glasstec ’08 Awaits

It’s almost here! I feel like a kid at Christmas-time as I wait impatiently for Sunday to come. My first glasstec trip is rapidly approaching and while my excitement has been somewhat dimmed by an extremely busy week of following up on information from last week’s GlassBuild show and putting the finishing touches on a jam-packed November issue of USGlass to boot, I am eager for next week nonetheless (and not just for the much-needed nap I anticipate on the flight over).

It’s been some time since Ellen Rogers wrote about her first time at glasstec and after re-reading it yet again I consider myself even more lucky in knowing that Ellen will be there to lend a hand as she covers it for our new Decorative Glass magazine, as will Charles Cumpston for the Architects’ Guide to Glass. (You better believe Deb will be there too, and you’ll be able to recognize our video producer Drew Vass by the equipment he’ll be carrying.)

But first thing’s first. As I pulled out the big suitcase from my closet last night, laid my passport on top and began to fret about how I’d squeeze my latest knitting project into my tiny carry-on, I felt the first stress about my upcoming trip. Now don’t get me wrong—the idea of spending five days walking across 725,000 square feet to talk with some of the 1,000 exhibitors at the show isn’t the least bit daunting to me (stop that laughing!), especially coming fresh off of covering the recent GlassBuild show (ok, I know it doesn’t compare). Nope, this early in the game, my biggest worry is just making my way to the fairgrounds in Düsseldorf: you know, trying to find the right mode of transportation to a destination I can’t pronounce, fighting jet lag while functioning in a fog of foreign conversation, yawning my way through a meal of food I’m just not used to … So I called in an expert in these matters to reassure me: my sister, Robyn, world traveler extraordinaire—and recent German major.

Me: What advice can you give to someone traveling around Düsseldorf for the first time?

Robyn: Take the U-bahn. Everybody takes the U-bahn. It’s just like in D.C. The thing is they’re absolutely punctual. If it says it’s leaving at 10:04, it’s leaving at 10:04.

Me: What are a few words you suggest travelers in Germany know?

Robyn:

How much? ......... Wie Viel?
Please.................... Bitte
Thank you ............ Danke
Train station ........ Bahnhof
Subway ................. U-bahn
Exit ........................ Ausgang
Glass ...................... Glas

Me: What's your favorite German food to order?

Robyn: The best food ever is stollen. The thing about this is you have to be there around Christmas time (it may be out this early). It’s amazing over there, fluffy, with powdered sugar on top. You can buy it at marketplaces and especially at the Christmas fairs. You have to try the original thing. The stollen is amazing.

If you’re looking for fast food, Döner. Basically it’s like McDonald’s in the sense that it just costs a couple Euros, it’s quick, but it’s so good. They serve pitas with lamb, kind of like a gyro.

Also, the salad over there isn’t just lettuce, but it is different than salad over here; it’s compartmentalized. It’s not everything thrown together—it has lettuce but everything else they put on is sectioned off.

Oh, and they don’t have fluffy bread like we have over here. It’s very hard, and that’s normal.

And the water—they’re going to give you carbonated. If you want tap water, you have to ask.

The other thing I wanted to add is they eat a lot of beets (Me: yuuuck). Yeah, beets and potatoes, stuff like that. They're really good.

Me: What’s the name of that chocolate bar Mom has insisted I have to bring her as a souvenir?

Robyn: Milka bar. It’s got a picture of a cow on it. Cappuccino, remember.

Me: Thanks for your time (or something to that effect …).

P.S. For anybody who is curious (I was), the glasstec catalog is an inch and a half thick. But I’m not worried about the show. Much.