More than Just Work

While the heart of this trip is to visit various tool companies and to learn about their methods and new product, all work and no play does make Rob a dull boy. So I have been able to spend a bit of time doing things that are not just work related. My hosts, Lucia Spallacci of CMT, Simon Hornby of Felder and Christian Oltzscher and Lorilee Torrey of Festool; all have gone out of their way to entertain me (and my wife, Maggie) in a number of different ways. And on top of that, there is just the experience of being in Europe – traveling via train, seeing castles and historic sites and experiencing local customs. Tomorrow I will be back at it – this time writing about Festool – but for today, here are a few things of interest.

Christkindle Markts and Christmas Markets
Innsbruck, Austria is a wonderful city – and especially so during the lead-up to Christmas. It is a tradition in Austria to set up Christkindle Markts. These markets consist of many stalls of merchants selling seasonally themed items – everything from roasted chestnuts to handmade wood products to Tyrolean sweaters. The community comes together to decorate the public spaces (Innsbruck’s old town area in this case.)
Whole families (mom, dad, children, grandma, grandpa, the dog … the whole family) attend travel to the Christkindle Markts, where there are pony rides, visits from St. Nicholas and many wonderful traditional treats. As a visitor I found the tradition to be charming and the people to be warm and friendly.
In Germany the tradition is very similar, but the events are simply call Christmas Markets. We even got to see a medieval version of a Christmas Market in Esslingen.

Train Travel
After arriving in Venice by airplane, we have traveled through Italy, to Austria and finally Nurtingen, Germany by train. It has been – for the most part – comfortable, convenient and effective. One enjoyable night we shared a compartment with four students from Spain. They were sleepy, but entertaining – on their way to meet a friend, who would let them sleep at his apartment. On the same evening we met a charming expatriate Britain who 15 years ago sold everything he had in the UK and moved to Italy. He has never looked back.

Burning the Schnapps
One evening we were taken to a Schnapps distillery where we watched and learned how schnapps is made. It was fascinating and fun. The distillery we visited was a family business and the whole family entertained us all evening. (And there was live music – an accordion player … he was a hoot.)

Images top to bottom: My wife Maggie and I in an Italian garden. The famous Golden Roof in Innsbruck, Austria. Your ever vigilent editor at a Christkindle markt, looking at antique woodworking tools -- Stumpers anyone? An evening seen at a holiday market. Some beautiful wooden gifts at a Christmas Market. A 16th century church and the carving above the entry door. A "castle" in the distance at Esslingen. Our four Spanish students on holiday. A $20,000 Euro distilling machine.