Was it worth it?
All in all, I had a great time in Berlin, both professionally and socially. Simon, Lisa, and I spent some time in the CAT testing center, with the result that Simon and I were both PCLPs (Principal Certified Lotus Professionals) at the end of the week, and Lisa was a CLS (Certfied Lotus Specialist) going for CLP when we last saw her. We met many people at the Product Showcase and took handfuls of brochures and gifts home with us. I even came away with one of the difficult-to-get Matrix DVDs that generated long queues outside the Knowledge Management lab. And, on the social side, we were fortunate to have Lisa along, as she spoke German and had lived in Berlin some years before. And that's how I found myself on Wednesday night in the Tachelas Bar in East Berlin watching the wrought-iron dragon's head high above the bar blowing flames across the room. But that's another story.

See you next year?

Ian Cherrill lives in Surrey, England and has been involved in many aspects of Lotus Notes and Domino since R2 back in 1992. He works for 4NF Information Technology Ltd designing and programming Domino products such as Database Auditor and Vortex, specializing in Domino administration issues and the Lotus C and C++ Toolkits. You can contact him at ian@4nf.co.uk.