Welcoming in winter

It’s been a bit of a while since my last blog, for this I blame the fact that I haven’t been travelling much lately, obviously I need to get back out and about. It’s starting to now get pretty bloody cold here in Denmark now and even the jandals have had to take a back seat in the cupboard. There’s no sign of snow yet but the days are certainly getting shorter and the nights longer, unfortunately you still have to get out of bed and go to work at the same time. I've been on a bit of a spending spree lately too as the cold weather settles in; have picked myself up some waterproof pants for cycling (and they're good enough for mountaineering should I ever need to do that) as well as ordering a new bike to replace the one i'm currently borrowing. Next thing to buy is a big warm winter jacket.

Stepping back in time; at the beginning of this month I had the pleasure of taking a 3 day weekend to Munich, German to catch up with an old University mate Steve who is a skydiving instructor. Me and a friend Lisa left Copenhagen around midday Friday and were on the road to Leutkirch, a small town south of Munich, by mid afternoon (oh the beauty of living in Europe!). It was a race against time to get there as if we didn’t get there with time enough to jump before sundown then we’d have to wait for the Saturday which happened to be fully booked up.

We must have arrived at Skydive Nuggets HQ just before 5pm and looking up at the weather it wasn’t looking promising. There were dark clouds circling all around the jump zone but thankfully right above the jump zone was clear skies. There wasn’t much time to think about that though as as soon as we had arrived we were kitted up and heading to the plane for the very last jump of the day. It must have literally been no more than 10 minutes between getting out of the car to getting into the plane and heading up.

One can’t complain about the view heading up, it was quite breathtaking. The sun was setting behind dark clouds as we headed up into what looked like the eye of a storm to jump out of a plane! Looking south I could see lake Bodensee that borders Germany and Switzerland and then further south again could be seen the beginnings of the Swiss Alps. After about 15 mins flying round and round in circles to reach our desired altitude it then came time to jump. Again there was no mucking around, once the door opened 2 of the local crew just fell out leaving only Lisa and I in the plane. Lisa went next and even though I know she was freaked out there was no showing it as like the rest of them, she just fell out. So me and Steve were the last one’s left, and as per what was becoming the norm, we moved to the exit, learned back and were gone. It was pretty chilly in free fall as the temperature must have been low single digits at that time but that was the last thing you think about when you’re falling towards the earth.

I won’t describe how it feels like to free fall as you should all have a go and feel for yourself, but if I were to describe in I would say that it makes you feel alive in a way that nothing else can. Everyone landed safely and we stayed with Steve and his partner in their trailer that night. One couldn’t have asked for a better beginning to the weekend.

The next morning it was back on the road to Munich, just so happened that there was this big event called Oktoberfest in the city and it was in its last weekend, what are the chances that we just happened to be in the same place! You can imagine how Saturday unfolded; we arrived at Oktoberfest late afternoon and set about trying to get a beer. One would never have thought it but getting a beer proved what seemed to be an impossible task! We couldn’t find any where that sold the stuff and it seemed that the only way we would get some way waiting in line to get into a beer house. A smart man once told me the key to getting into these places is wait for a fight to break out, then just slip under the fence and past security while they’re distracted, and that’s exactly what we did (thanks Jordan). It didn’t take long either and before we knew it we were outside the Hofbräu-Festzelt beer hall, again trying to get a beer. Albeit this time we were surrounded by people with beers which made it even worse.

Tip number one for those heading to Oktoberfest for the first time; you can‘t buy beers unless you’re sitting down at a table. We quickly learned this lesson and somehow managed to find two spots at a random table already rather full with people. It was a the beginning of a great night of 1 litre beers, amazing half chicken roast, giant pretzels and plenty of people all having a great time! It was interesting, everyone was having a great time and the only time we ever saw any trouble was due to the heavy handed approach of the security teams, other than that it was a great time and many, many shouts of prost!

Since Munich it’s been rather uneventful back home in Copenhagen. I have been lucky enough to secure another job (yet to sign) for next year which is great and will mean I remain in Copenhagen for at least another 9 months. After that, who knows but for now I’ll be moving from one project to another one and hopefully some more international travel to come with it.

