From mid-July I went on a month-long work trip with a colleague to Europe and the USA. Although in the last couple of years I have to jet off two or three times a year, but this trip is on another level with a much more intense schedule and a more hurried pace. I can finally appreciate what typical business trips are like.
七月中跟一個同事到歐洲和美國公幹一個月，雖然我近兩年每年都要外出公幹兩三次，但這次性質不同，行程也緊湊得多，而且很多時候都風塵僕僕，令我體會像一般人的商務公幹究竟是甚麼一回事了。
The purpose of this trip was to visit the manufacturers of a particular instrument that a university wishes to purchase as well as the laboratories using that instrument. My colleague and I spent one to three days at any one place (apart from the end of July when I spent one and a half weeks in Munich for my own lab work). Fortunately it was my colleague who took on the onerous task of contacting the many hosts to co-ordinate and organise the whole itinerary of the trip. It was particularly demanding as one of the companies kept changing its date on the lab visit in Heidelberg, Germany. I was only confident enough to book flights one week out and chose to fly into Frankfurt as my first stop in Europe so that I could go to Heidelberg straight after landing. But after the tickets were confirmed, the Heidelberg visit was pushed back to be the second destination after Eindhoven, and I could have booked to fly into Amsterdam instead because it would be closer. Well, it was possible to change the flight, but at a cost of AUD 250 I thought that it wasn’t worthwhile even if it was work expense. I felt pity for the travel agent who had to put up with my many changes of mind for my booking, and when I mentioned this to her, she told me that she was very used to it among business travellers. So there is still a raison d’être for travel agencies specialising in business travel and dealing with its intricacies such as frequently changing itinerary.
這次行程的目的，是為了購置新儀器而參觀一眾生產商和使用那些儀器的實驗室，每個地方逗留一至三天（除了七月底在慕尼黑的實驗室工作了一週半外），是次行程安排，幸好全由同事負責，不然要同時聯絡不同人，協調參觀各地點的時間，是挺勞心費神的事，尤其是其中一家公司，安排我們參觀在德國海德堡的實驗室的時間一改再改，我出發前一星期才敢訂票，飛往歐洲的第一站選了法蘭克福，豈料出票後該公司告知海德堡的參觀時間要押後，由本來先到海德堡後到荷蘭埃因霍温（Eindhoven），變成先到荷蘭後到到德國，早知如此我飛往阿姆斯特丹就更近更方便了。（改機票不是不行，但要另付250澳元，就算是公費支付我也覺不值得。）我趕往旅行社領電子機票和火車證時跟職員講起，她說商務旅程經常都改來改去，做也做慣，也見怪不怪了，所以專門承接商務行程的旅行社，還是有存在價值。
Another reason why I was reluctant to change the flights was that I have bought a rail pass for use in any 5 days within 2 months in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The rail pass only cost slightly more than the rebooking fee of the air ticket and had no restriction on the schedule and route. With such flexibility I took the opportunity to visit Aachen for a morning en route from Frankfurt to Eindhoven and wasn’t too concerned to let one of the product demonstrations go overtime as I could catch a later train to leave. I have seen plenty of my friends use a rail pass for their travels in the past but have never thought that it would also be so useful for a work trip! Neither have I been travelling so often on trains, as I took a total of 14 trips in the 5 days, and experienced the crush on long-distance trains – on Sunday mornings! One such trip took place on 22nd July when I travelled from Arnhem (Netherlands) to Düsseldorf (Germany) where the train was packed with German youths presumably returning from their holidays in the Netherlands and I had to stand for more than an hour. Another trip was on 5th August from Munich to Frankfurt, where the train departed with all seats occupied and shrinking standing room as the journey continued on. Furthermore the seat reservation screens above the seats were not functioning, so many were asked to vacate as those with reservations boarded. Fortunately I managed to keep my seat after being ‘kicked out’ just before the train started departing Munich and could enjoy 3 hours of comfort with my laptop. Now I must remember to reserve seats when using a rail pass in future!
