The Nerves and excitement kicked in all at once as this would be my first ever trip abroad personally and in Round table. I did not know what to expect and over packing is an understatement to say the least. 5 x 23 kg bags including Swedish tartan Quilts, socks and scarfs as well as the Men’s mental health awareness.
The buildup on the pre-tour WhatsApp group fueled the excitement and the anticipation was not even close to how the actual experience was.
Prior to our flight out of South Africa I had pre-arranged with tablers whom I have never met to at our lay-over destinations to and from Estonia which was Frankfurt and Zurich. Our first Layover was in Frankfurt Mein where we were met by Christoph Dietz the area 7 chairman, Peter Kubera the IRO and David Klunspies the PRO of Round table 18 Wiesbaden with a little surprise Birthday party for my Fiancé, with Champaign, donuts and a cupcake with a candle.
This was my first experience of borderless tabling and meeting lifelong friends for the first time internationally.
When we landed In Tallinn we were excitedly welcomed by the Estonian tablers and immediately received some Coq. What a sight it was for them seeing me rock up with my boerboel short pants in the middle of the winter snow in Estonia.
Vardo Loks, Mart Meyel, Tarvo Tromp and Aleksander Ottokar were our designated drivers and pre-tour guides. We were the First to arrive at the pre-tour and half year world meeting unsuspecting of what an awesome time that was to come Benita and I strolled to the harbour and through the old town a bit before going to the hotel and rested a bit as the next day the pre tour would begin with the one and only fish days event. At 11pm that evening a message came through on the whatsapp group that welcome drinks are happening. We joined Marc Garmeshausen, The French swiss gentlemen who were only there for the weekend and some of the swiss gentlemen who were on the pre-tour with us namely Marc Fluhmann, Marcel Suter, Thomas Spicher and Yves. Needless to say we only got back at 4am the next morning after partying at a local club with the two French Swiss guys.
The following morning we got called from the reception desk by the pre-tour group saying they are waiting for us and we need to leave. Then we heard a knock on the door, it was Julle from the Netherlands and Aleksander our pre-tour guide who basically helped us out of bed, This was the start of a fantastic pre-tour which would prove to be a time I will cherish for the rest of my life.
On our first day we went to the fish days, which is an annual Estonia round table event that takes place. An event where the tablers from across the country get together to have fun and team building. With some winter sports, Fish dishes, a bucket full of caviar, Hot tub in the snow and sauna. The fish days after party was an American pop culture dress up party where people dressed up as characters from Donald trump to cowboys and Hulk Hogan to Hugh Heffner. Then the After After Party started and we went to a local club, I cannot recall what time we were back at the hotel.
Spa and Sauna is a thing in Estonia and we were booked at only best Spa resorts in Estonia. The next morning was my first proper Spa experience after which we took the Ferry across the Baltic see to Saarema where we had a fantastic lunch and dinner. Aleksander Ottokar gave some great speeches that evening about Round table and how awesome the organization is being able to do these kinds of things and how we are lucky to be a part such an amazing organization with a network that makes this possible. The next morning we had an awesome tour of the Kurresarre castle and learnt some if the History of Estonia.
Every day they mixed us up in the two busses to that we can all get to know each other, Julle had the great idea of playing “never have I ever” to spice things up a bit..
Back on the ferry to our next stop Haapsalu where we were met with some more Estonian tablers and went to the local billiards club to play some 9 Ball. Back at the hotel I learnt a new board game from the Netherlands. Julle, Mart and Myself played until the early morning hours, this is where some deep conversations were held and where I realized that no matter where you are from we go through the same kind of phases in life. Round table is truly a platform where all sorts of people from different walks of life can share their challenges, inspire each other and lift each other up to a higher level of excellence.
We had a Tour of another castle in Haapsalu and then went back to Tallin as the next day the Half year world meeting began. The sight-seeing on the Pre-tour was out of this world and Estonia is a beautiful country with beautiful people. A destination I will encourage anyone to go and visit.
When we arrived there were already many tablers who have arrived for the conference and the snow had almost completely melted away. We found the other South African Tablers, Gerhard “Ginger Ninja” and his wife Sulette, Paul Hoeksema, Skaap and Graham and then we brought the table gees as South African Tablers do.
The day activities included a tour of the old Town, Ice water swimming where my testicals went missing, Craft beer tasting, a lot of pin swopping and coin dropping with plenty of fellowship and camaraderie with a whole lot of new Friends.
The gathering of people from all different countries and walks of life is a spectacular event with so many different views and ideas shared it is one of the best learning platforms where we can broaden our perspectives and grow immensely.
On the Thursday day I went with Mart to his local Jiu Jitsu club to train a bit and he took us on some sight-seeing through town.
Equipped with our South African gear at the nations evening on the Friday night we did a proper South African braai in the snow and our table proved to be a hit. Braaivleis, Amarula, “melk tertjies”, Zoerdoef and the one and only Snuff machine the South African table was a stop nobody wanted to miss.
Throughout this entire journey made sure to leave the Round table Boksburg 17 mark and had placed stickers all across the country, especially in old town Tallin nearly every gutter and light post received a sticker.
On the last night we went to prooto Venue for the final Gathering where all the acknowledgement and thanks were given and well received, Last goodbyes were said which were not goodbyes but see you soon’s as the next morning we had an early flight to catch.
Our last stop was an 11 hour layover in Zurich Switzerland, where the tablers from Winterthur Kai and Simon who I had arranged with prior to our trip to show us around and have some tabling. Yet another perfect example of borderless Friendship and meeting lifelong friend for the first time, this was also their first time hosting and showing internationals around. We went to a local restaurant for some traditional food, went to a church with the most beautiful stained glass windows and took the train to the highest point in Zurich in the Beginning of the Swiss Alps. This was an awesome sight although we couldn’t see the snowing peaks of the Swiss Alps due to mist.
Our 12 hour flight back to South Africa was at 10:40 during which the reality started kicking back in that this awesome time has come to past.
I now have a deeper understanding of international tabling and building friendship and I am excited for what’s in store for the coming World meeting in Cape Town where we will get to see some of our new friends again.
The organizers of the Half year world meeting did one hell of a job and I would like to say thank you to Tonis and his team for making it exceptional for everybody with attention to the fine detail and to make every tabler feel welcome.
Thank you to Jayant and his team on the international board and to Marc Germishauzen for his incoming year as well as a Special good luck to Julle Gosschalk for his Vice chairman campaign for Round table international.
To every new friend I made you are awesome.
Yours in Table
Cuan Maizey
Round table Boksburg 17