The day after arriving home from #HiveBeeCon, Krakow, Poland, I woke up and missed that place... When I heard that 
Hive account@alessandrawhite is doing a #CWH from there, I wanted to peek for the "last time", but I was late (so typical), as she already finished the livestream... Many started conversations, but they were left unfinished due to continuous (but pleasant) interruptions from others... All that means just one... We have to meet again and finish what we have begun, or at least continue and add one more step. I think I said something similar 2 years ago, when I visited the Kingdom for the first time... and hey... I fulfilled the promise! I went back!
So where to begin this story... At the entrance to the Krakow Old Town part of the city... In this case, as the photo is taken from another side, it's an exit from it... Every time we would go to the Kingdom, we would pass this gate, and in a way, enter into another dimension...
But, let's jump straight to the action... You want some HIVE merch? Create some!!! Nothing can beat a unique piece of merchandise made by yourself! That was one of the workshops, where people would paint already prepared clay pieces in HIVE-style!
As I mentioned at the beginning, the place is magical, but what makes it so isn't just decorations on the walls, old-style chairs, decorative furniture, the famous wardrobe room, etc. It's people who come to the place!!! It's like time-travelling to your childhood and meeting with your best buddies... The only difference is that you meet unknown people, but you "click" so fast with them that it feels like you are all-time pals!
So let me try to cover all these wonderful people in this post... If I miss someone, please excuse me; it wasn't intentional, but rather a result of my clumsiness and fading grey cells... π And another thing... I did it again... I forgot to take more photos at the event...π€¦ββπ So, I will spare some from other participants of the event...
Omg... These two Hivians... I'm not sure about you, but my brain tends to connect dots about my friends in a strange way... For example, I recall the first time I met 
Hive account@blind-spot at Hive Fest, in Amsterdam in 2022! Why? He and 
Hive account@priyanarc were the first two Hivians I met there... I saw them on the street in front of me, walking toward the first meetup place, with HIVE bags in their hands! I was fortunate to meet them again in Krakow two years ago, and we had a pleasant conversation at lunch in Wielicka...
How about 
Hive account@akipponn, the cheering girl in the photo above? I think we first met at Hive Fest in Split, last year, when 
Hive account@ninaeatshere commented, "You have to meet this Japanese girl... she is awesome..." The rest is history... When she is in the room, the place gets completely another dimension... π
Another great story and anecdote connect the first meetup with Hive account@alessandrawhite... Delivering a presentation about 
Hive account@liotes, after her speech in Hamburg, Germany, was a challenging job... Especially as that was my first time presenting the project in public, in front of an audience!! π± She did a great job with her presentation, uplifting people, and jumping on the stage, which was exactly what I needed BEFORE going on the stage! She whispered in my ear... "You got this! Just focus on one person in the audience, and do it!" Following her advice, I did it, and it was a great presentation, with a lot of engagement, questions, and discussions! The after-drinks in Hamburg with a small group of Hivians is another anecdote, but let's leave that for other times... I met Alessandra in Split, then in Graz, and now in Krakow! It's always great to hang out and have a chat with her! Unfortunately, her "other side" - 
Hive account@bitterirony didn't make it to Krakow, but we mentioned him a couple of times... π©π©π© π
I painted the smallest (red) HIVE magnet in this photo... Don't judge... π
My first drink (this time) paid by HBD at the 
Hive account@krolestwo!
The second day began with a visit to the National Museum of Krakow by this small gang, 
Hive account@mipiano, Hive account@alessandrawhite, and me... After the visit, we were starving, so following the locals' recommendation, we went to a great restaurant where people don't scroll their mobile phones while having lunch... You know why?
Because it is situated in the cellar of the old building in Prague... And if you check out the thickness of the wall behind us in the photo, you will understand that no signal can go through that... lol... People need to talk with each other!!! π± π€£
Guess what we ate? π
We were lucky with the weather... it was raining only on the last day...
One of the people that I met for the first time in Krakow was 
Hive account@danxios, the guy in the white shirt in the photo above... We had some great talks during the photowalk that took place on the last day of the "event"... If I understood well, he is one of the volunteers at Kingdom, so if you are around, search for him, send him greetings, and have a great time interacting with him... Young, but with a lot of life experience, a pleasure to talk with!
