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I forgot to ask our agent, and she's on leave right now.

Anybody from the areas we are planning to visit, or anybody that has visited
them recently... Germany / Austria / Italy.

Do you know what the availability is of high-speed Internet service (hotels, etc.)?

I will need to be able to stay in touch (2 weeks away is too much), and I presume some others might like to have some access.

- Frank B.

I live in Vienna. I also travel quite a bit so know what you mean. Most hotels, even small ones, will have high speed internet. Same in germany and I am pretty sure Italy too.

Wireless is pretty common, but sometimes you must use DSL phone cable. Just in case, be sure to bring the correct telephone adapter. Also, many hotels offer use of their own desktops already set up for internet.

Thanks tnew,

Which reminds me, I need to check with my cell phone carrier. I believe you can switch the sim card to use a U.S. phone in Europe (?)

Oh, and aren't the outlets different from ours?
(Ours are 120 volt with two side by side vertical slots, and one round slot under, sorta like a smiley face).

I'll be glad when our travel agent gets back :-)

I never bought into the cell phone fad (though I have one for when I travel). But I do know that you need a multiband phone to use yours in Europe. Triband at least. Most basic US cell phones won't work in Europe because they are only dual band. Check yours for the multi bandwidth.

If your cell phone is at least triband, and assuming you have a service contract that allows for international calls, you can use your US sim anywhere. I never change mine out. It's true that if you can get a local one, it is definitely cheaper to call. Unfortunately you usually need a local address to get one. Instead, most people buy a calling card for cell phones that gives a discount rate. Usually the best ones are the ones you buy in the country you are visiting. I can help you with that if you choose to get a calling card.

One other point, you might want to check out skype for making phone calls through your laptop. That is even cheaper.

The outlets are 220volts. Your cell phone and laptop should adjust automatically without having to flip a switch on the device or use a transformer. I have used mine with both voltages with no problem. Check the user manuals and the tiny text written on the charger of your device just to be sure(it should say something like 110-230volts which means it will work everywhere in between those voltages).

If it switches automatically, you only need an adapter for the plug. Those are cheap. You plug your US cord into the adapter which gives you the correct prong type to plug into the wall.

Devices that don't extend to the range of 220 or 230 volts must use a transformer. Usually those are small devices (like razors) and you can buy a little travel transformer. You likely won't need one if the only devices you have are the cell phone and laptop, which as I mentioned probably already are capable of up to 220/230 volts.

Oh, and in case it wasn't noticeable, I have spent a lot of time traveling and having to solve these same problems too!

Thanks again tnew, much appreciated. I also hope to get to your country one day soon.

I did pick up that you must do a lot of traveling :-)

And you've likely picked up by now that I haven't.
I've never been to Europe so I'm very excited about this trip.

I love old architecture, history, music, good food, and meeting new people.

My pleasure. Hopefully you will get the chance to visit here for the european piano factory tour. I definitely want to make an effort to join the group, because it sounds like it will be a super good time. I'm an expat from the US by the way. But since I have been in Austria for so many years now and probably will be for 100 more, I guess that makes me something like an ameripian.

I most likely won't join in, since I have personally visited quite a few of the manufacturers myself already, BUT

a) if there are questions regarding transport within Germany, accommodation (of Western countries, Germany has some of the lowest hotel costs, by the way), I'll help if I can

b) should the trip end up also coming to Munich (Piano Fischer have the complete range of Faziolis on show here, as they do in Stuttgart), depending on timing and size of group, there may be a possibility of a meet-up at our place or I can give suggestions for good beergardens.

If your time permits: August Förster in Löbau (which is about 2 1/2 to 3 hours or so from Leipzig (Großpösna is near Leipzig) by train) is also worth seeing - they are, together with Steingraeber, probably the most hands-only manufacturer. From Löbau, it is not far to Seifhennersdorf, where Bechstein have their German manufacturing (how much you can see there, I don't know - I have heard varying stories). On that route, it would be possible to do a stop-over in Dresden, which is definitely worth-while.

Markus

Forgot to say:

Most hotels have WiFi-access and there is quite a number of T-Mobile WiFi hotspots around (in stations, cafés, phonebooths etc.). Also, 3G/UMTS coverage is very comprehensive, certainly in the larger towns and cities, but - depending on your contract - roaming charges for data-transfers can be horrific (which is a general problem, not limited to Germany).

As long as your phone is a dual-band, i.e. has either 800MHz or 1800MHz in addition to the standard US 1900MHz band, it would work here, providing your contract permits roaming outside the US. As someone has mentioned, it will be a lot cheaper, though, to by a Germany pre-paid card if you intend to make more than just a few phone calls.

All this also applies to Austria or Italy.

Thanks Markus, your input is much appreciated.

One of our biggest challenges is narrowing down our list of piano builders and places to visit.
I find it fascinating that Europe has so many cultures and so much history in such a (relatively) small area.
It appears that one could start in Frankfurt and traveling out 250 miles in any direction, end up in
Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic, or Switzerland.

In the US the same distance would only cover a few states.

Which is why Europeans are so much more into learning languages than we. In your example, there are 6 different languages within 250 miles of Frankfurt.

Hmm, I'd love to go. Not sure if I can make it though, we'll find out once we get a more firm date set for this.

Lovely idea, though!

decided to wait to apply for the italy fellowship. will definitely think about joining the group if i can swing it financially. (hm, maybe time to consider getting an assignment to go back to that part of the world.)

