As it so happened, David and I both had trips planned for Germany the next week. He drove to Cologne with his boss for a three day trip, and I took the train to Strasbourg and drove over the border to our office in Hagenbach for a short two day visit.
It was a pretty uneventful trip, but I did manage to make a chocolate stop on my way back. David didn't have the spare time, but he did have an excellent trout dinner while he was there, which he still reminisces about every few days.
The next week I week I was off to Cologne myself for training. I had never been to Cologne (or Köln, as the Germans call it) before, but I had heard rumors of a beautiful cathedral. David had seen it from afar the week before and I was hoping to pay a visit.
I happened to get an up-close view, as the train station exit was only a few hundred meters from the cathedral. It was huge. And filthy, as these things tend to be after a while.
Before dropping into a cab I took the opportunity to pop into a Starbucks for a coffee, as I had foolishly decided to take the 7 a.m. train (which had meant a 4:30 a.m. wakeup). And in Starbuck's I got my first taste of Cologne: the coffee was cheaper than Paris, and the staff friendlier. The barista nearly giggled in delight when I asked him if I could speak English.
The cab dropped me off at the entrance of a supplier park in Niehl, outside Cologne. The supplier park is right next door to the Ford plant, where the suppliers can make and assemble components and deliver them to Ford via conveyor belt.
The Faurecia office was small, containing no more than 15 people, most of whom were signed up for training with me. I was surprised to find that they were a pretty even mix of French, English, and German, and all happy to welcome a visitor. The first thing they did was drag me out for lunch at a sushi bar with its own conveyor belt. I was definitely warming up to Cologne.
After the small training session that afternoon, a cheerful Brit from the sales department offered to drop me off at my hotel, which wasn't far from his apartment. En route, we received a call from another Cologne-based Brit I'd met a few years back in another session, who insisted that my chauffeur take me to a hip Thai restaurant for dinner.
The Thai place was great, and so unpretentious I couldn't help but love it for it's casual, laid back style. And the food was excellent. Stuart - who was perfect cross between Thom Yorke and David's uncle Peter - was a pleasant dinner companion, and told me stories of his Faurecia career in England, France, and Germany. Of course he spoke all three languages fluently, and of course I was wildly jealous.
After dinner we met up with a few other of the English lads for drinks in a lounge that was as unassuming and relaxed as the Thai place. We drank outlandish fruity drinks, then moved onto a vodka bar that could have been scooped up and delivered directly from Russia. Or at least how I image Russia to be. Dark, seedy, and full of suspicious locals. In other words, my brother would have loved it. I passed on the vodka - I was really wearing out by then - and the boys got the idea and deposited me at my hotel.
I stayed in an old monastery that had been converted to hotel rooms. I was hoping for stone walls and heavy tapestries, but my room looked like any other room in any other hotel. The only reminder of the hotel's history was the monk mannequin that sat thoughtfully in the lobby, flanked by candles. Of course, upon dropping me off, my new friends had to give him a hard time.The next day was full of training, then Stuart kindly drove me to the train station with enough time for me to take a photo of the cathedral before leaving. Maybe next time I'll have the chance to actually walk around it.
And then last week I was off to Germany again, this time to Rüsselsheim, near the headquarters of Opel. I know nothing of German geography, but as I was booking my trip I learned that Rüsselsheim is close to where Sabrina and Josh live. Because, duh, Sabrina and Josh work for Opel.
So, as the train clacked its way into Germany, I called Sabrina at work and asked if she and Josh were free for dinner. At the end of the conversation I was dialing my hotel to cancel my reservation for the night.
The train pulled into Frankfurt just before 9 p.m., and after wrangling with a grumpy Avis agent, I had my car keys and GPS in hand. I arrived at Sabrina and Josh's apartment around 10, just as Sabrina was putting the finishing touches on a classic American dinner. We had a great evening, talking about our travels in Europe and the difficulties of working in a foreign country. Talking to Sabrina and Josh always makes me feel normal again.
My training in Rüsselsheim was a pleasant success. I had expected paltry attendance and grumpy Germans who would be annoyed with the software's faults, but in fact everyone was present, on time, and pleased with the training. Not only that, they asked really intelligent questions and asked for more challenging exercises. I can't say that training has ever been so gratifying.
Back in the Frankfurt train station I had enough time to buy a small dinner and a few bottles of German beer to stuff into my luggage for David.
So now we're stocked up on beer and chocolate, and the next scheduled trip to Germany isn't until June, when David returns to Cologne. Me, I'll be staying Frenchside for a while, but a team in Spain is starting to make noises about training, so maybe I'll be planning a trip to Abrera soon. I hope so - we're out of olives.
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