Island of the Gods Part 2.

See here for part 1.

Another traffic jam, this time because of a cremation

It was time to begin with our scooter round-trip. Some people say that driving scooter on Bali is very dangerous. Bullshit! Like I previously said, the traffic in (South) Bali can be chaotic (imagine a four-lane way with as many cars and scooters that can fit beside each other) but compared to Western countries it goes slow. We rarely drove faster than 60 km/ph. You just have to use your common sense. Normally the scooters drive fully on the left and the cars to the right of them. But when it is busy or in a traffic-jam (and they have a lot of those) the scooters go wherever they can find a gap. After some riding we found out, when it is busy, try to follow a local to make your way past all the vehicles. Luckily we had one advantage: positive discrimination, we where white-skinned. Every Indonesian knows that foreigners can’t drive, therefore they try to avoid us like the plague. Which is very handy if you want a bit of space around you. Furthermore Indonesians are very polite drivers, no swearing, no inappropriate hand gestures, no irritation. I already miss it…

Also a lot of roads in Bali are made for scooters, not wide, if you drove there with a car it would be difficult. In any case I would not recommend driving a car simply because you miss a lot. Would you rather be in an air-conditioned box looking through a window or on a scooter in the wind, feeling the sunshine on your skin and experiencing all the sights and smells? It is so much fun driving through the villages, to see the colourful people, houses and temples, waving and saying “hallo” to children, smelling the incense from the daily offerings. Or riding over narrow roads through lush forest covered areas over large hills ending in spectacular green rice-terraces views. Besides, the Indonesians find it hilarious when they see a big white man on a scooter passing by. “Look! A sunburned foreigner trying to drive! Whahaha!!” When you leave the touristic South you’ll often find locals staring at you or taking pictures of you. Like the policemen we encountered in the North. Imagine a group of smiling police-officers making photos of you with their smart phones and friendly waving you goodbye after you showed them the correct documents while speaking a few words of Indonesian.

Bluebird, an excellent taxi company

Navigating though Bali during the scooter trip was surprisingly easy. Since half a year I have a smart-phone (before that I had those simple unbreakable Nokia telephones that you can use as a brick for your house) and in Bali I had bought an Indonesian SIM-card so everywhere I went I had internet. Marcello advised me to download the Waze app on it. In essence it works the same as the Google Maps app only it uses less battery energy and internet data. I plugged my ear phones in the phone and when I was driving I would hear something like “Over 800 metres go left”, “Over 200 metres go left”, “Go left”. It worked perfectly! Later I discovered that I could also put my music on which would automatically go softer when Waze had to say something. I can tell you it is quite an experience to ride through tranquil villages while Death‘s Evil Dead is blasting in your ears. Another app I frequently used was the Bluebird one. If you ever need a taxi in Indonesia (because you don’t want to drink and drive), get a Bluebird. Indonesian taxi drivers are sadly well known for trying to scam you. Longer routes, not putting on the metre (Oh sorry, it’s broken.. Yeah right..) etc. Bluebird has none of this. You can order a cab with the app. Immediately you see which driver you are going to get with a number that corresponds with the one on the car. You also see a little map where you can follow your taxi so you know when it arrives. When inside the metre starts at 7,000 Rp. (about €0.50). Afterwards you get a mail in which you see the route you drove and the amount of money you paid. Ideal!

Ngurah Art Pipes

During the meeting with the Bali Tobacco Lovers group they had shown me a couple of  pipes that were Indonesian made. There were some nice ones but nothing that really piqued my interest. In the mean time I had added some Indonesian friends to my Facebook when I saw that someone of them had liked a post of Ngurah Art Pipes. It was a picture of a beautifully sculpted Ganesha pipe. Woww, that is very, very nicely done, I thought to myself when I scrolled further along the page. Suddenly I saw what was to become my souvenir of this whole trip: a breathtakingly sculpted Boma pipe. Boma was first known as an evil demon. After death he was transformed into a benevolent spirit and guardian. His image is placed above and beside doors and windows to offer protection to the inhabitants and to maintain the fine balance between the forces of light and dark in the universe. Immediately I messaged Ngurah if the pipe was still available. Soon I got a reply, unfortunately it was already sold but he could make a new one. Yesss!!! The costs would be $100, expensive for Indonesian standards but pretty ok for Western. I did not want to haggle so I said that he could go ahead. I had already planned to attend yet another Bali Tobacco Lovers meeting on my last evening in Bali and asked him if he could come there and have the pipe finished. No problem.

Ellen at the Sekumpul waterfalls

I will give you now what were for us highlights of the scooter round trip. First nature-wise. Bali has a lot of stunning waterfalls which you can visit. We went to the jaw-dropping Tegenungan and Sekumpul waterfalls. Both fully accessible but I warn you, you have to be in a pretty good shape because a lot of climbing stairs and walking over rocks is involved to get there. Hiring a guide at Sekumpul is advisable, you learn a lot more about the environment, support the local people and you make sure you don’t break your leg (there have been cases..). Further there are natural hot springs in Bali which are good for all kinds of ailments. We visited the Banjar hot springs, I cannot describe how good it feels to relax in the warm water. At Lovina in the North you can spot dolphins. There are trips at 6:00 and 8:00 am, take the last one because then it is less crowded with boats and you can better see the jumping and twirling aquatic mammals. If you want to dive or snorkel, go to Menjangang Island, one of the most beautiful places in the world to do that. We only snorkelled but I will never, ever forget the magnificent coral reefs and colourful fish. And last but not least you have the majestic rice-fields all over the island. Some of the most beautiful are at Jatiluwih with stunning views.

Nomnomnom!

Eating-wise Bali is also a top destination, I already told you about the warungs. Further I can recommend eating seafood on Jimbaran beach. There are a lot of restaurants there but Roman Cafe is one of the best and with reasonable prices. You can choose which fish you want and then it is grilled above a fire of coconut shells and served with rice and an array of tasty sauces. And if you say that you stay at Home Bali Home they put you in front, right at the water. We went for mussels, squid-rings and Barramundi. To eat there on the beach with your feet on the sand while the sun is setting, just magical. A lot of restaurants are also to be found on Bali. Our favourite was Dapoer Chef Wayan, I admit, I am no lover of vegetables but the way the chef made them.. Wowwww… Ambrosia for my taste-buds. And if you ever on Bali have the opportunity to eat a proper Indonesian rijsttafel, please do so, you won’t regret it.

Pura Ulun Danu Beratan

I think it is hard to find a better destination as Bali culture-wise. Balinese Hinduism, the main religion there (the rest of Indonesia has Islam), makes sure of that. It is ingrained in every aspect of daily life; the small and big rituals and temples, the colourful clothes, the offerings etc. For example everywhere across the island, on streets, before shops, on crossroads you see little palm-leaf baskets called Canang sari. In those are things like betel leaf, lime, gambier, prestige, betel nuts and yes, tobacco. Incense sticks are burned with them and they can be topped of with some money but I have also seen things as a lollipop. It is ok to walk on them, sometimes they are really in the way.. The most important, largest and holiest Hindu temple is Pura Besakih and is truly a sight to behold. Built on six levels and perched nearly 1000 meters up the side of mount Gunung Agung it is an extensive complex of 23 separate but related temples. For years tourists got swindled and harassed there but since this year that is all forbidden. The entrance now is 60,000 Rp. and a guide is included, who you don’t have to take. If you take him, give a tip afterwards. It was a bit cloudy when we were there but if the sky is clear you have breathtaking views. Unfortunately you can’t see everything if you are not of the Hindu religion but at least you can take a peek through the gates. Another stunning temple is Pura Ulun Danu Beratan, a so called floating temple because if the water in lake Beratan is high enough (and it luckily was when we were there) it seems to, indeed, float. Other great places to go are the mini-Borobudur, Brahma Vihara-Arama and the luscious royal water garden of Tirta Gangga where you can walk across the water on small stepping stones.

