Update AWOO post

1 files changed, 123 insertions, 46 deletions

diff --git a/_posts/2024-07-31-awoostria-2024.md b/_posts/2024-07-31-awoostria-2024.md
index ad104e8..14b541d 100644
--- a/_posts/2024-07-31-awoostria-2024.md
+++ b/_posts/2024-07-31-awoostria-2024.md
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 layout: post
 title: Awoostria 2024
 date: 2024-07-31 14:24 +0200
+last_modified_at: 2024-08-01 20:00 +02:00
 lang: en
 categories: ["furry"]
 ---
@@ -17,22 +18,24 @@ do this at home", so conventions are a great excuse for me to get out. I see
 some new cities / locations I wouldn't usually get to see, and at the same time
 I meet new people with a common interest. Sounds like a good deal.
 
-**Wednesday**
+**Wednesday, July 24**
 
 I went the "early arrival, late departure" route. Might be to do with FOMO, but
 it's also more relaxed. I was *really* surprised Vienna is only 5.5 hours of
 train travel away, and it's a direct connection. So I went with Deutsche Bahn.
-It went relatively smoothly, no major delays, and in the Telegram group chat I
-even got some nice tips to switch to metro at Wien Meidling instead of going to
-Main Station. Was a good tip.
+It went relatively smoothly, no major delays (30 minutes), and in the Telegram
+group chat I even got some nice tips to switch to metro at Wien Meidling
+instead of going to Main Station. Was a good tip.
 
 A not-so-nice experience, at Wien Meidling I was approached twice by people who
 went like "uh, hey, excuse me please…", but I have enough of this experience
 here in Würzburg to already assume it's probably just going to be begging, so I
-went into full ignore mode and simply went on to the subway.
+went into full ignore mode and simply went on to the subway. During the
+convention, I got really impressed by Vienna's public transport. You can get
+"pretty much anywhere" (along the routes of public transport) pretty quickly.
+This proved really valuable on Friday when I went sightseeing with other furs. 
 
-During the convention, I got really impressed by Vienna's public transport. The
-hotel was conveniently located. So I could get there by walking from the
+The hotel was conveniently located. So I could get there by walking from the
 station Wien West easily. The day I arrived there was still some setup going
 on, regarding the decoration. On this day, I played some nice card games with
 other furries already at the convention (sadly, the only time I did that). Got
@@ -40,68 +43,142 @@ something small to eat as well. Otherwise, I walked around near the venue,
 found a nice spot with a bit of a view over the city, but not much else going
 on.
 
-**Thursday**
+<a href="https://pics.uvokchee.de/picture.php?/152/category/9">
+<img
+ src="https://pics.uvokchee.de/_data/i/upload/2024/08/01/20240801165108-5168e829-sm.jpg"
+ alt="Awoostria main banner, showing an anthro wolf holding a diamond, lit red and
+ green, with a bird, cat, raccoon and marten in the background"
+/>
+</a>
+
+<a href="https://pics.uvokchee.de/picture.php?/153/category/9">
+<img
+ src="https://pics.uvokchee.de/_data/i/upload/2024/08/01/20240801165109-3c0d7509-sm.jpg"
+ alt="Another Awoostria banner, hanging from a balcony, showing the con's name and theme"
+/>
+</a>
+
+<a href="https://pics.uvokchee.de/picture.php?/154/category/9">
+<img
+ src="https://pics.uvokchee.de/_data/i/upload/2024/08/01/20240801165109-a0c2c05b-sm.jpg"
+ alt="A panorama view over the city from above, taken from the city hall's steps"
+/>
+</a>
+
+**Thursday, July 25**
 
 First day, already some digestion issues. "Not off to a good start", I thought,
 but it probably just was the excitement, the other days went by without
-problems. Went around the city a bit on my own and even got a week ticket for
+problems. I went around the city a bit on my own and even got a week ticket for
 the public transport (20 Euro, eh, might be an okay-ish price for a vacation).
-Saw some of the horse-drawn carriages as well (didn't go in one for the whole
-time). Took some photos of some fursuiters (on Thursday and all of the following
-days), watched the opening, tried to go to the cuddle panel, but it was too
-full, watched the karaoke, then the day was already over for me.
-
-**Friday**
+What's kinda annoying, if you get a "paper ticket" at the vending machines, you
+pay 5 € more than what you would pay if you get an "app ticket" (or PDF). Which
+is kinda understandable, I guess, since the electronic ticket is personalized.
+That is, I could've resold the ticket to someone else for the remaining days I
+wasn't in Vienna anymore (Monday-Wednesday). I originally planned to do that,
+but forgot about it in the end.
+
+I saw some of the horse-drawn carriages as well (didn't go in one for the whole
+time, there was no time, but I guess I wouldn't have wanted to spend the money
+anyway). I took some photos of some fursuiters (on Thursday and all of the
+following days), watched the opening, tried to go to the cuddle panel, but it
+was too full, watched the karaoke, then the day was already over for me. I got
+to bed between 10 o'clock and midnight all days. Sleep is important. :)
+
+<a href="https://pics.uvokchee.de/picture.php?/155/category/9">
+<img
+ src="https://pics.uvokchee.de/_data/i/upload/2024/08/01/20240801165109-6bf9405a-sm.jpg"
+ alt="A horse-drawn carriage. The horses are white. The carriage is light brown."
+/>
+</a>
+
+**Friday, July 26**
 
