In 2026, DOWN team goes to visit Greece!
Once a year, we swap profile pictures for actual people, different time zones for the same dinner table, and “Can you hop on a quick call?” for “Who’s ordering dessert?”
This year, the DOWN team headed to Athens, Greece for seven days together.
Remote, but never distant
For some of us, it was the first time meeting teammates we’d worked with for months.
“The best part was finally meeting everyone in person. Some people are completely different offline than they are online, in the best way.” — Joanne, HR.
The quiet teammate on Slack turns out to have the best stories over dinner. The person who’s all business in meetings somehow becomes the loudest one on the boat.
Spending time together outside of work gives you a whole new perspective. You don’t just learn what people do, you get to understand how they think, what makes them laugh, and what they’re like when they’re not behind a screen.
One city, plenty of memories
Athens gave us plenty to explore.
We wandered through the city’s historic streets visited the Acropolis, explored museums, tasted our way through a local food tour, spent a day out on a boat.
”Working out in the sun, hanging out, actually getting to know each other, that’s how we help each other grow and keep getting better. Really grateful for this.” — Jack, Data Lead.
”We had so many joint activities and ended up with a ton of great photos. I also loved our lunches and dinners, because everyone kept switching seats and mixing up everything, it was so fun!” — Hanna, QA.
The greatest moments weren’t always the ones we planned.
They were the conversations while walking back from dinner, laughing about weekend plans, sharing stories from home, and occasionally drifting into how a campaign came together or what we’re excited to build next. That’s just what happens when you finally get everyone in the same place.
Why these trips matter
Company trips are a nice perk, but for us, they’re much more than that.
Meeting in person makes future conversations easier. It’s easier to understand each other’s ideas, communication styles, and personalities. You come home with stronger connections, a few inside jokes, and a much better sense of the people you work with every day.
Plus, let’s be honest – it’s also a pretty good excuse to eat incredible Greek food together.
Until next time…
Seven days flew by, but Greece gave us plenty to take home: great memories, hundreds of photos, and stories we’ll probably still be bringing up from now.
A huge thank you to everyone who made this trip so memorable.
Until the next meetup—ευχαριστούμε (that’s “thank you” in Greek)!