I have not finished unpacking all boxes yet and we are still waiting for our telephone line (unfortunately no German efficiency from our provider here). And overall it’s still a little bit chaotic all around me. But I am already enjoying the new view from my desk overlooking one of the numerous Berlin Christmas markets.

I am sure you will have already guessed by now that we have just moved offices here in Berlin! We are now co-located with the British Council on Alexanderplatz in the heart of the former Eastern part of the city.  And we are not the only VisitBritain team in Europe that has moved recently.

Following our restructuring earlier this year the time was right for thinking about whether our office facilities were fit for purpose. Around the same time a new worldwide agreement with the Foreign & Commonwealth Office came into place encouraging other British government departments overseas to move into embassies and consulates wherever space allows this. As an alternative option the British Council (also funded by the Foreign & Commonwealth office) offered us the chance to co-locate with them. Overall this is a great opportunity for us to reduce our overhead costs and work much closer with our Public Diplomacy partners in the markets.

The first to move in Europe was our team in Milan in August, followed by Madrid, Stockholm and Paris. The move into the embassy in Brussels is planned for February 2012.  And in Warsaw and here in Berlin we moved into the British Council offices in November. In Moscow, Oslo and Copenhagen our people are already based in the Embassies anyway. So our team in Amsterdam will be the only VisitBritain team in Europe working out of a commercial office space next year as staying there makes most sense in terms of value for money for the next few months. You can find all new contact details for our European offices in the Office Finder on our corporate website.

Co-location with our Public Diplomacy partners happened at exactly the right time when we will be working with them very closely in all markets on the delivery the GREAT campaign which was launched by the Prime Minister in late September. This is, of course, not just a VisitBritain campaign but a co-ordinated approach by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, UKTI, the British Council and us to speak with one voice to promote the UK in the run up to the London 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Games and beyond.

Apart from all the office moves I also want to mention that recently two new team members have joined us in Europe: In Paris Cécile Laburthe is now responsible for our work with the travel trade in France. And here in Berlin Sabine Kalkmann is now supporting our PR Manager Andrea Hetzel with the delivery of our PR work in the three German-speaking markets Germany, Switzerland & Austria.

Here in Germany we celebrate Advent in a big way and you can find an Advent wreath with four candles (for each Sunday in Advent) in every home.  And rather than getting stressed out by all the Christmas preparations this is really meant to be a time to wind down, spend time with family and friends to prepare Christmas and to reflect on the past year. I wish you all a nice and peaceful Advent time!