A couple of things to look forwards to coming up, it’s Super Cup time next weekend which is an indoor football tournament for all Maersk employees followed by a huge party afterwards! I’m not sure how good my teams going to be but I’m at least hoping to make it through the first round and into the knock out stages. After that it’s off to London for the All Blacks and fingers crossed Liverpool vs. Chelsea at Anfield if we’re lucky enough to get tickets! And last but not least I get to pick up my new bike, bought in the UK as Denmark bike prices are horrendous (crazy given that everyone has a bike so you’d think demand would be high and thus lower prices, things like economic theory don’t work like most other places in world here).

Peace out,

Stu

India, sailing and football

It’s been a while since the last blog and I guess you could say I’m getting a bit lazy, but to be honest I think it’s more likely because I’m only now settling back into the house at last. The last month has been pretty hectic, what with China, then India, 2 weeks’ worth of catch up at work and then last weekend out sailing. I can’t say I’m complaining though and must that I enjoyed every minute of it, but it is always good to stay in one place for at least a few weeks on the trot.

If you’ve caught up with facebook lately you might have seen some photo’s from the recent trip to India. Three things stuck with me after that trip, lots of rubbish, lots of people and great food. Mumbai was just like you see in Slumdog Millionaire (funny that…) with lots of people everywhere and mass poverty around every corner. It was almost like every second footpath was someone’s accommodation for the night. We were actually out for beers down the road from the office and as we sat there drinking and enjoying the fried cheese that tastes like chicken a couple of families popped up outside and parked up for the night under the overpass right outside. This was quite normal it would seem and it wasn’t the first time we saw it.

I did manage to get around the city quite a bit though as I had a tooth ache right before flying out of CPH so had to finally head to a dentist at long last. Thankfully I was heading to India as I managed to get two big fillings done for just over 100 NZD, next to nothing what it would have cost to do in Denmark or back home for that matter. The hospital was certainly not third world either, it had all the gadgets and looked just like a dentist in central Auckland but without the extra zero at the end of the bill.

It was only a week in India and I think I wouldn’t mind heading back some time, the country side was really beautiful but I’d stay clear of the cities if I was to head back. Being amongst so many people is kinda cool for a first time, but the city all looked the same and much of it was run down or dirty. Best bet is to stick with the outskirts or the country where all the things to see and do are. Only Nepal to go now then it’s all of South Asia crossed off the list! Fancy Katmandu before the Vietnam tour Ian?

Last week was round one of the Champions League and it was actually a bit of a novelty to be able to sit down of an evening and watch it for once! Back home all the games are always on at crazy hours of the morning and usually only one or two games are on, but over here every game was shown, it was like a buffet of great footy matches. Unfortunately my team isn’t in it this year but none the less it was great to be able to sit in a bar and have Real Madrid on one screen, then across the hall have Man Utd or Barca playing on the other screens, great stuff.

While we’re on the subject though, Copenhagen’s local team FCK played on Sunday against one of their rivals Brondby If. The match was nothing eventful, a straightforward 2 zip win to FCK, but the crowd was nuts before, during and after the match. On the other side of the lake from where I live the Brondby supporters decided to all parade down the road towards the game, they took a few hours to get the whole way but on the way they were letting of flares, small flash bangs, you name it they had it. 9 police paddy wagons tracked them the whole way with around 100 police ready to move should something happen. When they got to the game it only go worse, the flares kept coming, some flares making it to the field as their team started to lose. Seats got burned and the riot squad had to keep the rival supporters away from each other throughout! All just another typical football match between two rival teams; not what you see back home when Canterbury heads north of the Bombays.

Last week I was asked if I wanted to join a crew for a weekends sailing north of the city to a small island called Anhol. It was a good 14-18hr trip one way and then likely the same back with a westerly wind and the waters aren’t to rough here so as is my way lately I said yes. Turned out the plan was good in theory, but the weather gods had a change in heart and we ended up setting out to a good 25-30 knot breeze by ourselves as all other boats had more sense it would seem. We managed to get 5 hours north through the rain and gusty wind before we decided to head to nearby Helsingor harbor (last bastion before open ocean) for the night instead of pushing it north the whole way. A good decision as we were all wet and not ready for 12 hours on the North Sea.