我不願改機票的另一個原因，是因為我買了一張火車證，在德國、比利時、荷蘭和盧森堡兩個月內任選5天使用，價錢祇比改機票費稍貴，而且不限班次和路程使用，非常靈活，所以我便趁機在法蘭克福往埃因霍温途中在亞琛市（Aachen）遊覽三數小時，而有一天儀器示範延長了時間，我也不介意坐晚一點的班次。我從前看朋友旅遊用火車證看得多了，沒想到公幹時也派上用場！我也從未如此頻密的乘火車，那5天共搭了14趟，其中兩趟在星期日早上，一趟要站一小時多才有位讓我坐下（7月22日從荷蘭Arnhem往德國杜賽爾多夫，一車盡是從荷蘭度假回國的德國青年），另一趟（8月5日從慕尼黑往法蘭克福）出發時人已太多，沿途各站上車比下車的多，而且座位頭頂的預訂顯示屏失靈，所以常常出現早訂了位、剛上車的乘客請坐著的人騰出座位，幸好我自剛出發被人「趕出」一次後一直可以坐著無預訂的座位，總算可沿途舒舒服服用一下電腦，我沒想到星期日早上是長途火車的高峰時間，以後用火車證真的要記得訂座了！
While these site visits would take place between 9:00 and 18:00, there were no let-offs in the evenings. Although the companies and laboratory heads were on the whole generous in treating us to dinners, we would often continue discussing work-related topics. Even when talking about lighter topics, we would still have to be careful about what to say. Such socialising would normally last until 22:00 or even 23:00, and after a few of those nights in a row it was indeed pretty tiring. It didn’t help that I was under the weather on my first few days of the trip while in the Netherlands, and I often wished that the dinners would end sooner so that I could rest up earlier in my hotel room. And after a few of those meals I started to lose a bit of appetite and interest even in front of the most elegantly presented and sumptuous dishes. However, I really shouldn’t complain too much after all, because many of the restaurants that we visited were indeed of higher class in terms of ingredients and presentation. It was a pleasure from and a just reward for the toils of travel!
這些參觀、訪問，工作時間不祇限於朝九晚六，晚上的酬酢也是工作的延伸，雖說是吃喝，但總會談到工作的話題，而就算講到輕鬆的東西時，說話也得小心一點。這些應酬，每每到10點甚至11點才散席，晚晚如是，不累才怪，而且行程頭幾天在荷蘭時抱恙，每晚都恨不得飯局盡快結束，好讓我早點回酒店休息，我也因此體會到，經常要外出應酬，就算每次美酒佳餚當前也會漸漸提不起勁，而且身心疲憊。不過我也不應該老是抱怨，在荷蘭和美國時，參觀過後都是由儀器生產商請客，而且往往到高檔一點的食肆，讓我見識到精緻的菜式和貴價的食材，算是辛勞行程中的一種補償吧！
Within my tight itinerary I managed to arrange time to visit my friends or go for some sightseeing. I am certainly thankful to my friends who could spare some time to meet me or even take me on quick tours through many interesting spots. Let me show you some of those photos below!
這次行程雖然緊湊，但我一早安排好在各週末探探朋友又或旅遊一下，我當然感激各朋友抽空和我聚面，甚至帶我參觀多個景點，以下刊出一些照片與大家分享吧！
17th July – a whirlwind tour of Aachen for 3 hours after arrival in Frankfurt
7月17日——抵達法蘭克福後先到亞琛逛逛三小時
The Aachen Cathedral
亞琛大教堂
The speciality of Aachen - Aachener Printen (local gingerbread)
17th to 20th July – Eindhoven, Netherlands
7月17至20日——荷蘭埃因霍温
The Van Abbe Museum
A shopping centre in the city
21st July – my Dutch buddy took me to Zeeland province by the sea, about 100 km away from Eindhoven, through the towns of Tholen and Zierikzee as well as the Oosterscheldekering storn surge barrier which is basically an expansive installation of flood gates to shut out the rising levels of the North Sea when necessary. It was an eye-opening to see the scale of flood protection works in the Netherlands!
