Furry Things For Puppy Things
Sep. 11th, 2010 12:24 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lupestripeLike a pup with his head stuck out of a window as his owner drives through a long tunnel, memories of EF keep coursing through my mind. Here's a mind dump of them, largely for my own records.
The fountain around Leiterstrasse during the wine festival was most intriguing and very Soviet in sensibilities. Dogs urinating, people vomiting and a grey metallic feel definitely felt very DDR, as did the ladder drawings on the sides of the flats. We also saw a British Shop selling all things British but alas it was closed for two weeks, which was a shame. I foolishly mentioned the war to the Germans who asked me about why English sausage doesn't taste as nice as German sausage (I believe it has to do with rusk and WWII rationing) and they didn't talk to me much after that. We said goodbye pleasantly enough though.
The criticisms of the con largely point to the expensive food and drink, but these prices were what you would expect of a four star city centre hotel. We ate at the nice pizza place on the first night (the Tuesday) but the service was very slow - I don't think they were prepared for the furry invasion. They gave is a discount though and from what I hear, the service had improved by the end of the week. Back in the hotel, the elevator wait was frustrating but I imagine they have never been in so much demand - it was also interesting to note most people didn't bother with the enclosed elevators at the far end, opting for the glass ones every time. On to beer and as well as buying wine and whisky from Vom Fass on our final day, we also bought some Vita Cola - DDR's answer to Coca Cola. The addition of lemon is an interesting concept but it wasn't as nice as the American version in this drinker's opinion.
However, the only other issue I had with the con was the event scheduling, largely as there appeared to be less choice in SIGs this year, particularly due to a number being reserved for Super Sponsors. Furthermore, only having three time slots rather than four per day but spreading the SIGs out over more rooms (five as opposed to four) meant there were more clashes this year, meaning I had to miss certain events. No system is ever ideal though, I suppose, and I did get to the vast majority of things I wanted to see.
The idea of a Super Sponsor has divided opinion, it would seem, but if it keeps prices down for everyone else then I do not begrudge them some added perks. Furthermore, I think the priority queuing for Sponsors and Super Sponsors is a great incentive to persuade people to upgrade. Still, I can understand the flip side of the coin too. And yey for customised kinky keycards with the magnetic strip covering the characters modesty. Top stuff ^^
The flags flying outside the hotel and the Eurofurence banner hanging in the foyer were works of supreme genius, making the Maritim feel far more homely and indeed furry. I think further extending the theme to other areas of the con would be advantageous as aside from the Jeep in the foyer covered in savannah grass, the theme wasn't particularly brought to the fore again. The chairs in the foyer were great as it allowed furry relaxation but I did feel the foyer was far less busy than the Ringberg. I also thought there were less fursuiters too so perhaps this is just a mirage. Maybe this was because the hotel was bigger, maybe this was due to the price of beer and the dominance of room parties, I don't know. It was just a feeling. Still, I often found a friendly fuzzy face so I rarely had a bored moment. I noticed a lot more furs in slink under their clothes too - I may be tempted to bring mine next year ^^
There also seemed to be a lot less fursuit photography but again this could be merely my own perception. I did think that a couple of photographers were so preoccupied with their furry subjects that they barged us poor non-suiters out of the way. Once, I resorted to going into the smoking room to avoid this, where I had a fantastic two hour rolling conversation with whoever walked through the door. I don't even smoke! It was still a fantastic way to meet people though ^^
Getting to Europoort (love the double vowels the Dutch do, particularly aa) on the mini cruise from Hull was a new experience for me and I was surprised to see the cramped nature of the cabins. I have been in bigger lavatories. Bunk beds reigned supreme with a nice sturdy ladder you can easily be tied to. Probably. It was difficult walking on the boat but I couldn't tell if that was because I was drunk or due to the natural pitching of the ocean waves. Sadly, I didn't see Captain Bird's Eye. Or Captain Japs' Eye for that matter.
On the way over, we spoiled ourselves with a three course meal to celebrate Wolfie's birthday. We had pate on warm bread to start, the rarest of rare steaks with chips and sweet potato for main and delicious cheeseboard for dessert. We tried a delicious Rioja and we both felt fat and bloaty for the rest of the voyage. On the way back, we stuck with the (expensive) buffet where I ate more cheese. There was a small casino on there too but the only games you could play were games of chance rather than skill so I gave it a miss. We also built up a rapport with one of the performers - a bald headed (where else would you be bald?) pianist whose only applause he was getting was coming from us. He was happy we were acknowledging him and I did think it must be so disparaging being a performer who spends most of his time creating ambient music to little appreciation. He played hits from the 70s mainly and dedicated a song to lovers - he told us he couldn't dedicate it to us - probably because he didn't think we were lovers. I don't know, I had had a whole bottle of wine by this point.
