In Germany: A Seat at the Table - The Board Room Table....

Last week, I marked my one year anniversary working for Merck KGaA.  8 business trips later, I find myself in Germany for the third time since joining the company last April.  I'm wrapping up a week-long trip in Darmstadt, Germany (approximately 30 minutes outside Frankfurt) where Merck KGaA's headquarter site is.  This trip was all business, so I apologize in advance for all the career talk.  But, I do find it fitting, since a lot of my travels this year would not have happened without my job and the experiences & opportunities it has given me in the last year....


Frankfurt skyline



Darmstadt city center

If all the traveling has taught me anything, it has been to expect the unexpected and to think on your feet!  In this trip alone, I've had the following happen to me:  (1)  My flight Sunday night leaving Boston should have departed at 10:20pm, but as we approached the edge of the runway ready to take-off, the flight attendants announced over the PA, "Is there a doctor onboard?  We have a passenger who is ill...."  Turns out the person had a panic attack!  Sheesh....After getting them to sign some waver forms, we continued with our flight, albeit 1 hr later since we missed our take-off window waiting for this person to recover.  (2)  The admins here put me in a hotel (Hofgut Dippelshof in Muhltal-Traisa) that is a bit out of the way and in the woods - so far away, that a cab driver didn't even know how to get to it when driving me home after dinner one night -- the guy didn't know English and didn't know how to use the GPS; he wanted to just dump me on some side street in the middle of nowhere.  Good thing I've learned to keep my cool, and thought fast to call the transfer company to have them either get this crazy driver to drive me back to the city or talk them through how to get to my hotel!

It's been all work and no play this time around....But, as usual, I've been able to at least get some good food and drinking into my trip....



A Super Sized Salad



Of course had to have my fix of Wiener Schnitzel



My Favorate:  A German Pils!



More Pils....





German Sausages



My new found love for Cappuccino



Our site in Darmstadt is pretty massive.  It's a huge compound/campus consisting of both offices and manufacturing plants, along with its own fire station and gas station.  It's my third time here, and it's starting to feel "comfortable" for me.  As I walk to our canteen (cafeteria) and throughout campus, it's nice that I'm starting to see familiar faces and get, "Hello's," from people all over the globe from all walks of life!  I had colleagues from our offices in France drive 2 hours to come meet with me, and German colleagues tell me that my Swiss colleagues report my meetings last month in Switzerland were a success -- it's nice to have some "wins" and see these faces, because it makes the world seem a bit smaller.... 



Merck KGaA Darmstadt Campus



"The Pyramid - Campus Main Entrance

4 job interviews ago with a prior company, a hiring manager had told me, "our business partners definitely give finance a seat at the table..."  Unfortunately, that didn't come to fruition....While I was inundated with meetings all this week and put on information overload, I leave Darmstadt with the feeling that I finally have  that "seat at the [board room] table" that I've always strived for.  I feel like I'm finally hitting my stride 12 months into the job and I get to make an impact on the job and I really hope this ride doesn't come to a screetching halt anytime soon....But, as I've come to learn 4 companies later, change is always around the corner.  Next week is supposed to be a big week at the office, as there should be some leadership succession announcements made, so I'm a little anxious in terms of what that means for my newly found "career bliss..."

Zurich, Switzerland: Favorite European City & Country Visited So Far

Less than 24 hours since landing back home, I thought I had the whole weekend to post this blog, until I saw the calendar say today's 3/31, so I better get the March trip posted and time-stamped while it's still March!  It's been over a month since my last trip...With the hiatus over, the last week of March took me to Switzerland for business travel, but of course being the multi-tasker that I've now become, I made sure to get in some pleasure and fun.....

It was a jammed pack week juggling between meetings and sight-seeing, and I've got a ton of pictures and material to organize without making this entry a little too much to handle, so for my Facebook friends, make sure to check-out the full album on my wall.  I've decided to organize this entry into "buckets" of categories of my key takeaway impressions of Switzerland.