Hanging out with the guys at the base of the Kawa Ijen volcano

During the scooter round trip we also had an excursion to the Kawah Ijen volcano in East Java. The idea was to climb it at night because then the present sulfur makes for an almost magical light show. We went there in the evening by a ferry which only took about 45 minutes thank the heavens. This because the sea was pretty rough and I got sea-sick. Really a shame because Ellen and I were talking to a friendly Javanese English teacher who had just made an excursion with his class when I started not feeling well. When we arrived I had to pose on several pictures with his students with my sea-sick head.. Solid ground, I thought I was saved, just a little ride in the car and then we will be at the damn volcano. A nice woman, Dewi, waited for us with her husband and they took us there. A 1 hour long ride in the dark with lots of twists and turns followed. So I also got car-sick. When we arrived the weather was horrendous, rain was pouring down and it was misty. I was so ill that I decided to stay at the warung at the base of the volcano but Ellen went for it together with a group of other tourists and guides. Fortunately I soon felt better and had a splendid night together with some Indonesians who were also there. I had to laugh a bit, they were shivering from the cold, dressed in long pants, hats and thick sweaters while I was perfectly ok sitting in just my shorts and shirt. In the morning Ellen came back, she had not seen much of the “magical” sulfur light and sunset but was nonetheless proud of her achievement.

Back at Home Bali Home after the scooter round trip I was smoking a pipe when the lovely daughter of Marcello, Jade, suddenly approached me. “What are you doing? What is that?” she asked with a curious voice. A bit surprised that she didn’t knew what I did I answered that it was a pipe, that you smoke tobacco from it, that you don’t inhale, that you not get the same addiction as with cigarettes (although I urged her to never ever begin smoking), that for me it is almost meditative etc. She liked the smell of the Vooroogst tobacco in the tin and was fascinated by the smoke coming from my corncob pipe (is it really made out of corn??). We talked a bit further about her life, school, her dreams and I came to the conclusion that she was a bright young lady with no doubt a promising future.

<3

The following day we left for Kalimantan to go on a boat and see some orang-utans. At the end of the afternoon we arrived and our guide, Nisa, was already waiting for us at the airport. At first I thought that we had a small girl of about 16 as a guide, but that could not be, she had to be at least 18, 20. When we went on board of the klotok I could not resist asking her age. I almost fell overboard from surprise when she told me: 33. The klotok was more luxurious than I expected. The upper deck was for Ellen and me and included a table with some chairs, a hammock, two mattresses (which were put together in the evening so we could sleep on them with a mosquito net above it) and on the front 2 deck-chairs. We even had a Western style toilet and hot shower! The deck below was for Nisa, the captain, the helmsman and a little girl with her mother, the cook. Who could by the way create fantastic dishes! We were surprised at the quality of the copious lunches and dinners she made for us in the tiny kitchen. The klotok trip was just fantastic, sailing on a clear river that got smaller and smaller right through the tropical rainforest while spotting wild animals. We saw amongst others gibbons, a hornbill and proboscis monkeys. Suddenly Nisa became very enthusiastic and pointed to the side of the river. There, between some trees was a baby orang-utan, curiously showing itself to us. One of my highlights of the Kalimantan journey. That and waking up early in the morning with the sounds of the jungle, precisely like on one of those CD’s! By the way, at the hotel we had in Pangkalan Bun we could really notice that Indonesia in general is a smoker friendly destination. To my amazement there were no no-smoking rooms available and you could smoke anywhere (even in the breakfast room the next morning).

After we came back from Kalimantan on our last evening in Bali I had one more place to go to: Kopi Zeen to again meet the Bali Tobacco Lovers group. When I arrived I already saw Ngurah sitting. “I think you have something for me.” I said to him with a grin. At which he produced the stunning Boma pipe he had made for me. I think I could not stop smiling while I closely examined it. The craftsmanship and level of detail, wowww… He certainly earned his money. Ngurah also showed me some other pipes he made, skull pipes but also normal ones, all made from exotic woods. By the way, mine was cut from sapodilla wood, never heard of it but it smokes just fine. I was also delighted to finally meet Handoko, he even knew some Dutch words! It turned out that he is a leather craftsman, he showed me some pictures of the beautiful things he made. So soon I will give him a order to make a new pipe-bag for me. When I was talking to one of the members I sadly heard that Indonesian master-blender Punakawan recently had died during my stay in Bali. Such a shame, also because I was going to buy some of his blends. Another member had a tin of Squadron Leader, ah, finally some good ol’ latakia. Vooroogst is nice but sometimes.. The rest of the evening was wonderful again and time flew away. When I was about to leave the members presented me a cool Bali Tobacco Lovers t-shirt and Monoss wanted to give me a giant sized bag (I think a kilo or more!) of pipe-tobacco. I had to kindly refuse the latter, not because I did not want it but because of the damn customs office in The Netherlands. I can only import 100 grams and I already had the Java tobacco..

Just before we went to the airport the next day Marcello suddenly produced my hat, which I thought was thrown away. Someone had put it on a place he hadn’t searched before. I silently thanked the Buddha statue. The flight home unfortunately went a little less smooth. At the Ngurah Rai airport a customs officer noticed the Zippo fuel in my hold baggage. I tried to play the dumb tourist but he did not fall for that, I had to leave it behind. And in Hong Kong a stern female customs officer wanted to look into my hand luggage because the scanner beeped. She searched and searched and finally showed me a pack of pipe-cleaners and asked what that was. Damnit, those things have an iron wire.. Fortunately a male colleague of her saw me sweating and explained the purpose of them after which I could go on. Ellen angrily hissed to me “A man and his hobby….” Luckily the rest of the journey went well.

I had an absolutely fantastic holiday and if you ask me what the most beautiful was I don’t have to think long: all the people I met in those 3 weeks. Just go there, off the beaten path and you will see I am right. I want to thank Marcello, Jolanda and Jade for their hospitality at Home Bali Home and for organizing the scooter, Java and Kalimantan trips with the 888 Pure Travel agency. And of course thanks to the wonderful Bali Tobacco Lovers members for their kindness and generosity! You guys rule!

Here a short video of my second Bali Tobacco Lovers meeting made by Baskoro:

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Island of the Gods Part 1.

Indonesia

Normally my girlfriend Ellen and I stay for holidays in more or less nearby countries like Germany, Belgium, France or Spain. But we had saved some money so this year Ellen, who has travelled much more and further as myself, wanted to go far away from Europe again. Ok, I said, where precisely do you want to go? Since we both have a preference for Asia the choice was pretty easy: former Dutch colony Indonesia. We checked some travel agency sites for round trips but I had a bad feeling with them. Being in a group of other Dutch tourists, doing things together, frequently travelling long distances with them in cramped vans and visiting overcrowded tourist attractions is not my idea of a vacation. I want to be able to choose my own tempo, see as few tourists as possible, meet the locals etc. On the wish-list of Ellen was visiting the Borobudur, experience a sunrise from a volcano and see orang-utans in the wild.

Marcello, his wife Jolanda and daughter Jade

Luckily a niece of mine (who also happens to be my godmother) had a tip. 2 years ago she and her husband (who comes from the Indonesian Maluku Islands) went to the island of Bali to the bed & breakfast of (Dutchman) Marcello Supusepa, Home Bali Home, in Jimbaran and had a great time there. Marcello also has a travelling agency, 888 Pure Travel, which organizes trips throughout Indonesia, so my niece said that I should send a mail with the wishes of Ellen and me. No sooner said than done or we had a reply. Marcello suggested that we made a scooter round-trip through Bali (and see amongst other things the mini-Borobudur), shortly visit the Kawah Ijen volcano in East Java and travel to Kalimantan to go on a boat and see orang-utans. It all sounded good to us, the price was ok so we booked the 3 weeks trip.