 Sightseeing time. A local fur offered a small group of us furries a sightseeing
 tour. Castle Schönbrunn, Karl's church (from the outside), Hofburg, Spanish
-Horse riding academy, Amusement Park Prater, if I remember all of it. Did the
-"wildwater ride" (?) in the Prater, actually the only attraction I'm comfortable
-with in amusement parks. I don't go for roller coasters. Got a nice leopard
-lanyard and a magnet in the dealer's den. Went to the snack exchange and the
-"fursuit striptease", which was a funny event as well. I was a bit sad that I
-missed the WHSPRS concert, but I can't split myself in two. I think I even
-checked out the dance on that day.
-
-**Saturday**
-
-The day I realized I could use the hotel's wellness area. Took a nice break in
-the infrared chamber. The Broadcasting panel was very interesting. For me, it's
-always fascinating to see in which fields other furries work. Had some nice
-cuddles, joined the disability meet-up, went to the dance for a bit again and…
-that's it, I guess?
-
-**Sunday**
+horse riding academy, amusement park Prater, if I remember all of it. Did the
+"wildwater ride" (?) in the Prater, which is actually the only attraction I'm
+comfortable with in amusement parks at all. I don't go for roller coasters. 
+
+I got a nice leopard lanyard by Emily Creative (it was just too cute!!!! I
+couldn't resist!!!) and a magnet in the dealer's den. Went to the snack
+exchange and the "fursuit striptease", which was a funny event as well [1]. I
+was a bit sad that I missed the WHSPRS concert, but I can't split myself in
+two. I think I even checked out the dance on that day.
+
+[1] What the hell is a fursuit striptease you might ask? Uh, it was a charity
+event where some fursuiters initially had some clothes on, suggestively danced
+to some music and removed their clothing, and went to people who donated money
+and… I dunno… imitated a lapdance? I wouldn't know about stuff like that, I
+never went to an actual strip club <.<.
+
+<a href="https://pics.uvokchee.de/picture.php?/156/category/9">
+<img
+ src="https://pics.uvokchee.de/_data/i/upload/2024/08/01/20240801181735-a9ee958e-sm.jpg"
+ alt="A badge lanyard being worn, showing a happy leopard"
+/>
+</a>
+
+**Saturday, July 27**
+
+The day I realized I could use the hotel's wellness area. I took a nice break
+in the infrared chamber. The broadcasting panel (as in, TV broadcasting) was
+very interesting. For me, it's always fascinating to see in which fields other
+furries work. Unfortunately, the panel had to be cut short due to time
+constraints with the following event. I had some nice cuddles as well, joined
+the disability meet-up, went to the dance for a bit again and… that's it, I
+guess?
+
+**Sunday, July 28**
 
 Charity auction, Powerpoint karaoke, closing (which involved some serious queuing),
 spend the evening outside where there was some music being played… uh… did I do
-anything else?
+anything else? I think I went to the infrared chamber again in the afternoon.
 
-**Monday**
+**Monday, July 29**
 
 Time to say goodbye, after breakfast. Originally I planned to depart early and
 visit the Manner factory shop, but I had a nice talk with other furs during
 breakfast, time went by, I still had to pack (just throw stuff in the
 suitcase), so in the end, I didn't have time to do that.  Also, the factory
 shop was inconveniently located, in regards to public transport.  Much sad.
-Travel home went by without significant delays.
+Travel home went by without *significant* delays (again, 30 minutes).
+
+**Food**
+
+Hotel breakfast was wonderful. I missed that when I got back home and had to do
+my breakfast myself again. Otherwise, I didn't have exactly a healthy diet
+during the convention. Ate lots of cookies, got bananas in the store nearby and
+had some cake in a café next to the hotel (they also made a cute "Welcome
+Furrys" [sic] sign on the last day of the con). My dinner consisted of Backwerk
+(a bun with camembert), Burger King (chicken nuggets), Subways (turkey
+sandwich, if I remember correctly) and the hotel bar (french fries). The only
+actual lunch that deserves being called that was the one I took on the
+sightseeing tour, original Vienna Schnitzel with french fries.
 
 **Overall**
 
 In retrospect, trying to recollect what I did, I am a bit shocked to realize
 that there are some "black holes" in the timeline. No, I didn't drink any
 alcohol. Probably more happened, by my brain is not used to this amount of stuff
-happening.
-
-Hotel breakfast was wonderful. I missed that when I got back home and had to do
-my breakfast myself again.
+happening, I guess?
 
 Vienna is hecking **clean**. I not once saw dog poop or trash lying around.
-
-I had enough sleep, had enough food and drink, still, I still spent a probably
-significant amount of time "milling around"? There's kind of a nagging feeling
-that it should be easier to form connections, sit down somewhere by a group of
-prople and simply join in a talk? And a slight nagging feeling of FOMO might as
-well have been present. That's a me problem, nonetheless, nothing to do with the
-convention itself. And I also go to conventions to try to cure that.
+And, as I said, public transport there is nice. Would I want to actually live
+there?  probably not. Too much hubhub, the metro was kinda uncomfortably full
+at times, and it's probably hecking expensive.
+
+The convention staff and helpers did an amazing job at the first edition of
+Awoostria. From the opening and closing I gathered they didn't expect 700-ish
+furries from turning up. Also, I was blown away by seeing the diversity of
+attendees (when it comes to age, gender, nationality), something I didn't
+experience before.
+
+I had enough sleep, had enough food and drink, which is positive. However, I
+think I spent a significant amount of time "milling around"? There's kind of a
+nagging feeling that it should be easier to form connections, sit down
+somewhere by a group of people and simply join in a talk? And a slight nagging
+feeling of FOMO might as well have been present. That's a me problem,
+nonetheless, nothing to do with the convention itself. And I also go to
+conventions to try to cure that.