Day 3 in Frankfurt: Free Day - Rhein River Day Cruise

The team got a day off today (yay!). Some of us decided to do a cruise of the Rhein River.

The morning began with a heavy overcast, rain and chill, which, typically, is not the most ideal for a river cruise at the Rhein River… Or any river!  We persevered and met up at 8:45 a.m. in the hotel lobby, silently hoping the weather would eventually get better and those clouds would give us a break to enjoy this long awaited vacant day for leisure. 

The train took about one hour to get to our stop; through the drizzling rain, we half-jogged to the dock just to see our boat leaving.  We missed it!!  Wow, what a morning we thought as we shrugged the chillness and slight disappointment off. Luckily, as we tried to get the best of the situation, we found a beautiful quaint coffee house situated on the edge of the river.  Time flew as we chatted away and enjoyed our coffee and teas. In the meantime, our eyes never wandered too far from the dock.  We can’t miss the next one!

Phew, we made it! As we boarded, some of us commented on how pleasant it was for us to not have to pay any additional fees to do this boat tour.  It has been included in our already purchased ICE/railway ticket. Things were looking up.



Some things in life are just plain consistent; one of the examples was the weather that we endured that day.  It was consistently cold with cumulus clouds hanging around, causing a few drizzles here and there.

As the boat left the dock, the journey began and the stunning view of the Baroque styled architectures, stoned forts and castles along the river complete with their surrounding traditional charming villages took our breath and drew us into a pseudo Medieval reality. Soon, we were busy running to both sides of the boat with our camera trying to soak and capture all the beauties. 

After a few stops, we ended up at the quaint little village of Boppard in the valley of Loreley.  A town of 2000 years of history and population of 17,000.  Narrow cobblestone pathways split stores, coffee houses and restaurants led us to the center of the town. 

We decided to grab some refreshments at “Choco Bar” restaurant’s outdoor seating in the center of the town square while enjoying the gorgeous view of the baroque styled church strategically located in the front of table.  As mid-afternoon came, we raced to the train station while trying to stay dry from the drizzling rain.  We made the train and by 5.30 pm, we had returned to our hotel. 

Personally, I felt very glad that we persevered that morning to make the Rhein River tour.  Perhaps, next time, in the summer time, I shall return, stop at every dock, and enter every castle.

No time for rest, some of us decided to meet in the lobby at 6:30 p.m. for a quick shopping spree and dinner around Zeil Street, Frankfurt’s main shopping street.  After a quick shower, we walked back to the train station where we, only about one hour ago, just arrived from.  The half-of-mile walk was truly a déjà vu experience.  As most stores closed at 8pm, we needed to get there quickly!

Next up, after shopping, was to try some Austrian cuisine, a great suggestion made by our food connoisseur colleague, Christine.  Unfortunately, it was “Full House!” said the waiter.  We went to another restaurant across the street and it was the same bad news.  The restaurants were packed and, unfortunately, we did not have any reservations for six people.  Note to selves, when in Frankfurt...make dinner reservation!

The silver lining of our dinner exploration was that we found an amazing Italian restaurant “Paniateco.” We received five-star customer service, amazing food and did we say, five-star customer service? The waiters were very pleasant and out of hospitality, the restaurant offered us digestif Limoncello after our dinner (Limoncello is known as a palate cleanser/digestif). 

Overall, we had a fabulous day.  Not even the weather could stop this IST team from enjoying the city and what Hessen has to offer!

Day 2 in Frankfurt - The Team Attends the International Car Show; Meeting with Chamber of Commerce

After a lot of travel through the cold and rain yesterday, we were glad to finally be in Frankfurt.  To further lighten our spirits, the first half of the day was devoted to one thing: cars. The 65th Frankfurt International Auto Show is going on this week and we had the opportunity to spend this morning and early afternoon checking out the current offerings and concepts from the world’s top automakers.  

We noticed two very different themes to the show.  The first, and most expected, was the trend for high-end manufacturers to go bigger, faster, stronger, and louder.  From carbon fiber and brushed aluminum Bugattis to new Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and Aston Martins, the ultra high-end automakers were not apt to shy away from more power and over-the-top designs. 

In contrast, the vast majority of the remaining presenters at the show presented another theme: “smaller, smarter, cleaner”.  With the building push for clean transportation and sustainably fueled cars, it is no surprise that “green” stalwarts such as Honda and Toyota were pushing their latest, more fuel efficient technologies.  However, many luxury automakers were also emphasizing their latest and greatest innovations in automotive technology.  Large German marques such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz (MB), Porsche, and Audi were emphasizing a move towards electric or hybrid coupled with technologies designed to make driving safer and smarter.

