So I made it to Amsterdam for @hivefest . It was a fairly long journey, but not stressful. I was up early yesterday to catch a train into London. I have not travelled on Eurostar before and wanted to be sure I could get through customs in time it was not that bad, although there were loads of people catching various trains. I just missed seeing @tdctunes who got a direct train, but we met up later. I had a coffee and croissant to keep me going.
The Eurostar train zooms along and is very smooth. In no time we were at the tunnel and through to France.
I took the slightly cheaper option of changing trains in Brussels. Unfortunately my connection from there was cancelled, but I had booked an alternative. That meant a bit of waiting, but I had time for some pizza.
The next train was a bit more vintage and it started off fairly empty. It made a few stops and got me to Amsterdam around 4:40. Then I just had to work out the metro tickets to get to the hotel. I had considered walking, but I was carrying a guitar as well as my rucksack plus it was raining.
One of the first I met was @slobberchops who got here early. I soon met lots more people as I got checked in. I am staying at the Volkshotel which is the hub of the event. The room is small, but has all I need.
Last night was just drinks and getting to meet people. Lots of old friends from previous events are here. I was at SF2 in Lisbon and SF3 in Krakow. I am sure a select few have been to all of them.
As at previous events there is an app with the schedule and also a game aspect where you scan the badges of other attendees. The idea is that you talk for a while. I may have messed up some scans, but it was already getting competitive. @brittandjosie and I have a rivalry going on with that. I was just happy to talk to people. People have flown in from all over with some from the USA, Canada and Brazil as well as most of Europe. Great to see the legendary Steembirds @jaybird and @dan-atstarlite again. @lordbutterfly is not as I imagined and he's even taller than me. I had a good chats with @brianoflondon, @thejohalfiles , @starkerz, @zirochka, @ana-maria and many more.
Unfortunately my brain does not want to sleep and so I am writing this in the early hours. It will be an intense few days, so I need my rest. Looking forward to the first full day of conference and fun.
Give five!
