How about some pictures!

 At the Hofbrauhaus

 Well, it's about time I got around to including some pictures. Here a web album from the first few days here in Germany.

  Ah, the pretty German countryside!

Check the link below for an album...

CLICK FOR SOME MORE PICTURES....

Germany, day 2

Marienplatz in ribbons!

We got a late start today. It's a holiday here, Corpus Cristi, so most commercial sites were closed down, so we weren't in a big hurry.

Gordon met us at our hotel at 10 and we went to the Marienplatz to grab a coffee and a bite. While there, we saw the scaffolding which was going up yesterday coming down! I'm afraid we missed that show, but we did catch the entire Glockenspiel show at noon!

Michael Jackson's shrine.

Gordon led us through some interesting parts of town, including Dodger's alley. We passed through a promenade which had an old statue which has become the site of an impromptu shrine to Michael Jackson! We then went to visit the Alte Pinakothek, an art museum which houses tons of art from mostly the 13th through 15th centuries. They included Rembrandt, El Greco, a very large collection of Rubens, and even a Da Vinci. It was easy to spend a lot of time there, the Rubens' included the Lion Hunt, which I can remember seeing as a child, it made a strong impression on me back then.

After that, Gordon went to his dorm and Shelly and I went to see Dachau.

Dachau is out in the west suburbs, a good half hour on the train out of town. It seems like a pleasant little town, then you get to the Concentration camp grounds.

A very grim place indeed. we were suprised by how big the grounds were. We passed through the Arbiet Macht Frie (Work Makes you Free) gate and visited the museum, which is pretty stark. Two of the barracks have been rebuilt, along with the foundations of easily 40 more. The path that separates the rows of foundations is lined with old poplars, which were planted at the time of the camps construction.

After the camp, we got back on the train and headed back to town. We met a couple from Houston who were driving through the area. Seems like a nice way to travel, they never make reservations and always stay at hotels on the outskirts.

Got back in town just in time to meet Gordon for dinner at the Schneider Weisse Brewery. Good food.  We enjoyed Weiner Schnitzel and Cordon Blue, and beer, of course.

Weather has been dreary, raining practically all the time!!

Germany Day One: Travel

We started the day at 2:30am, getting up to catch "Super Shuttle" for Sacramento International. SS picked us up at about 3:30 and dropped us off.


We were actually pretty early for our 7:40 flight and we did not have any excessive waits at check in or security. We ran into my co-worker, Johnnie Powell there.  He was going to D.C. as well, but on a different flight which actually left an hour before ours.


The first leg of our trip, SMF to Dulles, was uneventful, but United is getting very sparse in their flights.  There wasn't even a snack service on the 4 hour flight. When we got to Dulles, we were starved and found a "Gordon Biersch" brew pub, and we got some lunch and Marzen.  Our first of many beers on this trip.


The second leg of the flight, Dulles to Munich, got off to an inauspicious beginning when we were put on an indefinite hold on the tarmac due to thunderstorms over the NYC area. We caught a break, though, when the FAA let our flight be a "pathfinder" and we were airborne after about 20 minutes or so.


This United flight was a little more generous than the previous one. We got drinks and snacks, and a dinner, which I ate, but Shelly passed on since we had had that lunch at Dulles only a few hours before. We both tried to sleep, but didn't have too much success. There were a couple of movies to choose from, and I was generally mesmerized by the "Map" display, which shows the planes progress and altitude, speed, etc.


It was almost 8 hours before we deplaned at MUC. It was about 8 a.m, raining and gloomy out. We cleared security and customs with incredible ease, and there was Gordon to greet us! He got the morning off from work and picked up some U-bahn passes for us.


Gordon is now an old pro at German living. He explained the U-Bahn and S-bahn to us, and guided us to our Holiday Inn. Although it was only 10 a.m, they let us check in and drop off our luggage in our nice, though small, room.  Interesting that European rooms only provide a comforter and pillow, no sheets (well a bottom sheet).  It was a bit warm on some evenings and we were never in really hot weather.

