Last minute details: the weather, useful expressions and advice for DOMOTEX 2010.
Jim, Katherine and I are excited about seeing you in a few days. We have several last minute details to share with you. Starting with airport security: plan for extra time.
The Weather in Hannover
Definitely be prepared for cold, wintery weather. Here is a link to the BBC weather website for Hannover so you can monitor what to expect. As you can see, it will be cold and mostly overcast.
Useful German and Flooring Expressions
Even if you are a Domotex travel-pro, it can't hurt to be reminded of a few German expressions. If there are others you would add to the list, let us know in the comments.
Customer service: Service or Information
Hello!: Guten Tag!
Good bye!: Auf Wiedersehen!
Thank you: Danke
You’re welcome: Bitte
Train station: Bahnhof or Hauptbahnhof
Where is the train station? Wo ist der Bahnhof?
Fairground: Messegelaende
How far is the fairground? Wie weit is the Messegelaende?
Which train goes to the fairground? Welche Bahn geht zum Messegelaende?
Entrance: Eingang
How do I get to the entrance? Wie komme ich zum Eingang?
Exit: Ausgang
How do I find the exit? Wie finde ich den Ausgang?
For other words and expressions, consider this online dictionary http://www.leo.org/ which includes an English to German search window.
As it relates to flooring, you'll notice different conventions for referring to product. This listing of flooring expressions will help you make sense of the differences.
Flooring Product Expressions
Carpet or rugs – Tapis, moquette [French terms]. The german word for carpet is Teppich, for wall-to-wall is Teppichboden (literally carpetfloor) or Teppichfliessen (carpet tile).
Wood – Parquet (pronounced parkett, not par kay); you might also say Holzboden for woodfloor.Vinyl – PVC (not just tile but also sheet goods)
Nylon – Polyamide (PA)
Polypropylene – PP
Polyurethane finishes on flooring is called PU
Again, if there are others you suggest adding to the list, do let us know in the comments.
FloorDaily Interview with Rita Anticipates DOMOTEX 2010
If you haven't, you might also want to listen to this recent FloorDaily interview with Kemp Harr during which Rita Dommermuth Discusses Highlights and Weather Conditions for Domotex Germany.
It lasts approximately 8 minutes. The description reads:
"Rita Dommermuth, VP of Sales for Domotex, and Kemp Harr discuss the highlights for the world's largest global flooring expo which will be held in Hanover Germany from January 16 to 19. Listen to the interview to hear more details about the anticipated attendance, U.S. participation, Contract World, a bus tour of German retailers, and more about the weather forecast."
Advice For Getting Around Hannover
Donna Hyland suggests, when using a taxi, having the address of your destination written down to give to the taxi driver, although most speak English quite well. Germans are modest about their foreign language capabilities so if you ask if they speak English, they usually will say “just a little”.
It is generally a good idea to always have readily available your exact hotel phone number and address. After a full few days walking the show, navigating a foreign environment and being still jet lagged, it's nice to give your brain a break and simply pull out a piece of paper - or your cell phone/PDA - with your hotel information.
VIP North American Delegation
If you are a member of the VIP North American Delegation, Jim recommends that you meet him on Saturday morning, the opening day of Domotex, at the VIP Lounge area if you need help or direction. He will be checking email in the evening only.
Note that Domotex entrance tickets and other information will be sent out on 1/11/10. If you haven't received yours, please contact Rita, Katherine or Jim or all three.
Finally, if you need help of any kind, please don't hesitate to ask. You will find many staff members ready to help and answer your questions at DOMOTEX.
Bon Voyage! Katherine, Art, and Rita and Jim will see you very shortly in Germany.
~ Jim and Rita
Jim Gould, Floor Covering Institute
jgould@FloorCoveringInstitute.com
Rita Dommermuth, Hannover Fairs USA
rita@hfusa.com - Tel: 562-901-9191
3 comments:
Hardwood Investments:- Thanks for giving Flooring Product Expressions. I just need to know about the difference between Hardwood flooring, Softwood flooring, Custom flooring and also want to know which flooring is best for home use.
Its difficult to give you a short answer to your question but here is an article that might provide a general overview of hardwood vs softwood http://bit.ly/cebj76
If you get a chance to visit DOMOTEX, you will be able to see an array of products for home flooring such as laminates, parquet,bamboo etc. DOMOTEX will give you the opportunity to see all these products first hand and speak to the manufacturers that produce them.
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