At a tax free shop at Hong Kong airport

5 May Ellen and I packed our belongings and went to the train station in Olst, the journey had begun. Amongst other things I had brought with me 4 corncob pipes, a Zippo pipe-lighter (with some fuel), a tin of Vooroogst tobacco, a tin of Flatlander FlakeSamuel Gawith Elmo’s Reserve snuff and some Oliver Twist tobacco bits. Of course I had the last 2 items in my pocket and the rest in the hold baggage. At the Cathay Pacific desk where we had to hand over our luggage we were lucky. The evening before I checked in online but there were no more seats beside each other available. Oh well, I thought, so be it. But the nice lady behind the desk offered us 2 places together at the emergency exit. That means more leg space so of course we gladly accepted it. I had never been in a long flight before (the longest was to Egypt, about 5 hours) but 11 hours… Pffff… Luckily I could watch movies and series and before I knew it we arrived at our first stop, Hong Kong. Sadly the transit time was too short to visit Hong Kong city so we stayed at the airport where I took a stroll. As a (pipe) smoker you can smoke at the airport, they have special smoking rooms. Although I won’t advice going there. They are small and overcrowded with nicotine-needy cigarette smokers, just look at this video.. In the tax-free shops I could find some pipes and tobacco to my amazement. Although pretty expensive, Davidoff pipes and tobacco and Dunhill tobacco.

Ellen at the pool at Home Bali Home

After another 5 hours of flying we arrived at the destination: Ngurah Rai International airport near Denpasar, Bali. Marcello was already waiting for us above the busy entrance hall but had some trouble spotting us. After some texting we found each other. “I was looking for a bald man and now you are wearing a hat!” he said with a big smile. Marcello is a jovial, friendly and easy going type of person with a good sense of humour. We put our bags in the back of his car and he invited me to sit in the front. I opened the door, saw the steering wheel and so and while laughing Marcello said “Oh? Do you want to drive?” Ah yes, they drive on the left in Indonesia so in cars everything is also reversed. I was glad I did not accept his offer because the traffic we encountered on the way to his Home Bali Home bed & breakfast, woww… Chaotic busy.. Suddenly it occurred to me that the scooter round-trip through Bali wasn’t going to be a walk in the park.. When we arrived at Home Bali Home after a short drive I made a capital mistake. My hands were full with bags so I put my hat on the statue of a Buddha with the intention of getting it later. We put away our luggage in our lovely room, changed into our swimming clothes, went for a dip in the pool and relaxed the rest of the evening. The next morning I suddenly remembered my hat but it was gone. I asked Marcello and he said that was not a smart thing to do of me. He is not really religious but his staff is (all of Bali is!) and putting a hat on a Buddha statue equals putting a hat on a statue of the crucified Christ for example. Probably someone of his staff just threw my (expensive) hat away.. Whoops.. But I could not blame them, my mistake, it was a good lesson.

Myself with a plate of the most delicious nasi goreng in front of me

The first days, before we were getting our Indonesian driver’s license needed for the scooters, we were being driven around by Tata, our Balinese driver. We visited a Buddhist temple, a beautiful part of the coast with some high waves, did some necessary shopping (we needed a powerbank for our smart-phones and snorkel gear) and ate at a warung. I really came to love those places which you can find all over Indonesia; delicious, traditional, rustic, local and cheap food. Often we dined for no more than €2 per person, including drinks! Heaven for this cheap Dutchman. And being Dutch we already knew a lot of the dishes offered since, I said it before, Indonesia is a former colony of us and many Indonesians started restaurants here. Dishes like Nasi Goreng (fried rice with small pieces of chicken/sea food, vegetables and egg), Ayam Goreng (fried chicken), Sate Ayam (chicken on a stick with peanut sauce) and Babi Kecap (pork meat in kecap sauce) were no stranger to us. But if you go to a warung, go early or have a late lunch. The food is made in the morning so most places close around 18:00 pm because the Indonesian hot climate and stuff to eat does not mix well..

Bali Tobacco Lovers

Before we went to Bali I searched on the internet for a group of pipe-smokers there, but could not find one. When I am in another country I always love to meet local pipe-smokers. However, there was a facebook group of Indonesian pipe-smokers and they pointed me towards some Balinese ones. I addressed one of them, Handoko, and he was being really nice to me. A smokers group, Bali Tobacco Lovers, existed but getting pipe-tobacco on Bali was impossible. Cigars and cigarettes were available but there were just too few pipe-smokers to make it interesting to sell pipe-tobacco for any vendor. I also asked him about Soppeng tobacco, which I had read about in this excellent article. But alas, Handoko had heard about it but it was not available on Bali.

Kretek cigarettes

Handoko also mentioned that cigars were available at most Circle K supermarkets. So when we encountered one I could not resist asking the clerk inside if they had some. He produced a few thicker cigars, I am not sure if they were short- or longfillers, but they were expensive, almost Dutch prices. And I just wanted thinner, simple and cheap Indonesian made ones. Also at some other Circle K supermarkets I was not successful, bummer! After we had lunch Tata was smoking a cigarette. Normally I really dislike cigarettes (one of the best things I have done in life, getting rid of the cigarette addiction) but this one actually smelled pretty nice, a bit like clove. I grabbed his pack, looked at it and saw “sigaret kretek“. I could have one, lit it up (while not inhaling the smoke) and I immediately liked the taste; tobacco with smoky and slightly sweet clove. So later I bought some packs myself, ideal for a nice quick smoke when I did not have the time or patience for a pipe and did not feel like snuffing or chewing.

In the evening we went to buy an Indonesian SIM card (really cheap and having internet everywhere was mandatory for our coming scooter trip) and just as we calmly walked along a street Tata enthusiastically shouted at me “Mister! Mister! Look! Tobacco!” and pointed toward a small stall. He already knew I smoked pipe and was looking for tobacco. There were all kinds of loose tobaccos, finely cut but perfect to put in a pipe. Through Tata (who functioned as a translator) I asked the old man behind the stand where his tobacco came from: Java, all of his tobaccos came from there. And which tobacco was the best he had? With a big smile he pointed to a heap and said: just like Marlboro! Ehrrr, well, needless to say I took something of his “second best” heap (even in my cigarette smoking days I avoided Marlboro like the plague, yukyukyuk..). To my nose a grassy Virginia with a bit of an exotic smell, interesting! The price was to laugh at for Western standards: about €1,25 for 100 gr. And I did not even try to haggle! When I put it in my pipe back at Home Bali Home I was pleasantly surprised. A mild smoke (no bite at all) with a fascinating flavour, a bit like a Virginia with a tiny little bit of Lakeland aroma. Normally I am not a fan of that but now.. Only thing was the nicotine content, whoaahh… It blew me out of my slippers!

Our Indonesian scooter driving licenses

The next day Marcello had arranged that we were going to get our Indonesian scooter driving licenses. A regular Dutch driving license is not enough since Indonesian scooters are qualified as motor cycles (the bloody things can go over 140 km/ph!). All we knew was that we had to go to the Denpasar police station. Indonesia is a kind of country where you can still “arrange” things if you have enough money and know the right persons. And that is exactly what happened. The driver who brought us turned out to be a kind of Indonesian CIA agent. He dropped us off at the police-station and said we had to wait. Soon an officer walked outside and asked “Mr. van Goor”? Yup, that is me. Ellen and I followed him inside where there were lots of waiting rooms packed to the brim with Indonesian people. We went upstairs into an overcrowded room with 1 officer behind an old computer. All the files on his desk were immediately pushed aside and ours were placed there. A picture was made, a fingerprint was given and we had to write down our autographs. All under the eyes of the many Indonesians in the room, we felt pretty embarassed to say the least. After that we went down again, there was a large desk so we thought we had to wait there. Some minutes passed by when the first police officer showed up again. “Your friend is waiting outside.” But we did not have the licenses yet.. “Your friend is waiting outside.” Ok, we went outside and lo and behold, there was our CIA driver again. With the licenses.

