Attention! New Europe students visit start up Coffee company in Cologne

This week, the New Europe students quickly made the transition back into the classroom from a Karneval vacation filled with parades, candy, and costumes that put Halloween to shame! Fortunately for those enrolled in business classes, however, we were able to make an excursion of engaged learning to the headquarters of a startup company called SHAMS Coffee in the nearby city of Cologne.

Centered out of Clusterhaus, an office building specifically designed for startups, this team of three young entrepreneurs has created and managed a scaling business of mobile espresso carts, selling affordable coffee mostly to university students and serving at certain special events. Consisting of a founder from which the company gets its name, as well as two more members coming from backgrounds in IT, Finance, and even Engineering—we were able to witness the synergy of an eclectic team successfully working together. The SHAMS founders spoke a bit on everything from necessary startup resources and business plans, to the details of marketing and branding for a name or company image. Even so, the presentation became more of a conversational discussion and learning experience for the New Europe students. We were able to easily relate to these young professionals, only a few years older than us, working passionately to develop their company.

Afterwards, we were lucky enough to casually talk with the founders, pick their brains a bit, and compare the entrepreneurial business climate in Germany with that of the United States. Not to mention we got some incredible complimentary SHAMS cappuccinos along the way!

Written by Dane Vaughn, NEP Spring 2013

Alaaaf!

The Fifth Season has come and gone here in Germany. But wait, there are only four seasons in a year, right? Wrong. We forgot about Karneval! We might also know it as Mardi Gras in the US or Carnaval in Brazil, but wherever you might be celebrating, it’s a time to let loose and enjoy life to its fullest before a season of Lent and more serious life begins again. People dress in costumes and forget their everyday worries for a few days of partying and celebrating.

Officially, Karneval kicks off in Germany on November 11th at 11 minutes and 11 seconds. Work comes to a stop on this day as everyone is out in the streets. Parties and special events continue to happen throughout the months, but the real celebrations don’t start until the week prior to Ash Wednesday. Thursday, known as Weiberfastnacht (women’s karneval), is the first day of celebrating in February. On this day women take back the city! Men dress up with ties that the women cut off throughout the day as a symbol of their power. They are also allowed to kiss anyone they want, so you will hear the men calling out “Bützje! Bützje!” meaning “Kiss me! Kiss me!” If the woman decides, she then may give him a playful kiss on the cheeks. The culmination comes on Monday, or Rosenmontag, where many cities have large parades and street parties.

Karneval in Cologne is especially famous throughout Germany. Thousands travel to Cologne during the week to celebrate and to see the parade on Rosenmontag. The parade is so large that some floats finish their tour before the others even get started on the trail! If you can find a good spot amongst the millions of spectators, you can expect to be showered in candy, flowers, and other special items thrown by the different Karneval clubs as they pass by. It’s estimated that in Cologne, over two tons of candy is thrown out to the crowds!

The students and professors at the AIB definitely didn’t want to miss all the fun! On Thursday morning, we all got in our costumes and headed out to watch the parade across the Rhine in Beuel. Despite the freezing temperatures, everyone managed to have a great time and leave with more candy than they knew what to do with! By the end of the day, the men’s ties were a lot shorter, the women’s lipstick was all gone, and everyone was happy to be celebrating such a fun German tradition! No one wanted the fun to end.
But here we are on Tuesday. Real life strikes again. No more costumes, no more parades. Time to settle down and get back to work. But before we do that, let’s have one last Karneval cheer!

For the AIB! ALAAF!
For study-abroad students! ALAAF!
For Germany! ALAAF!

Karneval, we’ll see you back in November!


Written by Abbey Nelson