Category: Europe
After experiencing Hamburg's nightlife (the Reeperbahn is out of control) it took us a while to get out of bed. By early afternoon we were able to recover enough to head down to Hamburg's 825th anniversary port festival. Basically, it is a carnival that stretches along the harbor (hello fried foods and carnival games) with tours of battleships and a 4-floor disco ship called the San Disco!
On Friday, it was finally time for us to make the long awaited trip to Hamburg, Germany’s second largest city. But first, we were scheduled to meet Mike and our contact from a local tier one supplier for lunch. While enjoying some tasty Italian food at Vapiano (turns out they are headquartered in Bonn along with DHL) we were able to recap everything we learned over the week and get a few tips for Hamburg. Time to hit the road!
Day 6 – Pants. You know, the things we put on nearly every day. The things that go over a person’s legs and are fastened at/above the hips or sagging below the bum, however you fancy wearing them. You might even choose to put on sweatpants, you know, just to lounge around in. …Nerp. In the UK, you’re more likely to convey the idea by using the word “trousers”. If you say “pants” around here, you’re actually referring to underwear. And “sweatpants”… um, well, it’s probably one of the most revolting words you could say to a Brit.
With three days of on-site client visits under our belt, we were finally called up to the big leagues on Thursday. The day started with a drive up to Bonn, where DHL’s headquarters literally towers over everything else in the city. Our mission? To meet with Martin Seidenberg, the CEO of DHL Supply Chain for Germany and the Alps region. Our enthusiasm level? Higher than DHL’s Post Tower Building, which stands at 41 stories. Our caffeine level? In the danger zone.
Hallo (that means Hello) from our German home! After only a few days in Koblenz, we are starting to feel comfortable with not speaking the language, driving (and stalling) on the Autobahn, and interviewing VP-level (and above) executives in the automobile industry.