I never got to travel outside Romania until last year when I qualified with Team AVe to the Australia World Wide Finals for the Microsoft Imagine Cup 2012 Competition (I will talk about that in another story - it's quite funny actually, traveling for the first time all the way to Sydney). Since then I also managed to visit both Ankara (Turkey) and Brussels (Belgium). I've enjoyed every moment of my visits, but also was delighted to discover little things that I considered worth capturing within a photograph.

With these series of posts I will highlight those sharp details that fit exactly like a piece of the puzzle. It's an homage to the hidden gems that the eye doesn't notice or omits to see. I will start with what I discovered in my trips that reflect on the consumer/user/tourist experience. Enjoy the pictures (mostly captured with smartphone or point'n'shot camera).

I am a fan of the 8bit era (I've played the NES games like crazy back in the days of my childhood) and I was happy to spot this little fellow made out of tiles on to the building wall.

What else can express the love for beer than a wall made entirely out of beer bottles.

I loved this building since the moment I saw it. It's like a corporate bird nest.

The Belgian supermarkets hold a lot of goodies. From Playstation Portable made of chocolate to crazy labels simulating a cracked bottle.

All I see is some sort of a giant penny or an abstract deer.

At first I thought they were giant beer bottle caps (again with the beer), but at a closer look they are just serving plates attached to the ceiling.

With a background in Computer Science, it was impossible for me not to save a picture of this coffee shop.

Consumer behavior research at its best (Sydney)

This is my favorite. Why? Because they knew how the consumer (including me) will use their product. I was surprised and full of joy when I discovered the message a lick after.

What I liked at the Mini Europe park was the contrast between the architecture of the miniatures and the Atomium in the back. It's like an invasion.

Another great example of consumer behavior research extravaganza. The napkin is used to save ideas that pop into your head at any moment - even at lunch. Most important it's based on iteration. The first idea may be good, but it always needs refinement.

I love the art, but what I don't love is the overuse of paper.

The Parlamentarium Visitor Center has this unique room. You use the machines to navigate the floor map and you simply arrive above the hotspots to scan for city information.