Date : 20/4/2005

A group of 45 MIM-XVIII students had taken a business trip to Czech and Austria at the beginning of their second year study.

The trip started in Praque, the world most beautiful capital. Half of the first day was occupied by the city tour and castle visits. The highlights are “Praque Castle” which was once the home of Empress Maria Theresa; the 700-year old St. Vitus Cathedral known for its magnificent stained glass decorations; the Old Town Square, the oldest and most important square in historic Prague; St. Nicholas’ Church, the classical Jewish Town Hall; and the Tyn Church and many more castles

Students ended their nights by crossing the 600-year old “Charles Bridge” which is the first bridge across the “Vltava River”, before going back to the InterContinental Hotel, the place they stayed in Praque.

In the next morning, students made a visit to “Bohemia Sekt”, the most significant and biggest producer of wines in the Czech Republic. Then they moved to visit “Delvita”, one of the world’s leading supermarket chains, in the afternoon. At Delvita, students were welcomed by the presentations from the senior executives and had a chance to observe their stores and warehouse.

In the third day of the trip, students had a chance to explore the world’s famous town for “Health Spa” at “Karlovy Vary”. A walk through the spa’s operation at “Dvorak Spa hotel” was very impressive and exciting. Afterwards, students had their own free time for walking and shopping around this unique and beautiful town.


After three days stayed in Praque, students transferred to another most beautiful Capital, Vienna, by coach. The sceneries and landscape along the way was very breathtaking. The group arrived Vienna in that afternoon and started right away to enjoy a city tour. Places of interest include the Vienna State Opera, Hofburg Palace, House of Parliament, Vienna City Hall, and the Kartner Strasse, the main walking street for shopping, where students could visit the old St. Stephan Cathedral.

Some students woke up early in the next morning for a nice walk around the Stadt Park, the famous public park nearby the Hilton hotel where they stayed. Around 8.00 a.m., the whole group met at the lobby for an excursion to Krem and Melk Abbey. Students impressed with the most stunning Baroque architecture at Melk Abbey, which was built on a hill by the Danube river some 900 years ago by King Leopold III to be the Benedictine priests. Then next, students were boarded on the ferry for a cruising along the Danube River. Leisurely, the picturesque scenes along the river were so relaxing and refreshing.

The technical visits in the last day of the business trip were very beneficial. The visit in the morning was to “Piplelife”, one of the world’s leading supplies of plastic pipe systems. After lunch, students were heading for their last visit at “Wienerberger”, the world’s largest producer of brick and number 2 on the roofing market in Europe. A walk through its production line starting from the raw material was come to the surprise and has made this trip not easy to forget. The students went back to Bangkok on that day and many of them made a wish for their return to Vienna in the future.

Finally, we must thank Dr. Dirk Van Den Bergne, CEO, Delhaise and Andrea Knicka for the visit arrangements in Praque. We are also very grateful for the help from Prof. Dr. Bodo B. Schlegelmilch, Vice Dean International and Chair of International Marketing and Management at WU-Wien and his doctoral students, Michael Craf, in coordinating the company visits in Vienna.

Photo Gallery
www.bus.tu.ac.th/mim/gallery/BusinessTrip/photo.htm