Her husband is stationed at GK and she spends her time working with stacks of glass and her kiln creating jewelry, pendants, and ornaments.
To see her work and may be get a jump start on Christmas shopping, give her a call and set up a time to go shopping at Anne’s house. You’ll find some nice treasures and will meet a very friendly Norwegian!
To see more of her work, check out her facebook album here: http://www.facebook.com/n/?inbox/readmessage.php&t=170515475814&mid=137e830G28342a04G3895ea2G0
Contact Anne at: 0049 17621 999750 or by email at annejoto@yahoo.no
Reader Request… (Recommended Shopping by the AWC of Cologne!)
So either you’re from the Pacific Northwest and love plaid flannel, you actually think Birks will score you a hot date, or you could care less about others think and truly want absolutely spoiled to the max happy feet, this is the place to go, shop, and enjoy some serious foot joy and prices that your wallet may even smile about.
Although we don’t have the luxury of a Barnes and Noble around every corner, we are very lucky here in GK to have two nice international libraries, a bookstore, and several active book clubs in the area.
JFC Brunssum International Library
New Location: Next to the Shop 2000 (take 2nd exit from roundabout just inside the main gate and follow the road down the hill, pass the pool, and loop back up to the Shop 2000 and the library.)
Open: Tues and Weds 1000-2000, Thurs and Fri 1000-1800, Sat and Sun 1200-1600; Closed on Mondays
The Library: Open to all US and NATO ID card holders (even those stationed at GK), this is the larger of the two international libraries we have locally especially now in their new location. You’ll find a row of computers with Internet for patron use, a huge CD and video collection that you can borrow, and many, many books to check out not only in English, but also in other languages as well. The travel section becomes very useful as you plan trips and the library does a good job of stocking current bestselling book titles as well as the latest DVD releases. There’s a waiting list as well, so if you want something, put your name on the list and they will call you when it’s available.
Children will enjoy the great children’s library and selection of children’s movies as well. Go frequently in the summer to take advantage of the Summer Reading Program open to all children. They receive a prize for every three books that they read or have read to them. (So even little ones who don’t yet read can participate.) When a child has read 18 books he/she will receive a book they can keep. Some of the prizes include passes to the Schinnen Bowling Center, the JFC Brunssum Swimming Pool, and the JFC Brunssum Theater. They are also holding a drawing for the teen readers (ages 12-18) who read 18 books this summer. The prize is an i-shuffle donated by the AfNorth PTSA. This fun program runs every summer.
Geilenkirchen NATO Base International Library
Located: Shares a building with the International Preschool just between the Italian NSU and the IYA.
Hours: Monday – Friday 1100-1630
The Library: Smaller than the Brunssum library, but surprisingly packed with movies, CDs, and books including a decent children’s collection, this library is incredibly convenient to GK folks and worth a stop in to check it out. They also have a couple computers with Internet for patron use.
AAFES Bookmark – Schinnen
Open during normal BX hours Tuesday – Sunday
* Probably the biggest selection of children’s books in English that you’ll find in this area (not including Ramstein, of course). Small, but decent and friendly. A good selection of language and travel material, magazines, and a few shelves of the latest books. Coffee and a place to sit and relax.
AAFES Bookmark – Ramstein
Located in the building with the food court and international shops on Ramstein.
* If you’re a book lover and have been in Europe a while, this can be an emotional experience. I felt like I was home browsing Barnes and Noble. It feels huge compared to local places. You can actually walk around browsing for hours. Will I normally drive 3 hours for books? No. But, if you’re in the area, go there. The Ramstein bookstore even has all those fun little “impulse buy” things that bookstores normally carry like bookmarks, mints, and little games. And the children’s section is great too.
In Maastricht:
Selexys Book Store
Dominikanerkerkstraat 1
6211 CZ MAASTRICHT
tel. 043 321 08 25
www.selexys.nl
dominicanen@selexyz.nl
*Most of the books here are in Dutch, BUT they do have a small, but quite nice English section and a coffee shop.
In Aachen:
Mayersche Buchhandlung
Open: Mon-Sat 0930-2000; Shopping Sundays: 1300-1800
*An enormous bookstore with a nice children’s section, a cafe, and a decent selection of book in the English language, so you can relax and pretend that you’re in Barnes and Noble.
There are a lot of book clubs in the local area started mostly by spouses who love to read. Book clubs are always a lot of fun. Unfortunately, I don’t know who any of the contact folks are at the moment, so if you have a book club, or are in one, let me know so I can post a small list here – just give me contact info, meeting times, and what kind of things your group reads!
Here is one of my favorites and a shop that I actually made an effort to visit again just before I moved. I love their brightly colored woven baskets with the leather wrapped handles. They also have beautiful olive wood bowls and a very nice selection of high end mens shaving things.
The people who run it are friendly and speak some English. They’ll tell you how to care for your baskets. The bright ones need to be dampened once in a while. There’s a nice selection of baskets and the prices on those aren’t bad. The stock spills out onto the street on Korbergasse (basket street, actually) and you can also go up the narrow stairs to a room entirely filled with baskets of all shapes and sizes. It’s a good place.
A 2 minute walk from the Rathaus (or less), you’ll find it in the pedestrian area.
Aachen:
Teddy and Company
Ursulinerstrasse 17-19; Aachen
Tel: 0241-30790
Hours: M-F 0930-1900; Sat 0930-1800
Review: Just a couple minute walk from the Dom. On three floors, this store has just about everything from an absolutely amazing game department to every little girls dream room with dollies and pink galore. The boys will have plenty to keep them busy too and the little ones will all enjoy going down the slide on the main floor down to the floor below. Totally fun and yes, they take credit cards!
Gillrath and Gangelt:
Regenbogenland Gangelt
There’s a Gangelt store as well, but I don’t have the address for this one yet. It’s located at the back near DM in the shopping center on the other side of Rewe.
The Netherlands: Toys R us are all over Europe, but the stores in the Netherlands have just changed their name to ToysXL. ToysXL still has the same inventory and layout of Toys R Us, just with a different name. The closest one to us is Roermond.
A list of all Europe Stores (excluding ToysXL): http://www5.toysrus.com/our/intl/intlEurope.cfm
Search for ToysXL. They use Twitter to keep people informed of new sales.
Roermond Store
Retailpark Roermond
Schaarbroekerweg 44
6042 EJ Roermond
Tel: 0475 – 341 605
Hours:
Mon-Wed 9:00 – 18:00
Thurs-Fri 9:00 – 21:00
Sat 9:00 – 18:00
Sun 11:00 – 18:00
Ok… we don’t have shopping malls, Home Depots and Walmarts… so where do we find those things that we need when Schinnen fails us and we don’t feel like making the trip to Ramstein and beyond… here’s a place to start. I’ll try to add to this list as questions – and answers, arise.
A lot of these answers are from you! So, thank you!
Art/Craft Supplies:
Furniture:
Home Improvement:
Humidifiers:
Number one question from crafters of all kinds upon arriving here, “Where’s my Hobby Lobby?” Or, “Where can I go to get all the great things I used and NEED for my craft.” There may not be a chain of superstores, but you CAN find what you need MOST of the time if you just look around a bit. And, when all else fails, you can order online.
NL Side:
“They are a Pfatt
sewing machine shop, upstairs carry beautiful quilting fabric, threads, buttons, ribbons, etc…and I think cross stitch supplies. Its a beautiful old building, actually has guest houses as well. You pull into parking lot, walk under arch and its the first door on left for that shop. They speak English, you could call first to see if they have what you need.”
DE Side:
Internet:
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