breaking the ice

For the last 5 days I have been on a “Alm” (mountain pasture/alp) in Salzburg. We had no Internet, no TV, Radio or Newspapers, and hardly any mobile phone couverage. I have to admit it was fabulous. But the best was not this retreat from civilisation, but the company I had. We were there for a teambuilding and the first bureau meeting in the new mandate. It was a strange feeling to have many of my colleagues in Austria and showing them places of my childhood and youth. But it was also a really assuring experience that the new bureau is full of dedicated and experienced people very motivated to work hard for the youth forum in the next two years. On Sunday I had the opportunity to bring some of them to the village where I grew up and it was moving to show them around. The 5 days were full of surprises and happy ends, we found teddy and his buddy again, we had 40 Schweden Bomben and 100 Mozartkugeln; not many of us had the opportunity to eat balisto, we found out that Jovana and Luiza are natural talents in downhill sliding, we witnessed that Portuguese are excellent snow ball throwers, we have a lot of common ground to share, we have proper punks amongst us and there will never be enough Ribs to eat and you need oxygen to light fire! Thanks for the good times.