One of the things I really love about our company is the team buildings the HR team organizes each year. After having my first such trip after a week of working here, it was now time for my second such experience. Therefore, on Wednesday morning, we (Support, IT and Antispam team) left for Ostrich Valley which is near Bran actually.

The area is called so because they are breeding the said birds here. The hotel where we stayed which is also called Valea cu Struti has these breeding pens where they have 6 ostriches. I first thought they breed them to then kill and cook them (they offer three ostrich plates), but later found out they have to little to do that, so they only breed them and bring the meet from Baia Mare.

We chose to go their by several cars belonging to the employees, so I was assigned to Misu’s car, along with Cris and Valy, my boss. We passed by Ploiesti, Sinaia and just before entering Predeal took a left turn, on the way to Rasnov, drove through Bran and in another 20 something kilometers ended at the Ostrich Valley hotel. The hotel was very cozy and comfortable, too bad it was spoiled by the restaurant staff who, to put it mildly, had skipped all their customer care training.

What can I say about the area? Breath-taking, simply marvelous! Although it rained for several hours each day, we could still get a pretty good picture of the place. I believe it was the best choice of place for a relaxing getaway. The first day was mainly spent having an awfully long lunch! It seemed to finally start at 3 pm and ended near 5 pm...I guess that says a lot about the staff! We then had an HR game planned for the afternoon.

Tried a little pool with Cris, but then we both decided to quit as we were not that skilled and the game was becoming pathetically long...We then had dinner, not long enough after that late lunch, spend some more time talking, then I went to bed, as I was beat!

The second day was my favorite. Three words: All Terrain Vehicle. Also known as ATV! A really thrilling experience that turned into an amazing adrenaline rush! Of course they had only standard suits and not that small helmets though…I looked like someone shrinking over night and trying to fit in the clothes from the other day...It lasted for 50 minutes and it made me feel on the top of the world. Not necessarily because of my heart pumping like crazy.

On a stirring/climbing/down sloping on my ATV break, I turned my head to look around. I was practically on the top of the world, surrounded by a breath taking scenery, people working on the field, amazed of our crazy kids’ toys, birds singing, a mild wind and pure air! Unfortunately, these moments were short, as we had demons to ride!

Back to the hotel, we thought of enjoying the tennis court. Of course, I tried to only play with Cri as we both kinda…hmmm…sucked would be the word! But we had no luck, some other guys played with us. And I cannot say who made more fun of ourselves, us or them. That night we also had our camp fire! A very shrewd attempt to originality of the staff: they made the fire out of wood and a broken plastic chair! But it was fun to watch it and watch other people watch it all the same.

The third day was the day for paint ball! I had this feeling that I should not go, but decided to try it as the previous “never have done this” adventure turned to be so great. But miracles do not happen everyday. Paint ball is fun as long as you can move. When you are positioned into a dangerous looking valley and your only attempt to move turns into a very scary slip, it tends to get boring. Fortunately, I could get away from it with no hits and with several hits on others! Born to be a soldier, what can I say!

The ride back home took us through the same scenery that can simply be worshiped. Back to Bucharest, where I am now preparing for a birthday party for one of my colleagues! We’re going dancing in a club called Cuba – Republica del Sol! Quite ironic, given that it has rained today and is still is really cloudy…

Note: links with photos will continue to be uploaded as I manage to publish them in my photoblog!