Intro

The moment I departed from Hamburg after Eurofurence 27, I knew I’d be coming back. It had been one of the most memorable experiences in my life, and I had never experienced such a feeling of community before. I also had plans for the next year: I wanted to build my own fursuit, I wanted to organize another Fediverse meet-up, and I wanted to meet even more friends that I’ve only known online before. Preparing all that basically kept the PCD away and kept me busy for a whole year. So needless to say, I was a little bit hyped for my second furry con, with lots of hopes and expectations.

Did EF28 live up to that? Oh heck yes.

Tuesday

Our train left at 8:21 in the morning, so we planned to get up early to avoid needless stress—it was supposed to be a vacation, after all! Of course, when you’re super excited, it’s kinda hard to fall asleep, and thanks to my partner Keeya waking me up extra early, I got about three hours of sleep that night. Oops.

We had been planning our own little “furry train”, coordinating train tickets and seat reservations with seven friends, so we’d all be on the same ICE 882 to Hamburg. And it worked! Almost. I had booked all of ours seats as one block, so we could sit together, and my friends each had their individual train tickets. There was only a tiny little problem: while we had agreed in advance that we’d be traveling first class, somehow it wasn’t quite clear that my friends actually needed to book first class train tickets for that. So we ended up with seat reservations for the first class, and train tickets for the second class. Needless to say, that didn’t work, and we ended up scattered all over the train due to missing seat reservations. (And no, you can’t “upgrade” your ticket afterwards, even if there is room and you want to throw more money at Deutsche Bahn. They simply won’t let you, just because.)

That doesn’t sound like the best start, but this is where the fun began: When we wanted to meet up during the train ride, we noticed there were a lot of people on it that looked suspiciously… furry. I actually went back to my seat and put on my con badge, and got so many smiling faces as we were walking through the train. We chatted with people and even exchanged some stickers—everyone was excited, and it almost felt like a mini con on a train. I loved it, and I hope we can repeat that next year!

Of course our train was 45 minutes late (big surprise) but it was alright, since it was still early arrival day and we had plenty of time before any important events started. As we got off the train and walked through the city from Dammtor station to our hotel (Kleinhuis Hotel Baseler Hof, about five minutes walk from the CCH), we noticed even more people with suspicious t-shirts, suitcases covered in stickers, or even tails. The furries had arrived!

We met up with our roommate Rengyr, checked into the hotel (furries in front of me, furries after me), and there were leaflets on the reception desk for a special contest for their Eurofurence guests: you could submit a picture in fursuit somewhere in the hotel, and the winner would get two nights for free during the next EF. I wanted to participate too, but unfortunately the timeframe for submissions was rather short (until the 19th at 14:00) and we simply didn’t find the time to take pictures in suit, edit, and submit them before the deadline. Oh well—it was still an awesome idea, and it immediately made me feel welcome there. Daily Eurofurence even published an article about the contest, and the hotel became known as the “furry hotel” soon afterwards.

After getting all our stuff unpacked we walked back to the CCH, where lots of furries were already gathering. We chatted for a while until all of our group had arrived, then went to a pizzeria where we had reserved a table for ten. It was a nice place and the pizza was delicious, even if they seemed really determined to deliver a bacon pizza to one friend who was very sure he hadn’t ordered one.

After some good food and drinks we returned to the CCH once again and watched the water light show in the Planten un Blomen park together. There was already quite a party going on in front of the CCH, and we were all excited for the big opening on the next morning!

Wednesday

After last year I kinda expected there to be a long registration queue. What I didn’t expect was the end of the queue greeting me already halfway between the hotel and Dammtor station, way past the CCH. There were a lot of us. Still, everyone was in a good mood, and I barely noticed the time until it was my turn to get my con badge.

Of course that wasn’t all: I still needed to get my fursuit badge, web video creator badge, and my sponsor package, so most of the morning was spent waiting in queues. Just normal con things. I still got to meet a couple of friends while waiting, and some of us met afterwards in front of the CCH to get a pizza from one of the food trucks. That was also our first encounter with the local wasps, who were just as interested in our pizza as we were, and a friend just barely stopped me before I almost bit into my pizza that had suddenly acquired a black and yellow striped spicy topping.

