Frankfurt Auto Show!

So Im gonna try and make this easy. I put all my pictures on my Flickr page...some 280 of them or so. So for any of you crazy car nutz out there, you can browse all the photos.

The show was better than I imagined, but not as good as I thought it would be, does that make sense? Basically it was bigger and more elaborate than any other car show I've been to, but it wasn't mind blowing impressive from some of the car companies. maybe I'm just beginning to get desensitized to this sort of thing. But Mercedes had the best section out of all the manufacturers. Might try to write more on this later...but here goes some of my favorites...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/parknutz304/

Mercedes.....illuminated floor panels under the cars....soo many people in here...
BMW Concept CS...
The new BMW M3...I have mine on order already....
BMW X6 - the beefy dog of the lineup....proportionally this thing is crazy. way bigger than I imagined, and will look pretty sweet in front of my house.
X6 Rims...twisting double split 5 spokes, for wheel design these things were impressive.
Volkswagen Up!....nice lines and great details. Taillight behind the rear window glass are a new trend...seen on a few cars at the show, but this car hits the small segment perfect. Can't wait to see it on the road.
Renault Laguna. Reminds me a little bit of the Honda Accord coupe from a few years back...the car is not leaping into the future, but has a nice sophisticated look and crisp detail lines. Plus the white on black was a perfect color combo....too bad we won't get these in the states.
Fiat Abarth. Another sweet little hatch I can't have.
Fiat 500 and it's older, much bigger, brother.
Citroen C-Cactus - following on the heels of one of my favorite concepts, the C-Metisse...this car is awesome for its daring pursuit of form language and experimentation.
Artega GT- Big ups to Andrew Leahy...this car is sic in person.
The gang...Allen, Jakob, Curtis, and me.
Long day of walking around the show...time for a three hour train ride back to Munchen.
Parker

Switzerland....clocks, watches, and banks....

People involved: Tom, Reijo, and myself
Destination: Switzerland - Zurich and Gruyeres to the H.R. Giger Museum and Bar in Castle Gruyeres
Date: September 15-16, Sat-Sun, 2007

Two days of Switzerland just happened for me, and I feel like so much has happened. The journey started out with Tom, Reijo and Omer, all friends from work, coming to my house to pick me up in Toms’ car. I almost forgot my passport….not thinking that I’d be crossing into Austria and Switzerland, and they don’t let you in without it. But luckily I found it, but we soon realized Omer did not have his, so back to his house we went. 20 minutes of searching on his end turned up nothing. So Omer unfortunately parted ways knowing there is no way to travel without one.

So, onward we travel. In order to even drive on the highways in Switzerland, and Austria, you have to purchase a yearly permit and display it on the window. If you get pulled over with no permit, big fine. It cost about 36 Euro for the small part of Austria we traveled through, and for Switzerland. Plus Tom got some sweet stickers to put on his front window, and the back of his car.

Passing into Austria, we hit a border crossing checkpoint. And these aren’t the empty checkpoints you find crossing from Arizona to Cali, these were full of Polizia, stopping every car and checking passports. Or so we thought. We got stopped, they looked at our passports, and told us to pull over. Maybe it was something fishy with the combination of passports we had, cuz I’m pretty sure we don’t look that threatening. ‘Three guys walk into a bar….a German, an American, and one Finn….” So they checked our passports for 5 minutes, brought em back to us, and on we went. We didn’t think anything of it until it happened at the next 5 checkpoints. And all the while they checked us out, they just waved other cars on through (wtf?).

We got started a little later than usual. The plan was to get to the H.R. Giger museum by 4pm or so, then hit the bar, and then travel two hours northeast back to Zurich and stay the night. Well, we got a late start. Change of plans…we are now in Switzerland, but we can drive back to Germany, through Austria, and then enter Germany again to go to a place called Rheinfall. It’s a huge natural waterfall that is split in the middle by a large rock, which you can take a boat ride over to and climb the stairs to the top of the waterfall. We got a few pictures…but then realized a boat ride was a necessity. Get the ticket, and onward we went on a boat with about 40 other people or so. You drive right up to the middle of the fountain, the closer you get the more intense the sound. And people are starting to get wet so you start to hear them screaming, as if they’ve never felt cold water before or that this was unexpected traveling to the middle of a waterfall.

