First week of work

Taipei on a cloudy day

Berlin in Taipei

Xinyi district by night

Singing Prayer at night

board game cafe

board game cafe

After loosing my way up to 6 times I finally managed to meet a group of friends and we decided to have a look at a nearby board game cafe.

Monday came fast and I made my way nervously to work.
I quickly realized there was no need to be nervous.
Everyone welcomed me with a big smile in the company.
I finally got my own first branded goodies!

free pens ;)

my own cubicle ;D

office part 1

view from the office :)

office part 2

The office is incredibly well decorated and the atmosphere reminded me more companies in the Silicon Valley or Berlin. We have free drinks and snacks in the office and a lot of space to get comfortable!

My team S, G and Sh showed me around and introduced everyone, who will work with me.
I really don't like generalizing, but I have to confess that I have not met anyone in Taiwan that was not polite and strikingly friendly. It's even more strange, that one of the leading principles of my company is to be friendly! - in contrast to western capitalism

Beef noodles and Bubble tea

G and S took me out to dinner during lunch and showed me Taiwan's famous Bubble tea and beef noodle soup

Dinner time at home

My street at night

some more delicious food

Waffles with maple syrup

Every Wednesday the company serves some desserts for tea time.

Today we had various types of waffles.

Some local vegetation

Hot Pot / Walk through Xinyi District by night

Today I was invited by a coworker to have Hot Pot with his friends in one of the best Sichuan Restaurants in Taipei. On my way there I saw some interesting places in Xinyi district.

Ciyou temple - Taipei

 Ciyou temple is dedicated to the goddess Mazu. It was constructed in 1753. Mazu is a patron godess protecting sailors and fisherman. 

Xinyi district - Taipei

Xinyi district - Taipei

 Hot Pot

Hot Pot is describing a dish, where a pot of stew, spiced in various ways, is kept boiling and different types of ingredients are being cooked in it. We had fish, dumplings, vegetables and different kinds of beef. 

Hot Pot Sichuan style - http://www.oldsichuan.com.tw/ - 老四川巴蜀麻辣燙

Hot Pot Sichuan style - http://www.oldsichuan.com.tw/ - 老四川巴蜀麻辣燙

We also had some appatizers. Cucumber with chili, spicy noodles and beans.

Scraped ice with strawberry syrup and cream
- http://www.oldsichuan.com.tw/ - 老四川巴蜀麻辣燙

- http://www.oldsichuan.com.tw/ - 老四川巴蜀麻辣燙

Old Sichuan is a very beautifully decorated restaurant. The service was incredible. Every 10 min a waiter came to fill up the Hot Pot and bring new ingredients to cook.

Lovely people sharing this amazing dinner with me

First days

Saying goodbye is always hard. Leaving your home for a place you have never seen, where you do not know anyone and where you do not understand the language perfectly is not only hard but comparable to a suicide mission.  Leaving Berlin to spend 3 months in Taipei seems to be a really stupid idea as I enter the Airport. Leaving behind your friends and family is heartbreaking. Nevertheless I am too proud to go back now,which leaves me with no choice but to start this journey.

Munich Airport

Munich Airport is incredible! Free tea and coffee! I was lucky to have a whole row just for myself from Berlin to Munich! I am quite energetic and excited after my first flight and not worried yet, that I forgot the special sleep pillow for planes at home. Happy about finishing the first period of my travel I wait patiently next to a gate for my next plane, only to notice 30 min later that I am at the wrong end of the airport! After a sprint to the right gate, the boarding for my 2nd flight started.
This time I was not so lucky. An elderly Asian man sat down next to me. I still had a window seat, though.

9h of flight is a long time. Time seems to be even slower, when you can not sleep. Forgetting the special sleep pillow at home seems to be the dumbest mistake I have ever made. Air China does provide a pillow and a blanket but it is impossible to find a good position for sleep.





Beijing Airport is enormous! Unfortunately I do not have any pictures. I was too intimidated by the no picture signs! Arriving by plane I could not see the city at all. The smog is too thick. Everything which is not close enough becomes one with the smog. I fell asleep immediately as soon as I sat down on the plane to Taipei, only waking up when the plane finally landed.

The weather on my first day in Taipei was not too great. The taxi driver did not seem to understand me. I just had to hope to end up in the right place and that the room I rented was not a scam!

I arrived at the apartment right when a huge rain storm started. Happy to have finally arrived I met J, A and L my new flatmates. Everyone was really nice, welcoming me to their home with a big smile.

After sleeping for a long time I finally felt brave enough to have a look around the city. My flatmate J helped me to get a phone number, a metro card and explained to me how to rent bikes here!

U bikes are incredibly convenient!
You pay around 0,14 euro to ride it for 15 min!
Trying to put on a brave face, I ignored the crazy traffic and fought my way through Taipei. :)

Taiwan has so many Scooters, because the taxes on cars are 100%.
One could think the traffic is really bad, but after some time you notice that it has a natural rhythm to it!

The market is really loud. People are shouting. Different kind of smells melt into each other. People are very friendly here. They will do their best to explain the phone contract to you and smile, when you try to speak Chinese.