We spent some more time in front of the CCH, meeting friends and taking pictures, and then it was time for the opening ceremony. To no one’s surprise, there was a big queue again, but thanks to better organization and crowd management, they were not quite as chaotic as last year. Still just as long though!

I loved the 3D animation during the opening ceremony and how it was woven together with the various teams giving us some important info for the con. Overall it felt shorter than last year, but I mean that in a positive way: everyone wanted to get the con started, so it was short and to the point, and finally Cheetah declared Eurofurence 28 open!

After dinner, more photos, and trying (unsuccessfully) to find a local EDEKA store before it closed, it was time for our first big event: I had organized a werewolf photoshoot with three wolf fursuiters: Štejf, Spectrie, and Berkano. It was the night of the full moon, unfortunately with an overcast sky, but we had brought our own RGB light and I think we got some pretty awesome pictures featuring our wolf friends in the Planten un Blomen park.

Afterwards Keeya and Rengyr returned to our hotel, while I stayed a while longer to explore the CCH, have a look at our room for the upcoming Fediverse meet-up, and of course to visit the first dance party.

Thursday

The first event on our schedule was another photoshoot, this time with Štejf behind an analog camera and me in front of it! It was my first time taking my full fursuit to the con, and since I still wasn’t quite sure about the whole logistics, I decided to walk the way from the hotel to the CCH in suit. It was a fun experience, and lots of people waved and asked for pictures on the way. I did need to learn how to pace myself though—a regular five-minute walk turned into a fifteen-minute walk with suit, but we had a pleasant wind and the temperature was survivable.

I had a lot of fun during the photoshoot, and Štejf was very patient with me, since I often had to take breaks and drink more water. There were also quite a few kids running around that park, asking me for high fives, hugs, and photos. We also met another fursuiter in the park, Coco, who posed for a picture with me!

After the photoshoot we stayed a bit longer in front of the CCH, taking pictures with friends, and I also met Erazy, a wonderful cat with a giant air blower. I think every fursuiter at the con will remember them fondly.

Eventually we dropped off my suit and our backpacks at the hotel, because our next destination was the Dealer’s Den! There was a long queue but the waiting time was made sweeter by Blyde, a ridiculously cute blue wusky fursuiter who collected charity donations from people in the queue in exchange for hugs. How could anyone resist!

Our first stop at the DD was Pan Hesekiel Shiroi’s table, where we gave her a bunch of our Fediverse meet-up stickers, which she had designed. Keeya also picked up a cute fox bag from her, and I got a “Pardy Animal” shirt! I also bought a mouse pad from Matomo Wahots. (You can find a video of all of those further down!) We browsed through more tables, but it was all very overwhelming so we decided to come back another time for more.

We briefly returned to the hotel to drop off our loot, get our backpacks again, I got my partial suit, and then it was almost time for our Fediverse meet-up! (I think there was some food involved between that, but my memories are kinda blurry.)

I arrived at our panel room half an hour early and helped one of the EF staff rearrange the tables for our meet-up. That was also when I found out that none of my equipment requests (projector, power, fans and water for fursuiters) had made it onto their event sheet. Luckily we could sort it out just in time, and I got my laptop ready with our Fediwall. I also played some background music by Lupomancer; it wasn’t very loud because I still wanted people to have normal conversations, but if you liked it, check out Primitive Ruckus—it’s probably my favorite DJ set ever.

Slowly more and more people arrived and started socializing. After last year, where I had a 90-minute presentation to do, it was an amazing feeling to just see things work and people having fun without everything depending on me. I distributed our Fediverse stickers, then put on my partial suit and also chatted with people and took some photos. I also got some stickers and even printed photos from friends there, and we managed to take a big fursuit group picture! Thank you again to everyone who came to the meet-up—it was awesome to see our Fediverse community in the flesh (or fur), and I will definitely try to organize another meet-up next year!

After the meet-up, Keeya and Rengyr left for the hotel, while I stayed a bit longer. I found a nice place near the open stage and listened to people doing fur-e-oke. Occasionally friends would stop by and we’d chat—I think these times, when all the big events of the day were done, and we could just hang out and relax, were some of my favorite moments during the con.

