cheewai_m6 Posted February 22, 2010 Share #1 Posted February 22, 2010 Advertisement (gone after registration) so i find out from leica today that they only do the tours on wednesday from 10am - 12pm. this is probably the dumbest thing i've ever heard and will do me absolutely no good at all. i'm travelling to europe from australia, and stopping off in Frankfurt just so i have the opportunity to tour the leica factory. But no, they only do tours on wednesday, i'm not even going to be in Frankfurt on a wednesday. how stupid can one get? to allocate 2 hours out of an entire working week, to do tours? i can't change itinerary now, i got flights booked. GREAT FREAKIN HELP FOR ANYONE FROM OVERSEAS. wasting several day in Frankfurt for no reason now. rather be seeing other places. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted February 22, 2010 Posted February 22, 2010 Hi cheewai_m6, Take a look here leica factory tour. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Pangur Ban Posted February 22, 2010 Share #2 Posted February 22, 2010 Do you mean you didn't check the opening times before you booked your trip - or has Leica suddenly changed the tour times? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandro Posted February 22, 2010 Share #3 Posted February 22, 2010 It is a factory, remember? In case of a museum it would be weird to be closed almost the whole week for visitors, but the case of a factory I can understand that they don't tour people thorugh the factory every day of the week. Good luck, Lex Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted February 22, 2010 Share #4 Posted February 22, 2010 Well, seeing that they get hammered in the forums for not turning out M9s, Summiluxes, X1s etc. faster than they do now, I can understand that they have less time to show people around. It is wisest to plan such things some time ahead. There is not just Leica to see in the area, the South-west of Germany is quite interesting from a touristy point of view, with the Black Forest, the Bodensee, Beautiful towns like Wetzlar and Ulm and many others, cultural events in Frankfurt, the list is endless. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob_x2004 Posted February 22, 2010 Share #5 Posted February 22, 2010 Shrugsies. Still if you whine enough maybe they will reschedule their factory work week to accommodate you sire ... I mean squire:rolleyes:. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
elansprint72 Posted February 22, 2010 Share #6 Posted February 22, 2010 ..................how stupid can one get?............ An interesting question. Stupid enough to not check things out before booking one's flights, maybe? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bybrett Posted February 22, 2010 Share #7 Posted February 22, 2010 Advertisement (gone after registration) It's a privilege not a theme park... I've not yet had the opportunity but will check opening times before I travel. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bernd Banken Posted February 22, 2010 Share #8 Posted February 22, 2010 AFAIK a retired gentleman will guide those tours. This he doesn't do every working day. Here in the forum is somewhere his email adress or telephone number. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
roydonian Posted February 22, 2010 Share #9 Posted February 22, 2010 Unless thay have changed the setup, the tours are run by retired 'Leitzianer', so have zero impact on the factory and staff and their current workload. Have you made it clear to Leica that you will be coming a long way and will only be in the area briefly? You could try looking for the website of the German Leica Historica society. It's possible that they may be able to contact the volunteer guides. Basically, what you get is not a full factory tour. A central area of the plant is surrounded by a glass-walled corridor from which you can see activities such as lens grinding and testing, plus a little (but not much) of the final camera assembly. Most of the camera assembly takes place in a controlled environment in which general visitors are not admitted. The corridor also contains display cases showing some examples of Leica technology, And in the entrance hall is the famous 'family tree' of cameras (which for some reason does not include the IIg) and a few exhibits from the company's historical collection. That's how it was in the pre-digital days at least. Is your interest exclusively present-day Leica? If you are into Leitz history, in the town of Wetzlar itself you can find (but not enter) several locations - the main Leitz-era works, the old works where the camera was first placed into production, the entrance to the underground bunker that sheltered some wartime production, what was the Leitz family home, a rather shabby memorial to Oscar Barnack, and two houses where Barnack used to live. Barnack, Berek, and many members of the Leitz family are buried in the town's old cemetry. What was built in the 1950s as the Leitz management building. It's now a local goverment office, but is fairly used to having Leica 'pilgrims' sneaking in to photograph its spectacular staircase. Given enough notice, I can give you directions or addresses for most of these locations. Best regards, Doug . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
