I haven’t stepped foot in Europe since February. Whoa. February?!?! Well, a clarification on that one as I was in Heathrow Airport in London for about 2 hours en route to Mumbai India. The last time I really stepped food in Europe was a 2 week trip to Amsterdam in October of 2010 where I worked closely with colleagues and accomplished quite a bit along with some decent photography. Of course, I had just moved to New Hampshire so, my only camera was a Canon S95 which, in retrospect was a crappy camera to have on my first trip to Europe but it got the job done.
It’s the middle of May and I haven’t been on a plane in 4 days. Before that, well my 2011 of airline travel has been mildy insane. Christmas in Florida followed by a few trips to Boston then a flight to Austin for SXSW followed by UMF in Miami and a trip to North Caroline in March which I didn’t make because my car died. Then, I went to San Francisco and now I’m flying on a Delta flight to Amsterdam (direct thank god!)
So, this won’t be a 2 week trip to Europe. It’s actually only 11 days so nearly 2 weeks but not quite and I’ll return home on a Wednesday in time for a three day weekend! This is a flight into Amsterdam but I’ll be hopping on the international Europe train network as soon as I arrive en route to Gent Belgium with a stop over in Antwerpe Belgium. It’s a 2 hour ride which isn’t too bad considering how large the continent of Europe is. I’ll be in Gent from Sunday – Wednesday working closely with my manager and colleagues on some really cool projects! On Wednesday, I’ll be heading to France (north France near the ocean) to do something really cool, but you know I can’t talk about my work. Corporate gigs are different than startups. Things I say can be manipulated and taken out of context or read by our competitors. Either way, the time in both Gent and in France will be pretty amazing. I’m debating what to do next weekend. Do I go back to Amsterdam, swing down to Paris for a few days or do I go to Bruges Belgium (known as the most beautiful city in Belgium) for 2 night and take photos and drink phenomenal beer? I could hop over to Munich and enjoy German beer in a very historic city with lots to do? That has yet to be decided. I’ll ask colleagues what they think.
On Sunday, I must go to Amsterdam to meet up with some more coworkers and Monday & Tuesday will be spent at our headquarters in Amsterdam interacting some really cool people that have worked closely with me over the past few months and many who I haven’t met yet. Amsterdam Sunday through Wednesday and I fly back to Boston from Amsterdam on Wednesday morning.
So, this not quite a 2 week trip is going to be a lot of fun! I’ll get to be in three countries, work with colleagues across a few offices, accomplish quite a bit and then return back to America with time to get back on US time zone, get more work done and enjoy my three day weekend. The weekend back in the US will be spent buying laying hens and a chicken coop. I look forward to having fresh eggs all winter.
Of course, I’ll be posting blogs with my thoughts on Belgium / France with a follow up on Amsterdam. I’m thinking of living in Amsterdam one day. What do you think? It’s a possibility but one that I won’t take lightly. Anyway, let’s go back to living in the now and I’ll be enjoying the time in Europe. Anyone I know have special requests? French cheese, Chocolate from Belgium or perhaps beer from Germany? Maybe some Genever from Holland? Let me know. I’ll bring some treats back for friends and family.
Also, I can’t wait to enjoy some delicious “chocomel”
It’s times like this that I think about how fortunate I am to travel the world and meet great people and experience wonderful things. For 24 and being from Florida and not going to college, I feel so lucky to have the chance to change the world and see the world. Thanks for reading!