Admin Team Event: Christmas market

On Thursday, the 27th November the Administration Department of Digital Performance (Finance, HR, SysAdmins, Office) went to the beautiful Christmas market at the castle Charlottenburg.

First we went to the tent restaurant “Der Vierte Mann” where we had super delicious Austrian meals, like “Spätzle” and “Schupfnudeln”.

Afterwards we walked across the market and had a look at the nice shops. We ended up at a stand with a huge selection of mulled wine and other delicious drinks :)

Affiliate Team Event

 

Not only does the affiliate team consist of people who work hard behind their computers, but we also showed that we can create a whirl storm in the kitchen :) This we proved at our most recent team event, at the Ratatouille cooking workshop. 

Surprisingly everyone in the team turned into their own professional Souse chefs when creating their own 5* dish.

The team found the event outgoing, and creative and everyone gained some excellent experience when it comes to the French cuisine. 

The general feedback was that would indeed do it all over again by a thousand times as we all left the workshop that evening with the attitude that - Who knew cooking could be so much fun!

CRO Team Event - Türkisch für Feinschmecker

Berlin is the Döner capital of Germany with Döner shops at every corner.However, for the CRO Team the evening revealed that Turkish cuisine is more than just meat sliced from a rotating spit.

The first official CRO Team Event was set for Wednesday 8 October, where the entire CRO Team participated in an intensive evening course aiming at improving our Turkish language proficiency, while cooking traditional Turkish dishes. Mustafa and Jonathan had a slight advantage, since the former is from Cyprus and the latter grew up in Neukölln.

The evening started with language training, where we were introduced to typical Turkish words one would encounter in a Turkish kitchen. This time the French and the two undercover “Turks” had an advantage when it came to pronunciation and the polish guy was doing OK. At the other end of the scale, the two Germans and Dane was struggling with the softer Turkish pronunciation.

After the language course, we were split into several groups to cook the following menu:         

Appetizer  

* Sigara böreği ~ White Cigar-Börek with Sheep’s Cheese

* Kuru fasulye piyazı ~ White Bean Salad

* Kadınbudu köfte ~ «Women’s Thigh Köfte»

Main Course

* Zeytinyağlı İmam Bayıldı ~ Vegetarian Stuffed Eggplants with Pine Nuts in the Oven

* Narlı kuzu kavurması ~ Sliced Lamp with Pomegranate

* Zerdeli Pilav ~ Sweet Ottoman Saffron Rice

Dessert

* Ballı armut tatlısı ~ Hot Honey Pears

Drinks

* Turkish Tee

* Ayran

* Redwine Vinkara Boğazkere 2010  Vinkara Quattro Kırmızı

Cooking was a success. No one got injured and we managed not to burn anything. That the dishes were also tasty was just a bonus for most of us. But enough said already, click on the video below and follow our evening minute-by-minute.

Written by Martin (CRO)  

CRO Team Cooking Event 8.10.2014 from Digital Performance GmbH on Vimeo.

Video made by Bartosz (CRO)

Teamevent SEA

The day was the 2nd of September, and it was time for the SEA department to have a team event.

It was neither on a boat nor in the tree tops. We were positioned just a few centimeters off the ground, with what felt like, more power than a BMW!

Maybe you guessed it… We went to the Berlin Go Kart track and it was great fun. It is Berlin’s longest track with 752 meters of sharp corners, speed and occasionally some minor accidents. (Nothing serious!). When everybody wants to come first in the corners, it is bound to happen.

When we arrived, there were already some racers there, punishing the track and making skid marks, so obviously we had to wait for our turn. While waiting we received a quick introduction as to what the different flags mean and what was going to happen. Blue means someone behind you is going to overtake – yellow flag means you are to slow down and no overtaking in a particular area of the track (In case of an accident or if someone is stuck). Lastly off course the final lap flag, the checkered flag!

As the picture shows we looked like a gang of thugs, but we were just ready to use some gasoline. First 5 minutes was a qualification round, which would lead to who starts in what position for the real race. 45 minutes of intense racing, overtaking, spinouts and aggressive looking drivers. Everyone wants to win and no one wants to be last!

When the race ended after about 45 minutes, it was time to reveal the winner. Oliver won, but he is suspected to have a modified Go Kart. It may also be because he visited the track several times!

(I think Niek’s back is stuck in this position after the race?)

Go Kart racing is breathtakingly fun, but also quite hard. Therefore after the race, we all got some replenishing beverages. It’s important to stay hydrated! It was a great experience, and we all had a lot of fun. 

Written by Morten (SEA)

I’m on a Boat - I’m on a Roof top! – Sommerfest 2014

The Sommerfest 2014 started on the calm waves of the Spree and ended above the clouds. Everything in between was a crazy mix of fun, sun and awesome people.

The anticipations of the annual Sommerfest was sky-high. Digital performers had been tidying up their desks and were more-than-ready to welcome the colleagues from Bremen, Kiel, Lautern and Hamburg to Berlin. Dressed to impress *Berlin-style* and ready to mingle, everyone left the office in the Ritterstraße to kick off the evening on a boat!

The 1-hour boat trip was a cruise through Berlin’s history, starting at the former border between East and West Berlin and ending at the German Bundestag and Kanzleramt aka. Angela’s washing machine. From the calm waves of the Spree, the evening was continued at one of Berlin’s highest located roof top bars with an extraordinary view over Alexanderplatz and East Berlin.

Although, the 15^th floor is not entirely located above the clouds, it did not take long before the party plane took off with the help of delicious food and a free-bar. As the evening turned into night, people went inside to the dance floor, where electronic beats got everyone on the dance floor. Admittedly, some had difficulties sticking to the beats, but it did not ruin the fun of dancing the night away. 

The party continued until the last surviving ones were blessed with witnessing a sun rise over Berlin’s skyline from the 15^th floor, before they could drag themselves down to the U-Bahn and jump on the next train - everyone tired, but one great DP-experience richer.

Written by Martin (CRO)