Ellen and me on the scooter

Back at Home Bali Home the scooters already were there so we could practice. I had never driven a scooter before and Ellen only had some experience on a moped. Luckily Tata rode with us to teach us the finer points of driving on Bali. Almost immediately our new driving licenses came in handy. The South of the island is infamous for its corrupt police officers (really??) who like to stop tourists on scooters (who almost never have the correct driving license) and extort money from them. About a kilometre on our way we were stopped by some police officers. “Your ID”, one of the policemen said with a grin that read “I am going to get soooo much money out of you.” So I showed him my fresh driving license and I really wish I could have made a picture of his face. His eyes were full of unbelieve, how the hell did that fat, white tourist get such a thing?? He was so surprised that he almost saluted me when he gave back my license. Kind of logical, tourists don’t get those thing easy, so when one is in possession of one it probably means he has friends in high places, higher than a common police officer that is.

Endi and me

That evening I had an appointment with the Bali Tobacco Lovers group. Earlier Handoko referred me to Endi, the organiser of the group and owner of Kopi Zeen, a coffee bar in Kuta. I was very welcome there and he tried to get as many members to attend. When I arrived I was not sure I had the right place but Endi recognized me and he greeted me warmly. Proudly he showed me his coffee bar and of course I ordered an (excellent) Indonesian cup of the dark liquid. We sat together and I showed him my tin of Vooroogst. On the lid it says “Java Lumadjang Pijptabak” and Endi almost fell out of his chair when he read it. “I grew up near there!” When the others of the Bali Tobacco Lovers group arrived he let them all see the tin. Also I gifted them the tin of Flatlander Flake. They knew Samuel Gawith but for some reason it has a reputation of strong tobaccos there. The pipes they brought with them were not spectacular, what we would consider as B-brands in the West. Although some of the members owned Dunhills! Also they had several ok looking Indonesian made pipes of makers I never heard about.

I was a bit surprised at all the pipe tobacco tins the members brought with them like Sillem’s Black, Erinmore Latakia Supreme and some MacBaren ones. But it was not easy for them to get those. They have to order them online at high (Western) prices in tobacco shops in Indonesia or other countries in Asia. A colourful member, Monoss, complained to me that they could get about every tobacco in Indonesia except latakia. Together with other members he had recently bought a bag of 1 kilo of latakia somewhere for quite some money. “Can you buy latakia cheap in Belanda (Indonesian for The Netherlands)?” he asked me hopefully. Sadly not, I also have to buy it in the USA.. Also a lot of home-blending is done with the various import and local tobaccos and I discovered the Balinese have a taste for “smoky-sweet”. So latakia with a bit of sweetness just like Sillem’s Black or HU Tobacco’s ChocoLat. Endi had a home blended mixture with some added wine which tasted good. Monoss also made a blend of his own, I can best describe it as an Indonesian Balkan blend. It was absolutely wonderful. Also I let one of the members try some Elmo’s Reserve snuff. He got tears in his eyes so to say. At the end of the evening Endi had a gift for me, a tin of Indonesian made Punakawan tobacco with in it his home-made blend, a flake consisting of Indonesian tobaccos and a bit of the Punakawan mixture. I thanked him (and the others) thoroughly for this and the wonderful meeting I had.

See here for part 2.

Here a short video of my first Bali Tobacco Lovers meeting made by Baskoro:

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Zestful Zutphen 2014

Panoramic view of Zutphen

Panoramic view of Zutphen

This year the road to the annual Zutphen-meeting was a bit bumpy. Willem Schimmel, the tobacconist where the meeting is always held, was full of ideas and enthusiasm but a lot of Dutch/Belgian pipe smokers forum-members said they could not come. It turned out that the original date was the day after Fortarock and for quite a few of them a meeting after a day of metal and beer was just too much. So Willem set a new date with the help of Mark and about 30 folks responded. Still not as much as last year but enough pipe-smokers to make a cosy, smoke-filled day.

Left in the back: Freek and myself

Left in the back: Freek and myself

Unfortunately one of the forum-members who could not make it was my dear friend Ed. Which meant that we all had to do without his pleasant company but also meant that I could not drive along with him. So I was forced to take the train, not a long trip, only 22 minutes. From earlier blogposts you could know that I believe the Dutch railways are pretty sh*tty. To my utter amazement I arrived without any delays precisely on time! When I stepped out of the train-wagon onto the platform I almost immediately heard an unfamiliar voice behind me: “You must be Arno!” I turned around and saw a rather big, middle aged man who turned out to be forum-member Freark (real name: Freek). “I hope you know how to walk to Schimmel because I really have no clue..” he said. Of course I knew the way, it was not my first time in Zutphen. So while chatting we strolled through the streets to our mutual destination.

Overview of Willem's smoking room

Overview of Willem’s smoking room

When we arrived at Schimmel we clearly were not the first. As with every meeting I attended so far the first minutes mainly consisted of shaking hands. Luckily in the smoking lounge on the first floor there was a chair free to sit on. I filled up my Dunhill cherrywood shape pipe with some Rattray’s Hall O’ the Wynd, a full flavoured excellent Virginia with just a pinch of perique. Paul sat beside me and I told him about my clumsiness with the Dunhill I was smoking. From the first moment I bought it at the Lohmar show the stem was difficult to screw off. I already applied some graphite from a pencil on the tenon but one fateful day the stem just would not come off. While silently cursing I grabbed a towel and a pipe wrench (a fitting name) and wrapped the towel around the stem to keep it from harm. Then I carefully screwed off the mouthpiece and just as it got loose I slipped and made a deep scratch just beside the towel on the vulnerable ebonite.. Argh! A couple of months earlier forum-member Arjen had fixed the mouthpiece of a GBD prince for me so I mailed him with some pictures of the scratch and the question if he could repair it. Of course he could! After a short while I had it back in pristine condition! Then I saw Klaas entering the already smoky room together with his lovely wife Yvonne. She “sacrificed” herself so Klaas could be with us, the darling, and brought a huge camera with her which she aimed at us again and again.

Freek and Jos

Freek and Jos

Opposite me sat Wilfred with a big beard. Normally he is cleanly shaven in summertime and has facial hair in the winter. However he decided at the beginning of spring to just let it grow with a great result for which I envy him a bit. My beard is almost non-existent.. But I had something for him. Before my trip to the Semois-region this year he asked if I could bring a pack of Didot’s Langue de Chien so of course I bought it for him. As an extra “thank you” he gave me an old tin of no longer available De Graaff’s Seamen’s Club, (extra) matured dark Virginia which I often use in my home-mixtures. And there was more generosity! Jos approached me with the tale that he had been at a market in Amsterdam, where he lives, and had to think about me. He saw a stand which sold little signs for in the house like “kitchen” and asked the vendor if he also had a “smoking area” sign. Unfortunately he was out of stock, otherwise Jos would have bought it for me. Last week I received an e-mail from him saying that he was able to buy the sign, he is going to give it to me at the next big meeting in Heukelum. Nice!  Then to find out where to hang the sign, I don’t think Ellen will appreciate it when I put it on the front door..