The stairs were steep to get to the top. And very narrow. Good combination when they unload like 50 people at a time on this thing. Here’s a panoramic view of the water from the top…

But the best part was the second boat ride over to the far right of the waterfall. There is a ledge that sticks out 20 feet over the rushing water. It’s amazing how they must have built this, and the feeling of that much power rushing past you is pretty intense. You feel like you are at the mouth of the river, and that the water will just all of a sudden gain strength and wash you away. Made for some awesome pictures though…











And on the way out we ran into this place, which was closed, but reminded me that even though I am never too far from home…



That was our unexpected find of the day. So we get back in the car and head to the Hotel Alameda??? In Zurich. It’s about a 20 minute train ride north of the main city. I ask the guy about how to get there and where the bars/clubs are, and he proceeds to show me on a map… “this is where the bars are, lots of younger people, this is shopping, this is more bars, and this area is slow walk fast money.” What? Maybe he was just trying to be informative, or overly informative, or felt I should know where the ‘ladies of the evening’ are in Zurich. Yeah thanks.

So we get to downtown, we walked around for about and hour and a half, not really finding anything cool. And then out of nowhere comes a Hooters. In Zurich, haha. So, a pitcher and an appetizer later, we bounce. Now we are on the mission to find a place called Rotem Kamel, which was recommended to me by Ron from my work. On the way, we ran into some local girls who wanted to bum a cigarette, so we asked where we could find this place. They had no clue where to find it, but agreed to show us to a club they were going to. Perfect, finally someone who knows where to go in this town, by that time we had already blown two hours walking around. Whatever place we went to, it turned out to be cool. Came in to some American hip hop, typical club music. Went to the bar for a drink, a rum and coke….15 Francs. That loosely translates to $15. Ouch. Zurich turns out, is expensive as hell to drink in. Oddest thing of the night….music turns to salsa and merenge for far too long than it should have (one song), I look over and some 60 year old Spanish guy is manning the DJ booth.

Anyways, we decide this place is good, but want to find Rotem Kamel. We get our jackets and out the door we go. I lead us down a wrong alley and end up the other direction from where we need to go. We finally found the spot on the map, but no luck in finding the bar. Last stop of the night, TicTac Bar, really small beers for 5 Francs, girls dancing on the bar, people bumping into each other. We realized the night should end now before it gets any worse, finished out beers and hit the 430am train back to the hotel.

Ahh Gruyeres. The sole reason of this trip. I have been infatuated with the work of H.R. Giger for at least 5 years or so now. Giger is a Swiss Surrealist who is most famous for his work on Alien, Dune, and Species. He does airbrushing, sculpture, and other media to create some of the most amazing work I have ever seen. So we get to Castle Gruyeres, find the Giger Museum entrance and bar, and realize the most important part of the trip has finally arrived.

I don’t know what I expected…but it was a lot more in depth than I had imagined it would be in terms of highlighting works of Giger. There were pieces from many different periods in his life, even sculpture and furniture, huge triptych panels of his work, and even his private collection of work, some his own and some from other artists. Being able to go up and see the intricate detail on his work was the best part, because you realize just how much time and thought went into every airbrush stroke or brush application. The books I have of his work only show you so much detail, but seeing it in person is indescribable. The lighting was not very good on some pieces, so pictures were hard to come by and they also frown upon people taking pictures inside. I didn’t want to disrespect the artist, so I snapped a few pics of my favorite pieces, ones I knew I had to have, and kept the photo taking to a minimum.















The museum also highlighted another artist, Wessi, who I am not familiar with but found his work to be quite impressive also. It is more of a desaturated watercolor application, but his color choice made his style very unique, along with the content.



