Thurs Sept 8
Hooray! It’s over! Our final meeting lasted 5 hours but we got agreement on everything. It’s a tough one this time but we had a big team. Plus the big boss came Monday night and planned to be at the meeting for support if needed. It was fun to have him around, a big robust german. After we got back to the hotel it was another 2 hours before dinner so WE and I went for a drink at a local bar.It was local because it wasn’t in old town and no pretty decorations. Just a few long bench tables outside that you share with whomever and a pint of local beer only cost 1 euro.
A celebratory dinner tonight and the big boss had planned to take us out to the ufo restaurant. The view at the top (83 meters) was supposed to be fantastic, and you pay for it!
It was a nice stroll from our hotel through old town and across the bridge to the ufo tower. View of Bratislava at night is beautiful. The weather was nice a chilly I had to wear my little sweater, how great is that! Nice view of the castle from below. We had a great dinner, very fancy and the restaurant was all glass. Once in a while you will literally feel a little vibration as if it was swinging. I tried not to think about it. Funny moment when Sawanaka ordered cauliflower soup with potatos & lobster. When they brought out the bowl Sawa looked at it with puzzlement. The bowl did not have any liquids in it, just potatos and some lobster. AND they didn’t give him a spoon! What kind of soup doesn’t have broth? Well, a minute later the waiter came by with a small pitcher and poured cauliflower soup into the bowl over the lobster. Talk about pomp! We had waiters pouring evian water from weird looking water pitchers. The views in the restaurant was incredible, we were so high up with 360 views. Still, I knew there had to be an observation deck because people pay to go up and take pictures only. From inside the restaurants the pictures don’t come out well because of the reflection from the windows. Finally asked the waiter and sure enough you have to walk up another flight of stairs to go on a deck. No one wanted to go up into the cold except me and Sawa who wanted to go up there before he drinks too much wine and accidentally fall over, lol! The wine was flowing and we had a lot of fun. Clay once asked me if it felt weird being on a team with all guys and I said no, it’s kind of fun. We really bonded, especially being together for 4 weeks. I hope Lars and his wife come visit in phx, would love to show him the grand canyon. He was trying to make it work for xmas time, we had lots of fun bantering back and forth. I think he will get along well with G.
WE was not the typical german when it comes to sharing food, meaning they don’t share. Germans tend to be more formal and when they order their food, it’s their food. There’s no trying other people’s dishes. But WE likes to do that a lot with us. If I expressed interest in whatever he’s eating he would always cut me a piece and hand it over with his fork. And he’s usually so formal! Lars on the other hand is the typical german. He’s brought up to not even look at other people’s dishes since it’s considered rude. WE ordered antelope so ofcourse he cut me a piece to try (not so great to me). I then turned to Lars next to me to ask if he would like to try and ofcourse he said no. I insisted and put a small piece on his plate, which freaked him out. That little piece of meat sat on his plate for so long I really didn’t think he would eat it. It must have killed him for me to do that but I did it on purpose for a little fun! But yes he did finally eat it when I wasn’t looking. I tried Clay’s beef carpachio which I didn’t care for, the veal was so tender but still, it was raw!
Everyone did come up on the observation deck to check out the view and some goofing off with pictures. We were going to take a taxi back but it was such a nice night we decided to walk. Stefan and I were laughing at Clay & WE bonding and walking arm in arm. The guys decided to go for another drink but it was already midnight and I still hadn’t packed yet and we were leaving the next morning for the Vienna airport.
Great audit experience, had some fun memories and made some good friends. One week at home and it’s on to south Africa!
A celebratory dinner tonight and the big boss had planned to take us out to the ufo restaurant. The view at the top (83 meters) was supposed to be fantastic, and you pay for it!
It was a nice stroll from our hotel through old town and across the bridge to the ufo tower. View of Bratislava at night is beautiful. The weather was nice a chilly I had to wear my little sweater, how great is that! Nice view of the castle from below. We had a great dinner, very fancy and the restaurant was all glass. Once in a while you will literally feel a little vibration as if it was swinging. I tried not to think about it. Funny moment when Sawanaka ordered cauliflower soup with potatos & lobster. When they brought out the bowl Sawa looked at it with puzzlement. The bowl did not have any liquids in it, just potatos and some lobster. AND they didn’t give him a spoon! What kind of soup doesn’t have broth? Well, a minute later the waiter came by with a small pitcher and poured cauliflower soup into the bowl over the lobster. Talk about pomp! We had waiters pouring evian water from weird looking water pitchers. The views in the restaurant was incredible, we were so high up with 360 views. Still, I knew there had to be an observation deck because people pay to go up and take pictures only. From inside the restaurants the pictures don’t come out well because of the reflection from the windows. Finally asked the waiter and sure enough you have to walk up another flight of stairs to go on a deck. No one wanted to go up into the cold except me and Sawa who wanted to go up there before he drinks too much wine and accidentally fall over, lol! The wine was flowing and we had a lot of fun. Clay once asked me if it felt weird being on a team with all guys and I said no, it’s kind of fun. We really bonded, especially being together for 4 weeks. I hope Lars and his wife come visit in phx, would love to show him the grand canyon. He was trying to make it work for xmas time, we had lots of fun bantering back and forth. I think he will get along well with G.
WE was not the typical german when it comes to sharing food, meaning they don’t share. Germans tend to be more formal and when they order their food, it’s their food. There’s no trying other people’s dishes. But WE likes to do that a lot with us. If I expressed interest in whatever he’s eating he would always cut me a piece and hand it over with his fork. And he’s usually so formal! Lars on the other hand is the typical german. He’s brought up to not even look at other people’s dishes since it’s considered rude. WE ordered antelope so ofcourse he cut me a piece to try (not so great to me). I then turned to Lars next to me to ask if he would like to try and ofcourse he said no. I insisted and put a small piece on his plate, which freaked him out. That little piece of meat sat on his plate for so long I really didn’t think he would eat it. It must have killed him for me to do that but I did it on purpose for a little fun! But yes he did finally eat it when I wasn’t looking. I tried Clay’s beef carpachio which I didn’t care for, the veal was so tender but still, it was raw!
Everyone did come up on the observation deck to check out the view and some goofing off with pictures. We were going to take a taxi back but it was such a nice night we decided to walk. Stefan and I were laughing at Clay & WE bonding and walking arm in arm. The guys decided to go for another drink but it was already midnight and I still hadn’t packed yet and we were leaving the next morning for the Vienna airport.
Great audit experience, had some fun memories and made some good friends. One week at home and it’s on to south Africa!
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