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Eurofurence recap
9 years ago
For the first time in 10 years or so I visited Eurofurence again and damn, it has grown. Back in 'my day' the attendance was in the hundreds, but apparently they hit 2400+ this year. Not to mention that the hotel is decked out all over with banners, flags, and posters. It certainly was quite a different experience. Berlin is a lot less scenic than Nuremberg (though the hotel was certainly less of an up-hill climb too), but I guess we have WW2 to blame for that.
I'm not going to do a day-by-day, because that'd require too much brainpower, but I did have the opportunity to introduce Sailoranna to panels and shows this time; apparently he always just hung out in the artist's lounge at other cons. Not that we didn't do that either, mind you, as already evidenced by femtoAmpere and Ethriol, both of whom I've had the opportunity to talk to in the lounge. Wouldn't have minded meeting some more people, but I'm not quite that outgoing, unfortunately.
The artshow was nice this year, but most of it didn't really catch my attention, except for two oil-paintings (I'm just a tail to you and The spirit of wholesale carrot trading) that I ended up blowing my budget on. I still feel like I got a bargain on them, though, and I honestly don't understand how I ended up being the only one bidding on them. Ah well, their loss and my fortune.
The art-auction was a sight to see as well, though the prices were all over the place. A giant toblerone bar (4kg or so) went for €500,- if I recall correctly, but one of the banners only for a fraction of that. There was one banner I was sorta interested in, but my budget was limited after buying the two paintings and it the price already my intended maximum bid in about 10 seconds. Ah well, at least I got a signed print of that one, so I do still sorta have it... just smaller.
The most amusing bit about the art-action was Oncle Kage pointing out that someone had done a €126,- bid on a pic (with a €1,- increment), insisting that we couldn't possibly let that person win that picture. So one guy in the audience bid €130,- and then everything was silent. Kage commented that the other guy probably didn't dare speak up now, but as it turns out, he already had, because when asked for his bid-number, the €130,- guy went "I'm the guy on the bidsheet!".
The pawpet show was awesome as well. It's certainly not a puppet-show for kids, though, as many "fucks" were mentioned and the main-character certainly had no issues with casual sex (mostly implied, but there was that one blowjob scene... EF-goers will know what I'm talking about :P). The soundtrack is great too and I'm glad we went back to stand in line for it after a late-night dinner in one of th hotel's restaurants (the queue hadn't even shortened throughout the whole dinner).
The trips there and back were a bit long (particularly with a one-hour detour on the way back), but all-in-all it was a smooth ride that went pretty much as planned. There are certainly worse ways than travelling by train, as you do have the opportunity to stretch your legs a bit and it's certainly less exhausting than driving there. The public transit in Berlin takes a bit to get used to, too, but fortunately I had done some preparation beforehand, so we arrived at the hotel pretty much at the time I had predicted.
Overall, it was a great con and I'm happy I got the opportunity to attend it :)
I'm not going to do a day-by-day, because that'd require too much brainpower, but I did have the opportunity to introduce Sailoranna to panels and shows this time; apparently he always just hung out in the artist's lounge at other cons. Not that we didn't do that either, mind you, as already evidenced by femtoAmpere and Ethriol, both of whom I've had the opportunity to talk to in the lounge. Wouldn't have minded meeting some more people, but I'm not quite that outgoing, unfortunately.
The artshow was nice this year, but most of it didn't really catch my attention, except for two oil-paintings (I'm just a tail to you and The spirit of wholesale carrot trading) that I ended up blowing my budget on. I still feel like I got a bargain on them, though, and I honestly don't understand how I ended up being the only one bidding on them. Ah well, their loss and my fortune.
The art-auction was a sight to see as well, though the prices were all over the place. A giant toblerone bar (4kg or so) went for €500,- if I recall correctly, but one of the banners only for a fraction of that. There was one banner I was sorta interested in, but my budget was limited after buying the two paintings and it the price already my intended maximum bid in about 10 seconds. Ah well, at least I got a signed print of that one, so I do still sorta have it... just smaller.
The most amusing bit about the art-action was Oncle Kage pointing out that someone had done a €126,- bid on a pic (with a €1,- increment), insisting that we couldn't possibly let that person win that picture. So one guy in the audience bid €130,- and then everything was silent. Kage commented that the other guy probably didn't dare speak up now, but as it turns out, he already had, because when asked for his bid-number, the €130,- guy went "I'm the guy on the bidsheet!".
The pawpet show was awesome as well. It's certainly not a puppet-show for kids, though, as many "fucks" were mentioned and the main-character certainly had no issues with casual sex (mostly implied, but there was that one blowjob scene... EF-goers will know what I'm talking about :P). The soundtrack is great too and I'm glad we went back to stand in line for it after a late-night dinner in one of th hotel's restaurants (the queue hadn't even shortened throughout the whole dinner).
The trips there and back were a bit long (particularly with a one-hour detour on the way back), but all-in-all it was a smooth ride that went pretty much as planned. There are certainly worse ways than travelling by train, as you do have the opportunity to stretch your legs a bit and it's certainly less exhausting than driving there. The public transit in Berlin takes a bit to get used to, too, but fortunately I had done some preparation beforehand, so we arrived at the hotel pretty much at the time I had predicted.
Overall, it was a great con and I'm happy I got the opportunity to attend it :)
As for tips... not sure these are what you're looking for, but I guess they're valid enough anyhow:
General
Never forget the vitals: passport, money (as well as a method to get more money), and information. The information should include information for hotels, family, the bank (addresses, phonenumbers, etc). Print them out and keep the paper close by.
Transportation
Consider your options for the long haul there. I had booked the train to Berlin before even realising there might be planes going there as well. If you plan on buying much/big art, though, you should take that into consideration as well. Trains at least don't have weight and size limitations.
Also, decide on how you get around the city on a daily basis. In our case, we had a 6-day tourist ticket for the local bus/train/subway-network that allowed us to move freely within the city. Renting a car could be possible, but I'm not sure how cost-effective that is, not to mention that cities tend to be a bit crowded in that regard.
The convention
From what I gathered from Sailoranna, if you plan to commission people, be prepared to be at the dealer's den bright and early. Alternatively, you can visit the artist hangouts here and there. Technically I believe they're not supposed to be selling stuff, but that's never really enforced :P
Also, don't skip on the events. They're often pretty good. I'm talking about Oncle Kage's story-hour and stuff like that. Also, if they do have a "my first furry convention" panel, be sure to visit it. I went to one and, though it wasn't my first con, it was very enlightening.
All i can say is that this is a great furry convention to go to and will do so next year
I have not seen you there i might have passed you a few times or might have spoken to you at te registration desk
I'll have to get me a nice big badge or something for next time. Make it a bit clearer that it is me wandering around there.