Our company bought a new analytical instrument from Germany to analyse C,N,S elements in fertilizer, plant and soil. Therefore I was sent to the manufacturer's headquater to learn on the application, operation and maintenance of this particular instrument. The HQ was located in Hanau, a small town near Frankfurt (about 30 minutes drive) and famous for its Brothers Grimm .
The training was free and part of the purchase agreement, I've met few participants from US and India too. The manufacturer want to make sure that all customers were properly trained. For example in my case, I had the chance to discuss with their chemist and engineer on solutions to my problems when using the instrument. The training lasted for a week, so we have another week for sightseeing at our own expenses. During a tour around the HQ, I was informed on the production of different models of their instruments. The interesting part was all instruments were made only when they received orders from customers worldwide. Amazing just to think it was actually 'sort of' a handmade instrument instead of being produced by machines for mass production.
After the training, I stayed at National Hotel in Frankfurt which situated nearby the Frankfurt Main Train Station for one night.( My journey in Frankfurt onwards was already planned and paid or some pre-booked from Malaysia using Internet and credit cards through their websites. I would like to thank Tripadvisor.com for their reviews which helped me when booking several hotels in Frankfurt and Paris.). Then, I took an ICE train to Paris Est. Train Station, France. The scenery during the four hours journey by train was breathtaking considering this was my first trip there. In Paris, I stayed at the Du'cadran hotel which was ten minutes walk to Eiffel Tower. It was a nice hotel with good location and friendly staffs especially at the front desk. They were more than willing to go that extra mile and provided me with all the necessary informations during my stay at the hotel. They also speak perfect English which was a big relief because I don't understand French at all except for few words like bonjour, merci, bon voyage, le chateau, femme, marche, musee and oui ;)
After a pre-booked guided minibus tour by a famous Paris sightseeing agency I went back to Frankfurt and stayed at Concorde Hotel. I have stayed in Paris for two nights and managed to visit many famous monuments, museums, historical places, artist square(Place du Tertre) and especially the Eiffel Tower. One of the most memorable experience was a cruise along Seine River at night with the city illuminated by lights. Paris indeed has many nicknames, but the most famous is 'The City of Lights'. Besides that, I also visited Versailles and its huge palace where Marie Antoinette spent her life before she was executed by guillotine at the height of the French Revolution in 1793 for the crime of treason.
Just want to share my experience here that throughout the journey I found DB Bahn was a superb, hassle free, comfortable and enjoyable way to travel in Germany. I even bought extra Rail passes for 4 days. Rail passes that I bought can be used for 4 days with unlimited rides using German trains at a much cheaper price. Even though some of my collegues suggested to fly with Lufthansa (budget flight)but I prefer to enjoy the scenery by trains. I also had the chance to visit Zeil, a popular shopping area in Frankfurt; I have visited Cologne and Heidelberg too. Frankly speaking, I really enjoyed my training and sightseeing there. Even though, when I got back to M'sia I realized that I have spent more money than I intended to :O (OMG!)
