Not sure if this is OK to post here. But being a long time member… I will roll the dice.
My wife and I had the pleasure of visiting @Martin_Bondeus and his wonderful family in Sweden for 9 days. Martin is someone who over the past several years has become a great friend. We met for the first time chatting about 3D Printing (CoreXY printers in particular) in this very group. Over time (and several trips to MRRF) I can say that Martin is a dear and close friend. It is funny to think that the last family vacation I had was to visit another friend and community member (@Alex_Lee ) in California.
I guess I am sharing because I want to mention how much this fun and frustrating hobby has given to me over the last several years. Sure the hobby strikes the perfect balance of fun, success, failure, frustration, and redemption. But if it was that alone I think I would have left this hobby in the dust a while ago like many other that have tickled my fancy during my lifetime. To be honest it is the people that keeps me coming back. Smart, Ingenious, Inventive, Funny, Supportive, and Down-Right amazing people in the community that make the hobby so enjoyable. Sorry about the sappy stuff, but I just wanted to say this hobby has given me far more than I have put into it, and it is all you people that make it that way… so Thank You.
So long story longer… I had an amazing time over in Sweden visiting Martin. As I mentioned his family is amazing. Martin and his two older sons all work at Bondtech together (pictures below). He has worked so hard and come so far since those initial late night chats we had about his extruder design over Google Hangouts (only now do I realize how late I kept him up some days).
I think to myself how fun it would have been to work with my dad, to grow a company. And I know his sons Gustav and Jonathan do not overlook that fact. I spent some time with them at the company and had fun helping out, assembling product, playing with some of his toys (like a proper Haas CNC), and seeing all the recent products he has been developing. I also was able to see new things he has in the pipeline… and no I won’t spill the beans, so don’t bother asking😉
Anyway to wrap things up, I had a great time with a great friend and his amazing family. It was my first time getting to jump over the pond, and the food and culture in Sweden was wonderful. I could see myself living there actually (weather is like Minnesota but not as hot in the summer and not as cold in the winter). And it is all thanks to a friendship built in this very group all via digital ones and zeros from across the globe. We are in amazing times.