After that, Gordon took us to the U-Bahn, we both rode for a while, then he split off to go to his office, and Shelly and I went to the Marienplatz. There we got to the Neue Rathaus just in time to see the Glockenspiel sounding off at 11:00, we missed the big show at 12, because we were wandering round. We grabbed a couple of sandwiches and checked out a couple of the impressive churches nearby. Shelly was looking for a pair of shoes because her clogs were not really great in the wet weather.


We were beginning to really feel our lack of sleep, so we headed back to the hotel for a nap. We managed to get turned around departing our U-Bahn station, but caught our mistake and got to the hotel. All this occurred during a steady light rain. We were both grateful for the Gortex jackets we got for our Australia trip.


We both practically passed out that afternoon, I slept for a good 2 hours. We needed to be at the Marionplatz at 7 to meet Gordon for dinner, so we forced ourselves out of bed and back to the U-Bahn.


We arrived just before 7 and hung around the Fountain at the Marienplatz. There were a lot of people around, as it is the start of a long weekend, Thursday is Corpus Cristi, a state holiday here. It was fun to watch some of the kids around here. There was a bunch near us who were kind of like Gothes" with all the black and the body piercing, but they were well behaved if a little noisy.


We finally spotted Gordon, he had been around but we both missed each other. First thing to do was to buy a couple of umbrellas. We found a good selection at a shop called "C&A", a popular department store. Interesting thing about retail purchases here, is that all the taxes are already figured in the price you see on the tag, so there's no surprise when you ring it up.


We had to go to the Hofbrauhaus this trip, so we did that for dinner. It wasn't super busy there in the dining hall. We decided to order off the menu instead of going to the buffet, because we wanted specific items (like red cabbage). The bier was wonderful, of course. A 1 liter mug, or mass, is the usual serving size here! 

We enjoyed a dinner which included a stuffed cabbage roll, various sausages with sauerkraut, and more beer, and pretzels and bread. After finishing, we strolled around the lower level of this massive complex. Downstairs was more individual sitting, with lots of people drinking! I think this area was more used by the locals, and tourists use the upper floor.


During dinner Gordon mentioned he needed a couple more examples of coasters to complete his collection, so we decided to add to it after dinner. We stopped by a "Paulaner" brew pub, and sampled some more beer, and Gordon, of course, wanted a dessert. We got an apple strudel and some wiessbeir, but no coasters. Sehr gut!


By this time, 11 p.m, it was time to call it a night, we said good bye to Gordon at the U-Bahn.  He took one line and we took another. Then we had our first adventure of the trip. When we got to our transfer point, we found that the trains for our spur had stopped at 8 p.m! What to do? We could take another train up one more stop, but that still left a considerable distance to our hotel, and we had no reliable city map, so we wouldn't really know where we were going. Since we were at a pretty large stop, we figured we'd have a better chance of catching a cab there, so we went up to the surface, and sure enough, there was a lineup of cabs.  A quick cab ride got us safely back to our hotel.  

The next day Gordon figured out how to get us home in the evening using the tram system.  Gordon has really eased our way into German life.

In Munchen!

The Glockenspiel at the "New" Rathaus!

Gordon and his mom...

Hello all, we've made it to Germany!! Here's Shelly and Gordon at the Hofbrauhaus...no Shelly's not drinking 2 masses', she's holding mine while I snap the picture.

We've already seen a bit of the town, I'll supply more details and pictures later...just wanted to drop a line while I'm at a computer.

ARE WE DONE YET??

after...

Well, yeah! Just about, anyway! The micro-hood combo was installed today, and the garbage was hauled off. We now have a kitchen!! It's beautiful and we're pretty happy with it all. To think of how much it's changed, it's pretty amazing.

 ...and before!

This all began on March 20th, it's now May 25th!! Two months, phew, but it's gone by quickly. The only things left is some caulking, a little touch up paint, and the final inspection. We hope the book is closed on this before we head to Germany next week!!

