cocacola

Berlin, Oxford & Co. - Some Insights From My “Berlin” Life

(by Laura Kuehn)

Hello, bonjour, Tach och!

Back again! The past 2 weeks were full of traveling, enjoying good  food&music. But have a look yourself!

Have you ever heard about the “Karneval  der Kulturen” (Carneval of cultures) in Kreuzberg? If not, it’s definitely worth a trip! There was delicious food from all over the world, stages with drummers, people dancing around. To make a long story short – it was a unique culinary & multicultural experience!

Speaking of culinary experiences – I really  fell in love with Berlin’s gastronomy. Fresh flavours with cinnamon, anise,  coriander, mint & lime leaves…Simply delicious!

Oxford calling! Felt as if Harry, Hermine, Ron & Co. were about to come by every second. With its lovely and historical colleges and the typical English lawn this lovely town is a  must see when visiting London & its surroundings! 

Aaand lucky me! Already heard a lot about the famous rivalry between Oxford & Cambridge boat races. This weekend I  was in the midst of an Oxford intern boat competition. Really impressive  & fascinating this old aristocratic tradition…

All good things come to an end…This time  from London Heathrow Airport…with this red lady walking in front of me…Perfect snapshot!

With a smile I passed this drink vending machine…Coca-Cola is really omnipresent! :)

Time to move…again!  I have to admit that I have stopped counting how many times I have already done this the past year. But this time I had a very warm welcome. My new “home” for the next 2 months was welcoming me with these gifts and a lovely letter from my landlords.

Finally!!! My first Berlin Döner for this year :) How I missed this! Honestly, if you ever want to fall in love with this simple dish, best chances = Berlin!

Apart from this “gourmet” intermezzo I discovered the best bread I have eaten so far! Really! I bought it in one of the only 2 self-baking bakeries in Berlin. No  pre-prepared dough, all homemade. My favourite: Coriander, anis-spelt bread!

Speaking of homemade!  I finally made my first self-made marmalade.  Strawberry-lime-rosemary :)

Time flies! Next weekend – next trip!

Home is where the “currywurst pommes” is!! The “Ruhrpott”!…and have a look!  My Coca-Cola colleagues in my hometown were as hardworking as we in Berlin & Leipzig…Coca-Cola Life everywhere! 

Weekends are always too short… back to  Berlin. But accompanied by 2 nice food magazines.

Having a relaxing dinner with friends and  trying out new recipe ideas that came to my mind :) Voilà – bruschetta with a sweet potato-goat’s cheese cream pesto  and caramelized salvia/ almond crunch as an entry. Followed by the main dish, a Moroccan coconut, chicken, mint, saffron served with lime-Madeira Bulgur :)

Culinary again! After work-dishes with some friends at “Markthalle 9"

Have you ever been to 5 cities in 2 days?

Well…until now I haven’t either… The menu for the weekend: A marathon!

Berlin - Mülheim an der Ruhr - Stuttgart - Frankfurt - Mainz - Frankfurt - Berlin

3rd train ride for the weekend: Frankfurt! What a lovely day with great weather, a  rhubarb drink, waffles & bagels!

Finally! After a busy but amazing  weekend, tired but happy to could have seen my family & closest friends… on  my way to Berlin.

For a change, the upcoming weeks I will stay away from planes & trains - I promise. Let’s see what Berlin is up to the next weeks!

Goodbye Madrid – Hello Berlin!

(by Laura Kühn)

After a quick intermezzo of less than 48h in my hometown I jumped into the train to Berlin.

Once there, I got to know my room & mate for the next month – Lovely person! Already sad to leave her & the flat in 2 weeks…

First day @ Coca-Cola – Me being excited (of course) But no need for that! I had a warm welcome, lovely gifts (got my own Laura Coke Bottle ;) ) & discovered our kitchen with these two tempting fridges in it. Still haven’t tried out all of our products to tell you what’s my bestie. But I am on it!

Berlin, 6:00 am. Excited to join Andreas on his day with the “rote Flotte”, the famous red trucks driving around all over Germany to deliver Coca-Cola beverages…No wonder that the truckers’ kitchen was full of…Coca-Cola? Nope! Our Energy drinks - to stay awake ☺

What a view from the truck. 2m above the street!

I was also able to try to handle this interesting machine a pallet transporter. A bit tricky, as it’s a bit counter intuitive …But practice makes the champion right? ;) Thanks a lot Andreas for the great day! ☺

After my first hands on experience with the “rote Flotte” the next adventure was already waiting for me: Coca-Cola MIT DIR! All of us were able to take part in a huge event of Coca-Cola the MIT (Merchandising Impact Team) DIR (you) What’s that?! It is ought to promote the new Coca-Cola LIFE. But not in a boring way… There were different “camps” established in Germany.