For most of the week, my primary location was where the company's office is located, in this small city an hour north of Zurich, called "Schaffhausen."  To get to Schaffhausen, I had to fly to Zurich airport and then take an hour train ride.  For those of you who know me well, I don't even take public transportation at home, so the prospect of taking a train abroad gave me some anxiety beforehand.  So, my first topic of discussion is the train system in Switzerland.  People were right - I had nothing to worry about, as the railway system in Switzerland is really sophisticated and rider-friendly.  Furthermore, it's a great way to see the country, as a lot of the railroad tracks go through scenic areas.  If trains in the U.S. had similar accommodations as they do in Europe, I'd definitely take public transportation more often.....

Zurich Train Schedule

Comfortable Train Accommodations

Ham & Cheese Rosti

Moving onto the next topic, it'd have to be about the food, since I usually get questions about how the food is wherever I go.  I enjoy Swiss food more than French or German cuisine.  For my taste, Swiss food isn't as "funky" as French cuisine, and not as "boring" as German food.  I noticed the Swiss use potatoes in a lot of their dishes, and they definitely make the best rendition of a "hash-brown."  When colleagues took me out for lunch, I asked what's the most authentic dish on the menu to give me the full Swiss experience, they suggested a "Rosti," which is a giant hashbrown layered with an equally gigantic egg omelette.  They warned me it would be heavy and big, but I figured might as well give it a try.  Here I was, the only girl at lunch, stuffing myself on this giant hashbrown-and-omelette, while the two dudes I was with were picking at their salads!  While I was only able to eat slightly more than half of the Rosti, it was mighty delicious.  You can get one with all sorts of different toppings and stuffing.  By popular request, below are some more images of the dishes I ate during the week....

"Hauptgang"

Swiss version of Chicken Picatta

There was the "Hauptgang," which was some sort of pork dish with a side of potatoes (again).  When colleagues from the Zug office (more about the city of Zug later) took me out to lunch, I had the most delicious version of a Chicken Picatta ever!  The chicken was perfectly breaded and the side of rice and veggies were so delicious, too.  What made it even more perfect was enjoying the 

"Kalbsgeschnetzeltes"

Zug Lake

dish while eating outdoors with a great view overlooking Zug Lake.  Then there's the "Kalbsgeschnetzeltes," (don't ask me how to pronounce), which is sliced veal in a cream sauce, served with a side of Rosti.  With all this food, of course I had to wash it down with something....that something being BEER, of course!  All week, I was
living off the local brew they have on draft called, "Falken," which is actually pretty good and refreshing...

   

Rhein Falls

Speaking of my breathtaking view of Zug Lake during lunch, I was so amazed at how beautiful the landscape of Switzerland is.  Everywhere you go, you see a backdrop of mountains and pristine lakes -- almost like scenes taken right out of an artist's painting!  And, nowhere else could you get more of this picturesque scenery than in the city of Zug, which is about a 30 
minute train ride south of Zurich.  My company has another office in Switzerland in the city of Zug.  So, after spending most of the week in Schaffhausen, I was invited by colleagues in the Zug office to visit them for a day.  At first, I was a bit anxious about having given myself additional "stress" to my already busy agenda and having to take another 90 minute train ride from Schaffhausen to Zug, but when I got to Zug, I was so glad that I made it after all.  While Schaffhausen is nice, it is still a bit on the rural side.  Zug is South of Zurich and a bit closer to Zurich, and therefore more cosmopolitan.  And, as you can see from the picture above of Zug Lake, it's a great balance between being a cosmopolitan city and nature.  But, Schaffhausen also has its own nature's jewel, in Rhein Falls.  While Rhein Falls isn't a very tall water fall, I was told by colleagues that it is the largest water fall in Europe in terms of how much volume of water it pumps out.