And then the realisation hit me - just like Brits do mini-cruises to Amsterdam and Rotterdam, do the Dutch do mini-cruises to Hull and Harwich?
The fountain around Leiterstrasse during the wine festival was most intriguing and very Soviet in sensibilities. Dogs urinating, people vomiting and a grey metallic feel definitely felt very DDR, as did the ladder drawings on the sides of the flats. We also saw a British Shop selling all things British but alas it was closed for two weeks, which was a shame. I foolishly mentioned the war to the Germans who asked me about why English sausage doesn't taste as nice as German sausage (I believe it has to do with rusk and WWII rationing) and they didn't talk to me much after that. We said goodbye pleasantly enough though.
The criticisms of the con largely point to the expensive food and drink, but these prices were what you would expect of a four star city centre hotel. We ate at the nice pizza place on the first night (the Tuesday) but the service was very slow - I don't think they were prepared for the furry invasion. They gave is a discount though and from what I hear, the service had improved by the end of the week. Back in the hotel, the elevator wait was frustrating but I imagine they have never been in so much demand - it was also interesting to note most people didn't bother with the enclosed elevators at the far end, opting for the glass ones every time. On to beer and as well as buying wine and whisky from Vom Fass on our final day, we also bought some Vita Cola - DDR's answer to Coca Cola. The addition of lemon is an interesting concept but it wasn't as nice as the American version in this drinker's opinion.
However, the only other issue I had with the con was the event scheduling, largely as there appeared to be less choice in SIGs this year, particularly due to a number being reserved for Super Sponsors. Furthermore, only having three time slots rather than four per day but spreading the SIGs out over more rooms (five as opposed to four) meant there were more clashes this year, meaning I had to miss certain events. No system is ever ideal though, I suppose, and I did get to the vast majority of things I wanted to see.
The idea of a Super Sponsor has divided opinion, it would seem, but if it keeps prices down for everyone else then I do not begrudge them some added perks. Furthermore, I think the priority queuing for Sponsors and Super Sponsors is a great incentive to persuade people to upgrade. Still, I can understand the flip side of the coin too. And yey for customised kinky keycards with the magnetic strip covering the characters modesty. Top stuff ^^
The flags flying outside the hotel and the Eurofurence banner hanging in the foyer were works of supreme genius, making the Maritim feel far more homely and indeed furry. I think further extending the theme to other areas of the con would be advantageous as aside from the Jeep in the foyer covered in savannah grass, the theme wasn't particularly brought to the fore again. The chairs in the foyer were great as it allowed furry relaxation but I did feel the foyer was far less busy than the Ringberg. I also thought there were less fursuiters too so perhaps this is just a mirage. Maybe this was because the hotel was bigger, maybe this was due to the price of beer and the dominance of room parties, I don't know. It was just a feeling. Still, I often found a friendly fuzzy face so I rarely had a bored moment. I noticed a lot more furs in slink under their clothes too - I may be tempted to bring mine next year ^^
There also seemed to be a lot less fursuit photography but again this could be merely my own perception. I did think that a couple of photographers were so preoccupied with their furry subjects that they barged us poor non-suiters out of the way. Once, I resorted to going into the smoking room to avoid this, where I had a fantastic two hour rolling conversation with whoever walked through the door. I don't even smoke! It was still a fantastic way to meet people though ^^
Getting to Europoort (love the double vowels the Dutch do, particularly aa) on the mini cruise from Hull was a new experience for me and I was surprised to see the cramped nature of the cabins. I have been in bigger lavatories. Bunk beds reigned supreme with a nice sturdy ladder you can easily be tied to. Probably. It was difficult walking on the boat but I couldn't tell if that was because I was drunk or due to the natural pitching of the ocean waves. Sadly, I didn't see Captain Bird's Eye. Or Captain Japs' Eye for that matter.
On the way over, we spoiled ourselves with a three course meal to celebrate Wolfie's birthday. We had pate on warm bread to start, the rarest of rare steaks with chips and sweet potato for main and delicious cheeseboard for dessert. We tried a delicious Rioja and we both felt fat and bloaty for the rest of the voyage. On the way back, we stuck with the (expensive) buffet where I ate more cheese. There was a small casino on there too but the only games you could play were games of chance rather than skill so I gave it a miss. We also built up a rapport with one of the performers - a bald headed (where else would you be bald?) pianist whose only applause he was getting was coming from us. He was happy we were acknowledging him and I did think it must be so disparaging being a performer who spends most of his time creating ambient music to little appreciation. He played hits from the 70s mainly and dedicated a song to lovers - he told us he couldn't dedicate it to us - probably because he didn't think we were lovers. I don't know, I had had a whole bottle of wine by this point.
And then the realisation hit me - just like Brits do mini-cruises to Amsterdam and Rotterdam, do the Dutch do mini-cruises to Hull and Harwich?