After listening to the radio the next morning it turned out the wind had upped the anty, now a good 30-35 knots with gale warnings – lovely! It was pretty obvious that we were going to head back and back we came with only 1/3rd of the genoa out the whole way. We did manage to beat the boats previous top speed on the way back though, successfully clocking 9.5 knots without anything but 1/3rd of the genoa the whole way, the mainsail never even got untied. Needless to say it was great to be back home to a hot shower after only 24 hours out on the water.

This weekend will actually be my first in Copenhagen for a good 6 weeks I think and the plan is to have a few beers, maybe go buy a new bike and just relax for a bit. It’s Oktoberfest and sky diving next weekend so probably time to save some cash. Of all things I’m actually going along to Gaelic Football training next week, not sure what to expect but it looks like fun so why not!

1 week in China

So farewell Qingdao, it has been an interesting week but a rather uneventful one also unfortunately. My first time in mainland China (everyone is quite quick to point out that Hong Kong is indeed part of China) didn’t bring about too many surprises, however it was a much more authentic intro than what Hong Kong had to offer or indeed what Shanghai & Beijing would provide.

This week started with rain and fog, continued throughout the week with rain & fog, and up until about ten minutes ago, was still rain and fog. My arrival into Qingdao was delayed by 4 hours as the plane waited for the thunderstorms to abide in Qingdao, which just so happened to begin as I entered China. Funnily enough it had been great weather up until then or so the locals said. So the bad weather continued throughout the week and now as I sit at the airport ready to leave the country, the sun is peaking out from between the clouds, signaling an end to the bad weather, coincidentally coinciding with my departure. Unfortunately because of this I’ve had to return home with no photos, some things are just not meant to be.

What can I say about Qingdao, let’s start with the first noticeable thing you are subject to when you arrive – the taxi ride. If there’s one piece of advice I could offer would be travelers to Qingdao, it would be never sit in the front seat of a taxi. Not because of safety, that seems to be fine here, instead because I think you will most likely suffer have a heart attack during the trip. I did not know one car could change lanes so many times every minute of the trip until arriving here. All my taxi’s seem to have the adamant desire to spend no more than 30 seconds in each lane, swerving in and out regularly without indicating and squeezing between other vehicles like they were bumper cars.

I do like Chinese food, always have done really. It was a welcome return this week to the famous Chinese garlic broccoli and green beans with pork mince, these have to be two of my favourite vege dishes and I’ve only ever had them in Hong Kong and China. I would say majority of the food I experienced was pretty darn good, we visited a Japanese restaurant, a local Chinese noodle bar, a local spicy cook pot place as well as a fancy Chinese harbor-side spot (overlooking the Olympic sailing venue at that). All the food was good and prepared extremely fast, there isn’t no such thing as pre dinner chit chat in China, once you order the food comes out within minutes. Couple of dishes I suggest you don’t try – chicken feet, sea cucumber skins, some very bitter plant that looks like a cucumber and a traditional Chinese fish soup (it smells like old feet, you can’t miss it!).

This week was all about testing a contingency plan should the tool the project I am working with have recently implemented in the business. We ran a fire drill for one day to see how the business would cope should the main server completely crash. Thankfully it was a resounding success, more so for me given I built the process and the data behind it, so big ups Stu  Now it’s back home to hone those learning’s and fill in those small gaps that we found during the test.

Coincidentally the Qingdao International Beer Festival just so happened to be on the same week I was visiting. This was a welcome introduction to beer festival life one month out from my trip to Oktoberfest and it was met with open arms. We travelled to the tent village after work on Thursday (don’t ask why we didn’t do this on Friday instead of a week night!) and set about having our fare share of Munich beers. I was actually of the impression that there would be a range of Chinese beers on offer but it seemed I was mistaken and the only beer we had all night was one particular Bavarian brew, it was tasty though. The festival was a lot of fun and the Chinese were all very friendly throughout, there was no fisti-cuffs and no abuse or falling over, a welcome change to the typical NZ night out.