On to the Giger Bar. It was located outside the museum. We walk in for this first time and this is what I saw…







Giger is famous for his Biomechanical works, and this bar was designed top to bottom with his style of work. It wasn’t a bar that hung a few pictures up and called it ‘Giger Bar’, this place really was like walking into his world. We sit down in these crazy chairs with skulls and bone all over them, and I notice something called Alien Coffee to drink. You can get it with or without alcohol, so I figured ‘when in Rome’ and ordered the top dog. This is what they brought me….coffee with two cremes, marang puff things, sugar, a cookie, and a shot of Absinthe.



I hesitated for a minute not knowing if I was to put the absinthe in the coffee or not, just thinking that didn’t sound right. Sure enough, it was to be enjoyed separately. We finished up and the three of us pondered at how amazing this place and the museum is, and I was thinking ‘well there’s a reason his work is in a castle in Switzerland…” We took a few more pictures of ourselves in the chairs and off we went, I reluctantly, but soon we were in the car and driving back to Munich.

Tomorrow, Frankfurt auto show…on my birthday no less. Ciao!

Parker

A sad day has come....

On Wednesday, September 12th, 2007, my grandfather passed away. It is hard being so far away from family at this time. The last time I saw him was January, 2006. It is always too soon to lose anyone close, no matter what age they are. He told the most creative and vast stories, and had a laugh I will never forget. I will miss him dearly.

parker

Grandma Betty, Uncle Randy, Me, My Dad, Grandpa Bob...

What I am/am I doing?

So here's somewhat of a gameplan I've organized for myself. Flights are always cheaper if you buy em way in advance. Got any recommendations or places I should go? Speak now or forever hold your peace. If anything seeing this helps me wrap my head around my travel plans...

September 15-16
Drive to Gruyures Switzerland to the Giger Museum with Reijo, Tom Renkonen, and Omer
Stay saturday night in Zurich

September 17th
Frankfurt auto show! with Allen and Curtis

September 21-23
Fly to Prague with Allen and Curtis

September 27th-31st
Fly to Phoenix Arizona for Kris and Monica's Wedding...finally see Alex again!

October 5-7th
(open)

October 12-14th
Fly to Milano, meet with Federico
Saturday and Sunday, Endurance Touring Car Championships at Monza Race Track
Ice Bar in Milan, in case I can't make it to Sweden...

October 19-21st
Courtney and Scott's Wedding in Phoenix
(open)

October 26-28th
Fly to Paris with Reijo, stay with Clement

November 2-4th
(open) maybe Barcelona?

November 9-11th
(open)

November 16-18th
Fly to Ireland!
Stay in Dublin Friday night...travel to WRC Race in Enniskillin on Saturday for Leg 2 of race, then travel to Belfast to stay Saturday Night.
Back to Dublin Sunday morning to catch flight.

November 23-25th
(open)

November 30- December 1st
(open) need to go somewhere cold...skiing time...

December 7-9th
(open) again, get my snowshoes on...

December 14-16th
December 14th RTT Munich Christmas Party
(open)

December 21st
Fly to LAX...
RTT Pasadena Christmas Party?
Travel to Phoenix (I got free passes!...reminder for myself) a day or so later for Christmas break and family time.

December 31st
New Years...most likely in Cali this year...


parker

Case of the Mondays….

So Saturday started for me at 8 am. Yeah, I know, I am never up that early. I tried to go back to sleep, I really did…it just wasn’t gonna happen. So I eventually got out of bed defeated, and got ready for the day. I joined some guys from work at the SoccaFive Arena up by the Olympic Stadium to play some indoor football. The place has about 5 or so ‘fields’ to play on…the largest being about the size of a basketball court. Not as big as I was hoping for, but they field was surrounded by nets so it kept the ball in play all the time. And the walls made passing to other players or back to yourself interesting. It was like each team had double the amount of players due to the sneaky wall passing. The ground was pretty soft too, felt cushioned underneath, but that also made it a little more difficult to run, even in my muddy cleats I haven’t cleaned since last weeks game….oops. And because of the size of the field goals came quick…not that we kept score or anything…but I did manage to put a few in the net.


