Eureka: Fresh thinking starts in the Bavarian Alps

Summary

---

Podcast Summary

Podcast: The Entrepreneurs
Episode: Eureka: Fresh thinking starts in the Bavarian Alps
Host: Tom Edwards (Monocle Radio)
Aired: October 17, 2025

---

Episode Overview

This episode spotlights innovative approaches to corporate retreats by exploring Vondel, a boutique seminar hotel and working farm in the Bavarian Alps. Monocle's Emma Nelson travels to the alpine town of Ruhpolding to meet the founders, Monika Harlinghausen Smith and Kurt Simon Harlinghausen, who have transformed a 300-year-old farmhouse into a space designed to inspire creativity, collaboration, and wellbeing. The conversation weaves together business philosophy, rural revitalization, and the advantages of weaving community, nature, and authentic hospitality into the fabric of leadership development.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Problem with Conventional Corporate Retreats

• Sterile, uninspiring environments: Most corporate getaways are held in "airless, windowless, often soulless hotel meeting rooms on the outskirts of a town" ([00:31], Tom Edwards).
• Disconnection from context: Typical venues lack atmosphere and fail to foster deeper connection or creativity.

The Vondel Difference: Philosophy and Setting

• Restorative environment: Guests are surrounded by alpine pastures and clear mountain air, offering not just novelty but a tangible improvement in mood and mental clarity.
  • "People come here and within two, three hours they come down, they relieve, they enjoy all the anger, all the pressure. All of that is a relief." ([02:02], Kurt Simon Harlinghausen)
• A family-run business: Vondel is both a home and a retreat, planned around hospitality and warmth.
• Authenticity in every detail: From the modernized yet historic farmhouse (dating to 1717) to the handcrafted pine lanyards and locally sourced food, every aspect is designed to be thoughtful and personal.

Founders’ Perspective and Mission

• Monika Harlinghausen Smith (business author & leadership coach): Stresses the value of focus, belonging, and personalized experiences in the learning environment.
  • "Usually if you go on a retreat with your company, you end up in some kind of a hotel, which is a bigger institution where you have a lot of different people that you don't know...so many different impressions that hinder you in focusing on your real topic." ([03:16], Monika Harlinghausen Smith)
• Kurt Simon Harlinghausen (former digital executive): Emphasizes quality over quantity, both in technology and hospitality.
  • "Soulless is the typical conference environment. It's a big chain, bad food, bad seats, bad technology. So all that we said, no, no, no, it’s not going to happen here." ([03:39], Kurt Simon Harlinghausen)
  • On the house: "There was nothing there. So we thought, wow, that's an opportunity." ([04:34], Kurt Simon Harlinghausen)

Connection to Local Community and Heritage

• Support from Local Government: The mayor of Ruhpolding, Justus Pfeiffer (a youthful former fighter pilot), describes initial skepticism about ambitious investors, but was won over by the couple’s roots and respectful approach to tradition.
  • "Simon was different. He was brought up as a child here in Rippolding. So he knew how the people, how the different sporting clubs, how the tradition works here...And so he knew how he had to deal with the locals." ([05:13], Justus Pfeiffer)
• Strict building codes: Restoration demanded keeping centuries-old beams in place, adding authenticity and preserving history ([05:48] - [06:10]).
• Local ecosystem: From beer and food to performances by local children and an umpah band, the retreat enriches the town and weaves community into its daily operations.

The Guest Experience

• Arrival and ambiance: "You drive through a valley, then it’s a narrow road and then at the end you end up at, at a house and you enter and then there's this kind of bar and conference room and so much wood and just a nice smell. And this is the first impression. It’s like, wow, what is this?" ([06:17], Monika Harlinghausen Smith)
• Variety and individuality: Each room and experience is unique, reflecting a philosophy that people and situations should not be standardized. ([06:37], Kurt Simon Harlinghausen)
• Event curation: Marcus Brown, a presentation and performance expert, highlights the difference between Vondel and conventional venues—moving from stressful, impersonal conference centers to an intimate, restorative setting with genuine local touches ([07:02]-[07:34]).