7月21日——荷蘭好友帶我到百多公里外臨海的Zeeland省，讓我見識當地兩個小鎮Tholen和Zierikzee的面貌，另參觀了負責抵擋北海大水的Oosterscheldekering水壩，令我見識到荷蘭水利工程的規模。
Tholen and its waterways
Another Dutch icon - of a more modern kind: the storm and flood barriers of Oosterscheldekering
較現代的荷蘭特色：Oosterscheldekering水霸
Zierikzee, a town that hasn't seemed to change for a few hundred years
踏入Zierikzee，時光彷彿倒流了幾百年
The Oosterscheldekering has made for a sheltered sea for growing mussels - and our dinner at Zierikzee
Oosterscheldekering創造了一個適合養殖青口（貽貝）的小海域，也造就了我們在Zierikzee的晚餐
22nd July – an evening strolling about Heidelberg, Germany after a 6-year absence
7月22日晚——海德堡，隔別6年後夕陽中舊地重遊
4th August – a day of cycling in Munich along the river Isar with a good friend of mine, firstly towards the south and the posh districts of Munich there then turned north to the Englischer Garten for lunch with another couple of friends.
8月4日——慕尼黑與好友沿Isar河騎腳踏車，遊遊慕尼黑南面的市郊，再到英式花園Englischer Garten和另外兩個好友午膳
Run of a mill can be fun by the Isar!
5th August – Frankfurt. Not as boring as I thought, most likely because of the many street festivals that added much life everywhere.
8月5日——法蘭克福，沒想像中悶，相信多得市內多個節慶同時舉行，吸引我的目光吧！
6th August – Washington, DC, USA. One of my past colleagues took me on a 2-hour blitz through several of the most famous places around town then back to Bethesda, where I stayed, for a dinner with another past colleague.
8月6日——華盛頓，舊同事下班後帶我兩小時內旋風式走過幾個著名地標，然後回到下塌的Bethesda，和他的兩個朋友跟另一個舊同事晚膳
8th to 10th August – Houston
8月8至10日——休斯頓
12th August – San Francisco. My colleague and I took a ferry to Sausalito then changed for a bus to the Muir Woods National Monument (natural reserve) where we went for a hike. Muir Woods is a remnant of ancient redwood forests which used to be prevalent in northern California and was only protected from further clearing after the land was purchased and later handed over to the government for conservation.
8月12日——三藩市，和同行的同事坐渡輪到Sausalito再前往Muir Woods國家公園，在遠古的紅樹林中遠足，可幸前人有遠見，把這片古森林交給政府做保育，才得以保存至今。
七月中跟一個同事到歐洲和美國公幹一個月，雖然我近兩年每年都要外出公幹兩三次，但這次性質不同，行程也緊湊得多，而且很多時候都風塵僕僕，令我體會像一般人的商務公幹究竟是甚麼一回事了。
The purpose of this trip was to visit the manufacturers of a particular instrument that a university wishes to purchase as well as the laboratories using that instrument. My colleague and I spent one to three days at any one place (apart from the end of July when I spent one and a half weeks in Munich for my own lab work). Fortunately it was my colleague who took on the onerous task of contacting the many hosts to co-ordinate and organise the whole itinerary of the trip. It was particularly demanding as one of the companies kept changing its date on the lab visit in Heidelberg, Germany. I was only confident enough to book flights one week out and chose to fly into Frankfurt as my first stop in Europe so that I could go to Heidelberg straight after landing. But after the tickets were confirmed, the Heidelberg visit was pushed back to be the second destination after Eindhoven, and I could have booked to fly into Amsterdam instead because it would be closer. Well, it was possible to change the flight, but at a cost of AUD 250 I thought that it wasn’t worthwhile even if it was work expense. I felt pity for the travel agent who had to put up with my many changes of mind for my booking, and when I mentioned this to her, she told me that she was very used to it among business travellers. So there is still a raison d’être for travel agencies specialising in business travel and dealing with its intricacies such as frequently changing itinerary.
