Just as we had a welcome dinner in Munich when we arrived in Europe, the 2019 Cohort has a farewell dinner in Prague on their last night in Europe. The farewell dinner was held at the Bastion Restaurant, an upscale establishment overlooking some of the historical portions of the city. The outdoor dining and walking area is decorated with statues and a manicured lawn, with the backdrop of the city we will miss dearly.

The afternoon of the Cohort's last day in Prague was spent taking a guided tour of Prague Castle. The guide, Vaclav, was extremely knowledgeable and engaging. Items that spring to mind: Tulips are an imported flower, imported from Turkey. Construction of St. Vitus Cathedral began in the 14th century and completed in and completed in the early 20th Century. One of the stained glass windows was bestowed upon the church by a bakery. Because of this, in ...

To Euro or not to Euro…that is the question the 2019 Cohort asked Martin Vojta of the Czech National Bank. Czechia is a part of the European Union and does have an obligation to eventually adopt the Euro as a part of their membership treaty (only the UK and Denmark have "opt out" clauses in the treaties that entered them into the European Union), however, they are very reluctant. The reason is two-fold. First, the people of Czechia have invested part of ...

The afternoon started with a bus ride back to Prague where the 2019 Cohort had lunch then visited the Microsoft building for a presentation and a tour. The Microsoft building is a building built around creativity and flexibility. Each department has an area in the building, but there are no assigned desks…employees just plug their laptop into whatever desk they wish to work at for the day (or, they can work from home). On each floor, there is a communa...

After breakfast on Day 6, the 2019 Cohort boarded a bus to travel to the suburb town of Poricany to tour and visit Czechia's oldest and enduring engineering castings manufacturer: Benes a Lat. We were met by Josef Lat, Commercial Director. Benes a Lat has been in business for many years. During the Communist occupation, the company was assumed by the government, but when the Soviet Union fell, ownership reverted back to the founding family. Josef is a ver...