Trip to gamescom and poor transportation - issue #5
Hey there!
I am back with Wednesday's schedule. As promised I'm here with the report from Gamescom 2022 and other adventures in Germany.
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🇳🇱 Travel
The trip to Germany was a bit hectic. Germany is famous for its punctuality but not in the transportation area. All the trains and buses we took along the way were canceled or considerably late. It's not a complaint though, it gave our trip an adventurous vibe. It's an observation and warning if you're planning to go to Germany.
But it all started with the train workers' strike in The Netherlands. We had a train from The Hague to Utrech at 5 am. Around 4 am we'd gotten a message that all trains had been canceled.
It was a good chance to try carsharing in The Netherlands so we drove Sixt to Utrecht. It was my first time driving an electric car (Nissan Leaf). I wouldn't say there is that big of a difference between driving a gas car, apart from everything being more automatic. But it didn't have the problem electric scooters do. When you turn the gas they immediately go fast. The car starter is smooth!
Driving in The Netherlands is a pleasure compared to Georgia where I've driven before. I noticed it even with scooters but with a car, it's even better. You are never confused with road markings and the road condition is perfect.
Anyway, after reaching Utrecht we successfully dispatched to Cologne where Gamescom was happening.
The scale of everything at the conference was shocking. Exactly how I imagined the biggest videogame conference in the world when I was a kid. Also, it's impossible to see and take part in everything in one day. No wonder the conference runs for 5 days. A queue to watch the gameplay or for some activity can be for 1-2 hours. Many people had brought flexible chairs and it was smart.
My favorite place was Indie hall. There were hundreds of indie games there and you can speak directly to the developers. It's always a different level of connection compared to big corporations stands. They usually have PR stuff in there.
Overall it was a great experience that immediately brought me back to childhood. I'll probably go the next year as well but with a more structured plan of which booths and halls I want to visit. And I'll bring a chair.
The next day we also explored Dusseldorf where we stayed for the night. It was impossible to book a hotel in Cologne. I enjoyed the Little Tokyo district in Dusseldorf. Such a nice Japanese vibe in there and many restaurants or manga stores.
🇳🇱 Stuff I’m doing in The Netherlands
We've been living in our apartment for a month and we connected all the utilities except one - the Internet. Our first provider pick was T-Mobile. They should have connected our house somewhere in the middle of August. Turns out they have some issues with the optic cable owners and cannot use their cable in The Hague. And the landlord doesn't allow providing new cables to the building.
So after waiting for almost 4 weeks we had to pick another provider who already has optics in here. We picked KPN but it also takes some time for them to provide the connection. Our appointment is on the 7th of September. The downside is that you can't change the appointment and we'll be in Berlin that day. Let's hope they will manage to leave the router and other stuff somewhere in the building.
All that time we were using an unlimited 4G connection but it's not perfect. Also, it's making iPhone so hot you have to turn it off for some time to get it back to work.
💻 Cool purchase
One of my favorite purchases of recent weeks was an adjustable sitting/standing table. It's Flexispot E8. I always wanted one of those but with constant traveling it was impossible. Finally, we have a home for it!
Adjustments work perfectly and it's fully automated with programmable heights. The table is very sturdy and nice looking. If you're looking for a great table, absolutely recommend it.
🎁 Content I’m consuming
We started watching Little Fires Everywhere and despite not very high reviews, the show is quite intriguing. I was also surprised to see Anna Sophia Robb in there. I liked her movies when she was younger and she is still a pretty good actress.
We're also playing Super Mario 3D World with my wife and it's super fun. I was never much into Mario games but this one is amazing. Perfect game to play with your partner after a long day!
That's it for today. This issue turned out a bit personal so I hope you enjoyed it.
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Written in my mini office in The Hague
Dmitrii