I did have one more item on my schedule that day though: Cheetah’s DJ set in the dance hall at midnight! It was my first time attending a dance with my partial fursuit, and despite me still being very limited and clumsy in suit, it was an awesome experience. Furry raves are something special and you can’t quite describe the wild energy there until you’ve actually experienced it.

Friday

The day of the big fursuit parade! Once again I walked in full suit from the hotel to the CCH, and with the weather being slightly warmer that day we tried to find a shady spot in front of the CCH until the parade started. Not much luck though. Keeya and Rengyr had both brought their cameras, and we took more pictures with other fursuiters until it was time for the parade.

Our plan was to do what I had done last year: Walk with the parade for a bit, then stop and take some photos and videos as fursuiters walked by, then continue and repeat a couple of times until the end. As the parade started, I realized we were in a good spot for photos, but not so much for interacting with other people watching the parade, and I really wanted to do that. So I walked with the parade on my own, hoping that Keeya and Rengyr would eventually find me again. (They did!)

The parade was a lot of fun, but it was sunny, warm, and unfortunately not very windy anymore, and I was getting a little worried if I could make it all the way through the parade. I was very sweaty and thirsty at the end, and drank my entire water bottle plus Keeya’s and Rengyr’s too (sorry!) but otherwise, I felt surprisingly fine.

After the parade we stayed a bit longer at the CCH, taking photos with other fursuiters, then walked back to the hotel to drop off my suit. We got lunch at the CCH with a friend who had just arrived from Switzerland, and then it was time for my friend Karb’s Postybirb panel.

Besides being there for moral support, I was also interested in the subject because I actually use Postybirb for posting my art to multiple websites, and even though it was meant as an introduction I learned a few more things about the formatting and linking features of Postybirb. It was also very fun, and if you’re an artist and find Karb doing this panel at your local convention, definitely visit him and say hi!

After that it was time for our next adventure: Keeya wanted to get a table at the Artist Alley to sell some of his fox figures and bags. We had never done this before but it turned out quite easy. We immediately found a free table, managed to register through the app, and even made a few sales. I think the only issue was that the Artist Alley was a bit difficult to find, hidden away on the second floor next to the open stage—I only found it because I specifically looked for it, and I was probably not the only one. Otherwise it was a nice location though, with tables along the large glass front looking over the area in front of the CCH.

While Keeya was at his table, I got a Telegram message from Isolectra, who works for the Daily Eurofurence, asking me some questions about our Fediverse meet-up. I tried to answer as best as I could on my phone, and also sent them our fursuit group photo from the meet-up, in case they had some layout space for it. Little did I know that we were going to be featured on a full page!

After sunset, we met up with my friend Snow Foxx for another photoshoot in the nearby park. We wanted to use the “Golden Hour” just before sunset and unfortunately there wasn’t any time for me to get into full suit, so I could only bring my partial. We had to get a bit creative with our photos, but I think they turned out fun!

With that done, Keeya and Rengyr returned to our hotel again, and I went back to my favorite spot near the open stage to relax. Soon more friends joined me and we all chatted for a while, I took some more photos and videos, and then we finally headed down for some fursuit shenanigans until it got too cold for me outside and I also headed back to the hotel.

Saturday

Rengyr had brought his Instax printer and one of our objectives that day was to get lots of photo prints to various fursuiters we had photographed during the convention. If you’ve ever tried to get a hold of someone on short notice during a con, you’ll know it’s not an easy task!

The first big event that day was the fursuit group photo, so once again I walked from the hotel to the CCH in full suit. We took more photos of fursuiters, then waited for the big group photo. Last year it was amazing to watch all the fursuiters standing there in one spot, but I was on the outside just taking photos myself. This time, I was right in the middle with them! Luckily the temperatures weren’t nearly as hot, and it all went pretty smoothly.

Afterwards I went to the fursuit lounge for the first time to actually store my entire suit there, not just my tail or head as on the days before. The lounge is a magical place—it’s not very pretty, looking rather “industrial”, but seeing all the thousands of fursuits and random parts stored there in one place made me a bit sentimental. Other than quick badge checks at the entrance, there are no storage lockers or even name tags in the lounge. People just find a free spot and leave their most prized possession, worth thousands of Euros, next to all the others, unattended. We all trust each other to keep our stuff safe. It’s a mess, but a beautiful mess, and the fact that it works like that also says something about this community.

