More Of The Great Wall

 

 

The great wall is now complete.

We decided to have some trees on the outside to soften the effect of the wall.

 

We got Blue Tip Juniper and had the yard guy plant them on the Friday after Thanksgiving.

 

We also decided to have top dressing applied to the grass and have it re-seeded.

So now it smells like Wisconsin out there. That's not an insult to Wisconsin , but there is a reason that it is known as America's Dairyland.

 



The final step will be the installation of the gate and that is about two to three weeks out.

 

 

 

 

Carnivale In Germany

 

 

This was the Carnival mood in Cologne when we arrived on Sunday.

 

 

Maybe we will go with the intention of enjoying it the next time.

Leaving Germany

We are checked in, sitting in the lounge and ready to go.
Yesterday we drove south to Kehl which is near Strasbourg, France. We looked around a warehouse with a bunch of used forging equipment. Some of it was even older than I am.
See this press from Newcastle below!




Or this old Fielding press from Gloucester!



After we got back to Frankfurt, I treated myself to a Bitburger in the airport.



No the table is not pink, it just the lighting.

We should be on the plane in about 30 minutes and ready for take off in about one hour.

More soon from home.

Norm


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Location:Frankfurt Airport

Day 3 Germany

Today we drove from Cologne to Siegen to visit our friends in DDS.
It was quite an easy drive except for the area where the tree trimmers were working. They had one lane of the autobahn shut down with a huge traffic back up.
Once we got to Siegen we met with our friends there and took a tour of the plant.

And, they still have the PINK ladies room (portable) that Anne saw on her last trip!



We saw our good friend Martin who asked to be remembered to Barb and Leon.
He is in this picture if only you can find him.
.




Tomorrow we drive down to the German town of Kehl which is near Strasbourg which is of course in France.

Tonight we had dinner with Rainer Dango (after a little delay when he got lost in the hotel)
A great night was had by all.

More from Frankfurt tomorrow when we get back.

Location:Frankfurt

Day 2 Germany

After a tough day of working our fingers to the bone!
We decided to visit the local HD store in Cologne.
After an early setback, John came up with a great idea to find the place.
He realized that we were passing through this commercial area and that the store would be in there.
A huge production site has been broken up into boutique size buildings and the HD store is housed in one of them.














I decided to take a walk around the area by our hotel, not a bad idea, but very cold.

How can you play a grand piano outside when it is cold!







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Location:Cologne

Day 1 Germany

We arrived in Cologne on the day that they start celebrating Carnivale.
They celebrate it from now until Mardi Gras taking a break to celebrate Christmas.
I thought that we had the lock on crazies in L.A. they have nothing on these guys when they are in party mood.
It is now a little after midnight here and there are still a few revelers out in the streets.
It is not just a young people thing, lots of grannies and grand dads are out there too.
Normally you can, with a little difficulty, drive to the hotel which is in a pedestrian precinct. (I'm good at that) Yesterday we had to park about a half mile away and walk to the hotel.











In the hotel bar, The Pope,Elvis and a Scottish prince having a beer together.








Here you can see one part of a band, the drummers all have their equipment mounted on wheels and take them from place to place to carry out impromptu
concerts. The guys who played the Sousaphones aren't so lucky, they have to carry them.






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Location:Cologne

Trip

In the lounge at LAX ready to depart.
I think that I have flown Lufthansa flight 456 to Frankfurt more than any other flight to Europe.

More soon from the other side of the pond.




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Location:LAX

Full Height Now

Only The Razor Wire and Machine Gun Posts To Be Added

 

Now that piece of tree stump needs to go.

The chair is for Anne to sit on whilst she asks passers by for donations.
 

 

 

 

 

The Wall Goes Up

 

 

Today the crew started the construction in earnest.

They poured the footing and started the building of the wall.

 

 

They have now set five courses of block and are about half way there.

 
 I noticed that on the inside of the wall they marked some blocks with an X.
I asked the "builder" what that meant and he told me that was how they knew where the re-bar is placed and that they pour each of those positions with concrete.

In the gate opening there will be a turnstile installed to ensure that guests do not leave without paying their bill.

And here we have the lovely  Anna showing how high the wall will be upon completion.
Of course the broken glass and barbed wire will be a little higher.

This wall adds a whole new dimension to round the bend! 

Once the block is all in place, the wall will be covered in stucco on both sides colored to match the house