This week some interesting parties, Saturday the Pinoke Gala. Next week I will be in Berlin again for Online Educa, where we have a booth with one of our partners for their product SharePointLMS. With Christmas I am at home with my family and for New Year's Eve I am traveling for the first time to Rome. Returning beginning of January to hopefully start a better year.
link: Weebly - Website Creation Made Easy
I am back from my weekend to Mannheim. It was fine weekend, although rather busy at the roads. It took my an hour longer to get there, driving back even more but that was partly because I did touristic route.
Saturday we visited the center of Mannheim to do some shopping. I bought several headsets for the office to use with Skype.
The afternoon we went to the Odenwald for some hiking. Perfect weather and great Autumn colors, although I think we were a week too early.
When arriving at the parking lot an ambulance was arriving to help an old lady who fell on here face. Her husband did not know what to do, so we drove their car to the Hospital.
The Sunday as said taking the touristic route. I went to Winningen first, taking a scenic Mosel
route to Koblenz and from there partly along the Rhine to Bonn. At Cologne a traffic jam as in the Netherlands. But all together not that bad. Great weekend, good food, good wine, great weather and nice company.
Will be driving to Mannheim again to visit my sister. Hope it will not be so busy on the roads, Holiday here and in Germany, so you might not know. I already see several traffic jams.
Not sure yet what we will be doing, but going into the mountains is a favorite pastime as is eating and drinking. But Mannheim itself is a very nice city to shop.
About Mannheim
Es ist eine schicksalsreiche und wechselvolle Geschichte, in der die „heimliche Hauptstadt der Kurpfalz“ ihr heutigen Stärken als urbane, offene und tolerante Handels- und Dienstleistungsstadt entwickelte: Seit Kurfürst Friedrich IV. von der Pfalz im Jahre 1606 den Grundstein zum Bau der Festung Friedrichsburg legte, musste die Stadt insgesamt vier Mal nach Zerstörungen wieder neu aufgebaut werden. Stets erhalten geblieben ist jedoch das einzigartige gitterförmige Straßennetz der Innenstadt. Deshalb kann sich in Mannheims City auch niemand verlaufen. Denn wo in anderen Städten Straßen die Namen berühmter Menschen tragen, gibt es in Mannheim stattdessen Buchstaben und Zahlen. Das Rathhaus findet man in „E5“, das Stadthaus in „N1“. Mannheim wird deshalb auch von vielen einfach „die Quadratestadt“ genannt. Und oft hört man den Mannheimer sagen: „Ich geh mal ums Quadrat“.
This weekend I have been with my 7 year old nephew to my sister in Mannheim, Germany. It was his first time and it went very well. Friday afternoon we had a good workout at the Felsenmeer near Reichenbach.The phraseFelsenmeer ('sea of rock') is the German word for astone run. In a Felsenmeer, frost and ice have quickly broken up the top layer of the rock, covering the underlying rock formation with jagged, angular bolders. The depth of the layer of bolders can vary depending on vegetation, climate, and rock type, and can be as much as twelve feet deep. Basalt and sedimentary rocks often produce larger, more numerous Felsenmeer's than other types of rock.
The Saturday we went to Heidelberg and took the cable cart up the mountain near the the old Castle.The castle is a mix of styles fromGothic toRenaissance. Prince Elector Ruprecht III (1398–1410) erected the first representative building in the inner courtyard as a regal residence. The building was divided into a ground floor made of stone and framework upper levels. Another regal building is located opposite to the Ruprecht Building: The Fountain Hall. Prince Elector Philipp (1476–1508) is said to have arranged the transfer of the hall's columns from a decayed palace ofCharlemagne to Heidelberg.
In the 16th and 17th century the Prince Electors added two representative palace buildings and turned the fortress into a castle. The two dominant buildings at the eastern and northern side of the courtyard were erected during the rule of Ottheinrich (1556–1559) and Friedrich IV (1583–1610). Under Friedrich V (1613–1619), the main building of the westside was erected, the so called "English Building".
The castle and its garden were destroyed several times (during the 30 Years' War and the Palatine war of succession). When Prince Elector Karl Theodor who resided in Schwetzingen tried to restore the castle, lightning struck the Castle in 1764 and finished all attempts to rebuild the castle. Later on, the castle was misused as a quarry - castle stones helped to build new houses in Heidelberg. This was stopped in 1800 by Count Charles de Graimberg who made any effort he could to preserve the Heidelberg Castle. In spite of its Gothic interior, it was not before 1934, that the King's Hall was added.
