PPRE batches 2018-20 and 2019-21 gathered together in the town of Felsberg around mid-October this year. The reunion was planned by the senior batch with the idea of staying over a weekend in the town and do some leisure activities. So, what was going on during this short period of time in Felsberg?

Well, any gathering is incomplete without having some refreshments. The supplies were ready and we cooked food together in a fancy kitchen. (I must say, some of us got quite obsessed with the kitchen, especially with the dishwasher :D). Starting with a delicious Italian cuisine on the first evening, we ended up cooking a nice combination of Jordanian, Indian and Afghani dishes for the next evening. Needless to say, special thanks to the organising team for being our breakfast saviour- waking up early morning to get fresh breads for everyone and preparing a wholesome breakfast. Having life and work conversations during the cooking sessions and over the dinner was something special. It was great to hear everyone growing personally and professionally in their lives. Short example: a really nice friend of mine who used to mess up a bit during the first semester (forgetting the wallet in a Halloween party or in the car, forgetting the cap in a restaurant, then walking out in the cold and still not realising that something is missing) is now not only taking care of the research aspects of his/her work but is also taking over responsibilities in the management area in a newly built department. Impressive, right?

Apart from having delicious meals during the weekend, we went out for a short hike as well. Since the get-together was in mid October, the weather was simply pleasant to experience the vibrant autumn colours of the nature. It got a bit cold while returning back from the hike and another nice friend of mine did not carry a jacket so we had to improvise by taking a sprint- which was worth it. In our cosy accommodation, we played a Pictionary game (which was basically drawing weird pictures with hilarious captions). Eventually, the tables and chairs were cleared out of the way to make some room for the dance floor because a PPRE reunion would be incomplete without everyone doing the ‘Macarena’. Additionally, we discovered some melodious voices in the group as the karaoke went up until 4:00 in the morning.

What a lovely weekend it was which passed in the blink of an eye. Wondering, “who knows when we all will see each other again”, I really wished if we all could stay together just one more day. Anyways, realising that we all share such a special bond, we decided to make this tradition going by meeting every year from now on. PPRE is a community that made me feel home away from home, a family that I found thousands kilometres away from my home- already looking forward to the Reunion 2023.

Aakash

Aakash Sharma (EMRE 2019-20) is working as a Project Engineer in the ‘Grid Code Compliance’ department at meteocontrol GmbH in Augsburg, Germany.