Eurotrip and the Intersolar Exhibition

Finding my way from my visit to Onyx in Spain to the Intersolar Exhibition in Munich, made quite the adventure. I had about 10 days to get there. As I’m only travelling my public transport, it took me about 4 busses and trains to get from Madrid to my next stop; the tiny country of Andorra. A beautiful country on the border between Spain and France, in a valley, surrounded by the Pyrinee mountains.

Andorra. Beautiful, but every bit as weather-moody as my home, the west coast of Norway.

Andorra was beautiful. So green and so old and new at the same time. After a few days exploring Andorra, I headed to Toulouse and the ancient city of Carcassonne in France. I also made sure to visit the BIPV-covered train station in Perpignan made by Issol. I then spent a full day in Monaco, before heading to Cinque Terre in Italy.

The ancient city of Carcassonne, France. The whole city is basically a massive castle with its village inside. Its surrounded by a great wall, as you see in this photo. Definitely a place I recommend to visit!
Massive solar BIPV roof made by Issol, on the translation in Perpignan, France.
Checking out the harbour in Monaco. A country too expensive for me to stay the night in, but it was definitely worth a good day trip.
Hiking from city to city in the UNESCO heritage of Cinque Terre in Italy was the most amazing experience. I completely fell in love with Italy all over again. This is the city of Manarola, my favourite of the five cities.
It was a perfect day, and we hiked through the vineyards way up in the mountainside. Blue sea and green fields everywhere. What an experience and what a view.

Making my way towards Munich and the Intersolar Exhibition, I also stopped to explore some of Milan, Zurich and Liechtenstein. 

Exploring the magnificent Milan. I spent my whole time there eating gelato and pasta and enjoying the sights of the city.
Had a few days in Zurich in Switzerland on my way as well. Had to carry around the backpack, as I explored the city after checking out of the hostel. This is the reason why I only travel with a small backpack. I can’t have a lot of fashionable outfits, but it sure is convenient when you have to carry it around on sightseeing all day.
Liechtenstein really surprised me. As I now have travelled through several of Europe´s smallest countries, this was definitely the favourite of the them. Never have I seen such a green landscape. The alps surrounding it, with a glimpse of snow on its mountaintops, full of vineyards and flower fields, this place was truly beautiful.

I got to Munich a few days before the Intersolar, so I could have some time to explore the city before it all started.

Munich cathedral

The Intersolar Exhibition was way bigger than I could ever have imagined. Ten massive halls, each one the size of a stadium. All completely filled with different solar-related exhibitions. I don´t think anyone could have made it thoroughly through the whole exhibition within the three days, it was so large. 

Welcome to the Intersolar Exhibition

The first evening, before the exhibition started, Glava Energy Center invited me to dinner with some of their business friends. They also got me the biggest hotelroom I have ever had in my life. I think they felt a bit sorry for me, for living in cheap dormrooms with like 10-20 people every night for a year. I cannot even begin to tell how amazing it felt to have an entire room all to myself for once! Financing my own year of travel without income doesn’t give me the opportunity for luxury like that. 

Large exhibitions from all over the world!

The next few days were spent at the exhibition, mostly at the Norwegian booth. My main goal for the Intersolar, was to make as many contacts as possible for my trip through Europe and Asia. And of course get a view of all the new and upcoming technology in the field. Everything from solar-window blinds to car roofs and everything in between was displayed in this place. Not sure everything was cost-effective or even useful, but I´m happy the world is moving forward and playing around with all the new technology. 

Tommy introduced me to so many people! Here is a photo of me and Tommy with the OPES guys! I will visit these ones and their module factory in China in September, which I am super excited about! We also had dinner with them before heading to the Scandinavian roof top party!
Jyrki Leppanen from ABB taught me about their different inverters at the ABB stand! The inverter in the background is a 5MVA central inverter made for massive solar parks.

Many people came by the stand, both Norwegians and foreigners. I met so many of the Norwegians in the solar-business, learned about several companies and had meetings with several people Tommy at Glava Energy Center had connected me with. Tommy also took me around several of the exhibitions, explaining the different technologies, and introducing me to his friends in the business. 

Me and Tommy enjoying a little photoshoot with some of the Q-cell girls
The last dinner with Glava Energy Center!

As a result of this exhibition and all the meetings and introductions, I now have much more of my Solar- Eurotrip planned. I also got several contacts for my Asia trip this fall. All in all I would call that a success! Thank you so much Tommy Strömberg and Glava Energy Center, for taking me under your wings, sharing your professional network and inviting me to the Intersolar! It has been such a great experience.

Stay tuned for the rest of the Eurotrip!

– Christina

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