這次行程的目的，是為了購置新儀器而參觀一眾生產商和使用那些儀器的實驗室，每個地方逗留一至三天（除了七月底在慕尼黑的實驗室工作了一週半外），是次行程安排，幸好全由同事負責，不然要同時聯絡不同人，協調參觀各地點的時間，是挺勞心費神的事，尤其是其中一家公司，安排我們參觀在德國海德堡的實驗室的時間一改再改，我出發前一星期才敢訂票，飛往歐洲的第一站選了法蘭克福，豈料出票後該公司告知海德堡的參觀時間要押後，由本來先到海德堡後到荷蘭埃因霍温（Eindhoven），變成先到荷蘭後到到德國，早知如此我飛往阿姆斯特丹就更近更方便了。（改機票不是不行，但要另付250澳元，就算是公費支付我也覺不值得。）我趕往旅行社領電子機票和火車證時跟職員講起，她說商務旅程經常都改來改去，做也做慣，也見怪不怪了，所以專門承接商務行程的旅行社，還是有存在價值。
Another reason why I was reluctant to change the flights was that I have bought a rail pass for use in any 5 days within 2 months in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The rail pass only cost slightly more than the rebooking fee of the air ticket and had no restriction on the schedule and route. With such flexibility I took the opportunity to visit Aachen for a morning en route from Frankfurt to Eindhoven and wasn’t too concerned to let one of the product demonstrations go overtime as I could catch a later train to leave. I have seen plenty of my friends use a rail pass for their travels in the past but have never thought that it would also be so useful for a work trip! Neither have I been travelling so often on trains, as I took a total of 14 trips in the 5 days, and experienced the crush on long-distance trains – on Sunday mornings! One such trip took place on 22nd July when I travelled from Arnhem (Netherlands) to Düsseldorf (Germany) where the train was packed with German youths presumably returning from their holidays in the Netherlands and I had to stand for more than an hour. Another trip was on 5th August from Munich to Frankfurt, where the train departed with all seats occupied and shrinking standing room as the journey continued on. Furthermore the seat reservation screens above the seats were not functioning, so many were asked to vacate as those with reservations boarded. Fortunately I managed to keep my seat after being ‘kicked out’ just before the train started departing Munich and could enjoy 3 hours of comfort with my laptop. Now I must remember to reserve seats when using a rail pass in future!
我不願改機票的另一個原因，是因為我買了一張火車證，在德國、比利時、荷蘭和盧森堡兩個月內任選5天使用，價錢祇比改機票費稍貴，而且不限班次和路程使用，非常靈活，所以我便趁機在法蘭克福往埃因霍温途中在亞琛市（Aachen）遊覽三數小時，而有一天儀器示範延長了時間，我也不介意坐晚一點的班次。我從前看朋友旅遊用火車證看得多了，沒想到公幹時也派上用場！我也從未如此頻密的乘火車，那5天共搭了14趟，其中兩趟在星期日早上，一趟要站一小時多才有位讓我坐下（7月22日從荷蘭Arnhem往德國杜賽爾多夫，一車盡是從荷蘭度假回國的德國青年），另一趟（8月5日從慕尼黑往法蘭克福）出發時人已太多，沿途各站上車比下車的多，而且座位頭頂的預訂顯示屏失靈，所以常常出現早訂了位、剛上車的乘客請坐著的人騰出座位，幸好我自剛出發被人「趕出」一次後一直可以坐著無預訂的座位，總算可沿途舒舒服服用一下電腦，我沒想到星期日早上是長途火車的高峰時間，以後用火車證真的要記得訂座了！
While these site visits would take place between 9:00 and 18:00, there were no let-offs in the evenings. Although the companies and laboratory heads were on the whole generous in treating us to dinners, we would often continue discussing work-related topics. Even when talking about lighter topics, we would still have to be careful about what to say. Such socialising would normally last until 22:00 or even 23:00, and after a few of those nights in a row it was indeed pretty tiring. It didn’t help that I was under the weather on my first few days of the trip while in the Netherlands, and I often wished that the dinners would end sooner so that I could rest up earlier in my hotel room. And after a few of those meals I started to lose a bit of appetite and interest even in front of the most elegantly presented and sumptuous dishes. However, I really shouldn’t complain too much after all, because many of the restaurants that we visited were indeed of higher class in terms of ingredients and presentation. It was a pleasure from and a just reward for the toils of travel!
