私にとっても会社にとってもはじめてのヨーロッパ進出。
今回は地元三木の工業組合のご縁をいただき、ドイツケルンの見本市へ出展することに。
乗り継ぎなどもあり朝家を出てから２４時間かけてホテルへ到着。

展示会場はケルンメッセ。
幕張メッセやビッグサイトとはわけが違うほど大きい。ビッグサイトの倍の面積を誇る。
これでも世界第９位とは・・・恐れ入りました。
日曜スタートの展示会でしたが世界各国から大勢の人が来場いただきました。
ドイツはもちろん、イギリス、スイス、ルーマニア、イスラエル、アメリカ、韓国・・・
すべて英語。語学が堪能ではない私は話しかけだけして、細かい商談になると通訳の方に訳してもらう。
彫刻刀の切れ味や先端の細さ、細かな用途に応じた刃先など説明し、ビジネスにつながりそうな手ごたえもありました。

 

展示会の前に少し散策できる時間があったのでケルン大聖堂へ

ただ展示会を２日経過した夜にとある大ハプニングが・・・。
復路の飛行機がストで飛んでくれない。こんなん単なる脅しでしょ？？と思いきやドイツやヨーロッパでは日常茶飯事。
６０時間のスト決行。おまけに電車も。ドイツ行く前に嫁から同じ航空会社でストしてたことの情報が入ったが
自分がそんなタイミングあうなんて思いもしませんでした。
どうするか悩みましたが自分は延泊を決意。

ミュンヘンに移動し、博物館や美術館、お店などへも訪問。
ケルンとは違う街並みを散策することもできました。

 

 

 

帰国時の飛行機もやはり心配でしたが帰りはアジア周りで往路より２時間も早く到着。
今回のドイツ滞在でもちろん電車や地下鉄、タクシーに乗ったけど歩いた距離も半端なかった。
９日間をトータルすると合計15万歩　　距離にすると11ｋｍ
ただ毎食パンに卵にハムソーセージ・・・　野菜はトマトときゅうり。
これだけ毎回たべたらもうパンは不要かな？って思うぐらい食べました。
でもビールはおいしかったです。深酒せずに済んだし。

歩いた分だけ街並みをみて風景をみて、人をみて・・・。
ひとりで行くことのリスクや寂しさはあるけど、
自分がどうしないといけないとか咄嗟の判断は自分次第。
でもスマホがなかったら完全アウトでした。google先生ありがとう。

いろんな人に出会い、やさしさに触れ、ハプニングも経験し
思い出に残る出張になったことは言うまでもありません。

ｂｙ　タナカ

 

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This is the first time for me and my company to enter Europe.
This time, thanks to the cooperation of a local industrial association in Miki, we decided to exhibit at a trade fair in Cologne, Germany.
It took me 24 hours to arrive at the hotel after leaving home in the morning due to connections and other reasons.

The exhibition venue was Cologne Messe.
It is so big that it is different from Makuhari Messe and Big Sight. It boasts an area twice the size of Big Sight.
I was amazed that it is still the ninth largest exhibition in the world.
Although the exhibition started on Sunday, many visitors came from all over the world.
Not only from Germany, but also from the U.K., Switzerland, Romania, Israel, the U.S., Korea...
All in English. Not being fluent in the language, I only spoke to them and asked an interpreter to translate for me when it came to detailed business discussions.
I explained the sharpness of the engraving knives, the fineness of the tip, and the blade tips for detailed applications, and I had a good feeling that it might lead to business.

 

 

 

 

There was time for a little stroll before the exhibition, so we went to the Cologne Cathedral.

 

However, two days after the exhibition, there was a big incident....
The return flight was cancelled due to a strike. This is just a threat, right? But it is an everyday occurrence in Germany and Europe.
The strike lasted for 60 hours. In addition, the train was also on strike. Before going to Germany, my wife informed me that the same airline was on strike.
I had no idea that I would be in such a situation.
I wondered what to do, but I decided to stay an extra night.

I moved to Munich and visited museums, art galleries, and stores.
I was able to walk around the city, which is different from Cologne.

 

 

 

I was also worried about the flight back home, but the return flight was around Asia and arrived 2 hours earlier than the outbound flight.
Of course, we took trains, subways, and cabs during our stay in Germany, but the distance we walked was not so great.
In total, I walked a total of 150,000 steps over the nine days, or 11 kilometers.
I ate bread, eggs, ham, sausage, tomatoes and cucumbers for vegetables at every meal.
I ate so much bread that I thought I didn't need bread anymore. I ate so much that I thought I would never need bread again.
But the beer was delicious. I didn't have to drink too much.

The more I walked, the more I saw the city, the more I saw the scenery, the more I saw the people....
There are risks and loneliness in going alone, though,
It's up to you to decide what you have to do or make decisions on the spur of the moment.
But if I didn't have my phone, I would have been completely out.

I met many people, experienced kindness, and experienced happenings.
Needless to say, it was a memorable business trip.