I did also manage to spend a night out and about on the Qingdao town and it turned out to be a lot of fun. Most of you already probably know or at least have seen before, that the Chinese love their soft toys and tacky little knick knacks, hello kitty type stuff. Nothing changes when the sun goes down, we went to a local Qingdao night club and the first thing I ran into was a guy with a huge ‘Nemo’ (the fish) on his head and another person dressed up as an octopus. The night club was like a cross between a child’s birthday party and well, a night club. I was a good time though and the locals were certainly very accommodating. I’m now an expert in dice, a drinking game most people play at their tables (oh yes, the dance floor is very small and instead everyone drinks around tables where bar staff come & serve drinks).

One tip for those new to China, if you’re going to get a massage, double check that the hotel masseuse really is a professional masseuse and not something different entirely. Had to do the double take on that one and quickly walk out!

So after only one week in mainland China I have to ask myself, is this somewhere I could live, at least maybe for a few years on the job? When I think about I would have to say that the honest answer is probably no. Everyone has their pet peeves and mine just happen to be rather prevalent in China – hoiking (coughing up phlegm), spitting and smoking; too much to take without going mad.

From Greece to China

Ni hao,

I write this episode from Bejing airport where I sit in transit waiting for my flight to Qingdao. I’m sure it’s most likely due to the recent Olympic Games held here, but I’m going to make a big call and say that the Bejing airport has got to now take the prize of the biggest, cleanest & overall best looking airport I’ve visited to date. This is my first trip to ‘real’ China & I’m quite looking forwards to getting involved in Qingdao where English isn’t as prevelant as many of the bigger Chinese cities.

Last weekend I took the first of hopefully many more to come ‘mini-retirements’; a 4 day trip to Greece. Firstly some of you may be wondering what a mini-retirement is exactly, well it’s a term coined from my new bible “the four hour work week” and simply put it’s basically a holiday away from work but something you do more often & for longer than usual. I’m starting off small hence only the 4 day trip, but this is hopefully the first of many more to come.

The plan was initially to stay in Athens the 4 days but the friend I was staying with happened to come from one of the islands & their extended family was all spending their holiday there so we decided to travel there instead. One of the cousins drove us out to the island Kefalonia on the west coast of the Peloponese and right next to Ithica (for those who know Homer’s Odyssey this was where Odysseus lived). Kekalonia claims to have the most beautiful beaches in the world and I wasn’t about to argue after seeing the green and blue cystal clear waters against the sandy beach and rocky cliffs.

The drive out across the Peloponese was rather exciting for two reasons; firstly we were running late for the last ferry of the night so it was a race against time to actually make the boat, and secondly the Greeks seem to all drive like racing drivers. What I would consider a normal 2 lane highway with 1 lane east, the other headed west, the Greeks seem to consider a multilane with any space room on the road available for passing. We were driving 2 cars abreast on our lane for most of the way as traffic passed each other all over the place. It did seem like organized chaos though as even though there were many times 4 cars crossing each other on a normal sized road, the slow drivers always pulled way to the side & no one ever seemed to cross the centre line. It’s makes you wonder if us NZers are really that good a drivers when you see all these small European cars passing each other at sometimes 140-150 kph on a normal sized road & not really at serious risk of crashing.

Arriving at Kefalonia we stayed at my friends family house on a hill overlooking the main coast line. The parents were there along with the rest of the family and the mother didn’t speak any English so I got a welcome introduction to a real Greek lifestyle. It was great, the cooking was amazing, the olives & grapes were all homegrown and produced and I even got some on site olive oil crushed with their own feet to take home with me! The beaches did live up to expectation, the temperature was a modest 35-40 degrees every day and I don’t think I saw a cloud in the sky the entire 4 days. It was a much needed break away from reality for a bit. Also the housing there is rather cheap, potential purchase could be on the cards?

Next mini-retirement planned is Octoberfest & skydiving with Scuba Steve in Munich at the end of September and then a ski-trip to Switzerland in January, can’t wait!

This week some uni friends made it up to Copenhagen to visit which was a welcome additional to the flat. Steve & Rechelle had been travelling for the last 5 months, through South Africa for the world cup and then up through Spain and France before joining me in Denmark. It was great to see some familiar faces and hear the stories they had from Africa and the Games.

The previous week has been a bit of a nightmare actually & I feel a bit bad for Steve and Rechelle as this week’s I’ve worked the longest hours I think I’ve ever done! It’s all been in preparation for this weeks trip to China where I am running a contingency plan test with around 300-400 Chinese customer service staff. Of course dealing with this many people everything has to be right, even though it is only a test, but given the amount of risk to the business should the test not go right, there’s been a bit of pressure to get those t’s crossed and I’s dotted. I can’t complain though as I did only have a 4 day week and I am spending the week and weekend in Qingdao where the Asian beer festival is currently taking place.