Blurry action shot...


Far right...coming back victorious...


And how’s this for double parking? I mean seriously, it’s not like it’s in my way, it’s just ridiculous the things you see when people are trying to park close to their apartment. This area is the worst for finding parking also, but I mean come on.

The audacity...


So I did a little internet in the afternoon on Saturday…even made a few Skype calls with my fancy new headset, except it was about 9am on the west coast, so most of you were asleep or recovering from Friday night, whichever. Hopefully our internet at the house is hooked up by tomorrow, thanks to Allen staying home so they can come by. Then I can stop paying 5 Euro at the coffee shop for one day of internet. Phhh.



Saturday night, back to Atomic café…where they were finishing up with some 60’s ish band. I thought the music would change afterwards but they played 60’s all night. The place was as empty as ever but it filled up slowly to a nice crowd by 3, when we left. But I was really miffed because myself, Curtis, and Reijo all paid 7 Euro to get in…totally was not worth paying any money to be in there with that music and no crowd. Oh well, lesson learned…plenty of other places to check out in the city. I should be traveling on the weekends anyhow.


Slept in til 1:30pm on Sunday, ouch. Still getting over my cold and going out Saturday night didn’t help. So I woke up, watched a little Artificial Intelligence, and then headed over to the Deutsches Museum which is about a one minute bike ride from my apartment. It reminds me of the science center in Phoenix a little bit. If you can get past the screaming kids running around all over touching everything you can begin to enjoy the museum a little. Sidenote…I thought it was free on Sundays…turns out it’s 8.50 Euro, damn. But they had a lot on airplanes and aerospace, all the way down to nuclear physics and musical instruments. Pretty much covered the basics of technology since the Industrial revolution. My favorites, seeing how the ‘car part’ of the museum is in a different museum, were the jet engines. Many of which they had a cut-away or exposed view of the mechanics, which blew my mind thinking how someone would even go about creating something like this…even back in the 20’s and 30’s. I mean I’ve seen engines before, but these turbine and rocket engines were pretty amazing. All in all, I got there around 230, place closes at 5, so I had to really rush through to see everything. One would need a good two full days in there to take it all in. Guess I can go drop another 8.50 Euro if I really feel the urge to go back….but I think my next adventure is to the car museum.

'Best View of Munich'...or so the Museum says...plus they want an extra 2 euro to go up there....phhhh.


Landing Gear up close...


Turbine Engine...now that is some power...


Close up on the turbine...


Your average European country...350 kg of trash in 6 months....United states about 850 kg...per person! They are just saying that to make us mad...


Outside of work one night...Porsche Carerra S


parker

Fleethorse...because riding a horse in the city is for cowboys...

I've been to the website...www.fleethorse.com....and this thing is for real. Someone actually thinks this idea is feasible! Althought they don't mention anywhere on the website about the costs of owning a horse...hmmmm....cheaper than a car? I don't think so. More efficient? probably not. Zany salesmen from India? most likey. Video Gold? Yes.

parker

My day at work...an averaged equation.

So I know some of you know where I work...but I know some don't know what I do. And since it's the middle of the week and I'm not traveling...I figure I'll take a minute and fill you in.

So I graduated in April, 2007, with my Bachelor of Science Degree in Transportation Design. I design, draw, and make models of cars. The company I work for is RTT, Real Time Technology (www.RTTUSA.com). RTT receives 3D car models in the computer, and utilize programs called Deltagen and Maya to clean the data...make it look good...and then output it to high quality car brochures, web car configurators, movies, pictures, xray views, etc. The program Deltagen can also be used to evaluate design, get measurements, cutaways, and basically view the car in the computer before ever having to make a physical model. We are basically the only company that works for all the major car companies...as data confidentiality is important in this business and we have earned the trust of many companies.