This year, Hive account@blind-spot created an interesting HiveBeeCon Hive Quiz that allowed everyone present to participate... Almost 20 people were IN, and everyone wanted the highest place on the podium! π I had a slow start, but caught up with the leading group and landed in 3rd place! Yaaay! π
That's me on the podium... the sun with an eye patch... for no special reason... lol...
As you can see, it was busy on the second day... At the "3-way" chess table, you can see the guy with a ponytail... I met him at the previous HiveFest, but I never connected the dots about who he is... This time, I had a short talk with another Hive legend, 
Hive account@engrave! Oops... Maybe I shouldn't "dox" him... π
Let's move to the third day, which was organized by 
Hive account@mynewlife, another Hive legend, the person behind the Borehole movie, and many other videos covering HiveFest and other Hive meetups all around the globe... If I recall correctly, I met him for the first time in Amsterdam (although I could be wrong), but after that, on multiple occasions... But somehow, we never had time to talk (probably as he was a star of those events.. π), but we fixed that this time... Had a nice talk, one of those already mentioned, unfinished, and will continue in the future...
taking photo of a professional at "work"... π
We were lucky with the weather that day... The forecast was rainy and unappealing, but luckily, the weather girl, pardon app, was wrong... Oh, I almost forgot to mention the guy with the HIVE logo vest! Of course, our blockchain wizard, Gandalf the Grey, 
Hive account@gtg! He is the person behind the #HiveBeeCon, and this year, together with 
Hive account@hallman, they organized this great event! Big thanks, guys, for making it possible!!! For creating this opportunity to have great Hivians in one place!!! Every time I meet these guys, we have deeper and more engaging conversations and discussions about our favorite chain!
When there is a wizard, it has to be some dragons nearby, too!
As you probably noticed from my previous Hive meetup recaps, I do suck with taking photos... So, I have to "present" you some great people from behind... π Like now... The person in the yellow trousers is 
Hive account@deepresearch, who joined us on the last day! We met 2 years ago in Krakow, and when we came back this year, he was one of the people that we were asking for... Luckily, he came this time too, and we had some great talks during the walk, as well as in a cafe bar when we took a break!
We took a group photo at 2-3 places, and I hope you will see them soon (when Raf decides to post them online). While we were re-grouping for them, I took a couple of clicks with my phone...
In the photo above, you will see 
Hive account@jojovi on the right... She is one of the people onboarded during the weekend, and she already created a post on HIVE... Check out her account and leave a comment! Show her how great Hivians are!
Hivian is on a mission to fill the phone memory with photos! π
After the 4-hour walk (for some, it was 5 hours), there were two survival options available... The first one was a traditional Polish soup called ΕΌurek!
Courtesy of Hive account@mipiano
And the second way was... π
When we finally got back to life, we played the newly invented game for Hivians... The name of the game is Secret Sun... Maybe you will understand why that name from the photo that Hive account@hallman took... Who is Steemiand and who is Hivian??? π€ π
Photo by Hive account@hallman
It was a lot of fun, we had a lot of laughs, and deceiving at the table (don't worry, it was part of the game)... π
In the end, I would like to mention a few more people with whom I had contact during the weekend... With some a bit more, with others less, but hopefully, the next time we will have more time to hang out!
It was great to see 
Hive account@foggymeadow again, the girl with a lot of patience... Being the other half of the guy who runs all this can be challenging... π I met the beautiful family, 
Hive account@asia-pl and 
Hive account@jocieprosza, with their two kids! They are still considering attending the HiveOpenDays in Alicante, Spain, next year, so if you know them, make that small push to convince them to come... π Awesome people to hang out!!!
Speaking of "other halves", I have to mention Gandalf's other half, whom I had a chance to meet better as we had lunch together with 
Hive account@osavi, eating that awesome ΕΌurek soup! We learned some Polish history from these two ladies during lunch!
I may have missed someone, and I would like to apologize for it... It's impossible to remember everyone, as in one moment, according to Dawid, there were 80 people in Krolestwo!!
That would be all for this year's #HiveBeeCon!!! See you at the next one!!!
Thank you for your time.
--ph--
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