Impact on Wellbeing and Working Culture

• Deep focus and clarity: The mayor notes that meetings held at Vondel achieve a unique calm and depth, contrasting the constant interruptions of city hall.
  • "Here we are for us and we have a clear mind and can go into the topics very deep and in detail." ([08:21], Justus Pfeiffer)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On transformation in the Alps:
  "This is the getting quiet thing here. And that's exactly what happens. People come here and within two, three hours they come down, they relieve, they enjoy all the anger, all the pressure. All of that is a relief."
  — Kurt Simon Harlinghausen ([02:02])

• On the standard retreat flaw:
  "Usually if you go on a retreat with your company, you end up in some kind of a hotel, which is a bigger institution...so many different impressions that hinder you in focusing on your real topic."
  — Monika Harlinghausen Smith ([03:16])

• On Vondel’s mission:
  "We have the best sound, we have the best video, we have the best nature, best air, amazing local food. And what is the add on is this is a family business. So you get the spirit, the engagement."
  — Kurt Simon Harlinghausen ([03:57])

• On the initial reaction to the venue:
  "In the first they say wow, because it’s very weird. You come, you drive through a valley...then at the end you end up at a house and...there's this kind of bar and conference room and so much wood and just a nice smell. And this is the first impression. It's like, wow, what is this?"
  — Monika Harlinghausen Smith ([06:17])

• On deep focus away from town distractions:
  "Here we are for us and we have a clear mind and can go into the topics very deep and in detail."
  — Justus Pfeiffer ([08:21])

---

Key Timestamps

• 00:15–01:11 – Introduction: The state of corporate getaways and the promise of alpine refreshment
• 02:02 – The restorative effect of the location (Kurt Simon Harlinghausen)
• 03:16 – Critique of standard corporate retreats (Monika Harlinghausen Smith)
• 03:57 – Founding principles of Vondel (Kurt Simon Harlinghausen)
• 04:34–06:10 – The house’s history and community engagement
• 07:02–07:34 – Event curation and guest experience, performance expert’s perspective (Marcus Brown)
• 08:21 – The mayor on focused meetings and impact on town

---

Conclusion

This episode of "Eureka" underscores how combining tradition, nature, and community can fundamentally rewrite the rulebook for corporate gatherings. Vondel exemplifies the power of authentic hospitality and setting, shifting team experiences from transactional to transformational. The Harlinghausens’ melding of rural tradition and forward-thinking business creates a model for more meaningful corporate culture—one where both creativity and community thrive.

---

Transcript

[Narrator/Reporter]

Foreign.

[Tom Edwards]

You're listening to Eureka on Monocle Radio. Brought to you by the team behind the entrepreneurs. The show all about inspiring people, innovative companies and fresh ideas in global business. I'm Tom Edwards. Great businesses are built on strong teams and a corporate getaway is often seen as the ideal way to bring people together to foster relationships and shape a company's future. But while well meaning, these events can be pretty far from fun. Airless, windowless, often soulless hotel meeting rooms on the outskirts of a town are certainly not conducive to creative thinking. But what if your business brain and body were refreshed by alpine pastures and mountain air? Well, Monocle's Emma Nelson has been to Bavaria to meet the couple behind Vondel, a family business where healthy entrepreneurship is definitely on the menu.

[Narrator/Reporter]

It's the first morning of your company's away day, but you're not in a crummy hotel and a roundabout. Your bedroom did not look out onto a car park. The the windows opened fully. And a moment ago, you might just have walked past the cow that supplied the milk for your coffee. Because you're following a gravel road up through an alpine pasture. And at the top of the hill, this is waiting for you just two hours after you pull up at Vandal, a conference center above the Bavarian town of Rupolding. Apparently, you don't just feel brighter and more relaxed. The owner says visitors actually look different.

[Kurt Simon Harlinghausen]

The town is called Rupolding, which means Ruh is getting quiet, Pol is the center, and ding is the thing. So this is the getting quiet thing here. And that's exactly what happens. People come here and within two, three hours they come down, they relieve, they enjoy all the anger, all the pressure. All of that is a relief.

[Monika Harlinghausen Smith]

I'm Monika Harlinghausen Smith and I live at wonderful Wandl, which is also a boutique seminar hotel, a farm, and so much more.

[Kurt Simon Harlinghausen]

And I'm Kurt Simon Harlinghausen. I live also with my wonderful wife and I do everything with digital and I'm too curious not to try out from farming over prototyping and have a lot of workshops here with cool people.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Simon is a former managing director of Miele X, the digital arm of the white goods giant. When not away working as a corporate consultant, you're more likely to see him here. That's Simon on his tractor. His wife, Monica is a business author and corporate leadership coach. Between them, they have decades of experiences of bad conferences.

[Monika Harlinghausen Smith]

Usually if you go on a retreat with your company, you end up in some kind of a hotel, which is a bigger Institution where you have a lot of different people that you don't know. You have a very common room where you have to stay, the conference room. The lighting isn't perfect, the air is usually not good and you have just so many different impressions that hinder you in focusing on your real topic.