The fursuit lounge also had free drinks for fursuiters, not just plain water but even isotonic drinks, and different flavors like orange and a mysterious green tank only labelled “EF Green”. Yes I tried it, no I couldn’t tell you what it was.

Once I was back in my regular clothes, I visited Keeya and Rengyr on the second floor, who had set up their table at the Artist Alley again. We sold a few more foxes and bags, and I also bought a pack of cute stickers from a neighbor table. No spoilers, but some of you might seem them soon!

After that it was time for another round through the Dealer’s Den—I bought a UV reactive neon paw shirt from Al’Mer’s Creative Dungeon, a new tail belt (because my old one fell apart during the con), and a set of big cat mood cards from TaniDaReal. I also wanted to get one of those cool ID card holders from Illumi-Nation Cyberwear but unfortunately they were already sold out. (I did order one online after the con though!)

(I’m leaving out the parts where I was wandering through the CCH trying to find various fursuiters to give them their Instax prints, but I am happy to report that all prints were delivered successfully, and there were lots of surprised and happy smiles.)

And then it was time for the sad part: closing ceremony. Especially Iris Schleuss, our guest of honor, had some beautiful words for us:

We weren’t quite done with the convention yet though! We grabbed a quick dinner, then Keeya opened his table at the Artist Alley again for the last time, while I met with Snow Foxx and his friend Scaly for some more fursuit photos around the CCH, now with me in proper fullsuit! I had an awesome time—I wish I could do this more often.

Afterwards it was slowly getting time to pack up our Artist Alley table. Just as we left, I saw Pepper Coyote live on the open stage playing “See You Next Year”, the song I used for my con video last year. Talk about timing.

We said goodbye to our friends and left the CCH, with me still in full suit, and walked back to our hotel. That was a bit risky because it was after midnight, and we had to get past a group of very drunken normies on the way, but most of them were cool and only asked me for pictures and high fives. I still would not recommend this unless you have a group of friends with you, and I hope the con can maybe provide something like a shuttle service in the future, similar to Anthrocon.

Sunday

Technically the con was over, but we weren’t quite ready to leave yet. We went to Hagenbecks Zoo on Sunday with a local friend, but not before making a brief stop at the CCH where, unsurprisingly, furries were still hanging out. I took a few more pictures and videos and Huscai kindly helped me record a cute goodbye clip for my con video!

The zoo was quite impressive, especially the aquarium: unlike our zoo in Augsburg, the enclosures and the visitor areas were beautifully themed, and the whole place felt very immersive. The arctic ice area was also pretty cool—and I mean that literally: it felt like 5 °C inside, while we were coming from the 25 °C outside in shirts. The penguins were literally standing next to you, as if you could just grab them and take them home with you.

On the way back we got dinner from McDonald’s at Dammtor station, and sat with other furries at the CCH who were waiting for the Dead Dog Party. Unfortunately I couldn’t attend because I still needed to get my suit packed and ready for the train on the next morning, but we still chatted a bit and it was awesome to see the con still going on for a bit longer.

Monday

On Monday we checked out of the hotel, took one last picture of the CCH (still a few furries there), said goodbye to our friend Rengyr, and then waited for our own train back to Augsburg. On the platform, we met even more furries, who also turned out traveling on the same train as us. I was very happy about that because it felt like the con just kept going basically until we arrived back home.

Conclusion

And that was my Eurofurence 28. Last year, at my first con, it was all still very new to me, lots of anxiety mixed with excitement, but this time I felt right at home, and way more comfortable to interact with people, even though I was still overwhelmed at times. To everyone who worked or volunteered there, who said hi to me, or spent some time with me, or asked me for a picture or a hug in fursuit: thank you! There is no event quite like a furry con, and the warmth and kindness and sense of community never ceases to amaze me. You all made this the most wonderful week I’ve ever had in my life. I miss you all dearly, and I can’t wait to be back for Eurofurence 29.

See you next year!