Zurich Lake

So far, I've already talked about Schaffhausen and Zug, but the highlight of my week has to be the afternoon spent in Zurich.  After my meetings ended in Zug, my German colleague and I decided to spend the afternoon exploring Zurich, since we had to pass by Zurich via the train station to get back to Schaffhausen.  We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day weather-wise.  It was 60s and sunny all week!  We walked around the city center, which is built around Zurich Lake.  Similar to the Great Lakes in the U.S., all these "lakes" I'm referring to are huge; there's no "end" so it gives the appearance of being ocean-like.  My colleague and I decided to rent one of those self-paddling boats and just took in a relaxing view of Zurich.  At first, I was trying to find some kind of tour boat that's operated by an engine, so I wouldn't have to do any manual labor, but since it was still early in the season, we couldn't find one!  So, self-paddling it was, even though I did warn my colleague she was crazy to get on a small boat with me and risk having it flip and I'm not even a strong swimmer!


Out of all the foreign cities that I've visited so far, Zurich is by far my favorite.  It is a great balance between the old, historic-European feel, but at the same time, you still feel it is quite contemporary and modern.  It's hard to capture the beauty and spirit of Zurich that I'm talking about, so I definitely recommend Zurich as a "must visit" to everyone so you can experience for yourself what I'm talking about!  Unlike any other foreign city that I've visited so far, I left Zurich actually thinking it'd be so amazing if I were ever fortunate to be offered an ex-pat contract to move there for work.  Though, chances are slim, as Zurich was ranked 6th most expensive city to live in during 2011, so for companies to send ex-pats there, it's quite costly!  But, a girl can still dream, right?  Hehe....

    

Good thing I had extra space in my luggage

CHF 8,200 = $9,000+ Watches

Last but not least, what are some of things Switzerland is most famous for?  Swiss chocolates and Swiss-made watches!!!  Chocolate is practically everywhere you go; from the airplane to conference rooms at the office -- there's a dish of chocolate or someone is passing out pieces of chocolate.  I'm usually not big on sweets, but even I couldn't help but get in on Swiss chocolate.  Of course I made sure to buy a stash of Swiss chocolates to bring home!  However, while colleagues were trying to convince me that I couldn't leave Switzerland without investing in a hand-made Swiss watch, I'm not rolling in enough dough to come home with a $9,000+ watch!  While everyone knows Rolex, apparently there's another flagship that's considered "the brand" by the Swiss -- IWC, which is actually founded in Schaffhausen!  Since I couldn't afford the watches, I figures it was picture-worth to snap a photo of the outrageous price-tag.  Though, my German colleague did comment that while I was snapping the picture, passer-by's were looking at this Chinese girl taking a picture of a case of luxury watches probably thinking I'm going to go back to China and try to make copy-cat knock-offs, haha.


It's been another whirlwind week on the road and I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity to go to Switzerland.  It's definitely my favorite country that I've visited thus far, and I look forward to going back someday soon again, especially to some of the other major cities like Geneva, which I hear has more French influence, while Zurich is more influenced by Germany.  In summary, Switzerland embodies a great balance between the traditional historic feel of Europe, but while also maintaining a modern contemporary feel.  And, of course, the Swiss people are very hospitable and kind.  Also, just as an FYI, do you know what's the capital city of Switzerland?  Nope, it's neither Zurich or Geneva.  It's the city of Bern!  Another little tidbit that I learned on this trip.....

Extra Credit in Feb: Work takes me to France, but the week is spoiled by food poisoning...

While Philadelphia was the marquee trip for the month of Feb in my 12 month marathon, I had to make an unexpected visit to France for business meetings with my boss.  That makes two trips in one month, hence, "extra credit" for me in Feb.  I was debating whether or not I should even bother posting a blog for this trip, since it was more business than pleasure, which is why you'll notice significantly fewer pictures this time around.  Nonetheless, it was still a trip full of new experiences worthy to blog about, albeit not all glamorous (i.e., more to come in a bit on the food poisoning).

