Monday success story.
I didn’t miss any trains and arrived to the location 5 minutes earlier than I planned. Who said Mondays are a drag? Anyway getting started now.
Amersfort
I arrived at the one and only location for today, S2M station Amersfort. I was greeted at the door by a friendly voice over the speakers saying something in Dutch. I did not understand a word but her tone was welcoming so I felt a positive aura about this place before even going inside.
Entering the location I introduced myself to the staff, a couple of kind people who welcomed me to the place and gave me a small tour. As usual a big part of the place is used as the open workplace. High tables, normal tables, couches, a combination of modern furniture and light wood. It kind of seems familiar. Consistent but diverse. I asked the owner at the lunch table who designs the layout and she told me they hire interior designers. Also this.
Then there was my favorite part of the place. A skywalk connecting the workplace with the offices. My host explained that people have their phone calls here so they don’t disturb. And what a nice place to have a phone call! Personally I would just watch the people underneath and not pay attention to the guy who is on the phone. Not professional you say? Ok, my bad. But…
The meeting spaces were pretty standard. It is convenient that the location is just above the Amersfoort train station.
This place was not really crowded. The hosts explained that it is holiday season at the moment and the weather outside is beautiful so those are two reasons keep people away. Still a fair amount of people were working here. I found a nice couch and got going. This location has been running for five years. So when it opened I was still in school and wasn’t allowed to have a beer in Greece. We had lunch all together, so I introduced myself to everyone and that opened the door to general conversation. Everyone was pretty friendly and many asked me a question or two. I always like these small “get to know each other” moments. All in all I bonded with this place more than any other for two reasons. First it was smaller than other locations. Secondly I was on my own so I had to connect to the surroundings. And trust me, it was not so hard to do.
I think that’s it for the Safari. It’s been a ride. I feel like all the places are different but at the same time they seem familiar. I find it amazing how big this movement has become in the Netherlands, so many locations in so many cities. I literally don’t have a negative thought about the places. I hope this initiative of Seats2meet international goes on and more people get to know the culture of Seats2meet.
To be honest I’m a little worried that I am going to be accused of fangirling with all the positive stuff I write. But it happens. Life has been good to me the past two weeks. I finished my exams, went on holidays in Santorini and now the Seats2meet experience. I really enjoy my time in the Netherlands. Also, I happen to like all the locations I have been to. They just are nice places. And I can tell that there is a lot of effort by the staff that is creating this whole positive vibe that makes me write all these positive things about the locations. Don’t believe me? See for yourself!
P.S 1
I will be stationed at Seats2meet.com Utrecht CS for the next week. If you want to have a chat I would love to meet more people and listen to their stories. Who knows what the outcome of the conversation will be.
This is my Facebook account.
P.S 2
I wan’t to thank Beatriz Bremer for everything she’s done for my trip and the Seats2meet experience to flow smoothly.
