Le Ciel et Son Chien 日日up

Yep, it’s a bit over-exaggerated. But I just insist to use it as a subject, which, I think, is appropriate to state my general feeling about this European trip.

Hmm, I’ve just got a lot to tell. But I don’t know how to start.
I would just keep it short and simple. And now, it couldn’t be better to tell by sharing with some pictures.

Perhaps, later on, when I have more time, I will complete the whole story. Who knows, huh~
(I know you must be accusing me “Hey hey, don’t try to find any excuse you lazy bastard”.)

Anyway, pictures first, then come with little comments and what impressed me most about, mainly the difference between Europe and China.

Generally, this is a business + leisure trip.

In early March, I got the news that I would be visiting Europe for a training session.
Later on, I started to prepare document for the visa applications.
And after a period of “struggling” of visa application, eventually, I got the UK Visa and the Schengen Visa to Poland and Germany. Thanks goodness, I just got them on the last working day before we went to Europe. And still it was lucky that we were able to get the air tickets as well, though much more expensive than we reserved earlier.

UK
So, I departed on May 4 from HK via Munich to Manchester.
May 5 at noon, after an hour of drive from Manchester airport, we got to our countryside hotel.
It’s small but cozy and nice hotel, transformed from a farm house.
After a simple lunch and quick shower to refresh up, my colleague and I hanged out in the neighborhood. And this is also a very good way to try not to sleep and adjust to the jet lag quickly. The first impression, quiet, green, very green, lovely houses, a bit cold and very windy!
Yep, later on, it turned out the overcastting, windy, accompanying with some shower rain, then sunny again weather is typical of UK.

After a 2 day training session on Project Management in our Alsager factory - Twyford, we started our “real” trip in England, huh~ (I just bypassed the business topic and focused on the travelling which you may be more interested in. But please don’t take it as a pure casual trip, huh~)

May 8, we settled down in another hotel near Manchester City. The hotel location is very convenient, about 3 stops by tram away from the downtown district and about 500 meter away from the Liverpool Warehousing Co., Ltd. where the football games were held the next day. It’s a pity we didn’t watch one of the football games, too expensive and too late to get a ticket.
Anyway, our colleague showed us around to the Lowry Art Gallery, Museum of Science and Industry, downtown district near St. Peter Square, shopping centre, Ferris wheels, China Town...

May 9, another colleague took us to the most fantastic place – Chatsworth House, the home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. Once I arrived at this magnificent house, actually it is more appropriate to call it a palace, it just came up on my mind “I Have Died and Gone to Heaven”...
It’s really awesome... The main house building, furnishing, collections, sculpture, painting, decoration, garden, fountains... Everything is just so amazing, historical... It is very much of my style, the place I’ve been longing for...
And thank goodness, it’s OK to take pictures, even to use flashlight.
But pictures are not enough to keep a good memory for it.
So I bought a DVD of Chatsworth as well, huh.
More details from the office website: http://www.chatsworth.org/
(P.S. “The Duchess” and new “Pride and Prejudice” were pictured there! I’m just downloading the 2 movies and I will definitely feel closer and familiar with some scene, huh~)

May 10, our colleague showed us to another resort, Windermere, the largest lake in the UK.
It’s also such an amazing place that makes me to fantasize about “Stay there and never go back to China”, huh~

May 11, we just left for Warsaw via Frankfurt.

Poland
May 11, after landing Warsaw airport, we went to another city, Łódź, a logistic city in central Poland.

May 12, we visited our ceramic plant in Koło (Koło is also one of our brands in Poland), again bypass the business details. (Named it business confidential, huh~)
And in the afternoon, on the way back to our hotel, our colleagues in Poland showed us to the largest Catholic Cathedral of Poland. It’s a new, big and magnificent cathedral, which is build in 1999. But so far, our Polish colleagues and I still cannot figure it out why such a big cathedral was built in the remote rural area.

May 13, we went to another plant specializing in Bath & Shower in Ozorkow.
And in the evening, we went to dinner in a very big shopping mall, “Manufaktura”, which was renovated recently from a very very big textile factory several decades ago.

May 14, after finishing some business meeting in the morning, we started leaving for Germany at noon, on a car. It took about 9 hours of drive from the Ozorkow, Poland to Bielefeld, Germany. It’s really an amazing driving experience with our Polish colleague. The high way is perfect, actually, more than perfect in Germany. The road itself is well built, with everything in green alongside, plus, no toll gate, no boarder... plus no speed limit. The point is no speed limit in Germany!!! We drove up to 170KM/H. But still there were a lot of Mercedez, BMW, Audi, Opel, VW... overtaking... (And the next day, when we were on a Opel, we also drove up to 200KM/H. It is the first time in my life of being this fast ON A CAR!) Finally, in the late evening, we arrived in Bielefeld, Germany, safe and sound, huh~

Germany
May 15, after finishing business in our Koralle Bath & Shower factory in Vlotho, 2 German colleagues took us to dinner in a lovely restaurant with 360 degree of city view near our hotel. And then, we started our beer journey from a pub where fresh beer is brewed in house. Beer, beer and beer again... In England and Poland, we’ve already feel the importance of beer to European’s daily life. And we can feel more in Germany. They drink beer just like we drink tea... There hundreds of different beers in Germany. And most of them are local beers. Almost each city has its own brand of beer. Generally speaking, the beer in Europe is stronger in flavor and higher of alcohol. Personally, I’m not a big fan to beer. But I also have to drink some beer, as it’s a best way to “cool” down after eating so much frying food, French fry, steak, fillet...

May 16, it’s a lovely sunny Saturday.

(To be continued)