Our first day in Cyprus, finally. We went back one more hour in time coming form Germany, but finally arrived in sunny Cyprus around 4 PM local time. We were greeted by Christina and got some quick information about Cyrpus on our 40 minutes bus ride to the hotel. On the bus ride form the airport to the hotel we drove through the rural parts of Cyrpus and saw signs hinting to the industrial capacity of this country. Major shipping container terminal names kept showing up as well as signs of the countries sustainability efforts through solar panels and wind turbines.

We all checked in, got settled, and showered off our past three flights before we stared to explore the old town. Christina led us around the old town and we got familiar with a few landmarks to get our bearings. We set up our phones and learned some useful numbers as well as how to dial the eight digit codes here. Then we were on our own to explore.

We headed down to the Limassol Marina to watch the boats and the sun beginning to set. Then we checked out the rest of the old town and after a few restaurants we decided to get dinner at a place on the corner called “El Castello”. I tried the halloumi chicken which is a Cyprus cheese made form a bend of goat and sheep milk over grilled chicken. It was the first of many authentic Cyprus dishes. We watched local children run and play in the streets which is very different than in America, and throughout dinner tried to pick up on some differences in the cultures. Thanks to Christina we learned that you don’t necessarily have to tip in Cyprus unless service is exceptional, we also learned that while its common to split the bill in the United States it’s not as common in Cyprus.

After dinner we went into a few shops and found our way back to the hotel to rest up for the start of our weeks of business meetings.