Looking down on Obernai

My company's offices are located in Molsheim, France (near Strasbourg, which is a one hour flight east of Paris near the French-German border known as the "Alsace" region).  Upon arrival on a Sunday afternoon, a colleague of mine was kind enough to invite me to spend the evening with her and her family.  Prior to dinner, they first took me for a walk in the hillsides of Obernai where there are a lot of wineries producing 7 types of Alsace wines:  Sylvaner, Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Muscat, Tokay Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, and Pinot Noir.  The photo to the left is from the hillside looking down on a town called, "Obernai."  When I snapped this picture, I thought to myself "Geez, last year at this time, there's no way I could have predicted myself standing in this very spot, freezing my butt off on a hillside, looking down on a picturesque European town...This is so random!"  Similar thoughts went through my head, as I was graciously welcomed into my colleague's home sharing a home-cooked meal in a French house with a French family -- I felt comfortable, but at the same time, I felt so far away from home and my "bubble," but in a good way....

My schedule for Monday-Thursday was jammed pack with meetings, as I had to make the most use of my time visiting with my boss and team in Molsheim.  But, dinner/food is always an experience after each long day in the office.  I was enjoying oysters and mousse chocolat to start my week, but then it went downhill mid-week....It was hard for me and a colleague to find a descent place to eat at on Valentine's day, because everywhere was booked.  So, we just ended up at a pizza/pasta chain restaurant that's kinda like the equivalent to an "Olive Garden" here in the States.  I ordered a basic pasta dish which tasted and seemed fine during dinner.  But, the next day I didn't feel so well.  I woke up really tired thinking it was just the jet-lag catching up, but by the time I got to the office and the morning progressed, my stomach started not feeling so good and I felt nauseous, so I had to ask my colleague to drive me back to the hotel.  I tried to sleep it off all Wed afternoon but kept getting the chills and finally I ended up puking in my room.  At first I thought maybe it was the oysters, but that had been 2 nights earlier at the restaurant in the hotel which is reputable.  I was also feeling kinda stupid if it was cause of exhaustion from the traveling, because I was only on month two so far!  Well, I didn't feel so stupid afterwards when an admin from our Molsheim office confirmed that two other Millipore employees had eaten at the same "Pizzeria Del Arte" chain as me and fell ill the next day, as well.  The admin placed a complaint with the Mayor's office after hearing about my case.  Since it was my colleague's choice to go to Pizzeria Del Arte, I told him if he wanted to get back at me for pushing him on some reports, he didn't have to try to kill me...I'm just glad the food poisoning was over in 12 hours, because I was so worried for the plane ride back to Boston.  

Restaurant la Vignette

Was able to recover to go back into the office Thursday, but the food poisoning killed my appetite for the rest of the week, which was unfortunate.  I was able to accept a dinner invitation from my boss for my last evening at this cute little place in Strasbourg called, "Restaurant la Vignette," which was really good.  So, if you're ever in Strasbourg/Molsheim area, avoid Pizzeria del Arte, but I definitely recommend Restaurant la Vignette for some real good, authentic French food from the Alsace region.




As you can imagine, it turned out to be a really long week between the rigorous work schedule and the food poisoning.  But, I'm glad to have survived my first experience of getting sick while traveling and getting that over with.  Really hope I don't have to experience it again, at least not for a long long time.


In the last 4 weeks, I've done three places already.  My next trip is supposed to be towards the end of March, so there's going to be a little lull before my next post.  And, after this last trip with the food poisoning and 4 hour layovers at Charles DeGaulle airport in Paris, this lull doesn't seem like a bad idea right now......

In Philly: Morimoto Flops, while Garces Shines, and No One Beats Rocky...

Philly Skyline from Museum of Art

For my February trip, I got the chance to catch-up with my good friend from BU, Stacey, in Philadelphia.  Sure, I did a day trip to Philly as a kid with my parents and saw the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall.  This time around, as you can tell from the title of this blog, I had 3 main things in mind to help me really experience what "The City of Brotherly Love" has to offer -- eating at two Iron Chefs' restaurants and of course, Rocky Balboa....

