anchor.diff:  
   ## The Trip
   
  -In early 2016, I (Douwe) was trying to figure out how to spend the year and realized that my [remote-only](http://www.remoteonly.org/) job at GitLab gave me a unique opportunity to combine two of my favorite things: travel, and work. I decided to travel for 6 months, visiting [GitLab colleagues](/team/) around the world to get to know them better, work with them, and see some of the beautiful places our planet has to offer in the process. I dubbed it "Around the World in 6 Releases."
  +In early 2016, I (Douwe) was trying to figure out how to spend the year and realized that my [remote-only](http://www.remoteonly.org/) job at GitLab gave me a unique opportunity to combine two of my favorite things: travel, and work. I decided to travel for six months, visiting [GitLab colleagues](/team/) around the world to get to know them better, work with them, and see some of the beautiful places our planet has to offer in the process. I dubbed it "Around the World in 6 Releases."
   
   When Robert decided to join a few months later (his response to my invitation was a simple "Sure") the plan was really on.
   
  -Two weeks later, just before the release of [GitLab 8.9](/2016/06/22/gitlab-8-9-released/) in June, I flew from Amsterdam to Washington, D.C. to meet up with Robert, and we spent the next 6 months (and 6 [r](2016/06/22/gitlab-8-9-released/)[e](/2016/07/22/gitlab-8-10-released/)[l](/2016/08/22/gitlab-8-11-released/)[e](/2016/09/22/gitlab-8-12-released/)[as](/2016/10/22/gitlab-8-13-released/)[es](/2016/11/22/gitlab-8-14-released/)) visiting and working with colleagues all over the world, returning to our respective homes in December, just before the release of [GitLab 8.15](/2016/12/22/gitlab-8-15-released/).
  +Two weeks later, just before the release of [GitLab 8.9](/2016/06/22/gitlab-8-9-released/) in June, I flew from Amsterdam to Washington, D.C. to meet up with Robert, and we spent the next six months (and six [r](2016/06/22/gitlab-8-9-released/)[e](/2016/07/22/gitlab-8-10-released/)[l](/2016/08/22/gitlab-8-11-released/)[e](/2016/09/22/gitlab-8-12-released/)[as](/2016/10/22/gitlab-8-13-released/)[es](/2016/11/22/gitlab-8-14-released/)) visiting and working with colleagues all over the world, returning to our respective homes in December, just before the release of [GitLab 8.15](/2016/12/22/gitlab-8-15-released/).
   
   Traveling the equivalent of 2.5 times around the equator over some 31 flights, the trip took us to
   [Washington, D.C.](https://maps.google.com?q=Washington,+D.C.),
  
positive.code: 
  [Marcia](/team/#XMDRamos), who we met in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, along with [Douglas](/team/#dbalexandre) and [Felipe](/team/#FelipeArtur), writes:
  
  > After a few months with GitLab, it was very important to me finally meeting people in person, **it made me feel more human in our virtual world**. More exciting yet, was hanging out with such amazing guys, interested in what we have to share, in what we think about our job, how do we feel about working remotely, what is awesome about GitLab and what we feel is missing. **Such openness makes us feel included, touched.**
  >
  > For our tech-generation, strengthening our relationships is essential, otherwise everything around us ends up superficial; we won’t ever feel fulfilled. As we usually spend most of our time working, it is so important to be with people, to share our concerns, to help, to collaborate, to participate, and to have moments of joy. **I feel so grateful for having met these folks face-to-face.** Thanks guys, and thanks GitLab for allowing us to do this kinda thing!
  
  [Pedro](/team/#pedromscom), who we met in Lisbon, Portugal, writes:
  
  
negative.code: and finally
  [Amsterdam](https://maps.google.com?q=Amsterdam)
  
  Not shown is the week between Sydney and Amsterdam that we spent in [New Zealand](https://maps.google.com?q=New+Zealand), explicitly chosen because we had no one there and because we thought we deserved a vacation after six months of non-stop travel/work.
  
  [![Map](/images/blogimages/around-the-world-in-6-releases/map.png){: .shadow}](/images/blogimages/around-the-world-in-6-releases/map.png)
  
  About halfway through the trip, GitLab CEO [Sid](/team/#sytses) realized the tremendous positive impact the trip was having on all of the people visiting, being visited, and following along through our team calls, and the ["the company will cover travel costs to visit colleagues"](/handbook/#travel-to-visit-team-members) policy [was born](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/www-gitlab-com/merge_requests/3735) to encourage more people to make trips like this in the future.
  
  Now that the trip is concluded and we've had a few weeks to reflect, I'd like to share with you some of the things we've learned during this trip.
  In the near future, we will also publish a follow-up to ["GitLab in Action"](/2016/08/24/gitlab-in-action/), covering our travels through Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania in more detail.
  
  ## Insight 1: GitLab feels like one big team of friends
  
  