Today, the hall is used for festivities, e.g. dinner banquets, balls and theatre performances. During the Heidelberg Castle Festival in the summer, the courtyard is the site of open air musicals, operas, theatre performances and classical concerts performed by the Heidelberg Philharmonics.
The castle is surrounded by a park where the famous poetJohann von Goethe once walked. TheHeidelberger Bergbahn funicular railway runs from Heidelberg's Kornmakt to the summit of the Königstuhl via the castle.
This week the company is at Learntec in Germany.
At LEARNTEC 2009, we will once again be presenting the future of learning as well as the latest e-learning solutions for you to use in your company or educational institution. As an expert for e-learning and knowledge management, you will find here the right products, applications and services to meet your individual needs. For an advance taste of the many interesting topics, lectures and special formats to be featured at LEARNTEC 2009, visit www.learntec.de.
It is ending today.
I have been a week in Berlin, last three days at Online Educa in Hotel Intercontinental. We were staying from last Sunday in Sylter Hof,
The Kurfürstendamm, known locally as the Ku'damm, is one of the most famous avenues in Berlin, Germany. The street takes its name from the former Kurfürsten (Electors) of the Holy Roman Empire. This very broad, long boulevard can be considered theChamps-Élysées of Berlin - full of shops, houses, hotels and restaurants. In particular most important famous designers have their shops there like Gucci, Bvlgari, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Valentino, Lacoste, Tommy Hilfiger, Cartier, Hermès, Swarovski, as well as several car manufacturers' show rooms.
When Berlin was separated into East and West Berlin, the Kurfürstendamm became the leading commercial street in West Berlin. It starts near Bahnhof Zoo (that used to be a major railway station, before the Lehrter Bahnhof was opened which is now the Berliner Hauptbahnhof (Central Train Station)) at the Zoologischer Garten, near the ruins of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, and runs through Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf.
After a busy day, partly work and some shopping and after a nice Glühwein at a Weinachtsmarkt, we ended up in KaDeWe (Kaufhauf Des Westens) at the 6th floor to have a perfect cheese dinner.
About KaDeWe (from Wikipedia).
The Kaufhaus des Westens (English "Department Store of the West", commonly abbreviated KaDeWe) is a department store in Berlin and the largest in all of continental Europe. With over 60,000 square metres of selling space and more than 380,000 articles available, it attracts 40,000 to 50,000 visitors every day.
The store is located on Tauentzienstraße, a major shopping street, between Wittenbergplatz and Breitscheidplatz, near the center of the former West Berlin. It is technically in the extreme northwest of the neighborhood of Schöneberg.
The store was originally founded in 1905 by Adolf Jandorf, who persuaded the famous architect Emil Schaudt to build his store. It opened in March 27th, 1907 with an area of 24,000 sqm.
In 1927, ownership changed to the Hertie company owned by Hermann Tietz.
The Hertie Company was responsible for modernizing and expanding the
store. They had the ambition to add two new floors but because of the
Nazi rise to power in the 1930's their plans came to a sudden halt. The
Hertie Company was mainly Jewish owned and because of the Nazi's race
laws they were prevented from maintaining their ownership. During World War II
the allied bombing runs ruined most of the store. One of the bombers
was shot down and crashed into KaDaWe in 1943. Most of the store was
gutted which caused the store to close. The re-opening of the first two
floors was celebrated in 1950. They completed the construction of all
seven floors by 1956. Once completed it became a beacon of hope for
Berliners. "KaDeWe" soon became a symbol of the regained economic power
of Germany during the Wirtschaftswunder economic boom, as well as emblematic of the material prosperity of West Berlin versus that of the East Berlin.
During 1976-1978 KaDaWe expanded from 24,000 sqm to 44,000 sqm. When
the Berlin wall fell in 1989, KaDaWe had record breaking amount of
people travel through the store. By 1996, the store's sales area
expanded to 60,000 sqm and a restaurant was added to the top floor.
In 1994, the KarstadtQuelle AG
corporation acquired Hertie and with it KaDeWe. Most of the floors were
renovated between 2004 and 2007 to prepare for their one hundredth
anniversary.
