Heat. Everywhere you looked, just flaming, engulfing heat. Everywhere? No! In a tiny café the team of IHTA defies the extreme conditions with the help of iced coffee and the hope to enter the air conditioned Centre Charlemagne soon. But how did we get here?
New year, new outing. The staff of IHTA was about too explore Maastrichts old town and courageously descend into the ancient caves. But all of the sudden the unfavorable weather conditions with temperatures way above 30°C threatened the whole expedition. Just the evening before, Maastricht announced the infamous code red, effectively cancelling all events due to the heat. This could’ve been the end of the whole event, but in a spontaneous reorganization the meeting point was reset to a sufficiently cool café in the heart of Aachen.
After an extensive breakfast and an acoustic evaluation of Aachens cathedral (It has a long reverb time) it was time for the next part of the new plan: visiting the Centre Charlemagne to learn more about Aachens history (and enjoy the air conditioned rooms). The exhibition guided everyone through time: from the beginnings of early roman settlements towards the modern city of Aachen we all knew.
And so it ended, our spontaneously rearranged institute outing. Despite the heat with a nice experience for everyone and ice-cream for some. In this spirit thank you to everyone who made this possible, even with the unplanned adversities!
