VMworld spotlight – Stickers

Bloggers love stickers. It becomes obvious if you take a look at their sticker plastered notebooks.

I don’t know where this tradition comes from. Maybe to cover up boring vendor logos.
Whatever. If you attend VMworld, the best spot to complete your personal sticker collection is the blogging area at VMTN. Within 4 days a pile of stickers, pins and other collectibles will grow in the center of the desk.

This year Kubernetes and Tanzu stickers were most popular, but also VMUG stickers from all over the world. The sticker pile works a bit like a geo cache. You take something out and you put something in (if you have). It’s also a good source for VMUG leaders to supply their local meetings with new stickers.

VMworld spotlight – Why Barcelona is a good location

There are discussions going on, whether VMworld EMEA should move on to a different city or not. Barcelona has hosted VMworld EMEA since 2012 and in previous years it took place in Copenhagen (DK) and Cannes (F).

Infrastructure

In my opinion Barcelona is a good choice for several reasons. Fist of all it has a large congress center and an international airport which is important for visitors from outside Spain. The city also has an excellent public transport system with buses, metro and trains. During commute hours you don’t have to care about the metro timetable. Trains will depart every 3 to 5 minutes. Tickets are cheap. With a T-10 card you pay about 1 € per ride. Train changes included.

Those who love adventures, may go for a taxi ride. Fasten seat belts and hold on tight! 😉

Accommodation

Barcelona also has a broad offering in accommodation. Depending on your personal preferences (and budget) you can choose from very basic to luxury. There are hotels all over the city in different categories. My personal favorite are small accommodations (hostals) in the inner city. For a fair price you’ll get a simple but clean room. Moreover these hostals are officially licensed by the city tourism board, pay taxes and comply with European security stadards.

Climate

VMworld EMEA takes place in November. While the weather in central and northern Europe at that time is usually cold and rainy, Barcelona offers mild temperatures between 15 and 25 degrees Celsius. Wear a short sleeve shirt and you’re dressed. At night a light jacket is enough to go out. No need for winter boots and down parkas

Food

I admit – food is a matter of taste, but in my opinion Catalunya’s cuisine is superb. Tapas are tasty little bits to share on a table during evening meetings in a restaurant. Seafood is fresh and comes in a big variety.

VMworld warmup and what can we expect?

VMworld 2019 Barcelona will officially start on Tuesday with the General session and lots of breakout sessions. But there’ll be activity on Sunday and Monday too. As usual we flew in early on Saturday to get a rest before a busy week and get ourselfes organized. The next few days will be a rush. My schedule looks like patchwork and it’s tight. Most of my appointments are related to community work like VMUG, VCI, official bloggers, vExpert, Inner Circle, 3rd party vendors etc. Breakout sessions not included. It’s good to know that sessions will be recorded and can be viewed or downloaded afterwards. This is really great about VMworld, because it’s literally impossible to attend all interesting sessions. I’ve downloaded some VMworld US sessions on my phone and watched them on the flight to Barcelona. My personal infotainment. 🙂

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VMworld EU survival guide – 2019 Edition

It’s just a few weeks ago that VMworld US took place in San Francisco. Attendees and (remote) spectators received loads of first hand information. New releases, new roadmaps, new acquisitions, new platforms… wow!

I haven’t finished a fraction of all session recordings I wanted to watch. But yet there’s more to come (shhhh! seven! nudge, nudge). It’s only a few weeks until VMworld EU will open its gates at the Fira Gran Via in beautiful Barcelona.

If you’re considering to go there and you’re not decided yet. Just two words from my side: “do it!“. I’m working with VMware products since…. like forever, but my first visit to VMworld Barcelona was in 2017. And there’s only one thing I really regret: That I haven’t been there in 2016, 2015, 2014, etc…

Last year I’ve written a VMworld Europe survival guide. Most of the information is still valid today. If you’re a first time visitor, feel free to read the blogpost. I’m sure you’ll get some useful information for trip planning, accommodation and getting around. Oh, by the way: the price for an airport return ticket has dropped a little. 🙂

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