, but it looks like a commemoration of their 150 years in business.



Here we are in the main area of production. Hans is holding a blank from which the "gent's plane" (I think) is made.


Cool huh?

The soles of these things are made of lignum vitae, which is the hardest wood you can find. They have stacks of it.
This was actually up in the drying room....




They also stack the blanks of pearwood, rosewood ("very expensive" sez Hans...."no sh*t", sez I )


That's the dark stuff in the middle there.


He also took me up to the aforementioned drying room, which is not a true kiln in the "let's get this stuff dry as quickly as possible" sense, but just felt comfortable. They leave this stuff in there for as long as it takes.
Often over a year.
Which explains why these wooden products never crack or check....

Pretty sure he said the lighter stuff was ash, which they use for a mallet that they make. Not all that exotic I realise....but pretty neat just the same.


In hindsight perhaps I should have taken more pictures of the machinery, but then there would no longer be a mystery about these tools anymore, now would there? Plus, now that I think on it, I'm sure there are some proprietary reasons for not being too intrusive.

All in all, not a very large operation, with only a couple office staff, his wife was sorting out a couple issues in shipping, and I only saw one other employee the whole time I was there.

So I left over an hour later a very happy fellow, complete with a new catalogue (which you can see online anyway, but still) along with the name of a supplier up in Nordhorn, just inside the German border, which is only about a twenty minute drive from here in Delden.

My heart rate did get back to normal after a little while.

The rest of the day was pretty much a let down by comparison.
The temperature dropped substantially, and we did get a few snow squalls...

yuck...
I tried to capture the sense of dread that I tend to get when the snow comes down in big gobs like that....but with mixed results.

Went off to fetch Gabe at around five I guess it was, to be met by complete gridlock. Since the cab hadn't arrived yet to take some folks to the airport, I was pressed into service. Hey, I don't mind except that stupid GPS took me back through Bonn to avoid some aparent traffic problem.

Honestly!

Of course I don't know the area well enough to second guess the wretched thing, so we didn't make it there until after the cab got there. That's the same cab that had been stuck in traffic earlier.
In the car ride everyone had called and made alternate flight arangements, so they were all able to get back to the UK with little problem.
I think there was a bit of a learning experience involved there, and the "friday afternoon" program might be taken into consideration for future visits to Bonn, or certainly any time there are flights involved.

Next day.....Köln.

A Milestone.

I've been meaning to set up the PC for some time now, but it seemed like one of those less than rewarding chores that would be fraught with frustration. (oohh, some alliteration for the plebs)
Turns out that the PC can be switched to 220, and the screen and the printer will run on 220 or 110.

Cool.

I had already made that discovery about the printer a while back when I needed to print something or other, but was surprised to see that the screen could simply be plugged directly into the wall as well.
The dilemma is having enough of the little adapter thingies to go around. As it is I had to use an extension cord contraption that I found in the utility room, since one of the outlets feels like the guts are worn out.
There's no surge protection involved here, but these puppies are not going to be left on and unattended under any circumstances.
I was pleased to see that a particular recording that I was missing (shipped an empty cd jacket) is on this computer, now I just have to go out and pony up the dough for a spindle of cds, since I left all mine at home, (dummy) burn a copy and put it in it's proper spot.

Either that, or go out and get an Ipod adapter for the car....

Speaking of laying out a little dough, it might be a good idea to spring for a wireless adapter for this thing since, for me anyway, a computer without an Internet connection is pretty much a glorified word processor.
The screen saver is nice though, isn't it? It was taken in the Dominican Republic coming up on a year ago.
Here's a slightly different view.

I'm sure you care.
At first I thought the speakers had somehow been damaged in shipping, but it turns out that dim wit here had plugged the jack into the wrong spot. A combination of poor eyesight and well, did I mention...dim wit?

This is why these activities can sometimes be frustrating.

Oh, speaking of frustration.....today on my daily foraging for food (see alliteration above) I found pine nuts! Wasn't even looking for them either!
...and we looked and looked on Saturday!
So now Gabe can make pesto. We had bought some in a jar, but I was a bit overwrought and bought the pine nuts anyway.
Couldn't help myself.

Now, in keeping with the milestone theme, tonight we'll be starting our Dutch language lessons. We get an hour each. The company is footing the bill for a 100 hours of instruction for each of us. I haven't worked out how many weeks it will take at an hour a week for us to go through 100 hours, but we might be back in Canada by the time we get 'er done.
We do get time off (for what? good behavior?) as long as we give the guy a couple days notice.

Oh....and his name?


Wait for it.





Nico Klumpers




I'm not sure exactly why it is that we find that name just so amusing, but I somehow have this image of some guy who looks like Steven Seagal showing up in wooden shoes*!
......


Bwaa!!


And did you count the number of times I had to use the word "adapter"?


Sheesh!


*and yes, I know that would be "klompen", but still.