etp095 Posted February 22, 2010 Share #10 Posted February 22, 2010 Well now all of us know when to visit the leica factory. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest stnami Posted February 22, 2010 Share #11 Posted February 22, 2010 Ahh shucks and I thought you were emigrating with Pauline.......... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digitom Posted February 22, 2010 Share #12 Posted February 22, 2010 Some years ago I made a tour but I think it was friday. Maybe they changed it. Or maybe it was a special tour because there was a group of about 20 people and I had chance to walk with them. The guide was a pensioneer and it was amazing to all the things in that about 2 hour tour. I think one cannot expect to a company to make a tour for interested people everyday! It is really not a common thing (does Canon so? Panasonic? Olympus? Nikon? Sure not regular!) Also having only tours on a special day is ok, because, it is not a museum nor an exhibition hall. Any visitor is some disturbance anyway! I do not understand why you made such a trouble about the whole thing! Just one email to Leica CS from your home should clear the thing before flight planning! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted February 22, 2010 Share #13 Posted February 22, 2010 How silly of Leica - or is it just a case of bad/no planning on your part? Here's a link you might find useful instead.......Frankfurt-am-Main Travel Information and Travel Guide - Germany - Lonely Planet Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheewai_m6 Posted February 22, 2010 Author Share #14 Posted February 22, 2010 Ahh shucks and I thought you were emigrating with Pauline.......... yeah, i'm asian, pauline hanson is my favourite politian. i was a bit frustrated and annoyed at the time of the OP in my defence. i am going to be in Germany in August, which is about half a year ahead. so those who thought i didn't plan ahead, it'd be good if you knew whether i did plan ahead or not, before you say i didn't. and the Frankfurt part was decided 2 months earlier, so 8 months in advance, is called planning ahead. leica also told me to contact them at the end of july. as a couple of other members pointed out, it's a retired person that does the tours. they aren't going to take someone from the M9 assembly line off to do a tour are they? which idiot would actually think leica did this? i will contact leica again and explain my situation nicely. i'm not angry at leica, even though my OP would suggested i am. i was angry at the situation. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoppyman Posted February 22, 2010 Share #15 Posted February 22, 2010 I can understand that you're disappointed but I'm astonished by that rant. The assembly facility is not meant to be primarily for tourists after all. At last year's Forum meeting we were very fortunate to have tours laid on for both the customer service facility and the factory and the staff could not have been more accommodating. As a visitor from far afield just like you, I was even given personal attention by the head of the Customer Service Division who organised staff to work miracles to assist me, well beyond any reasonable expectation. There is a great deal to see in and around Frankfurt and it is an excellent base to visit further afield as well. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gabriel Posted February 22, 2010 Share #16 Posted February 22, 2010 You should also keep in mind that in Germany it is customaey fpr many factories to shut down completely for their annual holidays for about 4 weeks in or around the month of August, so check out what Leica are doing. When in Wetzlar visit Lars Nepotils Leica shop in the Old Town. Great Guy Great Store.Lars Netopil Classic Cameras Wetzlar Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheewai_m6 Posted February 23, 2010 Author Share #17 Posted February 23, 2010 ok ok ok. i don't doubt their hospitality. i was annoyed at the situation. i was very much looking foward touring the factory, and i understand it's not a tourist hotspot so to speak. while i'm in Frankfurt, i will make a trip to Wetzlar, and if the leica showroom is open i will have a look. it's just disappointing, however something may still be able to be worked out. there is plenty of time for a resolution. about 6 months to work it out. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
poptart Posted February 23, 2010 Share #18 Posted February 23, 2010 Well now all of us know when to visit the leica factory. Hilarious! Great dry humor! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ho_co Posted February 23, 2010 Share #19 Posted February 23, 2010 I know how you feel. Last time I was in England, I found out only at the last minute that the Queen couldn't put me on her calendar. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
elansprint72 Posted February 23, 2010 Share #20 Posted February 23, 2010 I know how you feel. Last time I was in England, I found out only at the last minute that the Queen couldn't put me on her calendar. That's just typical, those Germans come over here as ruling monarchs and then- will they do anything? I'd send the whole lot packing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.