Roland: Once a year my company organizes an outing where people from three plants in two countries (Germany & France) meet for a 15km hike close to one of the plants. This year the task of organizing the field day was given to the colleagues in the Frankfurt area. At 5:45 AM we boarded a bus to the German state of Hesse, to the Taunus area to be exact, where the Feldberg hills were waiting for us.
Unfortunately the closer we got to our meeting point with the other colleagues the worse the weather conditions became. Anyway after a hearty breakfast we were off to conquer the 300 m difference in altitude to the top of the Greater Feldberg.
A pitstop between Roman ruins.
On top of the Greater Feldberg
No view!
It rained continuously, but the group of 160 did not let that fact affect the mood. We walked through puddles of mud, conquered steep climbs, beared phases of heavy rain, but we never gave up! So after net four hours of walking time, a couple of breaks to water our insides as well - one of them, of course, at an old Roman garrison at the old Limes wall -, a lunch break on top of the Feldberg, and a few material failures (e.g. soles that came off their shoes) we arrived at a well-deserved Hessian buffet that even had various choices for Sonja and the other vegetarians in the group!
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At some point things became very interesting when the French colleagues from the area of Alsace (close to the German border) started singing songs in the Alsatian dialect which in fact is much closer to German than it is to French. We have to admit that we understood only every second word, but we pretty much have the same problem with the "badisch" dialect that is spoken in the town where we live now.
After a long bus ride back south, we arrived home Sunday morning at 0:30 AM where we were greeted by a long hot shower before our bed was calling us! Today we suffer a mild muscle soreness, but we enjoyed the rainy day in the woods very much!
so your homesickness must be cured a little bit ;-). weather starts being the same here now. but i guess, you met a lot of nice people and enjoyed it?
ReplyDeleteIt was a nice outing and a good opportunity for Roland to connect with his colleagues. Homesickness isn't cured yet but waning. Still missing the ocean, though...
DeleteInterest team building exercise, looks like it was a fun time, in spite of the weather!
ReplyDeletedom
People were in good spirit, that helped, that and lots of beer ;-)
DeleteWhat a great thing for work to organize. A good way for everyone to met in person and get some exercise too.
ReplyDeleteGood thing people had umbrellas
The company has organized these events for many decades, and the employes appreciate it. The umbrellas were indeed serving as colour spots in a grey day.
DeleteBob, for sure I miss PoMo. I lived five minutes away from the inlet and could smell the ocean from my apartment, and I often had spent time at Stanley Park or Steveston. It's the salt water and the smell of the sea I am missing.
ReplyDeleteThis much rain this time of the year is very unusual, but this year has already seen very irregular weather pattern. I am still hoping for a golden October.
Sonja, it's a whole different world in Europe. We (my colleagues and I) are struggling to understand cultural differences as we integrate the large European acquisition we undertook last fall. For instance, my company also organizes a walk... a walk around a few city blocks, no buses, no hotel, no generous meals, no beer, and back in the office before the lunch break is over.
ReplyDeleteRoland, it looks like you are working in a very nice environment. If you keep posting such nice accounts of your working life, many of us on this side of the pond will become envious.
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