- Gondwana Cañon Park/ News



		News 2006News 18.10.06

From Canyon to Foothills of the Alps - 18.10.06
"I was shocked - I never expected that the airport would be so big. To find the right train to Munich was not all that easy." For Simon Andreas, Assistant to the Manager of the Roadhouse, already the journey to his destination turned into a real adventure. Small wonder as it was his first trip to Europe. Nonetheless he safely found his way to Mindelheim, a place in the Allgäu area of southern Germany.

There he worked for three weeks at the Alte Post Hotel which is steeped in tradition and boasts a history of 380 years. Andreas spent half of his stay on duty at the bar. "First of all I had to learn about all the different beers and all the drinks that we don't have in Namibia", he recalls. "But it only took me three days and I was in control of the bar." With Andreas at the bar there was no shortage of topics for conversation: many of the guests were interested in his home country and wanted to know more. "Hardly any of them had ever heard of the Fish River Canyon, even though it is the second largest canyon on earth", says Simon Andreas. And with a grin he adds: "I raved on about it to the guests – perhaps one or the other turns up on their next vacation."

Simon Andreas at 'his' bar.

Andreas' bar duty was followed by stints with the service section, the kitchen, reception and the office. It also was an important experience for him to be a tourist himself for a change. The owner of the hotel, Klaus Berchtold, took him to Munich to show him the old part of the city and visit several museums; with a friend from Bavaria, whom he had met at the Roadhouse, Andreas went to see the Castle of Herrenchiemsee.

Simon Andreas is very impressed with the cities and castles in Germany. "There you can really talk of history", he says in conclusion. "Now I understand what German tourists find so fascinating about Namibia. We don't have cities as old and museums as beautiful as that, but we are a lot less people and have a lot more natural surroundings."


		- More details on our training programme at - GDC/Gondwana Concept/Training - On the partner enterprise Hotel Alte Post - www.hotel-alte-post.de