The Kitchen's getting close!

We're oh-so-close to completing our kitchen re-model. On Thursday we had the final tile work done. Today the plumber came in  and installed the dishwasher and the stove. (He grumbled about how plumbers shouldn't be installing stoves.) 


Anyway, he did a pretty good job, even though he is just a plumber.


Here's a couple of shots:

The plumber did draw the line at installing the Microwave/hood. I guess the electrician will do that Monday. THAT SHOULD DO IT!!

 Dishwasher in!

The new stove- a slide in, pretty tight fit I hear.

You can kind of make out the fancy glass tile insets.

NEW CARPET. NEW ROOM

Saturday morning the carpet guys came by to install carpet in the living room. Shelly and I had to scramble the night before to get that room cleared. The dining room was crammed with all its furniture and the living room stuff.

 Before...

After...

Not too bad!

THE FLOOR'S IN! THE FLOOR'S IN!

The hardwood floor installed!

Today was a big day in our kitchen remodel journey. The flooring was installed today. The flooring guys actually started yesterday, ripping out the old carpet and prepping the floor. Today, they did the hardwood floor. Tomorrow, the carpet in the living room is replaced.

The flooring looks really good, and it seems a lot lighter to the eye that the old brown carpet, even though when you held the two of them up side by side, they seemed close in hue. Something about the reflective quality of the wood, I guess. Really brightens the place up. The new baseboard also looks pretty good, I'm not sure if these pictures will show it off.

Another view.

A peek at the kitchen.

As I said, tomorrow morning we get the front living room carpeted. Next week will be finishing the tile, installing the appliances, and finishing the electrical work. We're almost there!

Not-so-great shot of the hallway.

TILE INSTALL!

 Tile installed form our new backsplash.

 
This week, so far, has been devoted to tile installation. It's been a tumultuous week, too! There have been several small snags in the tile work which have been giving Shelly fits. The first came at the cabinet which replaced the pantry. There was a question as to where to run the ends, and somehow, they ended up going beyond the edges of the upper cabinet. This just looked wrong, so we got the tile guy to remove the edge pieces. Now, however, it looks a little plain, especially since the edges on the opposite wall had the edging!

   The "pantry"; note the lack of edging.

So, these little things are taking their toll, I think we may have scared our tile guy away. Other installations have to wait for the tile to get done, so I hope this doesn't put us too far behind!

Note the edging on the wall next to window.

Floors are supposed to go in Thursday and Friday, then appliances? I'm estimating another week and a half to completion. Can't wait!

Kitchen Update;

SINK OPERATIONAL!!

Just a quick update. Joel brought the plumbing guy in today, and he was able to install the sink and garbage disposal, (although the disposal's electrical is not up yet). We now have a functioning sink, and we will no longer have to wash dishes in the bathtub!! Hurray!

   Another view. 

All Hail Granite Countertops!

The focal point of our much-too-expensive kitchen remodel was installed today! Alex installed our "Typhoon Green" granite counter tops!  I have to say, Shelly was definitely correct in spending the extra bucks for this stuff. It really looks good. And Alex did an excellent job on the fabrication and installation. There are joints that are really well done, almost invisible!

Another view.

The counter formally known as the pantry.

We will have a flurry of activity this week as we have to decide which faucet to install, what under cabinet lights, and what type of overhead lights to go with. Then, there will be a pause while we wait for the tile to arrive and get installed, then a mad dash as the flooring and appliances are installed!! Still a few more weeks to go!

Attic Interlude

The last week saw a lull in the action in our kitchen as various coordinated actions had to come into alignment.  But last weekend, our son Ryan began the task of re-doing our badly deteriorated HVAC plumbing! He gathered a lot of material on our back porch, then began moving it into our attic crawl space.

Ryan at work!