I am out in Germany to take advantage of the large work force the company has in Munich, as the U.S. is currently developing it's offices and no one is there to really 'teach' me the RTT workflow. Three of us came from Pasadena, myself, Allen, and Curtis...two very good friends of mine. So they put us each in a specific department to work. We each get a computer, desk, and free run on water, carbonated water, apple and orange juice drinks, cokes, coffee, cookies, fruit, peanuts, chips, beer....ok well there are bottles all over and people do drink during the work day, usually around 5pm, at their desk, while working. This is not something I partake in. I believe there are over 150 people at RTT. It takes about 3 minutes to walk from end to end, and there is also a floor below us that is half the size. It's huge.

8 am - Wake up.
Wake up, shower, change, grab my bag, jacket, umbrella (never know when you're gonna need it). Head out the door by 830. It takes about 5 minutes to walk to the Fraunhoferstrasse train station. Fraunhofer is the street name, strasse means street...they combine a lot of words in Germany. Down the escalater below street level I go...I take the U2 towards Messestadt-Ost, trains come every 5 minutes in the morning...so you don't have to wait long. On the train it's quiet, no music, no one talks, people glance at each other and look away, it's slightly uncomfortable. The sound of the rails screetching at ear pearcing level can be heard if you happen to get on an older train. My stop is Karl-Preis-Platz...which is about a 10 minute subway ride. I hop off the train and head up from the underworld to the rainy streets of Munich. It's about a 7 minute walk to work from the train station, so it takes about 30 minutes to get to work all together. Sometimes I stop in Red Coffee and grab a bagel, but lately the sesame bagels are hard as a rock, and I know it's not 'German' to serve stale bagels...

9 am - Start of the day
Right now I am in data preparation. I come into work around 9am (on a good day), check emails and things and eat my bagel and cream cheese for about 20 minutes. It's always nice to sit down and have a bunch of email from family and friends...although the generalized bank, amazon.com, or ebay emails creep in there. Plus I keep getting these emails about student loans and having to repay them....weird. Anyhow, after my round of emails and responses, I open my programs, either Maya or Deltagen, depending on the task. I open my 3D file, and begin to 'clean' the data. The parts I work with are the various parts of a car, inside and out, that you will see when looking at the car from normal viewing positions. Nothing inside, like bits behind the dashboard or the material underneath the seat cushion are necessary, throw that out. The reason we clean this is for making the web configurators and such faster and easier to use.

12 pm - Lunchtime
Around 12, I go to lunch at a place called Volksgarden...which is basically the RTT cafeteria. RTT employees get coupons to get food for 3 euro, but since I am not paid through Munich I am not able to get these. Not a bad deal because you only get two food choices per day and a drink. I did get a free drink coupon, but I can order whatever I want because I pay full price. You only go to Volksgarden if you work in the buildings surrounding it, you'd never come from outside the area to eat here, it only exists because all these people need to eat somewhere close and cheap. Ando don't expect good service, a smile, or for them to remember you don't speak German very well even though you come in four times a week. I am getting good at the 'I have no idea what you just said' face. I do go to other places...but if I want to eat with friends from work, I go there 95% of the time.

1230 pm - Racing
So, lunch is over, so Reijo and I go back to work and go to the simulator room. This is where they have two racing seats hooked up to the computer with a racing game called R Factor, steering wheels, paddle shifters, pedals, the whole bit. We race for about 25 minutes, the winner going off to have a great day, the loser to be angry and say 'this game sucks!'. But then it's about 1, so it's back to work.

3 pm - Fussball
Two hours later at three about 4 to 6 of us go downstairs to the fussball table (table soccer, kicker, etc). We play about 4 rounds of this, first team to six. And depending on who you play at the end it's either 'good game man' or 'biggest losers of all time!'. Yes the competition is high and everyone is very good....almost too good. I've never seen some people play this game the way they play it out here. My first day I was like 'yeah i play', then I went down and got my ass kicked hard. But after a month of my daily regiment of table soccer, I'm becoming a pretty threatening opponent. It helps to play with someone who is really good on your team.

