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Going back to Germany!

Stephane BoucherJune 13, 20176 comments

A couple of blog posts ago, I wrote that the decision to go to ESC Boston ended up being a great one for many different reasons.  I came back from the conference energized and really happy that I went.  

These feelings were amplified a few days after my return when I received an email from Rolf Segger, the founder of SEGGER Microcontroller (check out their very new website), asking if I would be interested in visiting their headquarters in Germany to produce a few videos for them.  Needless to say that I said yes with enthusiasm, which means that I am going back to Germany (Dusseldorf this time) for the second time this year (and second time in my life!).

The seed for this opportunity was planted at ESC Boston when I had a short conversation with Shane Titus, Managing Director of SEGGER in the U.S..  I told Shane about my new passion for producing tradeshows / corporate videos and he mentioned that he would introduce me to the managing team in Germany as he had overheard that they were looking at making more videos and the timing might work out well.   To Shane's credit, he followed-through and less than a month after ESC Boston, I had my plane tickets booked for this new adventure (thank you Shane!).

My first impression of the people at SEGGER is very positive and I am very much looking forward to meeting the team in person.  It so happens that I will be there the week that SEGGER will be celebrating its 25th anniversary and I believe all (or most) worldwide employees will be converging to the main office to celebrate the milestone.  If they allow me, I will try to capture with my camera some clips of the celebration to be shared with the EmbeddedRelated community.  

I will try to blog from Germany about my experience while I am there for those of you who might be following my mid-life videographing crisis.  

If you've been to Dusseldorf and would like to recommend any attraction and/or restaurant not to be missed, please do so!  I will try to find a few hours to enjoy the area. (Not so much interested in the so-called 'tourists-traps' but more what the locals enjoy most in the city)

And if you are a customer of SEGGER and would like me to transmit for you and in person any question / concern / comment that you may have, I will be happy to do so (please use the comments space down bellow).

Thanks for reading!


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Comment by nielskJune 17, 2017

Hi Stephane,

I've been living in Duesseldorf for almost 30 years now (in Neuss, across the Rhine, for the last 10), so here's my take. These are tourist-type, but I wouldn't call them "traps":

* Shopping: visit the Königsallee and wander down this impressive "Gucci-Hermes-Cartier etc." glitzy street. My friend Jeff from Austin remarked several years ago "Don't the Germans work at all? It seems like they are shopping most of the time." We had to get Jeff some emergency gear because his baggage got lost on the transatlantic flight.

* Altstadt: this is the "old town", a stone's throw away from Königsallee. Lots of pubs, clubs and action. Visit "Uerige" one of the few remaining places where Altbier is still (micro)-brewed. It tastes very different from pilsener. If it's too bitter, ask for "Krefelder" and you'll get 50 % Altbier and 50 % Coke in your glass. A kinda nice mix for hot summer days. Drink twice as much, and you'll feel real good ;-)

* Boat trip on the Rhine: you might like one of the panoramic boat tours - see https://www.duesseldorf-tourismus.de/en/boat-tours...   or take the boat to Kaiserswerth some 4 miles down the Rhine and enjoy a walk in this old historic (Roman) town. You could also walk back to Duesseldorf along the Rhine if you're the hiking type (1.5 - 2 hours).

* The "Medienhafen" in Duesseldorf is a trendy place and is home to Gehry architecture and other novel buildings. See https://www.duesseldorf-tourismus.de/en/sights/arc...

* Art: Duesseldorf is known for modern art, and if you like that, you might find https://www.kunstsammlung.de/en/home.html (K21) worth a visit. At least my friends from Mountain View loved it.

* If you don't know what to do, a walk along  the Rhine promenade is an excellent time killer in summer.

Although I am not native to Duesseldorf, I find the nice thing about it is that it is conveniently small, quite trendy and stylish. You can walk almost everywhere. If you like Japanese food, there are a lot of restaurants to choose from because it is home to the 2nd largest Japanese colony in Europe after London.

I'm sure the Segger team will take excellent care of you, but if you do run into unexpected problems, just  give me a call, and I'll be there to help. You can find my mobile nr. on my website at 5Gsmarts.com.

Have a great time!

Niels


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Comment by stephanebJune 17, 2017

Hi Niels,

thank you very much for taking the time to write this and for your availability in case of emergency - very generous of you and greatly appreciated.

Many of your suggestions sound very attractive!  My hotel is in the 'Hafen' area and it looks like walking distance from Altstadt (I want to try altbier!) and the Königsallee. I am not much into shopping but looking at some images on the web, this look very different and fun to walk.  

Thanks again Niels.

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Comment by DNadlerJune 20, 2017

Have fun Stephane!
Segger are great folks; I have a couple JLink and they've provided super support.
Best Regards, Dave

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Comment by stephanebJune 20, 2017

Thanks Dave!  Can't wait to meet the SEGGER people and I will let them know about your comment.  Positive reinforcement is a good thing!

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Comment by MatthewEshlemanJune 15, 2017

Looking forward to seeing the videos. Have a safe trip! I used their JLink product extensively for a year or so, worked great!


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Comment by stephanebJune 22, 2017

Thanks for the comment Matthew!  And thanks for following my adventures!

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