Weihnachten Party

Posted on December 13, 2019 by vanbraman

Last night was the company Weihnachten Party here in Germany.

weihnachten party, jena, volkhaus, Christmas Party

The party was held in the Jena Volkshaus or People’s House.

The Jena Volkshaus was opened in 1903 and was built by the Carl Zeiss Foundation.

I really like the grand staircase that goes up to the concert hall.

weihnachten party, jena, volkhaus, Christmas Party

The large hall we were in is used for concerts and other events. It is also the home of the Jeaner Philharmonie orchestra.

weihnachten party, jena, volkhaus, Christmas Party

In this picture you see a small orchestra. This orchestra is composed of company employees. They played a variety of music for us. They also provided music for dancing instructions that were party of the evening entertainment.

weihnachten party, jena, volkhaus, Christmas PartyWe had a buffet dinner with some very good traditional German food. I really enjoyed the food.

weihnachten party, jena, volkhaus, Christmas PartyThe desserts were also very good.

The pictures of the food are not so good because of the lighting in the room. The food was much better than it looks in the picture.

I enjoyed spending time with my colleagues at the party. I also got a little prize in a raffle. I will show of a picture of it sometime after I have used it.

Now for some sleep as I have to be up early to catch a train to the airport.

Steven

 

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Walking to Work in the Snow

Posted on December 12, 2019 by vanbraman

Yesterday I got to walk to work in the snow.

snow, jena, germany, walk to work, white viewsAs I got ready to sleep on Wednesday night I took this picture out my window. The forecast was for a couple centimeters of snow, so I knew I would have a picturesque walk to work in the morning.

snow, jena, germany, walk to work, white views

I had a nice view of the snow in the morning as I prepared to leave the hotel. The hills in the distance were covered with snow.

snow, jena, germany, walk to work, white views

The path that I walk to work on was mostly clear as the snow melts off of the warmer surface. But, I knew that some of the way would still be a bit slushy.

snow, jena, germany, walk to work, white viewsI had to be careful crossing the bridge as it was even a bit icy. The same was true for the concrete sidewalks a little further on. The asphalt retains a lot more heat and the snow melts earlier.

snow, jena, germany, walk to work, white viewsHere is another view of the snow covered hills. Jena is in a valley and is surrounded by hills.

I sometimes see snow on my drive to work back home, but it is far away up in the mountains.

Steven

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