First stop was Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto's, "Morimoto," restaurant.  Stacey had warned me to temper my expectations for "Morimoto," and unfortunately, she was right.....The menu lacked in breadth and the service was so slow!  I wasn't expecting the Iron Chef himself cooking at the restaurant, but I still expected a lot more from a restaurant if you're going to brand it Iron Chef worthy and charge Iron Chef prices.  While my kobe steak was a melt-in-your-mouth delicious piece of meat, I still wouldn't recommend Morimoto's...

Just as I was becoming skeptical of the "Iron Chef" title, it's Iron Chef Jose Garces to the rescue in restoring what an "Iron Chef" is supposed to stand for.  Chef Garces owns a whopping 7 restaurants in Philly -- I decided to check-out his first restaurant, "Amada."  I'm usually not a tapas type, but wow, Amada was amazing!  I enjoy a good meal, but I usually don't walk away with something I can say, "wow, that was the best thing I ever ate," until now - Amada had the most amazing fried crispy pork dish I've ever had...Amada is a definite must visit for anyone in Philly!

Most Delicious Vegetarian Plate

Best Thing I Ever Ate

While food is a big part of Philly's identity, there was another iconic attraction that was a must see for my trip.......I just had to visit the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art to pay homage to the one and only, Rocky Balboa!  And, of course, I had to do my own rendition of training and running up the steps to the museum just like Rocky...Can't you just hear "Gonna Fly Now" playing the background to these pictures?  Hehe...

"Trying Hard Now"

"Getting Strong Now"

"Gonna Fly Now"

While Philly is Rocky's hometown, you also see a lot of Benjamin Franklin all over town....As you can see from how we individually posed with Ben, my host for the weekend and I are pretty different in our personalities, hehe.  This is on the campus of UPenn...that Stacey is one smart chick!

Me & Ben

Stacey & Ben

Also on the UPenn campus is this iconic "LOVE" sign.  What should have been a simple photo-op turned into this massive ordeal.  Instead of just posing next to the letters, Stacey suggested that I climb onto it, like she had previously done.  Seemed like a simple notion at the time, but geez, riding that mechanical bull in New Orleans was a breeze compared to mounting onto these letters!  As you can see from the photos below, I worked-up a sweat trying to climb this thing and pretty much embarrassed myself as visitors to the UPenn campus walked by.  It was rather symbolic that of all letters I was struggling with, it had to spell out "Love," haha.

I can do this!

It would suck to fall

Now, I'm just pissed

Let's try this side; so graceful

Finally!

That took so long, I'm just gonna sit a bit

Double Meat w/Mushrooms & Onions

Sweating Meat

So, after climbing some steps Rocky-style, and trying to mount onto some letters, all that exercise calls for some more food....I've done Iron Chef, so what's left?  A Philly Cheese Steak, of course!   "Geno's" or "Pat's" are the real popular places to get a cheese steak, but they're in pretty ghetto parts of the city and I didn't want one with Cheese Whiz on it; I wanted real provolone cheese.  So, we ended up at another popular cheese steak spot - "Jim's Steaks" on South Street.  It was pretty good, but I must admit, I still love my Newtonville Pizza steak & cheese sub.  As a devout vegetarian, Stacey's a real pal for accompanying me to Jim's so I could get my cheese steak -- the poor girl ended up smelling like meat the rest of the night, haha.  Along with letting me crash at her place, and having dragged her to all the touristy sites and making her serve as my personal photographer for cheesy photo shots, I'm really lucky to have Stacey as a friend....Also, I have to give a shout-out to her UPenn cohorts whom I had a chance to meet -- real fun and nice people, and super smart...



So, while most people were questioning why I would have planned this trip on Super Bowl weekend (I didn't think the Pats' D would carry us to the big game), Philly turned out to be a great weekend getaway.  (Although a Pats victory would have made this an even better weekend).  Given the outcome of tonight's Super Bowl, I think I picked the right weekend to go to Philly.  Otherwise, the only thing I would be feeling right now is the disappointment of the Pats' loss.  So, instead of trying to avoid ESPN and the bad news of the Pats loss all over TV right now, I get to blog about having had a blast in Philly.....Thanks, Stacey for an amazing weekend!!!

My 5-Star View from "Hotel Stacey"