Hivefest first conference day

Having been to previous events I knew Hivefest would be intense. It has been a long day of presentations, discussions and fun.

As I paid a little extra for my ticket I am listed as a sponsor.

Some people have a t-shirt for their project, but @brittandjosie had a whole outfit. Unfortunately there is no event shirt for attendees this time, but we got some other goodies.

We caught to metro to the main station and then took a ferry to get to the Eye which has some cinemas. We were in one of those for the talks.

Between presentation sessions we could chat whilst enjoying some refreshments. It is a cool building. The were big windows so we could see all the passing canal traffic. They have big ships carrying goods around.

We had a real variety of presentations. @zirochka talked about her experiences in Ukraine during the invasion. This was obviously very emotional for her and I think everyone was touched by this. Hive is really helping people there. We also heard about marketing projects, blockchain development, beer, soup (!) and more. I recommend looking up the videos which should be available soon if you missed the live feed.

Then we boarded a couple of boats for a tour of the canals. It is a pretty city with lots of interesting buildings and boats. There are lots of people living on the water. The weather was really variable with heavy rain at times.

We docked near a bar where we played petanque (some call it boule). This was quite competitive. There was beer, food and more chatting. I talked to people I would never met otherwise and learnt a lot.

I walked back to the hotel with @livinguktaiwan, trying to avoid being run down by the many cyclists. This windmill is right by the bar. It seems out of place in town, but maybe it used to be in open countryside.

I am hoping to sleep better tonight so I can last another day like this.