Wednesday 26 November 2014

Munich

I need a break, which is why I am using a few minutes of my WFH* day for this blog post.
In my "puzzle" post, I told you that I was going away for work and referred to another Munich post from a few years ago.

Last week, I've been working at the electronica from Tuesday to Friday. We did not have a power outage this time, but we had two VERY busy first days, one fairly busy Thursday and a very boring Friday, when many stall holders started packing up their stuff shortly after lunch time because most visitors had already left by then.

I did enjoy working the trade show again, although this is not my line of work anymore. It was a welcome change from my usual office work, and gave me a chance to use all my languages again, something not necessary at all during my day-to-day tasks.
My Chinese colleagues were as polite and nice as before; some were here for the first time, while I'd met others before. My friend, whose company I worked for, had been as efficient in organizing everything as in the past. She really is very good at considering the big picture as well as thinking of the small detail that can make a big difference.

My hotel room was large and clean. We'd been to the same hotel two years ago, but there had been (and still was) some renovating and redecorating going on, which probably explains the complete absence of pictures on the walls of my room (not that I missed that! I prefer an empty wall to the sometimes rather hideous "art" in hotels).


Although I did not know it beforehand, some of my working outfits matched our booth very well. Here is an example:


Some years ago, my friend, her colleague and I had been to a Turkish restaurant in Munich one night. We all had enjoyed the food very much, and went there this year again. I wasn't particularly hungry and ordered only a starter and a salad - and look what I got:


I ended up having more food than the others who had ordered main courses :-) The food was as excellent as we had remembered it.

Altogether, I enjoyed my busy week in Munich. It was physically demanding, spending every day between 8 and 12 hours on my feet without ever sitting down once. But I knew it was going to be like this and came well prepared, both in terms of fitness as in wearing the right shoes.

This was the last time this year that I've been away from home. Now I am looking forward to the days and weeks leading up to Christmas - our beautiful Christmas market opened last night, and of course my Mum, my sister and I have already been there to sample the delicious food and drinks and browse the stalls!

* = Working From Home

18 comments:

  1. Always enjoy visiting Munich, beautiful city.

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    1. It is a beautiful city, but when I go there to work at the fair, all I get to see is my hotel and the way from there to the station, the underground, then the fair halls and back :-) By the time we leave the fair, it is dark and we can't go sightseeing; all we want to do is SIT somewhere and have a meal :-)

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  2. Such an interesting post, what long days! But such rewards too. Meeting interesting people, and exercising your language skills and I bet you were hungry at the end of those work days.
    Market sounds charming, always so good to get back home no matter how wonderful the time away
    xx
    Julie

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    1. Yes, coming home is one of the things I love most about being away! I don't mind the unpacking, either; since I always travel very lightly, I am quickly done.
      The strange thing is that I don't get really hungry when my body goes into "fair mode".

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  3. I don't know if you have heard this English expression before - "A change is as good as a rest"? It seems that this is what you got in Munich even though you were on your feet an awful lot.

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    1. That's true, YP. It was a welcome change, although I do like my day-to-day work here very much, too.

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  4. It sounds like a very nice week, if intense! My daughter Emily was at uni there for several years, living in Stusta. And of course, my sil comes from very nearby. I enjoy Munich a lot.....My goodness, that was a lot of food! It looks as though it might have been difficult getting those two plates at your place on the table. And now, enjoy the weeks before Christmas. Your Christmas Market sounds so wonderful.

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    1. It really was a lot of food - so much for "only a little starter and a salad for me", he he! My colleague kept making fun of me all evening :-)
      Our Christmas Market really is beautiful. I'll be there again tomorrow night, meeting with some old school mates, and then on Monday night for work, doing my annual shift at the charity stall.

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  5. Beautiful pictures Librarian, looks like you enjoyed yourself. The only Turkish food I know is Rakhat Lukhum, I love it! You look really pretty.

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    1. Thank you, Francesca :-)
      I like most Turkish food, but I would not want to eat it day after day, especially not the sweets, because they ae so VERY sweet (love baklava!).

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  6. Christmas market time already , and it's not even really cold !
    I envy you the possibility to enjoy a quick visit in the evenings to enjoy all the fun .

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    1. I've been to the Christmas Market twice already, and will go again on Monday. It was cold enough last night; according to the weather people, we are getting a cold front from Russia, and it certainly made itself felt last night. But wrapped up warmly, it was still nice meeting friends at the Christmas Market and having some food and drink there.

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  7. I love that photo of you perfectly matching the blue of the chairs. So much so that I think you should have that photo on the side of your blog! Just saying!
    And I think your hotel room looks very inviting, I like the warm color of the lighting.

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    1. Thank you, Kay! Funny thing was, one of my Chinese colleagues was wearing a blouse of nearly the same blue that same day - she had not known before, either, what colours our booth was going to be. One of the men kept calling us the "Ocean Ladies" all day. He took a picture of the two of us together and promised to send it to me, but so far, I have not heard from him again (and probably never will).
      The hotel room was nice and spacious, and surprisingly quiet for the centre of Munich.

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  8. That is the biggest starter and salad I've ever seen! Enjoy being at home and the Christmas preparations. x

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    1. It barely fitted on my side of the table, it really was huge! :-)

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  9. I'm still away but I'm using an hour or two on a Sunday morning to catch up. I used to enjoy trade fairs and meeting people although selling things was never my strong point (I spent my life 'selling' ideas and points of view). I can't believe that was a starter and salad by the way!

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    1. That starter and salad truly were unbelievable, weren't they! Can you imagine anyone eating a main course and dessert after that?!
      When I work for that company in Munich, I don't sell. My job is that of a hostess in the true sense of the word: making sure everyone feels welcome at our booth. That includes talking to them in their own language (if possible), showing them where they can sit down, alerting the person they have come to see, offering drinks and so on.

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