[Kurt Simon Harlinghausen]

Soulless is the typical conference environment. It's a big chain, bad food, bad seats, bad technology. So all that we said, no, no, no, it's not going to happen here.

[Narrator/Reporter]

So the couple decided on a few founding principles for a new kind of corporate retreat.

[Kurt Simon Harlinghausen]

We have the best sound, we have the best video, we have the best nature, best air, amazing local food. And what is the add on is this is a family business. So you get the spirit, the engagement. People love what they bring to the table and people join us here.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Just describe what we have here.

[Monika Harlinghausen Smith]

Well, here we have a farmhouse which is completely modernized, which basically hosts a family plus a group of eight to 24 people who can come here and exchange their ideas, views, visions and learn from each other.

[Kurt Simon Harlinghausen]

As we found this house, being from 1717, there was nothing there. So we thought, wow, that's an opportunity.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Justus Pfeiffer is the mayor of Rupaulding. He isn't what you might expect when you meet him. There's not a grey hair on his head for starters. He's 35 years old. And before he officiated weddings and revamped the town's parking system. Justus was a NATO fighter pilot.

[Justus Pfeiffer]

I'd been in office for two months maybe. And then Simon, he approached me in my office and said, well, Mr. Pfeiffer, we have an idea. We bought this old historic farm and farmhouse and now we want to develop it into something new. I was really skeptical because often we have investors who want to do something new and they have huge ideas. And Simon was different. He was brought up as a child here in Rippolding. So he knew how the people, how the different sporting clubs, how the tradition works here in Rupauling or how community works. And so he knew how he had to deal with the locals.

[Narrator/Reporter]

So Vandel, a play on the German word for change, was built. The transformation was tough, with tradition dictating every step of the process. The 300 year old wooden pillars and beams that had held the building together could not be moved one inch. So they had to be restored on site within an old place. They reinvented remote working.

[Kurt Simon Harlinghausen]

We see it as a European hub. ADR Salzburg is an airport. Munich is close by. But we have all the peace from the countryside.

[Monika Harlinghausen Smith]

In the first they say wow, because it's very weird. You come, you drive through a valley, then it's a narrow road and then at the end you end up at, at a house and you enter and then there's this kind of bar and conference room and so much wood and just a nice smell. And this is the first impression. It's like, wow, what is this?

[Kurt Simon Harlinghausen]

Every room is different, as every human is, Every perspective is, every situation is. And so with that, there's nothing standard, but that's life.

[Narrator/Reporter]

And the presentation and performance expert Marcus Brown was looking for a location for a summit for seniors leaders to perfect their public speaking skills. He chose Vandal.

[Kurt Simon Harlinghausen]

Well, I think the problem that most of these conventional conference centers have is that they're generic spaces that have been created to house large scale generic events. The halls are full of hundreds or thousands of people. The lighting's terrible, the air's even worse. Grabbing a coffee or going to the toilet can prove to be quite challenging. And if you bundle all of that together, you have something which is a very, very stressful experience. Low quality and not special or spectacular or intimate at all.

[Narrator/Reporter]

The result was the speakery summit with a meeting room that looked over rolling pastures, a backdrop of dramatic alpine peaks, and with bedrooms that had their own sauna. The lanyards, the curse of the conference, were handmade from the local pine forest. There was even a performance by children from the local tracht association. Unlike so many hotels where supplies are brought in from miles away in a lorry, the community is very much what drives what's on offer here from the local brewery, the videographer and even the umpah band. Calling upon local resources is just part of the whole scheme and it benefits the town too. On the morning of our visit, Justus Pfeifer was holding a meeting of the town's gemeinde, the municipal authority.

[Justus Pfeiffer]

In the main room down in the village, there are people who the phone is ringing and somebody comes up in the city hall into my office and oh, I have a problem with this fence and there something and can you help me? Here we are in, we are not in the village town, but we are for us. We are for us and we have a clear mind and can go into the topics very deep and in detail.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Creating such a harmonious place takes hard work. The building is still being adapted to fit the rules governing the local landscape. But more astute leaders could allow Monica and Simon's peaceful yet ambitious nature to rub off on them a little. At Vandal, Monica and Simon have conquered the summit for Monocle in Rupaulding Bavaria, I'm Emma Nelson.

[Tom Edwards]

Thanks, Emma. And you can find out more by heading to vandor.com and that's all for this episode of Eureka. We'll be back at the same time next week. The program's produced by Laura Kramer with audio editing by Jack Dewars. Listen again and find out more at the website monocle.com and if you'd like to get in touch and email Laura on lrkonical.com I'm Tom Edwards. Goodbye, and thanks for listening to Eureka.