I had reservations about attending TBEX, but they were fleeting. I’m an introvert who hates mingling. I’m not exactly a professional travel blogger, just someone who travels and blogs about it. I don’t have the attention span to attend lectures and workshops.
Mostly, I signed up because (after I get over the whole social-anxiety bit) I love meeting people with interesting stories to tell, and I was pretty sure I would find some in a sea of folks who like to travel and write. It didn’t hurt that TBEX was taking place in Copenhagen, a city I’ve been meaning to visit for ages, either. So I booked.
Then, right before TBEX, something awesome happened. I won. More specifically, I won the grand prize: a trip to Copenhagen for TBEX, followed by a trip to the Faroe Islands. As if that wasn’t wonderful enough, my adorable IT department husband won a trip to the Faroes, as well. Oh, how I swoon for free travel. Free travel to some of the most expensive destinations on Earth? Extra swooning. Much extra swooning.
As far as the conference itself was concerned, it would have been worth every travel penny even if I had paid for it all myself. The people were every bit as interesting as I had hoped. The presentations and workshops, although of mixed quality, were generally worthwhile. And the extras, such as some lovely cocktail hours and a couple fabulous walking tours of Copenhagen, made me wish TBEX conferences happened way more often.
One of the highlights of the conference itself was the narrative travel writing workshop led by Andrew Evans and Lola Akinmade. Perhaps my posts are about to get a little more narrative (and maybe I’ll even stop using the word “great”). Another highlight was the lunchtime entertainment by a pair of circus performers, particularly fitting since the whole conference took place in a circus.
My thanks go out to Wonderful Copenhagen and the other sponsors who made the first TBEX Europe an unforgettable event. More of my favorite bits of Copenhagen coming up soon.
We had a fantastic time, indeed! It’s a shame I could not attend the city tours, at least I got a reason to attend the next edition of TBEX in Europe. Chapeau to Galavanting team for this initiativ. I like your pictures. Grazie!
I went to my first bloggers’ conference this year with very similar reservations… and funnily enough I also won a trip! (European Wine Bloggers’ Conference in Vienna, trip to Jerez) The people, the side trips, the keynotes, and the events definitely made it more than worthwhile and worth the money.
Can’t wait to see your pics and hear about the Faroe Islands! I looked them up after reading your tweet about them and they look like a wonderful place to travel.
PS – Yes! If you find a better word than “great” please share!
I am jealous…. I would love to visit a TBEX conference but unfortunately it is not on the cards just yet. But loved reading about your experience. And it is fantastic that you won the trip to TBEX and Faroe Islands.
And as for ‘great’ in New Zealand I have had to get used to the words – ‘gob smacked’, ‘epic’, ‘awesome’ and ‘wicked’ (specially used in relation to a brilliant snowboard run)
@Michele – Hope to see you at the next TBEX Europe. Fingers crossed for an interesting city (not that I can think of one that wouldn’t be interesting…).
@Molly – What a coincidence! That sounds like a great conference, too. I’ll have to look it up.
@Kerry-ann – Those are some great words for ‘great’. 🙂
I love your expat experiences! I’m an American and have just moved to Holland (Amsterdam) for love. Everything has been a big adjustment for me but I’m starting to get the hang of things… Nice to see that you’ve been here for a while and are still indulging in everything Europe has to offer.
oh and Happy Thanksgiving!
– J.
Sounds like a fantastic experience all around. Is it “great” when all the stars align?!