I do like working such fairs, especially when there are so many visitors from all over the world and not just German ones. It gives me a chance to practice my languages, and I had plenty of occasion to do that - in fact, we had only very few German visitors to our booth. There is a surprisingly large amount of people from Italy and from the UK in this industry; Russia and Turkey are catching up, too, and we had at least one or two visitors from Israel every day.
Our booth was similar to the one we had in 2010, but not exactly the same. Here are some pictures:
The majority of you have probably not heard about the power outage we had on the Thursday morning during that week; it was on all the German TV news that night and you can read about it in English here.
We were affected in that the two underground lines that serve the fair were not running for some hours, and it was impossible to get a taxi - we couldn't even get through to the taxi companies by phone, since all the lines were either down or busy. In the end, we split up so that some of us went by car (it took them an hour to get there), one of us who had the keys to the booth was able to go with some other hotel guests in their car, and I chose to wait until the trains would be running again, and arrived at the fair at 20 past 10 instead of 20 to 8.
Since hardly anybody got to the fair in time that morning, it wasn't a problem that I was later than usual - so were the visitors! And the power outage provided the perfect icebreaker in conversation; you instantly had something to talk about, comparing stories about where you were, how you eventually made it to the fair, how long it took you and so on.
Altogether, it was an interesting week, and my last fair for this year.
Whenever the power is out for long it makes me realise how vulnerable we are. Scares me that our government has been busily been selling off our power companies to foreign investors. I can't get over how stupid they are.
ReplyDeleteIt does happen so rarely in Germany, and I was just glad I had not ended up stuck in a lift somewhere! It must be terrible to not knowing what's going on - a terrorist attack? Just a fault in the lift itself? Will it last 15 minutes or 3 days? So, we were really lucky.
DeleteThere is a lot of talk of the Energiewende in Germany. How much of that is responsible for that particular power outage I can not say.
Glad you enjoyed your week at the fair - and that you did not get stuck in some really uncomfortable place during the power outage.
ReplyDeleteThankfully, I was not stuck anywhere - we found out about the outage when we arrived at the station and had enough time to warn the rest of our team so that they could take the car. Even if I myself am not given to hysterics, the idea of being stuck with strangers in a lift and not knowing how they might react is scary!
DeleteWe have occasional outages in some of our remoter rural areas (with overhead power lines hit by trees in storms being the main cause) but generally we are very fortunate.
ReplyDeleteSo are we, John. I do remember a minuscule power outage two years or so ago in the summer, it was induced by lightning stroke and my router was roasted. I needed a new one, and that was that.
DeleteIt sounds like fun work. As for power outages, we have them for sometimes weeks after hurricanes, so i understand how frustrating it can be.
ReplyDeleteOne of the visitors at our booth that day told us of his frequent business travels to Ethiopia and India. He said that, especially in Ethiopia, power outages are a daily occurrance and everyone is totally placid about them. I suppose if they are part of everyday life, people are much more prepared for them as we are over here.
DeletePower outages do make one realize just how much we depend on the companies. I'm lucky that our power is underground so we haven't had that problem all the time I've lived here (mobile home park).
ReplyDeleteI thought only our overspending government here in the USA permitted foreign companies to own a big source of our needs. It's frustrating, to say the least.
However, since it is Thanksgiving, I will say that I'm grateful for my family, my cozy home and the means to buy both food and medicines.
That's the right attitude, Norma!
DeleteMuch of our power here is underground, too, which may partly explain why we so rarely suffer power outages.
My son in law who grew up near Munich and was in the university there for quite a few years had not heard of this. I seem to learn a lot from blogs! We don't often have power outages here, but it can happen so I always have candles and matches about just in case....
ReplyDeleteIt is certainly a good idea to have candles and matches at hand for the "just in case" moments! Like you, I do learn a lot from blogs, which is one reason why I so enjoy reading them.
DeleteWell, I am sorry that your power was out while you were there but it still sounds like it all worked out anyway.
ReplyDeleteI love the set up of your booth, the bright green color and the spiky green plants. I'm sure they must not be real, but I like the look of them anyway! And you are as stylish as ever! :-)
The plants are real, Kay - their botanical name is equisetum, and the English translation I found was "horsetail" and "scouring rush", while their German name is Schachtelhalm. We had to water them twice during the four days the fair lasted.
DeleteNot everyone appreciated the colour scheme of our booth; I overheard one visitor (just passing, not entering) remarking to his colleague: "Ah, that's them with the odd green again", obviously remembering the company from the previous fair.
Imagine something like the power outage arising from a devastating earthquake which destroyed much of your central business district and you have Christchurch here in New Zealand. Every time I experience a power outage I am thankful for the fact that it is likely to be relatively short-lived. So many places are not so fortunate.
ReplyDeleteHaving 'proper' facilities at a trade fair is so important. Our stands were never large enough for catering and those who were coming to see us were invariably in a relative hurry (being principally shopkeepers looking for new products or re-stocking). Having the bright green may not appeal aesthetically to some but being noticed and remembered is a very important part of the operation.
You are so right there, Graham; I belong to the very lucky part of humankind to live in an area that is not only prosperous and peaceful, but also free from suffering catastrophes such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis etc. One can never be too grateful for that.
DeleteCatering for our visitors and staff alike, I have never had to make less coffee than this year. People seem to have switched from drinking copious amounts of coffee to more water and other cold drinks. And most of the biscuits, nuts and other nibbles I put out were eaten by our own people ;-)