Brisbane to Hong Kong
The trip began with a midnight departure out of Brisbane and a six-a.m. landing in Hong Kong — that strange in-between hour when the city is still deciding whether to wake up.
The team headed straight to the Hopewell Hotel, managed an early check-in, and shook off the flight with a quick local lunch in Wan Chai. The rest of the day went to preparing demos and materials for the next evening’s meeting.
Meeting Day in Central
Morning admin first: demos loaded, materials checked, final run-throughs done. The team gathered in the lobby before their host arrived to collect them.
Lunch at Yung Kee, a Central institution, brought another of their hosts to the table; from there the group moved to Tai Kwun — the restored former Central Police Station compound — where the business discussion carried on over coffee before goodbyes and the walk back to the hotel.
On to Zürich
With a late flight out on the final Hong Kong day, the team met up and made for the airport, boarding the flight to Frankfurt. One delayed train and a change at Basel later, they were in Zürich and set for the next round of meetings.
Back to Business: Zürich
After a quiet weekend recharging, Monday meant a customer meeting. The team and their hosts talked over lunch at a local Italian place — the gnocchi carbonara earns a special mention in the notes — and it was a good conversation: how they were finding our KMIP SDK, the issues they had run into, and how it could be marketed better. Afterward it was back to their office for coffee and more discussion, then Zürich station and on to Cologne.
Cologne to Aachen
A quick hotel breakfast, then to the airport to pick up a rental car and collect a final team member already in Europe on a separate trip. From there the drive to Aachen delivered a first real taste of the Autobahn — and doubled as demo prep for the day's customer. Once there, the team sat down with their hosts for a business discussion before heading back to the hotel.
The Autobahn to Jena
The next day the car pointed at Jena and the Autobahn did its thing: four and a half hours of fast driving and demo prep — refining the walkthrough and folding in a few new ideas along the way. They arrived, grabbed a coffee, and went straight to the customer’s office, where the hosts welcomed them with a barbecue. After meeting everyone there were good chats, a tour of the facility, and then the real substance: what they plan to use KMIP for, how it fits their product, the challenges ahead, and how our SDKs help them clear them.
That evening the team checked into their hotel and met the clients for dinner at the Hotel Schwarzer Bär.
The following day brought a second round of meetings, and then it was time for farewells. The final team member was dropped back at his hotel, and that is where the group parted ways.
The Scenic Route Back to Frankfurt
The way back ran through Eisenach and a tour of Wartburg Castle, then on through Marburg to Frankfurt. From there it was the flight to Hong Kong, a 28-hour layover, and the final leg home.
Two weeks, three countries, a schedule packed with customer visits — and every product in the bag put to work. These were just a few of the stops. If you’d like your team to be one on the next tour, get in touch. Until the next one.