Inside the basement of the Stadsbrouwerij

Inside the basement of the Stadsbrouwerij

As an extra activity Willem had organized a tasting at the local Grand Café/brewery in Zutphen; Stadsbrouwerij Cambrinus. Just a short walk from the store across the public square. Upon entering the Grand Café we were led below to the basement and greeted by the friendly master-brewer. We all sat down at tables with at each place 6 little glasses upon a placemat with numbers. One of the first  things he told us was that the basement we sat in was 800 years old! Wow! And the nice thing is, in that time it was already a brewery so the walls must have been soaked with the fumes of alcohol. No smoking fumes sadly, it was not allowed.. Damn laws.. Anyway, the stories of the master-brewer were so good and vividly told that I totally forgot about my pipes. The tasting of beers went from the lighter beers to the dark and heavy ones, similar to Paul’s whisky tasting I once attended. And with each new beer the master-brewer told a story about its origins, very interesting. Paul himself did not want most of the beers, he still had to drive, so the content of a lot of his glasses disappeared in the bellies of Johnny (the Undertaker) and myself. I am no beer-expert but all beers were decent (I am spoiled by all the great Belgian beers I guess..) with a couple that were really nice. The glasses were small but afterwards I could really notice the alcohol coursing through my veins..

Stanley's son Arthur

Stanley’s son Arthur

During the tasting a forum-member joined us that I had not seen for a while. The man with the most difficult nickname of all, Gypscoprotheres. Try to say that 10 times in a row. His real name is Stanley and he is an utmost friendly, good bloke. Reason for his long absence was the fact that he and his stunning Brazilian wife had become parents of a son called Arthur. To celebrate that Stanley had ordered a General MacArthur corncob pipe with the date of birth engraved. He took a picture of Arthur together with the pipe and posted it on the forum, but I could not help myself doing a tiny bit of photoshop to include the iconic glasses and cap.

Robin

Robin

Back at the store our youngest member, Robin, proudly showed off his new Zippo. It had a pin-up lady from the 1940’s on it which is something he obviously loves. When he opened the lid I saw it was an ordinary Zippo insert, not a pipe Zippo insert with a round hole in it. I know that one can freely exchange a regular one for a pipe one so I asked Willem, who just passed by, if he had a new pipe insert. He mentioned Robin to follow him and later I saw to my delight that the pin-up Zippo now had a pipe insert. And that was not the only luck Robin had. Downstairs he came to me with a tin of Capstan he just bought and asked if it was MacBaren made or Orlik made. After a good look I came to the conclusion that it was Orlik made, the lucky bastard!

At the Chinese restaurant. I am already eating..

At the Chinese restaurant. I am already eating..

Just after 6 o’clock Rudi came into the smoking room and said it was enough for today, we had to leave. So we thanked Willem and his friendly ladies for the great day and went outside. A small group was left and we all were hungry. Mark knew a nearby Chinese restaurant with a buffet option which sounded great to my ears. Once inside we all sat down and drinks were ordered but before they arrived I already went to the buffet and started eating while the others looked a bit strange at me. Well, when I am hungry I don’t like to wait and a buffet is a buffet, just go and get it. I am not really a conventional type. After dinner we all said goodbye to each other and together with Wilfred I walked back to the station which made waiting for the next train more enjoyable. On the way home the clouds broke open with loads of rain so I looked wet as a drowning rat when I finally stood dripping before Ellen. Luckily all day it had been dry so I was not complaining!

The Zutphen meeting 2014 group

The Zutphen meeting 2014 group

I hope I am not forgetting someone but I would to thank Willem (and his ladies) and Mark for organising the meeting, Martin and Freek for the samples and the rest of the group for the nice conversations and excellent day! All pictures you see were made by Yvonne, Klaas, Stanley and Janneman.

 

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Nourishingly Normandy

Our holiday-house in Notre-Dame-De-Courson

Our holiday-house in Notre-Dame-De-Courson

Traditionally for Ellen and me June is the month to go on vacation. One has a good chance that the weather is fine, it is not high-season so the prices are reasonable and the really big tourist crowds have not yet arrived. Because of financial reasons we decided to go away for just one week. But where to? We soon choose a location not too far from home: the region of Normandy in France. Well, still a 700 km. drive.. I went searching for a suitable holiday-house (read: good and cheap) and after a few evenings of Google-Fu I found one! An old 17th century home, formerly a cider-press barn, build in the typical style of Normandy and situated in the small village of Notre-Dame-De-Courson. Luckily the owner was an Englishman (a lot of British expats live in Normandy) which saved me the troubles of writing in French (my French is sooo bad..) so the process of booking went smooth.

Pont de Normandie

Pont de Normandie

What not did go smooth was the last part of the journey to the holiday-house. Damn TomTom! I did not study the map of Normandy too well, trusted the navigation device and as a result we got sent over the Pont de Normandie! Beautiful, really, but also expensive (€5,50 to cross 1 bridge!) and a big detour. Once in the villages near our destination I relaxed. I did not expect Normandy to be so hilly, rustic and beautiful! Instant holiday feeling. Of course while driving through the picturesque towns I kept an eye out for tobacco-stores and to my delight I spotted several shops with “Tabac” (tobacco) written above the door.

"Tabac" in Livarot, close to our holiday-house

“Tabac” in Livarot, close to our holiday-house

The “Tabac” is a national institution, a shrine to French culture encapsulated by French cinema, part of the café society and a social necessity. Besides tobacco-products a “Tabac” (they describe themselves as a nationwide 28.000-strong “convenience store” chain) also can sell national lottery tickets, strong black coffee (called “café noir” and yes it is STRONG), cold beer, newspapers, magazines and fiscal stamps. In smaller villages they can act as a post office, headquarters of village sports and cultural associations and even as informal banker when no ATMs are to be found. So it is not strange that anyone planning to set up as a tobacconist first needs clearance from the customs authorities and then must undergo an initial training to enter the craft and after that continuous ongoing refresher courses at regular intervals.

A "Tabac" in Lisieux

“Tabac” in Lisieux. Despite the sign, no pipes..

Smoking is as deeply rooted in French society and culture as the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, escargot (snails), high fashion, wine, (smelly) cheeses and champagne. Not even efforts by the government’s health authorities to ban public smoking and educate people about the dangers of tobacco consumption have put a dent in the insatiable craving of France for the smoky leaf. Particularly the famous Gauloises and Gitanes brands. So with that in mind I expected a lot in the pipe-tobacco department. Boy, was I disappointed.. I visited several “Tabac” shops in the towns we went to and everyone of them had more or less exactly the same pipe-tobacco assortment: Saint Claude, Le Supérieur, Amsterdamer and some MacBaren offerings. And all of them vacuum sealed pouches, not a single tin to be found. Perhaps “Tabac” stores in the big cities sell more but the single row of “tabac pour le pipe” in the smaller shops was a bit of a disillusion. And then you have the price.. Wowww.. Dutch prizes, and that means expensive. Since 2000 tobacco prizes have tripled!

IMG_1658Despite that I decided to buy some Le Supérieur (€8,10 for 40 gr.) at a “Tabac” in the picturesque sea-side town of Honfleur which even had some pipes! The only shop I visited in my vacation that had those but alas, nothing special.. That evening at the balcony of the holiday-house in the last rays of the setting sun I broke the seal of the Le Supérieur pouch and what I smelled and saw was no disappointment at all. My first thought was “Semois“, but with a twist. That being a light topping of I believe to be chocolate. Because of this when smoking the taste is sweeter than that of its Belgian cousin. It is a mellow smoke for sure, no tongue bite and although the level of “cigar-ness” rises throughout the bowl the tobacco never becomes overpowering. So I was a bit surprised that the tobacco packed a good punch of the ol’ lady nicotine. Although I could have known this because Semois also has a lot of vitamin N. I loved the rustic side of this blend, it is a no-nonsense tobacco, a true all-day smoke.

