Hello, bonjour, Tach och!

Back again! The past 2 weeks were full of traveling, enjoying good food&music. But have a look yourself!

Have you ever heard about the “Karneval der Kulturen” (Carneval of cultures) in Kreuzberg? If not, it’s definitely worth a trip! There was delicious food from all over the world, stages with drummers, people dancing around. To make a long story short – it was a unique culinary & multicultural experience!

Speaking of culinary experiences – I really fell in love with Berlin’s gastronomy. Fresh flavours with cinnamon, anise, coriander, mint & lime leaves…Simply delicious!

Oxford calling! Felt as if Harry, Hermine, Ron & Co. were about to come by every second. With its lovely and historical colleges and the typical English lawn this lovely town is a must see when visiting London & its surroundings!

Aaand lucky me! Already heard a lot about the famous rivalry between Oxford & Cambridge boat races. This weekend I was in the midst of an Oxford intern boat competition. Really impressive & fascinating this old aristocratic tradition…

All good things come to an end…This time from London Heathrow Airport…with this red lady walking in front of me…Perfect snapshot!

With a smile I passed this drink vending machine…Coca-Cola is really omnipresent! :)

Time to move…again! I have to admit that I have stopped counting how many times I have already done this the past year. But this time I had a very warm welcome. My new “home” for the next 2 months was welcoming me with these gifts and a lovely letter from my landlords.

Finally!!! My first Berlin Döner for this year :) How I missed this! Honestly, if you ever want to fall in love with this simple dish, best chances = Berlin!

Apart from this “gourmet” intermezzo I discovered the best bread I have eaten so far! Really! I bought it in one of the only 2 self-baking bakeries in Berlin. No  pre-prepared dough, all homemade. My favourite: Coriander, anis-spelt bread! — Apart from this “gourmet” intermezzo I discovered the best bread I have eaten so far! Really! I bought it in one of the only 2 self-baking bakeries in Berlin. No pre-prepared dough, all homemade. My favourite: Coriander, anis-spelt bread!

Speaking of homemade!  I finally made my first self-made marmalade.  Strawberry-lime-rosemary :) — Speaking of homemade! I finally made my first self-made marmalade. Strawberry-lime-rosemary :)

Time flies! Next weekend – next trip!

Home is where the “currywurst pommes” is!! The “Ruhrpott”!…and have a look! My Coca-Cola colleagues in my hometown were as hardworking as we in Berlin & Leipzig…Coca-Cola Life everywhere!

Weekends are always too short… back to Berlin. But accompanied by 2 nice food magazines.

Having a relaxing dinner with friends and trying out new recipe ideas that came to my mind :) Voilà – bruschetta with a sweet potato-goat’s cheese cream pesto and caramelized salvia/ almond crunch as an entry. Followed by the main dish, a Moroccan coconut, chicken, mint, saffron served with lime-Madeira Bulgur :)

Culinary again! After work-dishes with some friends at “Markthalle 9"

Have you ever been to 5 cities in 2 days?

Well…until now I haven’t either… The menu for the weekend: A marathon!

Berlin - Mülheim an der Ruhr - Stuttgart - Frankfurt - Mainz - Frankfurt - Berlin

3rd train ride for the weekend: Frankfurt! What a lovely day with great weather, a rhubarb drink, waffles & bagels!

Finally! After a busy but amazing weekend, tired but happy to could have seen my family & closest friends… on my way to Berlin.

For a change, the upcoming weeks I will stay away from planes & trains - I promise. Let’s see what Berlin is up to the next weeks!

(by Laura Kühn)

After a quick intermezzo of less than 48h in my hometown I jumped into the train to Berlin.

Once there, I got to know my room & mate for the next month – Lovely person! Already sad to leave her & the flat in 2 weeks…

First day @ Coca-Cola – Me being excited (of course) But no need for that! I had a warm welcome, lovely gifts (got my own Laura Coke Bottle ;) ) & discovered our kitchen with these two tempting fridges in it. Still haven’t tried out all of our products to tell you what’s my bestie. But I am on it!

Berlin, 6:00 am. Excited to join Andreas on his day with the “rote Flotte”, the famous red trucks driving around all over Germany to deliver Coca-Cola beverages…No wonder that the truckers’ kitchen was full of…Coca-Cola? Nope! Our Energy drinks - to stay awake ☺

What a view from the truck. 2m above the street!

I was also able to try to handle this interesting machine a pallet transporter. A bit tricky, as it’s a bit counter intuitive …But practice makes the champion right? ;) Thanks a lot Andreas for the great day! ☺

After my first hands on experience with the “rote Flotte” the next adventure was already waiting for me: Coca-Cola MIT DIR! All of us were able to take part in a huge event of Coca-Cola the MIT (Merchandising Impact Team) DIR (you) What’s that?! It is ought to promote the new Coca-Cola LIFE. But not in a boring way… There were different “camps” established in Germany.

During the day all of us were in the markets (EDEKAS, REWES etc.) promoting the new green Coca-Cola Life – wearing these lovely green shirts & jackets – looking like a bunch of friendly frogs!

And what’s the camp for? We slept there in the “wilderness” directly at a lovely lake. Having breakfast together & after coming “home” from work sitting together or doing sportive activities.

*Me, as pleased as punch! I was able to sell a “get happy app” to one of our visited customers. Great start of the MIT DIR camp!*

Then suddenly! I got a call from my very kind boss: “Laura! I have just been to our camp in Leipzig and they told me that they urgently need more support. Do you want to change the camp?” SURE!!! So I was moving to the Leipzig surfer-beach camp the following Sunday!

*But before: Enjoying Berlin life with a very lovely colleague of mine. Just got to know her on Saturday while distributing free Coca-Cola Life at the “Alex”.*

Leipzig Calling!

I was arriving on Sunday & was amazed! Just see for yourself! Sleeping like Pocahontas in tents ☺ A bit could during night though…

On Sunday we got a guided city tour - but not as boring as they usually are! We climbed the tower of the city hall & at the very top – to our surprise-a cold drink was waiting for us!

Aaaand, there was this really cool boat tour we did! Some of us really brave wearing flip-flops at summerlike 15 °C… Very impressed!

After a great but exhausting promotion day, our Leipzig camp was waiting for us…with this! ☺

Then on Tuesday there was a huge final party in Berlin… Right! Berlin! But I was still in Leipzig… Already sad I heard great news! We were supposed to get “shuttled” away… From Leipzig to a super location, with food, music & entertainment! ☺ Not even a slight rain storm could prevent us from dancing & laughing through the night. I have to admit: One of the best company parties I have been so far.

Unfortunately the MIT DIR was coming to an end & we had to leave Leipzig…

Back “home” I had my first real breakfast with my roomie. Inspired by the fitness programe of the camp our new mission is: Being Healthy & sporty! New discovery in the supermarket: Chia seeds… I have to say they are better than I thought (oh oh…hipster Berlin has a first impact on me…)

And then…Sport up! Both Friday & Saturday on the bike…Berlin is much greener than I thought! ☺

To sum up?

Crazy first weeks from Berlin to Leipzig & back. Very warm welcome from my colleagues in the HQ in Berlin. This event was reallyyy awesome! Loved it! Thanks a lot! Excited to see what’s next! ☺