這些參觀、訪問，工作時間不祇限於朝九晚六，晚上的酬酢也是工作的延伸，雖說是吃喝，但總會談到工作的話題，而就算講到輕鬆的東西時，說話也得小心一點。這些應酬，每每到10點甚至11點才散席，晚晚如是，不累才怪，而且行程頭幾天在荷蘭時抱恙，每晚都恨不得飯局盡快結束，好讓我早點回酒店休息，我也因此體會到，經常要外出應酬，就算每次美酒佳餚當前也會漸漸提不起勁，而且身心疲憊。不過我也不應該老是抱怨，在荷蘭和美國時，參觀過後都是由儀器生產商請客，而且往往到高檔一點的食肆，讓我見識到精緻的菜式和貴價的食材，算是辛勞行程中的一種補償吧！
Within my tight itinerary I managed to arrange time to visit my friends or go for some sightseeing. I am certainly thankful to my friends who could spare some time to meet me or even take me on quick tours through many interesting spots. Let me show you some of those photos below!
這次行程雖然緊湊，但我一早安排好在各週末探探朋友又或旅遊一下，我當然感激各朋友抽空和我聚面，甚至帶我參觀多個景點，以下刊出一些照片與大家分享吧！
17th July – a whirlwind tour of Aachen for 3 hours after arrival in Frankfurt
7月17日——抵達法蘭克福後先到亞琛逛逛三小時
The town hall of Aachen (left), the ancient seat of Charlemagne's palace and rebuilt 600 years ago with a hall (above) which has witnessed the many coronations of various German kings.
亞琛市市政廳（左），是昔日查爾大帝宮殿的所在地，600年前重建後，是不少德國封建皇帝登基的地方，上圖乃登基大廳
The Aachen Cathedral
The speciality of Aachen - Aachener Printen (local gingerbread)
亞琛土產薑餅
17th to 20th July – Eindhoven, Netherlands
7月17至20日——荷蘭埃因霍温
The Van Abbe Museum
Van Abbe藝術館
A shopping centre in the city
市中心一座商場
The façade of a former factory, in front of a park
原址是工廠的公園，保留了原來外牆21st July – my Dutch buddy took me to Zeeland province by the sea, about 100 km away from Eindhoven, through the towns of Tholen and Zierikzee as well as the Oosterscheldekering storn surge barrier which is basically an expansive installation of flood gates to shut out the rising levels of the North Sea when necessary. It was an eye-opening to see the scale of flood protection works in the Netherlands!
7月21日——荷蘭好友帶我到百多公里外臨海的Zeeland省，讓我見識當地兩個小鎮Tholen和Zierikzee的面貌，另參觀了負責抵擋北海大水的Oosterscheldekering水壩，令我見識到荷蘭水利工程的規模。
Tholen and its waterways
荷蘭式水鄉Tholen
A glimpse into a Dutch household - curtains not needed!
