Annual trips have long been an important part of Mindera's culture.

We've been to Poland and Newquay in previous years. Each of these adventures have allowed us to experience new places and build even stronger friendships.

Sadly, COVID had put a halt to our yearly excursions. This was our first since 2019 and what a way to reignite our annual trips. Off we went to stunning Budapest.

Our approach to planning trips is ‘DIY’

We organise our own trips. Devs, product owners, it doesn’t matter what job role we have day to day. We make it happen.

We managed to pick up some cheap flights, bagged ourselves a decent hostel and, hey presto, we were there! It was 27 degrees when we landed, and I can safely say that it was a shock to the system after a 12 degree morning in Leicester.

Fifteen of us went from the UK office. There are more trips being planned but this was the first one post-pandemic and what an amazing time we had.

We got to know each other better than we would have during our normal working days, as most of us work remotely. It was such a great opportunity to spend some time in person with people, and, in a wonderful city like Budapest, can there be a better way?

Day 1: check-in, castle, and a cruise down the Danube

Taking in the culture, we started with lunch and checked in. After that, we had a walk to the river and then an evening meal at a really cool restaurant near the castle. We followed that up with a river cruise down the Danube! The city lit up in all its glory. I think between us all we took hundreds of photos.

Some of us couldn’t let the night end, so we went out for drinks in the trendy downtown — near our accommodation. Needless to say, we all had so much fun.

Day 2: Basilica, beautiful sights, and a Liverpool fan's (temporarily) broken heart

The next day, whilst some of us had a lie in 😏, others got up early and took the opportunity to explore Budapest even more. The castle, St. Stephen's Basilica, the beautiful sights. Lots of trekking around, getting in our steps!

Our health insurance at Mindera gives us freebies if we manage to hit a goal. I'm pretty sure that everyone on that day earned a coffee and a cinema ticket.

In the evening we had dinner together and spoke about our days. By this point we had made some lasting relationships.

We took our time and then went to a huge sports bar to watch the Champions League final. It was super busy but we didn’t mind. After two years avoiding crowds, it was nice to enjoy this time, surrounded by friends!

Liverpool lost, Real Madrid won! The atmosphere was fantastic. James Price soon got over the fact his team didn’t win when the DJ decks came out, turning the whole place into a club. We danced until we couldn’t anymore!

Day 3: flight, home, and a big thanks to Mindera

After a quick sleep we hopped on the plane back to the UK.

The sentence I heard more than anything that weekend was “I cannot believe that Mindera is paying for this!” So… on that note, thank you Mindera. Legends.

The next trip is happening in June 2022, some of us are off to hike the three peaks in Derbyshire. Come back to see how it went and to check if they all make it back 😂. Also, you can learn more about Mindera on our conveniently named About Us page.