Forum Meeting

So to bring it all to a point, I am waiting now for the "information a long time in advance" by Niklas and if that will not bring big changes to the current situation the official forum meet will be in Milano, October 31st.
So it is written by me, so it shall happen.
 
Ok. Let's hope "a long time in advance" has nothing to do with "pretty soon" so we can actually book tickets in decent prices. Also rahvin is buying the beer.
 
the official forum meet will be in Milano, October 31st.

Well shit, I can't make that, make it Gothenburg, I bet it's a much cooler city
than Milano (not that I've been to Milano, but it's in Italy, is there any win in
that?) and it's their hometown, the show will be much better by default ;)
 
Well shit, I can't make that, make it Gothenburg, I bet it's a much cooler city
than Milano (not that I've been to Milano, but it's in Italy, is there any win in
that?)

I've been to both places, and it defiinitely is (but Florence minus the heat and Rome minus the tourists could compete).

I'm going to try and see if I can make the Göteborg date as well, anyway. Not that this should be a reason for anyone to tear his/her hair out in mad excitement, but in case the "meeting" ends up being there I might still be in.
 
I love Gothenburg but i haven't really been in Milan, so i can't compare the two. For me it's a matter of logistics as well, Milan is cheaper and it makes more sense to fly there if i have 3 days free. If i had more days available i'd end up going to Gothenburg and Stockholm. Another thing is that Gothenburg is going to be shitty cold in the middle on November. Anyway, i'm open to both options at this point, nothing is final until decisions are made and money is spent, and who knows if life will decide to laugh at me and make me not come at all.
 
Florence minus the heat

when i went there with school it suddenly started to rain a lot, and we all were totally wet. There were some black people trying to sell us umbrellas, first for 5 euros, then when no one wanted to buy, it was for only 1 euro :lol: . At that point i bought one because my jacket didnt have a hood, and i am glad i did not pay more, because i week later when i was back home, i used it when there was some wind and it died :mad:
 
when i went there with school it suddenly started to rain a lot, and we all were totally wet. There were some black people trying to sell us umbrellas, first for 5 euros, then when no one wanted to buy, it was for only 1 euro :lol: . At that point i bought one because my jacket didnt have a hood, and i am glad i did not pay more, because i week later when i was back home, i used it when there was some wind and it died :mad:

Yeah, that umbrella costed .20 Euros to the guy who sold it to you. As soon as in his mind you stopped being "dumb tourists" and were promoted to just "tourists", he knew he couldn't get you for 5 Euros. If you - or any other foreigner - are ever in Venice, you better remember cafeterias have four different price categories: "Americans", "European tourists", "Italian tourists", "local regulars". According to your actual status you might want to (a) fake a British accent; (b) have a friendly Italian tourist place the order for you; (c) pretend you know someone named Sandro (there's always someone named Sandro in the neighborhood). Options b and c may require being fluent in Italian.
 
Yeah, that umbrella costed .20 Euros to the guy who sold it to you. As soon as in his mind you stopped being "dumb tourists" and were promoted to just "tourists", he knew he couldn't get you for 5 Euros. If you - or any other foreigner - are ever in Venice, you better remember cafeterias have four different price categories: "Americans", "European tourists", "Italian tourists", "local regulars". According to your actual status you might want to (a) fake a British accent; (b) have a friendly Italian tourist place the order for you; (c) pretend you know someone named Sandro (there's always someone named Sandro in the neighborhood). Options b and c may require being fluent in Italian.

:lol:
i will just stick with option a), but its gonna be hard, i am more used to the american accent.
As for speaking italian, what i know wont bring me far (some not polite words, and a few helpfull things like asking the way to some places and order coke, water or "granita di limone")
 
if the meeting is moved to Rome, I can accommodate four.

i get to decide who they are.
 
So to bring it all to a point, I am waiting now for the "information a long time in advance" by Niklas and if that will not bring big changes to the current situation the official forum meet will be in Milano, October 31st.

I won't promise anything yet, but I'll try to be there.

