Magical Terchová
In this gripping tale, find out how we nearly lost some colleagues in Terchová and what board-game escape room makers get wrong on the box.
The call for time together was strong again, so we didn't resist: we listened and gave ourselves some time as a team. As usual, there was plenty of downtime and fun. But there were also several talks and a workshop we'd been really looking forward to, on the hottest topic of the moment: AI.
A friendly welcome
It's become a tradition that we always start with lunch together, and this time was no different. We met at Porkbelly in Žilina, and it was a great call: if you're passing, do stop by. After lunch we moved on to the cabin, where the surrounding countryside took our breath away. We're not exaggerating: if you're heading to Terchová, a village in northern Slovakia, with a larger group, we thoroughly recommend Chata Šuštiak. Trust us, it's even better than in the photos.
How Marek surprised us
You know the feeling: you're sitting through an hour-long presentation, you're starting to yawn, and you'd rather be chatting with colleagues and enjoying all the fun a team-building trip brings? Well, that didn't happen to us. Marek showed us his video presentation, and there wasn't a dry eye in the house. We cried tears of emotion, of course. Well, almost. But it held our attention from start to finish and we took a lot away from it. Marek had been working on the Oxygen stack and had polished it to perfection.
After the duties came the real fun, the way we like it at Webikon. A barbecue outside, shisha, the dear colleagues we'd missed so much, and all the other things that go with it. We played pool too, but Nika beat all of us, so that was the end of that.
Rosťo and the AI workshop
On day two we hit the ground running. We were all looking forward to Rosťo's presentation, in which he summed up everything AI has in store for us:
- AI capabilities
- AI tools
- AI development
- ChatGPT plugins
- LLM competition and open source
- The GPT ecosystem
- GPT apps and services
Lost and found
All that information had given us an appetite, so we set off for the Syrex koliba, a traditional mountain restaurant. But !WARNING!: don't get lost like some of our colleagues, who drove to a different Syrex and turned it into more of a team-building exercise: Who can find the right Syrex. It all ended well, though, and here's another recommendation, because the setting and the food didn't disappoint.
Stomachs full and batteries recharged, we had to make the most of it. We couldn't skip the traditional stops in Terchová and the “must-sees”: the statue of Jánošík, Slovakia's legendary outlaw, and the Terchová Heart, which led to a flood of brilliant photos and our new photo on Google. Go and check, it's worth a look.
An idyllic evening
In the early evening, some of us treated ourselves to the sauna. Yes… we know the photos would have delighted you no end, but that idea didn't get past the PR department. The rest racked their brains over a board-game escape room, which, by the way, is a great tip for all sorts of occasions. But here's another !WARNING!: don't believe the playing time printed on the box. Just double it, maybe even triple it. While some managed to have a sauna, light the barbecue, grill, play pool, bake potatoes and code an entire client website, the chosen few were still working through the escape room. They got to a happy ending, but by then everyone else was asleep.
Friday was the day to say goodbye, but we didn't really want to, so we had one more lunch together in Žilina and a walk around the town. Worth a mention here is Spago, which has the best pancakes pancakes can possibly be. Then it was time for one last ice cream. Beautifully rested after our time together, we were looking forward to all the projects waiting for us back home in the warm.
Basically a classic Webikon retreat, where unbelievable things happened. But as the saying goes, “What happens at the cabin stays at the cabin”. Except, that is, for those of you who have read this far. We're already looking forward to the next one, and if you'd like to be part of it and think you can solve an escape room faster than Jano, Palo and Rosťo, you're our kind of person! Get in touch.