KaDeWe has seven huge floors and each one contains different
merchandise. The first floor is all Beauty Accessories. A few of the
services offered are beauty salons and nail and foot spas. Most men
tend to avoid this level. Also the "Luxury Boulevard" is situated at
these floor, with own shops of Louis Vuitton, Dior, Gucci, Chanel, Bvlgari, Cartier or Montblanc.
The 2nd floor is Men's Apparel. On this floor you can find mens
fashion whether you need a pair of jeans or a new suit for a night on
the town. Most of the clothing on this floor are designer made. If
you're looking for a cheap pair of jeans there are better places to go
than KaDeWe's 2nd floor.
The next floor up is devoted to Womens Fashion. This is the 2nd
floor for women, but this one focuses on designer clothing. KaDeWe has
a wide selection from a nice pair of pants to a little black dress for
the next party.
The 4th floor contains a little of something for everyone. Part of
the floor is children's wear. You can find fashion for newborns up to
kids. Another chunk of the floor is devoted to lingerie. The last
little bit contains items for your healthiness. You can get a brand new
bed or pick up some toiletries.
The sixth and seventh floor (added in the early 1990s) are entirely
devoted to food, and advertisements tout the place as having two
football fields of food. The sixth floor is called delicatessen and is famous for its wide variety of food and beverages.
On the top level one can find a winter garden with a restaurant surrounded by an all windowed wall offering a view over the Wittenbergplatz.
Its sheer size, large selection and fame for excellent quality and its central location in the heart of Berlin near the Gedächtniskirche ("Kaiser Wilhelm" Memorial Church) and the Kurfürstendamm makes it a must for every tourist visiting Berlin.
We had an extremely good weekend in Berlin. One of the entertainment options was going by bike. We had a very nice, but cold tour. Partly following the Berlin wall and/or what is left of it, first through Kreuzberg and the last half hour (of the 6 total) we also visited the more well known touristic spots. But I was glad .... as those spots I already visited several times. One of the bicyclists had a GPS (ported to Google Earth) so we have prove of our tour :-).
Below, an overview, the Postdammer Platz with the new Sony on the left (they left BTW) building and lastly the Brandenburger Tor (right) and the Reichstag (left).
I am back from my short visit to Germany for my sister's Birthday.
It
was an extremely nice late almost "Indian Summer" weekend with a nice
party and on Sunday a visit to an art gallery where one of her friends,
Karl Heinz Treiber, had an exposition.
I think he makes some very
interesting paintings, at the exposition it was mainly about mountains.
Very detailed and technical paintings .... the explanations were much
more philosophical though :-).
A few examples (he actually climbed the mountains in Italy and Switzerland):
And a few of the mixed ones. It's about coming home and "The Wanderer" and his road in life ...
I started my trip from my parent’s house in Heerenveen and went to Groningen after which many bikers blocked my views. They all came back from the Dutch Motor TT in Assen. It was a perfect day to drive, although in Germany rather busy.
My first stop was Schlesswig where I visited the Nijdam Boat and the Bordesholmer Altar.
From there I was planning to end in Flensburg but changed my plans and drove to Roskilde in Denmark. Roskilde is famous for the Roskilde Festival and the Viking Ship Museum, which I visited the next day. Although it was raining Cats and Dogs all day it is a very nice museum, well worth visiting.
The upcoming holiday is getting closer, so I am doing some planning. One is the trip by boat when getting back from Norway to Denmark. Today reserved the trip from Langesund (Norway) to Hirtshals (Denmark) and a hotel near by in Skien.
Well, it’s just a beginning of a plan. Travelling 5 countries (Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany and back to the Netherlands) and 4200 KM in 2 weeks
Day 1 Amsterdam Flensburg 612
Day 2 Flensburg Kopenhagen 324
Day 3 Kopenhagen Malmo
Goteborg 267
Oslo 297
Day 4 Oslo Oppdal 423
Day 5 Oppdal Trondheim 121
Day 6 Trondheim Alesund 300
Day 7 Alesund Hornindal 110
Day 8 Hornindal Bergen 314
Day 9 Bergen Stavanger 180
Day 10 Stavanger Kristiansand 247
Day 11 Langesund Hirtshals (ferry)
Hirtshals Aalborg
Aalborg Arhus 186
Day 12 Arhus Kiel 270
Day 13 Kiel Amsterdam 552
