We arrived back at the convention center bright and early, and were pleasantly surprised to discover that the press room was serving breakfast! After a brief tutorial on the Jura coffee maker (no… not a “coffee maker”… a “coffee juke box”!), I had a nice cup of normal (black) coffee with crema, and a few slices of Speck (air-cured, smoked bacon, sliced as thin as lingerie, and more tempting!)
Then there was a quick jaunt to the show floor, which opened thirty minutes early for VIPs and press. I watched the procession of fans enter at Ten, and no one was rushing… it was all orderly, people were smiling. The floor wasn’t expansive, but the booths were well positioned, and overall, traffic wasn’t a problem. (You can peruse the official Con guide here.)
As is my general modus operandi, I just wandered around, experiencing the show, checking out the layout of the convention center, and doing some work in the press office (with the free laptops).
The day ended with the Vienna Championship of Cosplay round, the winner being a massive Wheeljack from the Transformers franchise. (So massive, it couldn’t walk on stage, but in front of it!) If you want to see it in person, he will be competing at C2E2 in the finals.
All photos are of via my Galaxy Epic 4G (aka “Galaxy 1”). We’ll have lots of better photos from our own “Petra Parker” once we figure out how to download huge amounts of data over a tiny Wi-Fi pipeline (19-26Mbps).
Downstairs, the convention center offers lockers for €1.This is Hall A, currently empty. Hall D is similar, but only uses about 3/4 of the space.All of the exhibition halls have skylights and clerestory windows!The coat check, in the queue hall C.The queue hall. Hardcore.The view from the second floor, at Halle B. VIECC was all the way at the end, in Hall D. Hall B had a photography show. Behind me is a cafeteria restaurant, very nicely designed.I don’t know if they make deliveries, but this is brilliant! They had another cart on the show floor!A panorama of the hallway, just after Noon.The centerpiece at the tables in the press room, along with the menu.A small sample of the buffet in the press room!The view from the upstairs restaurant. Libro is an Austrian retailer selling toys, books, electronics, usw.The view from the staircase to the VIP room, which is next to the restaurant.The view of the badge pickup area and main entrance, from the Panorama restaurant. Jessica Jones had most of the large banners.The upstairs cafeteriaThe menu. Multiply the prices by 1.06 to calculate the price in dollars! Seems about the same for American convention centers? Perhaps a little cheaper?American specialties on the menuA manga/anime retailer.Fix & Foxi, a long running German comic and cartoon!Don’t feed Kirby after dark…More stuff you didn’t know you wanted…What would you buy for your cubicle?The publisher? Tokyopop. They have an imprint called Popcom for non-manga titles.The 501st/Rebel Legion zone. To the left is a giant TIE fighter and Disney Infinity 3.0 where one can play the new Star Wars characters.Where does Darth Vader park his TIE fighter? Anywhere he wants!Another view of Vader’s ride.Another view of the shooting gallery. If they had Jar Jar, the line would be out the door!Auto show? Pfft. (KITT was there, a few booths behind this.)Standing room only for the cosplay championship. The front of the aisle was soon filled with photographers.Totoro at the cosplay championship. He lost to a Mustang.