-Villain
 
Just to get everyone up to date on what I am thinking:

Niklas told me they are trying to come up with special offers for people coming from aboard. Nothing is for certain about those afaik though.

The meeting will be in Milan.

I would also suggest that we should stay the following Saturday at least for a while so we will have more than the concert where we probably will be able to barely speak with each other and the following night together.

edit: Does anyone know about public transportation in Milan? How good is it? How are the connections city-trainstation, city-venue, city-airport?
 
edit: Does anyone know about public transportation in Milan? How good is it? How are the connections city-trainstation, city-venue, city-airport?

Both surface transportation and the tube work smoothly and easily connect all of the urban area, including and especially around the train station.

You might be coming in from at least 3 different airports, though, and only one of them (Malpensa: international code MPX) is adequately connected to the city center, so try to pick that one. If you happen to arrive from another airport just let me know in advance and I'll supply information on how to get to the venue and back.

I'm also ok with spending the night, by the way. My availability with helping people find their way extends to where I'll give you my phone number, send you directions beforehand, and even pick someone in distress up (I'll be driving to Milan that day) if need be. Just try to have a backup plan in case anything dreadful comes up and I can't be there, or in two places at once. ;)
 
If I manage to get that far, I'll certainly stay at least for the Saturday. And I will need directions, lots of them - I can barely navigate in big Finnish cities (read= over 100 000 people) and suck at using public transportation.

-Villain
 
If i end up coming i'll probably stay Saturday too. It would be nice if we all stayed at the same hotel btw, it would make things easier and maybe we could get better prices. Or we could all crash at rahvin's. :p
 
Here's an idea that might look appealing for those who are strapped for cash.

Ryanair flies to Orio al Serio (BGY), 50km from Milan, from several countries. For the relevant dates (touchdown on Friday in the morning or afternoon, return on Sunday anytime) the fares range from 18 euros from Frankfurt to 97 euros from Tampere, including taxes.

If a party of 4 or 5 travellers can be arranged, a high-end rental car can be had for the whole weekend - say 2pm on Friday to 2pm on Saturday - for 25 to 35 euros each, all included. If the group is larger, the price goes further down, either for a minivan or two cars.

Where sleeping options are concerned, I would certainly suggest to book a hotel close to the airport for the Saturday: at the moment, HRS international has double rooms in a good four-star hotel for 65 euros (the room, not per head). If you have an early morning flight, it's very convenient; if you have an afternoon flight, you can visit Bergamo, which is a very pretty place. Not to mention that staying in the area on Saturday gives the opportunity to have dinner at a good local restaurant in the countryside, with very reasonable expense and very high quality of the fare.

On Friday, things would be slightly trickier, as I doubt that one wants to take a 50km drive after the show and the after-show party. Prices in Milan, however, are terrible. The less embarassing deal is probably a Best Western hotel about 2 km from the venue (double room at 95 euros), and there are more similar options in a 5-km radius.

To sum up: if a party of 5 people can be arranged, the per capita cost of the trip - assuming a very generous 150 euros for in situ expenses, such as show ticket/food/drinks/merch/fuel/etc - would clock in at somewhere between 300 and 400 euros depending on how good Ryanair decides to be to you. This includes: travel from/to your local airport (but not to/from your city to the airport), 1 night in Milan, 1 night in Bergamo, gig attendance, eating and drinking, and a bit of fun. I say it's not too bad.

Please let me know if 5 such people are actually there and would like to take a look at this solution (I'm not in the 5, as I will be coming but I guess that I will be seeing my family in Torino first - what I can do is meeting you at BGY when you land, with rahvin if he can take the Friday off). If you think you have friends who are interested in coming too etc, we'll think of larger-scale organization via a facebook group.

What I ask is that you let me know either here or privately (you have my email anyway) if you're interested by August 31st, so that any possible group booking can be negotiated in advance. I am going to be in Finland for a while and I'm not sure that I will be able to check my email or teh internets very often, but by that date I will be back already and able to let you know.