The e-smoke shop-window in Honfleur

The e-smoke shop-window in Honfleur

Also in Honfleur I stumbled upon a modern and sterile looking store with strange, colourful things in the shop-window. When I came closer I saw to my utter horror nothing but e-smoke products, there even was an e-pipe! With a hand in front of my mouth, preventing me from painting the store-front with vomit, a quick look inside revealed it was the only stuff they sold. Aarghhh! It seems the e-cigarette market has exploded over the past two years in France. For a fraction of the cost of a pack of cigarettes or a pouch of pipe-tobacco smokers can choose an e-liquid flavour, preferred level of nicotine and even personalize the damn thing itself. A survey carried out by Ipsos in December 2013 revealed one in five French people (that is around 10 million!) had tried an e-cigarette. At the same time sales of traditional cigarettes dropped by just over 7%..

A no-smoking sign and an ashtray.. Hmm..

A no-smoking sign and an ashtray.. Hmm..

Despite the success of e-smoking the French keep on consuming tobacco. The number of French smokers is actually increasing! Since 2005 the percentage of people between the ages of 18 and 75 who smoke has gone from 28% to 30%. The biggest “problem” with French anti-smoking laws is the lack of enforcement. People still smoke in places where it is clearly banned. For example, in Ireland the smoking ban was followed by more than 25.000 inspections in the first year. In France there were only 600 inspections. Way to go! Also about one-fourth of cigarettes consumed in France are believed to have originated from foreign countries. The French (like the Dutch) know their ways better and better to the borders of Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany where tobacco is much cheaper.

Anyway, enough with the smoking, now something about the other good things of life. I named this blogpost “Nourishingly Normandy” because the region feeds you with everything that you need: food, drinks and culture. Here are ten tips about those three things.

Mont Saint-Michel

Mont Saint-Michel

1. Visit Mont Saint-Michel, one of the big tourist traps of France but of such awesome beauty that going there is mandatory. Try to arrive as early in the day as possible to avoid the large crowds. If you go by car do not park it at the big parking-lot of the Mont, it is €xpen$ive.. In stead put it in a smaller parking lot a couple of hundred meters before the one of the Mont. Also take your lunch with you. Most restaurants inside the Mont are not cheap to say the least.. Besides, you will never forget eating your baguette sitting on the outside walls of the Mont while watching the sea and avoiding the not-so-shy seagulls.

The local boulangerie in Notre-Dame-De-Courson

The local boulangerie in Notre-Dame-De-Courson

2. Talking about baguettes, every French village of a certain size is required by law to have a “boulangerie” (bakery) or some other place where you can buy bread. So every morning I awoke at 7 a.m., hit the shower and drove to the local boulangerie to buy still warm baguettes and croissants. When I got back Ellen had set up the table and we could have a tasty breakfast.

Me paying respect to the fallen at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial

Me paying respect to the fallen at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial

3. Visit the beaches from D-Day and the American Cemetary and Memorial (featured in the beginning of Steven Spielberg’s film Saving Private Ryan) at Colleville-sur-Mer. It is a more than impressive and touching sight to see all the graves of the brave men who gave us our freedom. “Think not only upon their passing, remember the glory of their spirit”.

Bayeux cathedral

Bayeux cathedral

4. France is all about beautiful and well preserved ancient churches and cathedrals. Ellen and I visited the cathedrals of Lisieux and Bayeux. Just soak up the sacrosanct atmosphere while you silently shuffle besides centuries-old altars, paintings, statues, stained glass windows and graves. And while you are in Bayeux pay a visit to the almost 1000-year old Bayeux-tapestry, very much recommended! If you want to see a stupendously big building, go to the Basilica of St. Thérèse in Lisieux.

The Livarot cheese I bought, very yummie!

The Livarot cheese I bought, very yummie!

5. Normandy is THE region for soft cheeses like Camembert, Livarot, Pont-l’Évêque and Boursin. All supermarkets will have an assortment of local cheeses but the most fun is to buy those directly from the farm. Alongside roads there are usually signs (“ferme laitière”). I bought a Livarot cheese from the Thébault farm, my first experience with a soft French cheese besides the well-knows President Camembert and Boursin. Livarot cheese is pungent, spicy, earthy, full of flavour and it makes your refrigerator stink for weeks. Ellen would not touch the stuff, I loved it.

The Vieux Bassin, Honfleur

The Vieux Bassin, Honfleur

6. Visit the picturesque, most charming sea-side town of Normandy: Honfleur. Long a favourite with painters but now more popular with the Parisian jet set. Even though it can be overrun with tourists like myself in the summer months, it is hard not to love its graceful beauty. The heart of Honfleur is the Vieux Bassin (Old Harbour), from where explorers once set sail for the New World. This part of the port is surrounded by a lot of brightly coloured buildings that evoke maritime Normandy of centuries past. Beware, if you want to have a good meal, do not eat in one of the restaurants around the old harbour (expensive and lacking in quality). In stead go to a restaurant in the town centre. I personally recommend Le Corsaire, which brings me to my next tip.

Escargot (snails)

Escargot (snails)

7. Have lunch and dinner in a local restaurant. The French like a warm, savoury “déjeuner” (lunch) so when in Honfleur Ellen and I visited Le Corsaire. Most restaurants have a couple of menus, that means you pay a fixed price and choose between several appetizers, main courses and desserts. We choose the cheapest (€15,50) and got real value for money. Try the “Moules à la crème ou mariniére” (Mussel marinated with cream), di-vine yummieness! On the last evening of our stay we went to Le Tournebroche in Notre-Dame-De-Courson to have dinner. They serve excellent local cuisine with a modern twist. I asked for a side-dish, the infamous Escargot (snails), because I never had those. They look unappetizing but taste surprisingly delicious thanks to the garlic-sauce in which they bathe.

Château de Saint-Germain-de-Livet

Château de Saint-Germain-de-Livet

8. Visit Chateau de Saint-Germain-De-Livet. A very picturesque castle build for a part in typical Normandic-style between 1561 and 1578. There are guided tours in French (with printed sheets in several languages) and you also have access to the surrounding garden.

Market hall in Saint-Pierre-Sur-Dives

Market hall in Saint-Pierre-Sur-Dives

9. Go to a local market in one of the surrounding towns. We went to the market in Saint-Pierre-Sur-Dives. It has an ancient market hall dating from the 11th century which was bombed during WWII but has been completely rebuilt using the traditional methods. The market itself is loaded with local food and drink products such as vegetables, fruits, cheeses, ciders and calvados. You can also find flowers, livestock, clothes, bags and accessories etc.

The owner of ferme Belleau packing some bottles of his cider for us

The owner of ferme Belleau packing some bottles of his cider for us

10. Buy local cider at the cider-press barn itself. Look for signs with “cidre” on them alongside roads. We went to one situated next to a crumbling house just outside Notre-Dame-De-Courson, ferme Belleau. The owner was having lunch but welcomed us nonetheless. I asked “Je voudrais acheter cidre?” (Can I buy cider?) and we were led to a large barn. Inside there was a pungent but inviting smell of apples and alcohol and a lot of equipment. The owner asked us which varieties we wanted and I choose several. Price per bottle: only €2,50. Vive la France!

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Awesome Austria

View from our Austrian house

View from our Austrian holiday-house on the Dachstein-plateau

Grüß Gott! After a relaxing two weeks I am back from holiday. Because my girlfriend Ellen and I have not been on vacation last year because of financial reasons we really wanted to go this year. But to where? At first I was thinking about the cottage in the south of France where I have been before. But actually I wanted to go to Austria, the country where I was conceived (my parents went their yeeaars ago and my mother came back pregnant).