An absolute must to see is Steingraeber in Bayreuth, I think you should arrange all other things around that. Bayreuth is also a nice little town with things to see in a day.
I cannot say too much about the others (I would assume that the respective dealers have more info), apart from that Förster in Löbau is quite similar, but doesn't have the added bonus of a company "museum" as Steingraeber have it.
The two airports in Germany that offer the best intercontinental connections are Frankfurt and Munich (in that order). Frankfurt has the advantage of being connected to the mainline and high speed rail network, whereas from Munich airport it is 40 minutes by train to the central station with all the connections. Frankfurt is also more central in Germany, but I think Munich as a city has a lot more to go for it than Frankfurt. Munich to Vienna is about 4 hours by train in case you wish to see Bösendorfer, and Fazioli is probably about 5 hours by train to the nearest station from Munich.

Thank you mjs, we are definitely visiting Steingraeber, and now also Hamburg Steinway (still working on the others)...

From Steingraeber:
Dear Mr Baxter,

Thank you very much for your Email to Udo Steingraeber.
He is out of office at the moment and he will receive your Email as soon as possible after his return.

It would be a great pleasure for us to have you and a group of Piano World members here in our factory.
If it will be a group up to 25 persons, we will make one guidance, if the group is bigger we make two ... no problem.

In our office Irene Fleischmann plans tours like yours. She could help you with hotel,
city guidance, etc. Please don't hesitate to contact her for all further questions and the time schedule.

Very sincerely Yours
Adelheid Raschke

From Hamburg Steinway:(thanks to our own Robin Meloy Goldsby (aka The Piano Girl) for contacting them on our behalf).


Factory Tour
You and the other members of the Piano World Forum are very welcome for a factory tour later in 2011. Once you know the period you shall be in Europe, please let us know so we can define a date. For your plannings, please regard that the production times are between 6:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. That means your visit should be in the morning.


Best wishes from sunny Hamburg,
Gerrit
----------------------------
Steinway & Sons
C & A Department
T: +49-40-8539 1148
F: +49-40-8539 1199

I am still waiting to hear back from Bluthner, and intend to also contact Fazioli and possibly August Forster and/or Grotrian.

There are so many wonderful piano makers in Europe, it's hard to narrow down the list.
And of course we want to leave time to explore Europe (I've never been, very much looking forward to it, my daughter is there now and loving it).

- Frank Baxter
Founder / Host
Piano World

And from Udo Steingraeber...



Dear Frank,


thank you for your mail ! Yes, June 2011 will be very fine. You’re welcome here in Bayreuth.

You should only avoid some traditional holidays in that area but elswhere in Europe as well :

the week 23 = 6.06.–10.06.2011

and from the 27th of June are both good.



On 2.06.2011 is a holiday and 3rd of june most factories are closed (the BDK convention is fom 2nd until 4th of June , = German PTG)

11.06. – 26.06.2011: Whitsun/Pentecost holidays and most of the factoies in south Germany are closed.



We are looking forward to assisting you in planning your stay.



Best regards

Udo
Klaviermanufaktur Steingraeber & Söhne, Friedrichstraße 2, D 95444 Bayreuth
Tel: 09 21 / 6 40 49, Fax 09 21 / 5 82 72, steingraeber@steingraeber.de; www.steingraeber.de
Steingraeber & Söhne, Piano- und Flügelfabrik KG, Sitz Bayreuth, AG Bayreuth, Registergericht HRA 366,

yes, there are a lot of holidays in europe! definitely get the holiday schedule before firming up the dates.

2011 holidays in S. German and Austria are (from April on):
25 April: Easter Monday
1 May: National Holiday
2 June: Ascension Day
13 June: Whit Monday
23 June: Corpus Christi
15 August: Assumption of the Virgin Mary

These are only for the Catholic areas, which includes all of Austria and only S. Germany. N. Germany doesn't necessarily recognize them. Other countries may or may not recognize them, but not likely that they have too many completely different holidays around this time period. You can probably use these as a good estimate to schedule around.

Weather is just starting to warm up as of April, though rain is frequently possible. May is a little more stable, but can go from hot to cold, dry to wet quickly. June is normally pleasant, though not this year's June.

Just to add to the holidays:

Easter Monday is a holiday everywhere in Germany (as is Good Friday - 22 April).
1 May (in Germany not called National Holiday but Labour Day) is also a holiday (in 2011 a Sunday, so not an issue) everywhere, as are Ascension Day and Whit Monday.

Corpus Christi is a holiday in all of Bavaria (not sure about other Länder), Assumption of Mary in Bavaria ONLY in municipalities with a Catholic population marjority (generally speaking that applies to the South of Bavaria but not to most areas of Franken such as Bayreuth and Nürnberg).
Saxony - for Blüthner and Förster - (which is by majority Lutheran) would not have Corpus Christi or Assumption of Mary as a holiday, but definitely the others. That also applies to Hamburg and Lower Saxony (Schimmel, Grotrian).
Probably wouldn't affect any scheduling, but 3 October is the German National Holiday.

Also, some companies shut for up to four weeks over Summer - which four weeks would depend on the school holidays in the respective Land (in Bavaria most likely in August, further North a bit earlier).

Update:

C. Bechstein has kindly invited our group (forums members/guests) to tour their facilities while we are in Europe. Our thanks to Bert Neidhardt of German American Trading Co. Inc. in Tampa, FL for spear-heading this effort.

From Bert ...
"C. Bechstein Europe would like to participate and open their doors in
Hradec Kralove ( Czech Republic ) as well as Seifhennersdorf ( Germany ) to the visitors. Of course, details have to be worked out before as to the number of participants as well as the timing. They produce C.Bechstein, Bechstein, Hoffmann and Bohemia instruments."
-----------------------------------
There is also a possibility of August Foerster in Loebau participating.

We are currently awaiting word back from Blüthner.

The last time I spoke with Dr. Christian Blüthner-Haessler (last September), he was
very receptive to the idea.