One such example was in the MB building.  When we first walked in, we were lucky enough to catch the show designed to introduce the new line of MB vehicles to the audience.  The most striking aspect of the “show” was the production value.  There were stage lights and digital displays that could rival any Broadway show.  From digital water falls that broke over the hood and roof of the real-life car driving by to a virtual opera singer that watched vehicles drive down the ramp, we were all shocked by the grandeur of the production.  Beyond the “shock and awe” of it all, MB was introducing electric hybrid vehicles that also had “smart” driving features.  Some of these include automatic cruise-control, parking-assist, and collision avoidance.  The latter served to automatically stop the car when an obstruction was sensed.  The feature was demonstrated onstage both with other vehicle and pedestrians.

It is not often that we as consumers get to see and touch products before they are released to the public at large.  I know that all of our group thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity and all had our various favorites ranging from the sane and practical to considerably less so.

After the auto show, we moved on to a meeting with the Frankfurt Chamber of Commerce.  It is important to mention that the chambers of commerce in Germany serve a very different roll than those back home.  The chambers in Germany are very sophisticated organizations to which membership is compulsory.  The chamber serves to help its members establish, evolve, and move their respective businesses in an increasingly competitive global market.





Our contact at the Chamber, Dr. Ratzinger, was extremely generous with his time.  During our meeting, he shared information regarding the business climate in both Frankfurt and Germany as a whole. 

Frankfurt serves as the trade-show capital of the world (a very important part of the German business and sales process).  Frankfurt is also the seat of German financial markets (Dr. Ratzinger was even kind enough to let us peek into the trading floor of the stock market).  As Frankfurt has served as a financial and trade-show center for both Germany and Europe as a whole, other supporting industries have flourished.  Some of these include: high-tech and communications, transportation (airport), and industrial/manufacturing.

Our first full day in Frankfurt was a little cold, wet and windy but we were still able to enjoy the city, see some amazing cars, and gain a better understanding of doing business in Frankfurt and Germany as a whole.

Well, time for bed… We have a day off tomorrow, I think I’ll spend some of it on a boat…

Meeting With Audi and Catholic University in Ingolstadt - Plus, Team Travels to Frankfurt!

It was quite a stressful and long day for everyone on Monday! We all had to get up early to take the 8:15 a.m. train to Ingolstadt to make it to the 9:45 a.m. appointment with Audi. Not only that, the biggest challenge was to haul our luggage on and off the train (believe me it wasn't easy!). The good news was we were able to store our luggage at the train station. We barely made it in time for the meeting (good thing, the taxi cab was fast)! Whew! But boy, was the day super cold and rainy!

Despite all that hassle, it was wonderful to be at Audi Headquarters for the first time.



Both Johanna Held and Mrs. Wade welcomed us with warmth and grace. We met with Mrs. Wade from 10-11 a.m. to discuss corporate responsibility from Audi's point of view. In addition, to help us better understand her presentation, she also provided the Corporate Responsibility Report 2012 handbook that stressed on five core values as part of their strategy: Operations, Product, Environment, Employees, and Society. The report is a great testimony to Audi's mission and effort to sustainability. Not only does it specify the activities toward the 5 core values but it also presents the data as measurement of progress and guidelines as reference point. Overall, we had a great discussion with her but unfortunately we ran out of time towards the end.

The next activity on our agenda was the manufacturing tour at Audi plant. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the tour but here are some photos taken of the team in the waiting area (we got to check out some of the cool cars they had on display!).




Dr. Kuhn from Catholic University also sent one of his students to join the tour with us. She was very nice and friendly. Once again, we were not disappointed. The tour started at 11:30 a.m. and ended at 1:30pm. First, the tour guide took us to the processing floor where all the robotics work are required (welding, and quality testing). We were very impressed with Audi's advanced technology Audi and especially with the amount of work that is being done by robots. Second, he took us to the assembly line where we get to see operators and technicians assemble interior components to the car. The overall process was very efficient.

After finishing the plant tour, she and Johanna took us to Audi's café for a wonderful free lunch. To be honest, we did not expect this at all!!! Did we mention that the food was good, too? Yummy...

Next, we took the bus to Catholic University to meet Dr. Kuhn. He and a few of his students were such wonderful and kind hosts. He gave us 30 minute lecture on supply chain management and operations and answered all of our questions we had. After the lecture, they brought us light dinner - drinks and Bavarian food - and the students used the time to network!

We did not expect to receive too many treats in one day but we really appreciated Dr. Kuhn, Audi, and his students for going out of their way to welcome us to Ingolstadt. We could not ask for anything better.

Finally, we departed Catholic University and continued our journey to Frankfurt.

It was a 3-hour ride, but we made it to the Sheraton hotel at around 8 pm and called it a day. Yay!

Don't forget to stock up on cash so you don't get charged an additional 3% fee for every swipe of your card!