20 minutes of this, and back to work. I finish out the day working away on the computer with different car models. At the same time I juggle between cruising the internet, emailing people, and listening to music. This is a very simplified version of my day at work, almost a little to 'on the surface' of what I do. I'll save my personal thoughts for a smaller broadcast. But I get paid to work with car models all day, live in Germany for another 3 months, and then go back to Pasadena. And on Monday the 17th of September, I will be going to the Frankfurt Auto Show in Germany. Sweet. That is also my birthday...I always wondered what random city in Europe I might be spending my birthday in...now I know.

6-7 pm - Head to the train station
Or bike home, but with the rainy weather this is less and less feasible way to get to work and back. I like to arrive home at night relatively dry. Plus it's getting pretty cold out. I take the U2 towards Feldmoching...and exit the train at Fraunhoferstrasse, and start my five minute walk home.

Wish I could put some pictures up of work, but that isn't going to happen. Cheap clipart pictures of and old 35mm camera behind a big circle with a strike through it all over work basically say 'do this and get fired, idiot.' So I will leave you to your imagination of what it looks like...it'll probably be better that way.

parker

Neuschwanstein Castle - where dreams are made of....or something.

"Neuschwanstein Castle is a 19th century Bavarian castle. Located in Germany, near Hohenschwangau and Füssen in southwest Bavaria, the castle was built by Ludwig II, King of Bavaria, as a retreat and as an homage to Richard Wagner, the King's inspiring muse. It is the most photographed building in Germany, although photography of the interior is not permitted, and is one of Germany's most popular tourist destinations."

…wikipedia you are awesome…

I officially have driven on the Autobahn! I rented a car though work at a rental agency called Sixt…well for a few reasons. One, I wanted to go to the Neuschwanstein castle…and two I wanted to drive on the autobahn. I knew I had two choices of cars when we made the reservation, either a VW Golf or a Mercedes A-Class. I was hoping for the Mercedes because I’d rather drive cars you can’t get in the states…obviously. But when I got there they had neither car, so I was given a Peugot 307. A little 5 door hatch, 4 cylinder diesel motor with a manual transmission. Manual…oh yes it has been too long. The sound if completely different from regular unleaded engines, and it is turbo so you get a slight whisling noise when you accelerate…in fact they engines almost sound “clunky” compared to cars in the states…but they are cleaner and more efficient…yada yada.

I went to the castle with Reijo, a Finnish friend of mine from work. It took about two hours to get there, driving though the German countryside full of barns, cows, farmland, and rolling green pastures for miles. Lots of pine trees also…it reminded me of Michigan, or even Flagstaff a little bit. Driving on the road proved to be not as difficult as I had imagined. And I don’t think the section we were on was the fastest, although I was traveling at about 80 mph in the right lane and cars were flying past me at over 100 mph easily.









As far as the castle goes, it is not very big from far away, maybe because the surrounding mountains trump it in size. The castle had a mystical early morning fog at the top when we got there…I was still hoping the rain would hold off even though it had been grey skies all morning. You have to be on a tour to get into the castle, and they don’t allow photography inside (strange). So we got our tickets and did the touristy thing. From what I’ve heard this castle inspired the Disneyworld castle. It actually is only 1/3 completed…it was never finished because of King Ludwig II’s death (murder - look it up). They deposed him by saying he was legally insane, then they found him dead in shallow water two days later with his doctor also dead, and ruled it as a drowning, sound fishy? Anyhow…walking around this castle seems like you are at an amusement park…it’s just not as old as other castles and does not really have any history to speak of, being only 150 years old. It basically was ‘built’, lived in for a year by the king, then opened for public tours 6 weeks after he was killed. So anyhow I snapped a few photos…but the main one of the castle is from Mary’s Bridge, behind the castle looking outward to the country.





More to come later. Have a nice day!

parker