無遮無掩，一窺荷蘭家居內貌！
A Dutch icon - of a traditional kind
傳統荷蘭特色
Another Dutch icon - of a more modern kind: the storm and flood barriers of Oosterscheldekering
Zierikzee, a town that hasn't seemed to change for a few hundred years
The Oosterscheldekering has made for a sheltered sea for growing mussels - and our dinner at Zierikzee
22nd July – an evening strolling about Heidelberg, Germany after a 6-year absence
7月22日晚——海德堡，隔別6年後夕陽中舊地重遊
4th August – a day of cycling in Munich along the river Isar with a good friend of mine, firstly towards the south and the posh districts of Munich there then turned north to the Englischer Garten for lunch with another couple of friends.
8月4日——慕尼黑與好友沿Isar河騎腳踏車，遊遊慕尼黑南面的市郊，再到英式花園Englischer Garten和另外兩個好友午膳
Großhesseloher Brücke (Grosshesselohe Bridge) and a view of a village from the bridge
Großhesseloher橋，和從橋上俯視附近鄉村的景色
Run of a mill can be fun by the Isar!
自製水車，自得其樂
A beer garden by the lake in Englischer Garten
英式花園內湖畔的啤酒園
5th August – Frankfurt. Not as boring as I thought, most likely because of the many street festivals that added much life everywhere.
8月5日——法蘭克福，沒想像中悶，相信多得市內多個節慶同時舉行，吸引我的目光吧！
Frankfurt, a place where an idyllic ruralesque face is never too far away from the frantic financial pace!
法蘭克福的金錢橫流中，還容得下一道恬靜而有鄉郊氣息的清泉！
The whirl of the MyZeil shopping centre - part of the impressive glass roof - does its job of sucking customers in!
MyZeil商場外牆的旋渦與天幕連成一片，成功把顧客吸入商場內！
The old town of Frankfurt
法蘭克福舊城區
The future headquarter of European Central Bank in construction
歐洲中央銀行的未來總部，大樓正興建中
In this commercial city, even graffiti has a money theme
商業城市的塗鴉，不免也和金錢有關6th August – Washington, DC, USA. One of my past colleagues took me on a 2-hour blitz through several of the most famous places around town then back to Bethesda, where I stayed, for a dinner with another past colleague.
8月6日——華盛頓，舊同事下班後帶我兩小時內旋風式走過幾個著名地標，然後回到下塌的Bethesda，和他的兩個朋友跟另一個舊同事晚膳
 |
The two buildings where the fate of the world is often decided, namely the White House (above) and the US Treasury Department (right)
正宰世界的白宮（上）和美國財政部（右）
The Washington Monument
華盛頓紀念碑
The direction for a home run hit
全壘打的目標8th to 10th August – Houston
8月8至10日——休斯頓
A former textiles factory
一家前紡織廠
A cool approach to eradicate mosquitoes - by pumping liquid nitrogen underground!
休斯頓滅蚊法——把液化合氮灌進地底！12th August – San Francisco. My colleague and I took a ferry to Sausalito then changed for a bus to the Muir Woods National Monument (natural reserve) where we went for a hike. Muir Woods is a remnant of ancient redwood forests which used to be prevalent in northern California and was only protected from further clearing after the land was purchased and later handed over to the government for conservation.
8月12日——三藩市，和同行的同事坐渡輪到Sausalito再前往Muir Woods國家公園，在遠古的紅樹林中遠足，可幸前人有遠見，把這片古森林交給政府做保育，才得以保存至今。
San Francisco Town Hall by night
三藩市市政廳夜景
Through the redwood forest (left) then out to the open countryside (right) of the Muir Woods National Monument
在Muir Woods國家公園，穿梭紅樹林（左）和曠野（右）遠足
Apparently this is the second best harbour view behind Hong Kong - a full view of the Oakland Bay Bridge, Alcatraz, San Francisco city centre and the Golden Gate Bridge can be enjoyed from the ferry between San Francisco and Sausalito.
據說是香港之後世界第二美的海景，在來往三藩市和Sausalito的渡輪上可飽覽奧克蘭海灣大橋、阿卡翠斯島、三藩市市區和金門大橋。
Comments