anchor.diff:  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 6 months of non-stop travel/work.
  +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 followup to ["GitLab in Action"](/2016/08/24/gitlab-in-action/), covering our travels through Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania in more detail.
  +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
   
  
positive.code: 
  ## 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."
  
  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/).
  
  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.),
  
negative.code: Each and every one of the people we met up with, some of whom didn't even know we were coming until just days before we arrived, welcomed us with open arms and made us feel at home in these strange cities and countries.
  Many of them invited us into their homes, introduced us to their significant others and/or [pets](/team-pets), and took us into town to show us their favorite places to see, work, eat, or have a drink.
  
  Because of the glimpses we have had into each other's lives through the daily company-wide [team call](/handbook/#team-call) and the dozens of chat channels about interests and hobbies, it immediately felt like we were hanging out with a friend, not just "someone from the internet," or "this person I work with." While early conversations often related to our single biggest shared interest – GitLab and work at GitLab – this quickly became just one of the many things we talked about.
  
  Interestingly, this was true regardless of whether they were in our department and we had already worked with them a lot, or if they did something totally different and we had never conversed before. ["There are no floors in GitLab"](/2016/12/05/how-we-stay-connected-as-a-remote-company/), and even though we have multiple [functional groups](/team/structure), GitLab feels like one big team.
  
  