Woodworking Points of Interest

[TJ]

Good Day Ladies & Gentlemen,

I hope you will excuse a minor intrusion into your forum for a quick question. I have visited the UK on many occassions and now I am headed for Europe in the fall with the following destinations.

BASEL, SWITZERLAND
BLACK FOREST, GERMANY
STRASBOURG, FRANCE
SPEYER, GERMANY
HEIDELBERG, GERMANY
RUDESHEIM, GERMANY
KOBLENZ, GERMANY
COLOGNE, GERMANY
ARNHEM, NETHERLANDS
AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS
GOUDA, NETHERLANDS
DELFT, NETHERLANDS
BRUGES, BELGIUM

Can you recommend any woodworking points of interest/tool buying opportunities regarding these locations?

Thank you kindly for your response,

TJ

 

[Scrit]

Hello TJ, and welcome to the firum. Well I'll start the ball rolling with somewhere I used to live near and work near - Arnhem in the Netherlands.

Not quite in Arnhem, but a couple of kilometres out near the zoo there is the Veluwse Open Air Museum or Openluchtmuseum which has houses of different periods brought from all over the Netherlands and reconstructed. There's a video of the site on the link - just turn off the music, though (you've been warned!). Wide use of timber framing of different types and I believe some examples of Dutch kasten (wardrobes) - although my memory is getting a bit hazy on that. The site used to have demonstrations of klompenmaken (wooden clog making) as well as a working wheelright's shop and theye were adding more stuff last time I was there (years ago).

The only woodworking thing I can remember in the town was the church of St. Eusebius which has a very good carillion, and a "Big Ben" hour strike (which used to amuse me when I lived over ther 20+ years ago) - much of the church was badly damaged in the Arnhem landings and rebuilt in the 1950s and 60s although the original church was 15th Century.

Arnhem town centre itself was pretty much destroyed during the abortive landings in 1944 by the British Airborne Division, but in commemoration the Rhine Bridge was renamed Johannes Frost Brug (John Frost Bridge) after the British officer commanding and there is a long linear park through part of the town called Airborne Plein. There are some signs of woodwork from that invasion though, at the Airborne Museum in Oosterbeek - parts of wooden gliders used during the landing.

In Belgium if you are going to Brugge I'd consider stopping in at Ghent as the town hall there is really something. They also have a local speciality - Ghentse Waterzooi, sort of chicken hot pot. The other thing to sample there is the beer - I particularly like the Geuze, produced by one of the oldest known brewing processes.

Scrit

 

[TJ]

Scrit,

Thank you so much for the information.

I will add it to my notes and planning documents.

Regards,

TJ

 

[engineer one]

tj.
in switzerland, just wander along the side streets in basel, you will see lots
of buildings with some intricate carving on the outside. most of their churches are lutheran, but have often good carving to the altars and choir areas. always look for the rathaus in most older towns, particularly
cologne, and many of the medieval towns still have good buildings, or
they have been rebuilt in the same style. always visit the cathedrals, or
domes aachen is particularly good. i think the germans in particular have more in town stores than we do in the uk.
can't remember the german for a hardware store will check.
check for schmid in berlin, and **** near the east border for fine tools, but
some of the local hardware stores used to have better types of stock than our local stores do.

in holland am not to sure, but check the markts around amsterdam if you can. check the brand nooitgedagt. not made any more, but some older
stock around maybe. if you visit the deflt china museums/ factories check out the amazing high step staircases need to be fit.

older churches, and town halls again

in brugge, the only place if found for hardware was a bricolage on a trading estate, and frankly it was disappointing for tools. however the main square, the churches, outside, the town hall again, fabulous. lots of good belgian beers, try the monastery type, and then eat alongside the
canals good value and nice food.

ghent is quaint and beautiful canal front buildings with great external carvings.

i would do a search for each place you wish to visit, and check the
dictionary to see how they describe hand tool companies, or diy sheds,
then you can check how many there are.

question did any one yet find any decent older shops in paris for woodworking stuff, years ago there were some reports in pop woodworker,
but i could not find it.

enjoy the buildings in particular, even basel is actually very pretty in
the old quarter. in zurich there is a church with chagal windows very pretty.

paul :wink:

ps a number of the churches in germany will still have wooden altar panels etc, some in some of my art books, and also remember that
Grinling Gibbons the great carver came from holland in the 1600's

 

[houtslager]

hi there TJ if you post the dates of your Northern Europe part, maybe I can show you around Amsterdam and introduce you to some of its local customs :wink: :lol:

 

[Scrit]

........maybe I can show you around Amsterdam and introduce you to some of its local customs

:shock: :wink:

 

[PowerTool]

hi there TJ if you post the dates of your Northern Europe part, maybe I can show you around Amsterdam and introduce you to some of its local customs :wink: :lol:

Koekje erbije ?

Andrew

 

[woodbloke]

TJ wrote:

tool buying opportunities

If you are going anywhere near Metten, Germany an excellent place to buy tools of all types is at **** Gmbh, Donaustr 51, Metten, Germany. The have a web site, www.****.biz and e-mail address at info@****.biz. They specialize in top end tools of all sorts, especially stuff from Japan, including a range of natural water stones. Their range of musical instrument making tools and cramps is second to none - Rob

 

[TJ]

hi there TJ if you post the dates of your Northern Europe part, maybe I can show you around Amsterdam and introduce you to some of its local customs :wink: :lol:

Well, it would give new meaning to points of interest I suppose.

Or were you refering to that other local custom taken at the coffee houses?

BTW, just so you know, the "T" in "TJ" stands for Teresa. Not that that would keep me from wanting to experience your local customs

Thanks for all the feedback guys, much appreciated!

TJ