Five days! That’s how long Lukas Holzhammer had to decide whether he would leave his home in Burgenland, Austria’s easternmost state, to take on a new challenge for VTG in Hamburg. But first things first: After eight years in the Technology division at VTG Rail Europe in Austria, during which he and his team were responsible for operational and technical issues related to freight wagon maintenance in Southern Europe, the 30-year-old was looking for some new challenges.
“I’ve always felt an urge to do something new and innovative,” Lukas says. “At the time, we were working with a strategic partner who was primarily focused on modularity. After a lot of strategic thinking, VTG had decided to get more deeply involved in this megatrend.” So it was a good thing that Managing Director Hannes Kotratschek, and Torben Jaeger set the course for the future. “Hannes then approached me and asked if I’d like to go to Hamburg to help set up the Modular Solutions unit,” Lukas continues, adding that it only took him three days to make his decision.
“Hannes then approached me and asked if I’d like to go to Hamburg to help set up the Modular Solutions unit”
Hamburg, the pandemic, and the apartment search
Things were supposed to get moving after a brief delay in July 2020. But then these plans were upended when the coronavirus arrived in March 2020. “That already started when I was looking for an apartment,” he recalls. “Luckily, I had a friend here in Hamburg who took care of all the details for me.” This streak of good luck continued on the day of the move-in. “Hanging on the apartment door was an invitation to the building’s WhatsApp group, and they grilled together at the end of the week,” Lukas recounts. “So I felt immediately welcomed.”
Nevertheless, the pandemic was a constant part of his life, and one that forced him to scale back his free-time activities – such as visits to the theater or museums – as well as to cancel his plans to travel home for Christmas. “That was a challenge, but it strengthened the bonds between me and my girlfriend,” he notes. And before switching completely to “home office” mode, Lukas managed to meet at least some of his new colleagues in person.
Hamburg colleagues sleep until after noon?
The new city also had some challenges in store for the Austrian. “I heard the stereotypical ‘Moin, moin’, but I was already familiar with it from my time at VTG Austria,” Lukas says with a laugh [editor’s note: This common greeting in Northern Germany sounds a bit like the normal German way of saying “Good morning” but is used throughout the day.] “Shortly after starting at VTG in 2012, I called a colleague in Hamburg at around 2 pm. He said, ‘Moin, Moin!’ And I thought: ‘Did he just get up?’ It was pretty funny.”
As Lukas sees it, Hamburg is the most beautiful city in Germany. “It just doesn’t seem like a big city – just because of the Alster Lake and all the green spaces. My apartment is right near Hammer Park, and everything isn’t as stifling as, say, Vienna with all its tall buildings,” he says.
Headed back home: Many ways to say “goodbye”
Nevertheless, Lukas returned home sooner than expected. Although his assignment was originally scheduled to last three years, he left Hamburg after just 24 months. But that had nothing to do with Hamburgers or their strange eating habits, even if they were a bit of a “culture shock” for Lukas. “If you’re from Austria, you know the classic Wiener schnitzel with french fries or potato salad. But then you come to Hamburg and order a nice schnitzel – and it comes with a Tunke on it,” he says, using a less common word for a sauce or dip. “It was a unique experience.”
Instead, what took Lukas home was actually a new challenge – as he was to be put in charge of the Austrian market in June 2022. In any case, Lukas has taken a bit of Hamburg back home in his heart. “I’m proud to be allowed to take on this challenging role even though I’m only 30 year old,” he says. “And it’s great to be working again with old colleagues who ultimately also played a big part in making me the person I am today.” But whether saying “goodbye” with the more German “Tschüss!” or the more Austrian “Habe die Ehre!”, we wish Lukas all the best in his new role back home!
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