For the last 10 days Lynnda, Shale Crescent USA President Nathan Lord and I have been traveling through Europe as part of the U.S. Commercial Services Roadshow.
The Shale Crescent USA Team got to tell the SCUSA Region story to over 250 companies in the Netherlands, Belgium and France. In addition to Jobs Ohio and Team Pennsylvania, over 20 other state and local economic development organizations – including from Virginia,Texas, Florida, California, Georgia, Tennessee, the Carolinas, New Jersey and New York – were part of the Roadshow. We had over 30 one-on-one meetings with companies set up prior to arrival and did many more during the Roadshow. Just finished our last one meeting this afternoon (Thursday).
I think everyone is worn out. More detail next week on the trip and the meetings. This week I’m sharing Nathan’s, Lynnda’s and my personal, non-business, hopefully interesting observations from the trip.
¯ France is six hours ahead of home. It is currently 6 p.m. here, noon for you.
¯ Elevators are much smaller than here. In all three countries, the typical size is 4 feet by 8 feet. We barely squeezed three of us with suitcases on.
¯ The Netherlands was flat. Surprised by how much land they have reclaimed from the sea. We attended a business meeting right after we landed, with a company we are helping to bring to the USA. We toured their large manufacturing facility an hour north of Amsterdam. Because it used to be sea, they had to drive pilings to support their machinery.
¯ The Netherlands has a large number of greenhouses allowing them to grow vegetables, fruits and flowers year round. It is the largest food exporting country in Europe.
¯ Wind power has worked well in the Netherlands for hundreds of years. They used windmills to pump water. Today they produce electricity. The wind never stopped blowing the two days we were there. The Dutch place windmills so they don’t restrict farming.
¯ Bycicle paths are everywhere and so are bicycles, electric scooters and motorcycles. They are allowed to go wherever they want in traffic. Bicycle commute is common. Moms have a special place on their bicycles to carry a baby. The largest hill we saw in the Netherlands was a highway overpass.
¯ The official language of the Netherlands is Dutch. Everyone we came in contact with at the Belgium and the Netherlands conferences spoke English. It is the language of business. The French conferences were an English-French mix.
¯ Fresh cut flowers were everywhere. Flowers are a leading export of the Netherlands but loved by all three countries.
¯ The Euro is the currency of all continental European countries. It is easy to figure since like the USA. the Euro is one dollar. It is a coin. There a 2 Euro coin and then bills of 5, 10, 20, 50,100 etc. Euros. The value of the Euro compared to the U.S. dollar varies. Currently it is slightly higher than a dollar. Commas are unused instead of decimal points when writing European currency.
¯ Our group rode a bus from Einhoven, Netherlands, to Brussels, Belgium, the second stop. We took Eurostar, a high-speed train traveling over 150 mph between Brussels and Paris, France, and other trains between the next four cities on the Roadshow. Trains in Europe are clean, fast and pretty much on time. Stations were also clean and full of places to eat. Passenger trains have priority over freight trains, which appear to have their own tracks. Most trains are passenger trains. We didn’t see many freight trains. Few railroad crossings. The railroads run over or under roads, avoiding vehicle and train collisions.
¯ Brussels is an old but clean city with great food.
¯ “Old” in Europe has a different meaning than the USA. The cathedral of Notre Dame was completed in 1345, before Columbus made his first trip to America. Most buildings are hundreds of years old and well maintained.
¯ We had the weekend off in Paris prior to our Monday meeting. Paris is incredible! All the good things I heard and more. During my morning run in downtown Paris, I felt perfectly safe. Runners and bikers are everywhere.
¯ We saw the Eiffel Tower and went up to level 2 which is still very high and gives an excellent view of the city. It is larger and much taller than I imagined.
¯ We attended a service (mass) at the reopened Notre Dame cathedral. Saw the Mona Lisa at the Louvre museum. Visited the Palace and Gardens of Versailles built as a palace by King Louis XIV. It is incredible. No expense was spared. This may be part of the reason for the French Revolution during the reign of King Louis XVI in 1789. The peasants took over the palace. King Louis and Queen Marie Antonette both lost their heads.
¯ The fall of the Royalty in France led to Napoleon becoming emperor. To finance his wars of expansion, Napoleon sold the Louisiana Territory (most of the center of our country) to the U.S. for $40 million. What a deal! The Bank of Amsterdam financed it.
¯ Tipping isn’t expected for meals, cabs, etc., but is appreciated. If service was good, we had to ask the server if we could tip them, then choose an amount to add on.
¯ Outdoor flowers were in beautiful bloom in Paris.
¯ Glass, not plastic, is used for most water bottles and containers in France.
¯ Elevator numbering in all three countries confused us at first. Floors -1, -2 etc. are basements. The main floor is 0, then floors 1, 2, 3….
¯ We didn’t see any obese Europeans. Maybe it is the walking, cycling and climbing steps.
¯ “Coffee” is a 2-3 oz. cup and is expresso. To get American coffee, ask for “coffee Americana.”
¯ Public toilets were clean, attended and cost 1-2 Euro. We made sure we had coins.
Just a few of the many things learned. Europeans were friendly and helpful. We are far more alike than we are different. Thoughts to ponder.
Greg Kozera, [email protected], is the director of marketing for Shale Crescent USA. He is a professional engineer with a master’s in environmental engineering and over 40 years experience in the energy industry. Greg is a leadership expert, high school soccer coach, professional speaker and author of four books and many published articles.
