Day 9 to 12: Working Wachau Style

Day 9

8:30 I leave my room, head down to the lobby to catch Sabine and her friend Robert waiting for me in his black BMW 318i. We were off to Wachau!

Wachau is basically an area outside Vienna that goes down a river (Danube I think?), covering a lot of historical sights as well as interesting landscapes. We were supposed to catch a boat that goes through every single interesting stop, however when we went there, it was not operational during winter! So we get into the car, and start touring on our own.

One of the interesting things I saw during my quick visit to Krems (first stop in Wachau), is the level marker they have placed by the wall of one of the buildings, showing where the flood of 2002 have reached … and boy it was HIGH! I was shocked because the river is really low from where I stood, and to reach this level it must have caused a lot of damage and havoc. What is good is that no lives were lost.

Another interesting thing is going to see the prison where Richard the Lionheart was held for in. We had to go up over 300 steps that is basically made from the mountain rocks, so it is not uniform, very steep, and very slippery as it was drizzling a bit. Although very dangerous, the moment we reached the summit, I was shocked. Even though the weather sucked for photography or even sightseeing, clouds and overcast all over, but it was still breathtaking! You could see for many miles ahead, and you can see the vineyards and the houses and churches, and across the river … it was semi-magical! Going down turned out to be the hard part! When Lionheart was released, he donated a lot of money to make a huge and very luxurious church in the village underneath his prison. That is also worth going to … its blue and can be seen from anywhere around!

All this mountain climbing, had to be complemented with a meal! :) The guys took me out to a nice restaurant where I had another Austrian dish (don’t ask me what is it .. but it was roasted pork) and some white wine. They have really good white wine. What followed this is some (sleep?) cruise that ended us in a Heuriger, a place serving wine and chillaxing food  :) Some AppleStruddel (another crazy dessert they have) washed down with red wine … I needed sleep!

And I got that once I got back … slept at 8 pm that day … and then woke up 12 am to eat a toblerone ( I WAS STARVING) and then slept again to morning!


Day 10

Work Work Work … low pressure on first day, but it definitely isn’t an easy thing to be working with your boss’s boss’s team :) It was time of some planning, and it was difficult communicating with my team while being there. However the guys were welcoming, and it was finally great to see the faces of all the voices I keep on communicating with for the past 8 months.

Wolfgang, Sabine’s manager and our marketing manager for CEMA, took me to his place for a quiet dinner … then more sleep!

Day 11

Work Work Work … more pressure, I had to deal with issues with a bid that I am heavily part of. Met with boss to discuss our situation in MEEP. Part of the things that I love about that office is the fact they have their own restaurant/kitchen … and you can have a decent meal for a very good price. I also finally met the lady that serves coffee every morning on a trolley … Wolfgang usually would stop a conference call for 1 minute as he gets a coffee from the lady … another landmark I had to visit! Their coffee is very weak though …

Met Nevine again that night … where I finally bought the famous MozartKuglen … the round dark chocolate balls with Mozart on the wrapper :) A tradition in our office to get back a lot of it, and I had to buy a lot more for friends and family. I knew I had to carry over 5 kgs extra as carry-ons during my next flights .. YIKES!

We then go to Turkish restaurant, where I finally reunite with my favorite Turkish  disk: Iskandar Kebab/Shawerma --- oh MAMA! Basically beef shawerma (strips) in yoghurt and sauce lying on a bed of bread. Yoghurt was a bit sour, but it was great! I can’t say I slept well the night … but I had to have that dish!

I had to say my goodbyes to Nevine and her brother (who joined us with his best friend) … she made my stay over there feel a lot more at home, then I imagined it would be. God is great!

Day 12

Work Work Work … last day at work over there! Even more pressure … discussions but I am finally leaving – I just wanna go back home! It was a nice time with the guys, but I miss my team and my friends :)

We went out at night with the team for another Austrian dish (don’t ask names! But it had beef bits with an egg on it :)) Said good bye to everyone … and had to run back to prepare my bags for a 6am flight … my final destination in my EuroTrip 2005!