Then he went to work. And let me say, Ryan is one hard sheet metal worker! He attacked this project and really did a first class job. He basically redesigned our entire HVAC venting system. He replaced our cheap, falling-apart box plenums with the awesome hard ducting.  Really good work,and it is certainly nice to have a functioning heating system again!

A last look into our intake during installation, it will be a long time before anybody ever sees this view again!

Cabinets installed!

Today saw a dramatic development in our kitchen project; the cabinets arrived! They were all installed today, and I think they turned out very nicely! The finish is excellent, and they are a good quality product. We even got the self closing drawers!


Here's a couple of quick looks:

These replace the pantry.

The new peninsula.

Part of the wall on the sink side, there is the dishwasher space on the left.

Been a long day, so that's all for now!

Kitchen Remodel; Drywall Day!!

Today was drywall day! We were looking forward to this day because the house has been freezing cold without a ceiling in the kitchen. We were beginning to wonder about it though, when the drywall guys hadn't showed up by 1 p.m.! Shelly gave up waiting and went on her errands. (We have a key stashed for the workers to use when we're not around).

When I got home at 5:00, however, the guys were hard at work, hidden behind a plastic sheet. They had arrived about 3 p.m. and got right down to business. They were fast workers, by 6:00, they were out of there! 


Here's the latest:

 I wish I was there when they put the sheetrock up, I don't know if they had a hoist, or if they muscled it up there.

 We've got a ceiling!

The drywall guys will come back tomorrow for the finishing work. After that, we will have the Super Shooters return to, I believe, paint. Then, it looks like we'll get the cabinets by the end of the week!!


Boy, the house really is a lot warmer with a ceiling in the kitchen! 

Hopefully I'll be back Friday or Saturday with cabinet pictures.

Kitchen Remodel; Week 2

During the past week, the electrician came in to install our new lights and outlets. Then, Super Shooters came by and removed the "popcorn" on our ceilings from the entire house. They stripped the ceiling first, then textured it. This had to dry overnight before they could paint it, so we had to vacate the house for a day. Shelly and I decided to spend the night in Reno, so we drove over there Friday night and enjoyed ourselves at the Circus-Circus/ El Dorado complex. Anyway, here's some shots of the work so far...

 

These are two of the lights which will be over the bar.

 

 Hard to see, but these are two lights in the dining room, and the newly textured and painted ceiling. 

On Sunday, our son Ryan came by and did the rough install of the kitchen heater/ac register. He will be revamping our whole ducting system soon.

Ryan hard at work.

Well, not very many interesting pictures this time, but later this week we should have the drywall and ceiling finished, and the cabinets will be installed at the end of the week! Stay tuned!

Kitchen remodel; Day 2

Today the men with the big hammers came by! Here are the results:

They've removed the soffit which created the lowered ceiling and light bay, and removed all the old lights, and most of the pantry:

Finally, here's a look at the refuse from the tear-out. Everything is going, we're even getting a new garbage disposal!!

That's all for now...

Kitchen Remodel; Let the ordeal begin!

Well, the time has finally come for us to remodel the ancient kitchen in our place. This is going to be a pretty big job, and will include new flooring in the hall and living room, as well as the family room and kitchen. In order for the project to be completed in a timely manner, i.e, within this calendar year, Shelly and I decided to hire a contractor. The job should be completed in 4 to 6 weeks. Demo begins this weekend, with removal of the old cabinets. (That job we'll do). Shelly has been in charge of the design and material selection, I think she's getting a little overwhelmed by it, but she's almost got everything sorted out. We'll have some lovely typhoon green granite for the counter tops, all new cabinets, and some sort of super tile design for a back splash. stay tuned.


Thought I'd start with some "before" shots.  Here's a view of the kitchen:

Here's a before/after, (the pantry is going bye-bye, removing the doors is the beginning of the end for it!) :

 We began to rip stuff out today. I got one base unit and all of the doors removed. Tomorrow we'll get busy and should have all the cabinets removed by the end of the day. Here's where we are tonight:

I'll get more pictures when it's stripped!