The PENguin Blog

About twelve years ago I discovered Pelikan pens after having collected fountain pens for about fifteen years. My first Pelikan was a newly released blue M800 and I soon came to vintage Pelikans, appreciating not just their workmanship but the history of the Günther Wagner firm behind them. I made my first visit to Hannover to worship at the fount of all things Pelikan almost four years ago and as soon as we made plans to be in Germany again this year, I got in contact with the Pelikan archivist Jürgen Dittmer, who had been so welcoming last time and made plans to visit him and asked it this time I might also visit the production facility for current pens (and, in fact, all the company’s products) at Peine, about thirty kilometres east of Hannover. To make the trip complete, I decided to book Sharon and me into the Sheraton Pelikan, a rather pricey four star hotel, better than we usually allow ourselves. The hotel has adaptively reused the old Pelikan plant that dated back to the la...

Tuesday morning we were off to visit more old friends, Karin and David Parisi and Osman Sümer in Hamburg. As many of you already know, Hamburg is one of Germany’s largest cities, a port and part of the old Hanseatic League. Today it remains an active center for commerce. By this time, not only was Sharon coming down with a nasty cold, but both Karin and Osman had colds as well, so our time together was limited and rather than walking the city, in deference to Sharon David conducted a lovely driving tour, giving us ample opportunity to get out and stroll a bit without wearing Sharon out too much. Karin and Osman then joined us for lunch and we were off on the next leg of our tour, what for me would prove a highlight, a visit to Hannover to see Jürgen Dittmer, the Pelikan archivist, and to tour the manufacturing plant. An interesting skyline, blending modern and historical buildings. During World War II about 60% of the city was destroyed. David took us across the river by a fascinatin...

There are many reasons to travel, but for me one of the most important is not just to see old friends but to make new acquaintances and form new friendships. From that perspective our weekend in Köln at the penshow and then in Wiesbaden on Monday was perfect. For us the Köln show ended Sunday morning with a small brunch at the Hotel Falderhof. At breakfast Peteris Seja suggested driving R9, which we took from Koblenz along the river. If I have any complaint about this trip, it is the relative lack of time for unstructured touring, wandering. Sunday we wandered and I did not even take out my camera. We ended up in Wiesbaden in late afternoon and checked into the Hotel France on Taunusstrasse, recommended and booked for us by our host Knut Dorn. Knut is the managing director of Otto Harrassowitz, Stanford University Library’s largest suplier of books. For years I have heard Sharon singing his praises, not just as a vendor but as a delightful man, and recently she has gotten to know h...

Ahhh, Germany Apologies for the silence, but this has been an exciting few days. Last night at dinner with Knut Dorn, the Director of Sales and Operations for Otto Harrassowitz, and his wife Renata, I explained my appreciation for Germany, which came not only from my love of German craftsmanship, but the friendship of Dr. Ekkehard Jecht in the 1970s. But I get ahead of my story . . . For us, the Köln penshow began Friday morning with a meeting at our hotel in Neuss with Gerhard Brandl, whom I last saw at his home in Regensburg and then at the penshow in Munich almost four years ago. We also remembered Gerhard Baur, who organised that show. Gerhard and I caught up on things and, as it is with those such as us, some pens changed hands. Gerhard has been a great friend to me and it was wonderful to see him. Later that day, Sharon and I visited with Jürgen Kuhse, his mother Hannalore and another pen friend. Once again, stories were told, pens changed hands and we caught up with one ano...