So without further ado, it’s about time to head to my gate. Those back home will be pleased to hear I’m still trucking round in shorts & jandals, the regular outfit for which I cycle to work in still. The weather in Copenhagen has started to pack in lately but it’s not quite bad enough yet to warrant switching the traditional outfit! I’m sure come winter time you’ll still see me pushing through the cold with my trusty Haviana’s and Macpac!

Work…

Well it's been 2 weeks now since the last update & this week I was planning on writing a bit about the job, why I'm here and all that. Funnily enough it's been due to work that I haven't actually been able to write anything though. Not through over work of course :P (high five fourhourworkweek), but actually because I only just got my computer back today after it was out of action, (along with nearly all the computers in head office) since Wednesday. Just to keep with the flow of things, I'll get back to this later.

The reason I came to Denmark was for the job, with the A.P Moller Group under Maersk Line. I'm with the Strategic Projects Group continuing the work I'd been doing in the various countries I'd visited earlier in the year. Copenhagen is head office for the entire Group and its where most of the action takes place with regards to all the high level business such as strategy, product & HR. Denmark's not much bigger than back home really so Maersk, being a Danish company, is the largest company in the country. This is in front of the likes of Carlsberg & the infamous Lego which we all know and love.

The beauty of working at head office has got to be the global nature of the business. There's no customer calling for bookings, or sales reps running around on the phone which is great. Here it's all about the high level stuff, you have to keep in mind how your decisions will impact the many countries we work with & in what way. A decision that works for China may not necessarily work for Africa & vice versa. This, along with the accessibility of information, key people & Europe has got to be the beauty of working in Head Office.

As very businesslike as I might sound, don't assume too much; I have not worn a tie since I arrived (I think I'm one of 2 guys on the floor who don't wear ties) & I turn up to work in shorts, jandals & a t-shirt (again probably one of the only one's in Denmark who wear jandals every day rain or shine!). The lighter side of things certainly weighs into things though. The company has a gym, 2 squash courts, a free masseuse, discounts at nearly all Danish shops, 5 yachts (all you need is a qualified captain) as well as a month's worth of lunch, breakfast, fruit & sandwiches for around 80 NZD. One can't complain really J

The specific area of work that I'm in follows the project & its impact our decisions & processes have on the countries we work in. I'm also covering the process of contracting with a customer, as well as designing various reporting functions for moving forwards. It's been keeping me busy of late but the coming weeks will look to pick up the pace as the main Asia Europe vessels get turned on to the new processes.

This in itself has brought a pleasant surprise as I will be heading to Qingdao & Shanghai in China for the week starting 13^th August. Unfortunately this has interrupted weekend to Athens, Greece that weekend prior but I guess there will be time for that later. I think that will be it for my international travel in August as September is looming large already with a week's trip to Hyderabad, India starting of the month followed by a trip to the Munich beer festival later in the month.

So remembering back to my earlier dialogue, last week it happened that Maersk in Copenhagen was hit by a virus that quickly spread across all the computers rendering them useless. This was actually a great opportunity to get off the email and do some work with pen and paper, a forgotten art in this day and age it would seem. I will admit that I did skive off early a few of those days, but not after spending a good amount of time working the old fashioned way. One can only imagine how things got done 20 years ago! Full respect to those older generations J

Since last week I've been living outside of the flat, house sitting for a friend for 3 weeks while he and fiancé go on holiday. Rather random concept you might think but no, they have a young cat that needs looking after while their gone & I need a place that has food and a few more utilities than I currently have in my current place. The cat's only 1 year old so reminds me of home with all the animals and of Nemo only a few months back. It's been good so far, a bit further to cycle to work but the 150 sqm certainly beats my 52 sqm place!

A bit long this time but I'm sure no one will actually get far enough to reading this line, but if you have then my text diarrhea obviously makes some sense. To all reading, I hope all's well, maybe this will inspire you to write your own blog, and keep us all up to date with your ranting like me J

Peace out.