Our holiday-house

Our holiday-house

So the search began but it was a lot harder than I thought. A wide range of holiday houses, yes, but all (far) above or below our budget with no shower, electricity etc. Eventually I gave up. After fruitless having browsed through a lot of websites France was once again a good option. A little after New Year the movie “The Sound of Music” just had been on TV and parts were filmed in the Salzkammergut region. I did one last search for a holiday house in that part of Austria and finally found a picturesque cottage outside the town of Bad Goisern! And it fit all the “requirements”: budget, remote location, quiet, traditional appearance, toilet, shower and hot water. Only thing: no internet .. Oh well, I like to read so with some books I was sure I could bide my time.

The pipes that made the trip

The pipes that made the trip

The evening before departure it was time to pack. Clothes and toiletries were sorted out quick enough, but pipes and tobacco… On my holiday to Belgium two years ago I took almost every pipe and tobacco with me that I owned back then. This year I gave it some thought. From what I could see the weather would be nice so the tobaccos I would be smoking the most would be Virginia’s, VaPers and aromatics. And perhaps some latakia in the late evening. In summertime my use of the dark leaf is very low. So some of the tobaccos I took with me were Capstan, Luxury Bullseye Flake, Germain Medium Flake, HU Tobacco Olaf’s Favourite English, My Own Blend Arno Mixture 665, Sweet Vanilla Honeydew and Planta’s Black Vanilla Mixture. A couple of months ago I bought some new corncobs at Aristocob with my vacation in the back of my mind. They smoke well, can take a beating, if one is broken or lost it isn’t a big deal. So, ideal. Further I brought along three of my favourite latakia pipes, two Dunhills and one old Peterson. Those pipes gave me a big scare by the way. When we left it was approximately 18°C in The Netherlands. When we arrived in Austria a heatwave just had begun. So the first days it was about 35°C! When I wanted to smoke one of the Dunhills late on the second day I saw to my horror that the pipe had begun to sweat. There was moisture on it and the black of the ebonite stem was fading. Both the Peterson and the other Dunhill had the same. Luckily I remembered that wood is subject to temperature changes. Travelling orchestras with wooden instruments often have difficulties to keep those in shape. The next evening the moisture was gone, the stems were black once again and they smoked great. I had no problems whatsoever with my corncobs.

Inside the holiday house

Inside our holiday-house

One of the advantages of the holiday-house was that indoor smoking was allowed. Well, actually I did not ask if I could light up a pipe inside but there very clearly was an ashtray on the table. Also the owner paid us a couple of short visits and he could not have missed pipes and tobacco lying around. He said nothing of it. Luckily Austria is a pretty tolerant country towards smoking. Where the rules in Germany recently have been tightened up (Grrr…) their Southern neighbour keep things pretty relaxed. Smoking is prohibited in all enclosed public spaces with certain exceptions for eating and drinking establishments. A law from January 2009 mandates that all restaurants, bars, discos, and pubs larger than 50 m² must either be non-smoking or introduce separate smoking rooms. Below 50 m² the owner has the option to make the establishment a smoking or non-smoking place. I really wished the Dutch government also opted for this, just let the owner decide. The Austrian smoking ban has been a subject of controversy. This because the rules are widely ignored by bar owners and are not actively enforced by the authorities (just as it is in The Netherlands).

Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth (Sissi)

Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth (Sissi)

In Bad Ischl Ellen and I went to the Kaiservilla, the summer residence of Emperor Franz Joseph I (of Sissi fame) which he described as “heaven on earth” for himself and his family. The Imperial Villa was also a stage on which the great powers of the 19th century carried out their diplomatic manoeuvrings. It was here, on July 28th 1914, that Franz Joseph signed the declaration of war on Serbia thus starting World War I and changing the world.. I looked at the desk in his office on which he wrote that ill-fated piece of paper and to my surprise I saw on the right something that looked like a small meerschaum pipe. It turned out to be a long cigar-holder because when the Emperor was working he did not like smoke in his eyes. Well, well, Franz Joseph smoked!

The Emperor's cigar holder

The Emperor’s cigar holder

Of all the monarchs of his time, Emperor Franz Joseph I was perhaps one of the most modest as far as his personal needs were concerned. His daily routine was strictly regulated (he got up every day at 3.30 AM!) and his private life was free from any extravagance apart from the occasional visit to the theatre and the pleasures of the hunt (you can see MANY stuffed animals in the Kaiservilla). He drank and ate only in strict moderation. Nevertheless, he did have one vice: smoking. One Ketterl, the emperor’s personal servant, reports this in his memoirs: “When the Emperor sat alone with Count Paar in the train compartment, intercourse between the two was limited to the creation of huge billows of smoke, with the result that emperor and general adjutant were hardly to be distinguished any longer in the thick fog of tobacco smoke”. Tobacco had already played an important role for the Austrian monarchs long before the reign of Emperor Franz Joseph I. The first Habsburg to appreciate the financial advantages offered by tobacco was Leopold I. In 1670 he needed money in order to fund his expensive hunting excursions. Count Khevenhüller, his Grand Master of the Hunt, suggested leasing the monopoly for the cultivation and sale of tobacco to him to cover the imperial hunt expenses. From then on (whatever the personal preference was for tobacco of the individual rulers) the tobacco monopoly was placed under varying degrees of state control. Joseph II eventually decreed an exclusive state monopoly over tobacco production in 1784, thus founding the Austrian Tobacco Monopoly (Austria Tabak). But because of European Union requirements it was partially privatized in 1998. Austria Tabak was acquired by Gallaher, a member of the Japan Tobacco International family, in 2001.

A Tabak Trafik sign

A Tabak Trafik sign

In Austria you can buy tobacco in shops called “Tabak Trafik”. They are a point of sale for (of course) tobacco products, newspapers, magazines, stationery, postcards and other small goods. In Vienna, for example, these can be parking tickets and tickets for public transport. Only Tabak Trafik shops are allowed to sell tobacco products at the regular price. Only when there are not enough shops available in an area, other businesses get a sales permit. Since restaurants and gas stations refer to the Tabak Trafik prices, pubs are at least 10% more expensive. I visited every Tabak Trafik shop I could find in Bad Goisern and other nearby towns. And I found that their pipe tobacco assortment was somewhat.. Disappointing.. Maybe I am used to the well-stocked German tobacco-shops. Ok, it is wonderful that those little Austrian shops have pipe tobacco in the first place. But they only sell pouches from brands like MacBaren, Clan and WO Larsen and some shops carry some of the Dunhill tobacco tins. I could only find one positive exception in Bad Ischl. There was a Tabak Trafik which had some Wellauer Latakia and a couple of Rattray tins. I also saw a pouch of DTM’s Sweet Vanilla Honeydew. I never knew that was sold outside of the Danpipe store in Europe. Tobacco is pretty expensive in Austria, only just below the Dutch prices. As far as pipes goes I also grumbled somewhat. A couple of souvenir pipes and a few shops in Salzburg had some Vauen and Savinelli smoking gear. Also pretty expensive..

Souvenirs from Salzburg

Souvenirs from Salzburg

When Ellen and I were in the beautiful city of Salzburg we walked into a fantasy/souvenir shop. Besides cuckoo clocks, swords and tankards they also had some nice ashtrays. Since I have something with skulls I bought an ashtray with a skeleton inside. Smoking is lethal right? But I still wanted a pipe.. On the Mozartplatz there was a Tabak Trafik which had some souvenir pipes made by Salzburg-based company Kemperling. They all were (yes you guess it right) expensive and not really well made (some plastic pieces) so I picked the cheapest one. A nice looking pipe with an engraved Edelweiss flower and the word “Salzburg”. And I don’t know what got into me, I really must have been tired, but I forgot to haggle and paid the full price of €34 ($44). Waaaay too much for a pipe I could not even smoke. The stem was made of cheap plastic and the smoking channel.. Well.. The drilling was off and it was so narrow I could barely put a pipe cleaner through it.. But back home it looked nice in my pipe-cabinet! Really!

