I think we made almost an impossible thing.
In my case, I took some free days from my work and flew from Spain to Poland to attend an event that made me very happy. It's not just the event that made me have this exceptional feeling. It's the people, HIVE people that have made this weekend so special.
The #HiveBeeCon event was celebrated on Saturday, October 7, in Krakow, Poland. Many of us arrived the day before so some of us already met that day for a cup of coffee and dinner. You guess what! Pierogi ;)
Although I had a bad headache on Friday, and on Saturday morning too, a few pills helped me to get better and head toward the Starbucks where we were supposed to meet with others and get to the train station. Turned out that some people went to another Starbucks (I will not tag π) and missed the train to the Wieliczka Salt Mine. However, all finished well as everyone arrived at the next meeting point you see in the photo below. The entrance to the Salt Mines. We were there, that little group of Hivers, that slowly grew to 19 of us!!
The salt mine was very nice and interesting, I didn't expect it would be that cool. So many passages and so much salt :D But that experience needs a separate post.
We all went for lunch and then again on a train trip back to Krakow. I felt almost like a kid while having a school excursion π. And the next destination was...? Of course, The Kingdom! A place I could not explain well with photos and words, as one just has to be there and feel the vibe. Experience the different approach - I simply loved it. I think we all truly loved it, with every little detail and in global, what it represents.
In the Kingdom, we could buy food and drinks for HBD! Oh, yes, we had again Pierogi, and once again I didn't take a photo of it (sorry). I guess I should eat that dish tomorrow again ;)
These little details from @krolestwo can maybe speak about the spirit of it. Of course, I took more shots, but I already want to get to the part of tagging thirty-something people who came to #HiveBeeCon. Maybe the wizard cast a spell, or it was the energy of the community that made so many people come, but one is sure - the event was a blast!
The people... I almost didn't take any photos with all the people I was talking to and hugging (you can't imagine how many times we all hugged each other - all of us.) so thanks to @livinguktaiwan for these two shots, the first one with @priyanarc and LUT and in the second one my other half, @ph1102 also joined the photo session activity!
In the end, there were more than 40 souls in Krolestwo, attending the HiveBeeCon. There were people I talked to for the first time, like @evelynchacin who came accompanied by her husband and their baby who will arrive at the end of this month π. It was also interesting to talk to @phortun and @blind-spot. We shared some thoughts about the fate of musicians and musicologists with @justynao, and the same pleasure was to talk to @lpa. Some people who are not on Hive also joined and they almost couldn't believe we all came just to meet. It can be a reason to make some sacrifice and travel to a place, from different countries and meet others that you may know just through the screen? Yes, it is a pretty valid reason!
We had many nice moments while playing games, chitchatting and eating some snacks, but there were also some musical moments. @growandbow grabbed a guitar and jammed in a duet with another musician for fun. How nice when music unites people.
Then some piano music came. I only hope that the two Chopin pieces (Nocturne in C# minor, and the Valse in E minor), Mozart's Rondo Alla Turca and Tarantella by Pieczonka were enough interesting to my Hive family. At one moment I said that I died... Not sure if I was shy about being in the spotlight or just wanted to bring the best I could for the people we engage with on our platform. We know that there have been more than 10 mistakes people (actually a lot more π ) who could receive that little gift.
Well, not just classical pieces were played. There was a song I learned for this occasion as it was the favourite one of @gandalf π. Another song needed some assistance (thank you @deepresearch for being my professional helper in turning the pages π). I hope @edje also enjoyed the Einaudi piece and @llunasoul one soundtrack (although not the "Time", but the Yann Tiersen piece).
This was just one part of the audience! But thank you all for the attention and the encouragement ππΆ
Btw, the piano I played is a digital piano, Kawai, bought with HBD! @hallmann is doing a great job with @krolestwo!
The evening was more than excellent, but Sunday was also spent in Hive spirit. A tasty lunch in a vegan restaurant, consumed by 11 of us (oops, now a mass tagging comes hahaha - @gandalf, @delishtreats, her another half, @zirochka, @growandbow, @llunasoul, @ph1102, @edje, @lemony-cricket, @m31 and the one who writes this post.
But it was still not enough :)
Some of us ended up in a pastry shop taking sweet things... A lot of sugar, I would say!! Mine was this on the right side.
Another activity was just wandering around, feeling the chill air of Krakow and getting back to The Kingdom!! Seems that it is a place we will not forget just like that...
As here we can read some cool stuff, like just do nothing.
as it is impossible.
Though things can change if we look at them from a different angle!
Just do it, nothing is impossible - for this Hive meetup at least, this is more than true!
I hope to see you all, soon, somewhere! π€
