Hi everyone! 😀 This is the first of many blog posts from my trip to Sims Camp in Germany. I even made a special Category Tag: Sims Camp, so you can read all these blogs in one place. These little “blog posts” will detail events and occurrences from the trip, so grab some popcorn and read away!
♦ Sims Camp (Day #1) – Travel Babbles!
♦ Sims Camp (Day #2) – Press Conference Day!
♦ Sims Camp (Day #3) – The Sims 4 Preview
♦ Sims Camp (Day #4) – The Sims 4 Build & Animations
Thank You’s and Important Notes
Before I continue, I want to take a moment once again to thank each and every one of you, for being the main reason why I was invited to this event to begin with. Your support and dedication is what made this happen, so thank you for two and half years of fun, and here’s to a million more!
Another thank you goes out to EA, Maxis and The Sims Team for the invite, and for hosting such an amazing event! It was an experience I will never forget! Thank you!
Important Note: These blog posts are here for your enjoyment, as I want to share this amazing experience with all of you. These blog posts are in no way some type of “boast” or meant to create jealousy in anyone.Â
Fair warning: If you come to SimsVIP to moan and rant about ANY Sims Camp attendees, you will be banned. This is not the place for your rants, and any such rants are irrelevant to the post’s discussion. Thank you for your understanding.
Travel Time!Â
So here I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off, making sure I had everything I needed for the trip. Not only did I have everything I needed, but I over packed as usual. 😛
I arrived at Chicago O’hare Airport, checked in, and was ready for my flight to Munich! We left Chicago at 7pm Central Time (one hour late due to our plane arriving late!), and had a smooth ride the whole way to Munich
I arrived in Munich at 10am local time, – one hour late because of the plane issues in Chicago – so this left me with less than 45 minutes to get to my next plane. No biggie right? Yea right!
I had to literally check out of the airport, and check back in. Luckily my luggage was being transported all the way through to Cologne, otherwise I would have either left the bag, or missed the plane.
So with 27 minutes to spare, I had to cross the entire airport, run up 3 flights of stairs (no working escalators at the time to run up!) and head to my gate. While running to the gate, I hear my name in the loudspeaker of the airport. That was a first for me! 😮
I arrived at the gate, the gentlemen kindly escorted me to the bus that would transport me to my plane on the tarmac, and there I was in my seat wiping sweat from my forehead! Phew! I actually made it!
The trip from Munich to Cologne was less than an hour. By the time we were sky high, we were already heading for the runway in Cologne. It was like a plane ride to Detroit from Chicago. Quick trip!
Once we landed in Cologne, I headed straight for luggage claim. I waited about 45 minutes until my luggage came around, but it was wroth the wait. There was plenty of people speaking a foreign language to keep me occupied! 😛
Once I got my bag, I headed for the security checkpoint. On my way there, I saw a fairly odd advertisement. I was definitely in Germany! 😀
Down the escalator I went, and there I was greeted by two ‘The Sims 4’ Travel Staff. They were holding a sign that read “Sims Camp” with my first name on it. I felt like a celebrity or something!
They checked to make sure I was really who I claimed to be (LOL!), and then escorted me to the transport car. The car was marked by a Sims 4 sticker as well! Once my luggage was placed in the trunk, off to the hotel we went!
After a 20 minute car ride, I arrived at the Novotel Hotel in Cologne! There, I was greeted by our Community Manager Allen, who had a table full of goodie bags! I received one of the goodie bags, got all checked in, and received my room key. (Speaking of room key, I have some funny stories for you about my room(s)!)
After I checked in with EA, I headed straight for the elevators, and that is where I met Luke Productions from Italy! He was the first simmer to cross my path upon arrival. 🙂
After chatting with Luke in the lobby, I headed up to my room to unwind. At first glance into the bathroom, I noticed Sims Camp and The Sims 4 stickers! What a welcome! I also took a peak outside my window, and I had an awesome view of the town. I could even see the Cathedral from here!
As I awaited for all the other Simmers to arrive, I took a short nap and decided to shower. Now you’re probably wondering why I would even share the fact that I showered, so here’s the funny bit: I couldn’t turn it on. Desperate for help, I called out to other Simmers via Twitter:
@TheSimSupply can you please tell me how to turn on the shower head? ;D
— SimsVIP (@SimsVIP) August 19, 2013
@TheSimSupply this?? I did that and it does nothing xD pic.twitter.com/42HHgfVd1B
— SimsVIP (@SimsVIP) August 19, 2013
Think I managed to fix it yet? Of course not! So after 30 minutes of trying to turn the shower head on, I had no choice but to ask the front desk to come help me turn it on. I felt pretty stupid when she came up and practically turned it on with her eyesight! 😆
So after my hectic shower, I got all dressed up and went downstairs to meet some other Simmers that arrived! I met Simified.com, iPodZeke, TheSimSupply, SimCookie.com, and Curtis Paradis! We all said our hellos, and decided to take a trip out to town to get something to eat. All cool right? Wrong!
So this was my first experience with TubeYoubers. (Yes I created my own word. Heh.) Do you know what TubeYoubers do all day? VLOG! So here I am all “Yeay for enjoying some time out on the town”, and then I had not one, but two video cameras in my face! Vlog time! I whined a little, but hey I got used to it after a day of them vlogging constantly. 😛
We walked around the area looking for a place to eat, and about an hour later realized there was not a single restaurant in sight. We then decided to go back to the hotel and wait on the other Sims Camp-ers!
Once we got back, we all took a seat in the hotel bar/lobby area. As we awaited the arrival of other Simmers, TheSimSupply busted out one of these…
Yea that Australian stuff did not taste so good to this Chicago girl! The only one who got away with not tasting it was Curtis Paradis. #CurtisParadisisaWimp #MakeCurtisTryVegemite! 😉
Once the rest of the Sims Camp crew arrived in Cologne, we got ready and headed out to town for dinner! I forget the name of the place, but we drove the waiter mad. We kept asking for “un-sparkled” water, and ordered 20+ Hamburgers…in Germany. 😆
Once dinner was over, we headed back to the hotel. Some went straight to bed, and others came by my room for the “after party”. The after party was full of vlog editing by TubeYoubers, and a little crazy photo taking by the rest of us! iPodZeke was all in my face at one point while I was updating SimsVIP, so I gave him my famous mean muggin’ face! 😛
The later it got, the louder we got! With an open window and crazy simmers yelling, of course the hotel management would come up and yell at us. We were warned that the police would be called if we didn’t simmer down. Great way to break up an after party! Thanks Curtis! 😛
This was the conclusion of Day One in Germany. It was a travel day, so not much was going on. From tomorrow on is when the fun began! Stay tuned for another blog coming out soon! 🙂
