From the Blog

“Here, that doesn’t sound like your average work trip”

As you’re all aware, we like to do things a little differently round here.

So, last week, we took our summer party up a notch and flew everyone to Berlin for a few days. We teamed up with Laika Berlin, our sister company in Germany, to host a summer bash for more than 100 people in a beautiful courtyard on Oranienburger Str.

The summer bash was the perfect opportunity for our team to meet their German colleagues in real life, having worked together for over a year on Zoom. The party, which was expertly organised by the Laika team, was the culmination of a few brilliant days in beautiful Berlin and was filled with laughs, sightseeing, sausages, and beer…obviously.

You can check out videos and pics of our trip over on our Insta, and here’s some of the team’s personal highlights of the trip. Tschüss!

Nora

From the wonderful coffee to the fantastic food, drinks and beautiful architecture, Berlin is a city I will definitely be rushing back to. It was brilliant to meet so many of the Laika team in person, too! Berlin also hosts the best mayonnaise I have ever tasted and is a must try for anyone visiting. Ryanair didn’t do too badly on the landing front this time either. 10/10 amazing time, it would be a shining five star on Trip Advisor if I was the type to leave reviews. Can't wait to go back!

Jess

“Here, that doesn’t sound like your average work trip” - Rory Preece, my father.

I can’t argue with that statement, dad. Two days of sincere laughs, whilst exploring Berlin with a bunch of great people - I’ll take that any day, thank you very much.

Visiting a heavy metal bar, eating delicious pizza in a 34-degree heat, drinking in an Irish pub (we can’t help ourselves) and mingling with the amazing team at Laika, in a stunning location.

I’m struggling to pick a favourite moment but it’s safe to say, we had an incredible time and the Monday blues have really hit.

Feeling very grateful.

Ella

My favourite part of the Berlin trip was getting to know everyone in our office on a more personal level and connecting with the Laika team in person...lots of laughs to last until the next trip. The beer, good food and weather was a bonus! Berlin, we'll be back!

Amy

My favourite part of our trip to Berlin was meeting the brilliant folks from the Laika team and the friends they had brought to the summer bash. I had convinced myself that I was becoming more introverted in my old age, but the fact that I chatted non-stop for approximately five hours blows that theory out of the water. It’s been a very long time since I’ve had the opportunity to get to know people from different cities and cultures outside of Northern Ireland, and this trip reminded me of how much I love learning about other people’s experiences of the world.

Hannah

My favourite part of our trip to Berlin was exploring and getting a real feel for the culture in the city. I loved their relaxed approach to life, the gallons of beer and the beautiful architecture. Berlin - I can’t wait to see you again.

Alex

I’m going to be awkward and say I’ve two favourite things from our time in Berlin (a few of my favourite things, you could say).

1. Getting to know our team better. As is well documented, we’ve a fairly new team at Clearbox, so with working remotely, and not being in the office as much, it’s more challenging to get to know people on a more personal level. This trip gave us the opportunity to share stories, get to know each other, and find out truly horrific secrets…like who hasn’t seen The Sound of Music…what’s the matter with these people? I feel the trip has made us a stronger and closer team and for that I’m very thankful!

2. The salted buttered pretzels…three of my favourite things: salt, butter, and bread. I’ll be fantasizing about those bad boys for a while…

Zoe

Berlin, for me, is one of the most interesting cities I can think of. Getting to see the amount of history that Berlin holds has to be my favourite part. With so much sightseeing spots to choose from, we visited the Brandenburg Gate and Reichstag on our trip, and it was amazing! Even walking through the city, seeing so much wonderful architecture and history was incredible. The weather was definitely on our side for the whole trip. I can confidently say that I’ll be visiting Berlin again…and again…and again!

John

My highlight was being there with our team. I’ve visited the city dozens of times before, but never in my wildest dreams think that one day we’d have a company party there. I’m thankful we can work with the Laika team every day, and to share a summer party with them was the icing on the cake. Or the paprika on the currywurst. Thank you to Michaela and the Laika team for being the perfect hosts and for everything you continue to do for Clearbox.