2011 – Spain – Tecalum

Arrival and impressions

On 12th June 2011 our plane took us from Vienna to Barcelona. After a two hours’ flight we went from the airport to Granollers Centre, the meeting place with Dani Bernard by train. We could get the first impressions of Spain and were very pleased. The people seemed to be very friendly and the architecture of Barcelona is overwhelming. After the meeting Dani took us to Olot, where we moved into our appartment. Thereafter we made an appointment for our next meeting.

A) Company Tecalum Industrial, B) Appartment LaPerla, C) Technical school of Olot, D)Santa Pau, E) Castellfollit de la Roca

Next day Dani took us to Santa Pau (picture above), his home town, which is a medieval, traditional town of Catalonia.

Cross-section of a volcano near Santa Pau

Then we had a meal at the Restaurant Vulcanio and we visited one of many volcanoes in this area.

My goals were to get to know the habits and customs of another country and to improve my knowledge of English The following day Dani showed us companies, the two where we would work, the school where he teaches and Castellfollit de la Roca.

Picture above: Department project management and constructions, from the left to the right: Mark, Raphael, Xebi and Albert; Picture below: Castellfollit de la RocaBild unten: Castellfollit de la Roca

Everyday work

I worked in the constructions department at Tecalum Industrial. I was in charge of my own project, where I made my own constructions. Furthermore I was allowed to digitize some outdated sketches. The staff was very friendly and my workplace was pleasant. I had an air conditioner, which was necessary, because there were 35 degrees in the shade. I had many interesting hours in the office and I learned many things about Extruded Profiles and their design. I worked from 8:00 am to noon and from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Sometimes I even had to work to 6:00 pm. The way to my workplace lasted about 30 minutes, so I was away from my appartment for about 12 hours on longer workdays.

Leisure time

I had to work most of the time, so there was almost no time to explore Olot and its surrounding areas. Nevertheless we found Placa de catalunya in the first week. It´s the most visited place in Olot, with many coffee-shops and young people. At the weekend we went to the closing party of the schools of Olot. It didn´t start until midnight, because no party starts before midnight in Catalonia. Next Sunday we visited Girona, a town with many sights and cathedrals.

Exotic river works

The following Friday was a holiday, so we went to PlatjaD´aro with a colleague of mine. It is a tourist town near the sea.

The pebble beach of PlatjaD´aro

The third weekend we visited Barcelona. We visited:

The Olympic Stadium

The funicular with great view of Barcelona

The cathedral “de la familia“ and much more

The last week Albert, one of his friends and I went to a waterfall. Albert is a great friend and he showed me a lot of Catalan.

From the left to the right: I, Albert and his friend. We were very exhausted

The appartment

The appartment was in good condition and big enough for one month. There was a living room with built-in kitchen and a television. We also had a little, very nice bathroom.

Two single beds and one cupboard. Our rest room after hard working days.

Note of thanks

I want to thank Mr. DI Weissensteiner and Mr. OStR Prof. Mag. Pixner, for their great preparation and support.

Furthermore I want to thank Mr. Dani Bernad, who has been a great help in Spain.

I would also like thank the company Tecalum Industrial, where everybody welcomed me very warmly.