Thursday, September 29, 2016

Trip To Germany: Gamescom 2016 & Marksburg Castle: Star Player Diary




















This was an incredible journey to be cherished throughout my lifetime. On the 19th of July, I received an email from Dominique Falkenberg, Community Manager, Ubisoft which said that I had been selected as an Ubisoft Star Player and invited to attend Gamescom 2016 at Cologne, Germany to witness the amazing lineup of Ubisoft games that are awaiting launch. It said, "We recognize your noteworthy engagement within our community, and we would like for you to take part in this very special week designed for you, our biggest fans." I had been posting various content on Vikings, Knights and Samurai in the community fan group for Ubisoft's upcoming "For Honor" game fb.com/groups/GroupForHonor . When the game had been announced at E3 more than a year ago, I had immediately created the fan group since I was so impressed with its new concept and mechanics.

I had never been abroad ever in my life and was glad that Germany was going to be my first country.

I had to quickly make arrangements for getting the Schengen Visa to visit Cologne, Germany where the event was upcoming. I was a bit nervous as a previous invitation was missed due to an unfortunate U.S. Visa refusal as its quite difficult to get short stay U.S. Visas in India. I was overjoyed when I finally got the Schengen Visa for Germany!

The day finally arrived for the trip. By this time I had checked out the amazing city of Cologne online via German websites and my curiosity just kept growing! My flight was scheduled at 3:50 AM on August 16th, 2016. So, I reached the airport the previous night by 10:30 PM. I was too excited to sleep and kept roaming around the airport to check out the renovated place. It had been quite a long time since I had visited the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport.

























I bought a mobile power bank and also a travel universal power adapter for emergencies after I was done with the immigration and security checks. The flight was on time and I boarded the aircraft with a lot of enthusiasm! I began taking some pictures:

This one was just after takeoff:





I reached Doha(Hamad International Airport) after a 5 hour flight(approx.). I had 2 more flights to go. I had to catch the next one after about an hour of reaching Doha. But unfortunately my second flight was rescheduled after 7 hours. I was provided lunch at the Marché restaurant. The food was exquisite!

Here are a few photos of that beautiful restaurant:



















I made a quick call back home to update them about my rescheduled flight. I also informed Angèle, one of our Ubisoft Star Player Guides about the same and gave them my new flight numbers. After the meal, I roamed around a bit to check out the amazing Hamad International Airport:


























While waiting at the airport in Doha, I met a guy from Pakistan. It was the first time for me to talk to someone from Pakistan face to face. On the other hand, he was also meeting an Indian(me) for the first time! We spoke about each others' countries and he was very curious about mine. We talked about the difficulties and lifestyles in both countries. I asked him to watch a movie by Shah Rukh Khan (Veer-Zaara) and also told him to listen to a song that describes the similarities between both countries. If you are wondering what song it is, here it is with subtitles:






He had never been to India. We chatted for some more time. At the end of our conversation, he said that he was delighted to have met me and I shared my thoughts that it was a pleasure to meet him too. For a moment I had found a fellow traveller for the 2nd part of my journey towards Germany.




















I reached Istanbul, Turkey at the correct time....moments later, I was on my flight to Cologne. At around 11:30 pm, my flight landed at the airport. I was unable to contact my Star Player guide as due to a connectivity issue on roaming. Luckily I found a good samaritan who lent me his phone to make the urgent call. Though I was able to contact my guide, I wasn't able to locate the cab that was supposed to be waiting. So I took one on my own and drove off to the Lindner Dom Residence Hotel.





















After a while I checked into the amazing hotel, I got a call from Natchai asking me to come down for a small meet. We had a little chat about my journey and whatever I missed that day. Luckily nothing was missed regarding UbiGames :) ! After that, Natchai handed me over the last Ubisoft goodies bag :) . Then we parted to our respective rooms. I waited for the next day with great enthusiasm as I dozed off....next morning, the breakfast was amazing. I met the other fellow Star Players who had arrived from different parts of the world. I had quite a long conversation with Samuel Steele who had also arrived as a community reporter for "For Honor". There was another community reporter called Lisa Habraken who had also arrived for the same amazing game. Later on, I had a chat with most of the other Star Players I could find.

Moments later, Natchai called us for some more UbiGoodies ;) . We got a gigantic Assassin's Creed Movie poster(adores my room wall now :) ) along with a South Park figure :) .





The moment that we've been waiting for finally arrived!!!

We boarded the bus and began the journey towards Gamescom at the Koelnmesse!
























Thats the Rhine river:




















After reaching our destination, our excitement knew no bounds as we entered the majestic arena!






















Fellow Star Players:





















With Community Reporter and Star Player Samuel Steel:




















Here are some pics from Gamescom:





































The legendary cosplayer, Rick Boer!







































On our way back after the first day:



















Some pretty cars spotted :) !
























I adore bikes. So had to take this shot:




















St. Peter's Cathedral at Cologne:




















In the city:
































With fellow Star Player, Bisu Zimt:




















Dishonored 2 craze in the city!!




Some more pics of the beautiful city:























Dinner time!

















With Star Player guides Moritz Steck and Angèle Perrottet




Some more pics of the Cologne Cathedral:




Next day was a big surprise for us, as we were going to visit a medieval castle dating back to 1117!

Early next morning we headed off towards Marksburg castle headed by Ubisoft brand director Luc Duchaine and Ubisoft community developer Emile Gauthier along with fellow Star Players and Community reporters.




For Honor Community Reporters Samuel and Lisa:




For Honor Brand Director Luc Duchaine and Community Developer Emile Gauthier:



When we finally reached our destination:





















Our castle tour guide had a beautiful accent and a wonderful way of explaining things:





























Medieval Chess!:








































One of the ceilings above:

























Trying a Knight's Helmet:

























The torture room!:


























On the right is the hoof of a medieval horse! See the massive difference!:























A hilarious sign!



















Back at Gamescom!:









































Last view! It was a bit emotional when all of us parted and headed homewards!





















My first flight was delayed and my Visa had expired. The police officer was a true gentleman who helped me out during that time to check out with my passport. He was very friendly and kind. Dear good people of Germany, take a humble bow!



















I reached home on 20th September past 2 am. This will forever be an unforgettable trip! Thank you Ubisoft and the lovely samaritans of Germany whom I met during my stay, for your beautiful gesture of hospitality!


Lots of Love,
Avi