During the day all of us were in the markets (EDEKAS, REWES etc.) promoting the new green Coca-Cola Life – wearing these lovely green shirts & jackets – looking like a bunch of friendly frogs!

And what’s the camp for? We slept there in the “wilderness” directly at a lovely lake. Having breakfast together & after coming “home” from work sitting together or doing sportive activities.

Me, as pleased as punch! I was able to sell a “get happy app” to one of our visited customers. Great start of the MIT DIR camp!

Me, as pleased as punch! I was able to sell a “get happy app” to one of our visited customers. Great start of the MIT DIR camp!

Then suddenly! I got a call from my very kind boss: “Laura! I have just been to our camp in Leipzig and they told me that they urgently need more support. Do you want to change the camp?” SURE!!! So I was moving to the Leipzig surfer-beach camp the following Sunday!

But before: Enjoying Berlin life with a very lovely colleague of mine. Just got to know her on Saturday while distributing free Coca-Cola Life at the “Alex”.

But before: Enjoying Berlin life with a very lovely colleague of mine. Just got to know her on Saturday while distributing free Coca-Cola Life at the “Alex”.

Leipzig Calling!

I was arriving on Sunday & was amazed! Just see for yourself! Sleeping like Pocahontas in tents ☺ A bit could during night though…

On Sunday we got a guided city tour - but not as boring as they usually are! We climbed the tower of the city hall & at the very top – to our surprise-a cold drink was waiting for us!

Aaaand, there was this really cool boat tour we did! Some of us really brave wearing flip-flops at summerlike 15 °C… Very impressed! 

Business before pleasure!

Business before pleasure!

After a great but exhausting promotion day, our Leipzig camp was waiting for us…with this! ☺ 

cocacola_blindapplying_leipzigcamp2

Then on Tuesday there was a huge final party in Berlin… Right! Berlin! But I was still in Leipzig… Already sad I heard great news! We were supposed to get “shuttled” away… From Leipzig to a super location, with food, music & entertainment! ☺ Not even a slight rain storm could prevent us from dancing & laughing through the night. I have to admit: One of the best company parties I have been so far.

Unfortunately the MIT DIR was coming to an end & we had to leave Leipzig… 

Back “home” I had my first real breakfast with my roomie. Inspired by the fitness programe of the camp our new mission is: Being Healthy & sporty! New discovery in the supermarket: Chia seeds… I have to say they are better than I thought (oh oh…hipster Berlin has a first impact on me…)

And then…Sport up! Both Friday & Saturday on the bike…Berlin is much greener than I thought! ☺

To sum up?

Crazy first weeks from Berlin to Leipzig & back. Very warm welcome from my colleagues in the HQ in Berlin. This event was reallyyy awesome! Loved it! Thanks a lot! Excited to see what’s next! ☺

Meet Laura, the Blind Applying champion of Coca-Cola!

Laura will soon be sharing insights from Berlin, as she works in Sales and Marketing.

Have you wished to work for Coca-Cola before?

Coca-Cola is the number one brand worldwide in terms of brand image and marketing. Hence, Coca-Cola was taken as a showpiece example in nearly all of the courses at my university.
Moreover, the wife of my father was working for the Coca-Cola company for several years before they moved to Berlin and loved its culture and working atmosphere. Whenever she came home from work she excitedly told me about her challenging and great workday. As a result, ever since then, I have been highly interested in the company as a potential future employer. Therefore, I am even more excited that I was allocated to the CCE AG through Blind Applying.

Is there something you will miss about studying in Madrid?

I will definitely miss the welcoming and supportive staff of the campus of the ESCP Europe that was like a family to all of us students. Moreover, I will miss speaking Spanish… I am still dreaming in Spanish and every now and then I am tempted to answer in Spanish while talking in my native language, German. Additionally I will miss the friends I made in Madrid and of course the city itself, which is a metropolitan city where you feel like home immediately. Full of friendly, open-minded people and with a diverse portfolio of activities, from museum visits, to bars and restaurants to an outstanding nightlife.

Most favourite book or movie?

My favorite book is „The Kite Runner“ by Khaled Hosseini. It uniquely illustrates the fall of the monarchy of Afghanistan through the Soviet military intervention and the rise of the Taliban regime. The book took me on a journey to the fascinating but cruel life of a young boy and his best friend during this time. It opened my eyes to see what kind of privileged life we are living, that we should appreciate every day in our lives and try to give back to those who are facing a much harder existence and struggling with life.

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