My girlfriend Ellen and I

My girlfriend Ellen and I

All in all the two-week holiday to Austria really had been a total blast. Apart from two days of rain Ellen and I had beautiful weather and we saw and did lots of things throughout the Salzkammergut area and a bit beyond. If you visit the region do not miss Salzburg, Bad Ischl and Hallstatt. If you travel a little further go to the Admont Abbey with its stunning library and take a day-trip to the awesome panoramic Grossglockner High Alpine Road. Auf Wiedersehen!

Another Dutch invention: the modern corncob pipe

legend-corn-cob-smoking-pipe

Two Legend corncob pipes

We Dutch invented a lot during the centuries. From the microscope in 1590 to modern capitalism in the 1600’s to Wi-Fi in the 1990’s. So you could say that the Dutch people have a history and tradition in inventing and discovery. One of the inventions I am most proud of (although it is an American icon) is the corncob pipe in its current form.

The history of the corncob pipe begins with the native Americans, who showed the European colonists the multiple usages of corn. Then Henry Tibbe, a Dutch wood-turner, emigrated to America from Enschede in 1867. After fire destroyed his home and factory in Holland he brought his family and his skill as a wood-turner to Washington, Missouri. Soon after that, he set up a small woodworking business making spinning wheels, wooden handles, furniture etc.: H. Tibbe & Son Co.

Henry Tibbe

Henry Tibbe

Some time in 1869 a local farmer whittled a pipe out of  a corncob. He liked it so much that he asked Henry Tibbe to try turning some on his lathe. Apparently the farmer was pleased with the pipes he got so Henry made a couple more and put them for sale in his shop. They were such a fast-selling item that in no time he was spending most of his working hours making pipes for his customers. Soon Tibbe went into full time production of corncob pipes.

Unfortunately the corncob pipe tended to burn out easily. Luckily Henry Tibbe had an idea for fireproofing it. Tibbe’s 1878 patent describes his process for fireproofing by applying a plaster of paris type substance to the outside of the corncob, then sanding the bowl smooth after it dried. This procedure not only fire proofed the cob but also hardened it, allowing it to be worked on a lathe.

MMBy 1878, with increasing demand for his corncob pipes, Tibbe had moved his business to a new location and increased his production by employing a steam engine to turn the lathes and operate the other machinery. In January 1883 Henry and his son Anton applied for a U.S. patent for a trademark for their pipe, calling it the Missouri Meerschaum. They choose that name because Tibbe compared his light, porous, cool smoking corncob pipes with the more expensive meerschaum pipes. In 1896 Henry Tibbe died. Anton took over and in 1907 the H. Tibbe & Son Co. became the Missouri Meerschaum Company.

The two story brick building

The two story brick building

During the years that followed, Missouri Meerschaum pipes became increasingly popular. A large distribution system was established for the sale of Tibbe’s pipes. The wooden building which originally accommodated the H. Tibbe & Son Co. was soon replaced by a two story brick building. Later this building had a third floor added and over the years more additions were built.

momeerschaum2

The current building.

Ownership changed hands in 1912 when the company was purchased by Edmund Henry Otto. Still Anton Tibbe supervised the company until 1921. He then disposed of his interest in the pipe factory, retired, and moved to California where he died eight years later. The company remained in the Otto family for over fifty years. In 1978  it was acquired by Fendrich Industries Inc. of Indiana. They owned it until 1983 when it was sold to John and Geraldine Brandenburger. In 1988 the company was purchased by the present owners: Michael Lechtenberg, Robert Moore and Larry Horton.

Corncobs waiting to be turned into pipes..

Corncobs waiting to be turned into pipes..

In the early days cobs from an ordinary cornfield served nicely for the pipes. Now the pipes are made from a special white hybrid corn which was developed by the University of Missouri. This variety produces big, thick and tough cobs. The reason why the cheap Chinese-made copies do not work and burn through the bottom after the first smoke. The corn is grown on 140 acres in the Missouri River bottom which is owned by the company. Employees do the corn picking and carry the corn to the crib area. Also located in the river bottom. The corn is shelled using only old, out of production shellers which date back to the 1930’s. This because the newer shellers break up the cobs.. The cobs are then stored in the upper two levels of the factory for about two or three years until they are ready to be processed.

A glimpse inside the factory.

A glimpse inside the factory.

These days about 30 to 40 employees work in the same old brick building of Henry Tibbe. They produce, pack and ship around 3,000 (!) pipes per day to nearly every state in the USA and lots of foreign countries. The making of corncob pipe has not changed much since those first pipes were made. It still takes a lot of hand labour. Some operations have been automated by cleverly adapting machines from other uses.

The shaping of a cob during the production process.

The shaping of a cob during the production process.

The production begins with the cobs being dropped into a chute which sends them down to the lowest level of the building. The remaining husks are removed and then the cobs are put into multiple gang saws. There they are cut into uniform lengths. The corncob pieces then fall onto the conveyor belt of a grader that sorts them by size. Tobacco holes are bored into the cobs and then most go to one of the four turning machines to be shaped. The pipe style is determined by the turning or shaping process. Some larger pipes are still turned by hand. The white plaster of paris type coating is then smeared on the bowls. They are sanded smooth after a day of drying. A boring machine bores the stem hole. The bowls are then varnished either by being tumbled in a cement mixer or run through a lacquer spray booth. Then they go to the finishing room where they have a metal ring attached to the wood stem that has been printed to look like a cob. The plastic or acrylic mouthpieces have a filter inserted and then they are hammered into the stem. The stems are glued into the bowls, a label is placed on the bottom, the pipes are packaged and tadaaaa! Ready for shipment.

Pipes of all sizes are made, but most set you back less than $10!

Pipes of all sizes are made, but most set you back less than $10!

There are lots of different styles of corn cob pipes being produced today. Most styles also have a variety of bowl shapes and come with either a bent or straight stem.

Here are some corncob pipe facts and tips:
– As I said before Missouri Meerschaum uses plaster of paris and lacquer to finish their pipes. A black stain is applied on a few models. Usually it does not cause a problem on the inside of the bowl but sometimes it can be a nuisance. So if you want to you can lightly use sand paper to remove anything and everything other than cob from the inside of the bowl.
– The wooden shank that extends inside the bowl is sometimes removed by cob smokers. With the models with hardwood bottoms this is no problem. But other versions will become more prone to burnout if the inner shank is removed. Then again, I seldom read someone had a burnout. But to be safe I would not advise Dutch pipe smoker forum-member Jos to buy cobs.. If you still really want to remove the inner shank then please use these inside the bowl.

Cob with some glue residue inside the bowl.

Cob with some glue residue inside the bowl.

– The glue used in making cobs is non-toxic. So if you see some residue inside the bowl, don’t be alarmed. You can leave it or carefully scrape it out with a small knife.
– Let the cake in the bowl build up a bit. It allows the cob to absorb moisture better and this results in a cooler and drier smoke.
– Because corncobs pipes can absorb a lot of moisture you have to be careful with damp weather. The cob then needs some extra drying time.
– I smoke all kinds of tobacco in my corncob pipes except for latakia. Some way or another there is no match.. However, Semois and other burley based tobaccos taste great in cobs.

Here are some links where you can buy corncob pipes:
Aristocob
Missouri Meerschaum
4noggins

And if you (unlike me) are very handy with tools you can read here how to make your own cob.

rodland_corn.cob.pipe_lodefLast but not least, for the woman pipe smoking fetishists (I know there are a lot of you perverts, I can see it in my website-stats!) here is a *ahum* nice, classy picture of a young woman with a corncob pipe.