The Promise Land: Steiff

The next day we got up early- before the sun was up- in order to make the long trek across Germany to Giengen where the Steiff factory has been located since it was founded by a young woman named Margarete Steiff in 1880.  If you aren't familiar with this company check out their US website here.  Since I've been collecting Steiff my whole life it is literally the promise land.  Dad's friend John was very good natured about being dragged on an all day trip to a toy factory.  We started out
the journey with some (haha) Starbuck's coffee in order to fortify us.  What followed was many hours on trains, changing trains, and also some train stations.  We saw a lot of the countryside, which I liked because it was a good way to soak in the country during my brief visit.  The precise schedule of the German train system became very apparent when our train came into the platform a minute or two late and we consequently missed our connecting train to Giengen.  So we killed some time in the station and waited for the train that would take us on the last leg of the journey.  It finally came, right on time, and I was going mad with anticipation.  Giengen is a cute little town, almost entirely based around the Steiff factory and the historical aspect of the life of Margarete Steiff, who is the local hero.  We got off the train and immediately saw signs pointing us towards the factory.  In addition there were giant bear pawprints on the sidewalk to guide us.  It would have been a real feat to get lost.  As we walked we passed a Marklin store, but for some reason Pappy didn't go in for a peak.  Marklin trains are his Steiff.

The factory, when we arrived after a short walk, was just like in all the photos I oggled.  It was glorious!  The white building is the 'klinik" where Steiff go to be fixed, and the glass and round buildings are part of the museum tour.

The big glass building was the original factory, but has since been retired.  When we walked inside the museum we were immediately greeted by a display of a wintery tree, giant Steiff bears, and a profusion of Steiff squirrels.  On the other side was the (!) store (!).  We power browsed through it before purchasing our tickets for the museum tour.  John decided to come along with us, but I suspect he may have regretted his decision when it began and became obvious that it was designed for young children.  Pappy and I found it amusing, and I put up with the kitschy stuff because the displays, layouts, and magnitude of Steiff animals was magnificent!  In one area there were studio sized animals, which are huge Steiff that are rideable, and I went around and sat on the giant elephants, polar bears, and caribou.  There were all kinds of giant animals.  Like a wonderful petting zoo.

There was event a snake slide that led to the floor below!  I slid down it twice!  The floor below (also reachable by staircase and elevator) had all the historical animals in glass cases.  Also very fascinating and wonderful.  This then led back into the (!) store (!).  Pappy and I spent a lot more time browsing around while John went off on a self guided tour of the town.  We decided to venture across the street to a cute little shop called Barenburg, which is turned out was started by Margarete's sister and has been selling ever since.  It was packed with all kinds of animals, including vintage Steiff!  The staff were very kind and didn't mind me running around and touching everything.  They only spoke German, so Pappy communicated with them for me.  It was sososososososo hard to make decisions!  In the end, after A LOT of deliberation (let me say that again, A LOT) I ended with two fine canines and a little Christmas fawn.  By that time was dark and had started to snow.  It was a beautiful way to end the shopping experience...well, it was almost ended.  We went back to the factory to buy a teddy bear for my then-not-yet-born nephew.  Since my parents had bought a Steiff bear for me before I was born they thought it would be cute to buy one for the nephew too.  Pappy spent a lot of time selecting the most perfect bear.  I bought a few Steiff critter keychains for myself, my goddaughter, and one of my good friends.  Then we met up with John and headed back to the train station.  It was snowing in earnest by then and we were glad to get onto the train.  It was a long, sleepy journey back, and I kept peeking at my delightful new Steiff critters.  When we finally got back to our little apartment I was quite happy to curl up under my blanket.  I think Pappy and John were too.