I spent most of the morning signing autographs and taking pictures with fans here at FedCon. I got some lovely gifts, including a cake that was made to look just like a The Wesley Crushers bowling shirt. I don't usually accept food at cons, but this was so amazing, I couldn't say no. I took pictures that I'll put onto my Flickr when I get back home.
When I was finished, Robbie McNeill and I went with Stephan to the old city here in Dusseldorf. We walked along the Rhine, ate lunch in a wonderful Lebanese restaurant (it was awesome to eat until I was full, instead of eating until I just wasn't hungry #firstworldproblems), and wandered around looking at the old buildings. If I ever get to come back to this con, I'm totally going to spend an extra day here, just so I can tour the countryside a little bit so I can see and feel Germany; the couple of hours we had just scratched the surface, and now I really want to see more.
The hotel is right next to the airport, so I figured we should take the tram back. I mean, how hard could it be to get to the airport?
Not very hard at all, it turns out. We rode the subway to the main central train station, and then took a train straight to the airport. While we stood on the platform waiting for our train to arrive, I looked down the track, and saw five or six other tracks all winding off between houses and buildings, electrical wires strung over them all. A train arrived just as another one was pulling out of the station, and I said to Robbie, "This is what Germany looks like in my imagination."
He said, "We do shows on Chuck where he goes around the world, and I wish I'd brought my camera with me to capture this. It would be a perfect background if we ever send Chuck to Germany."
The train ride back was pretty cool, and I kind of wish it had lasted twice as long as it did, because just as I was starting to get that feeling that I was really in another country, we pulled into the station.
We all parted ways once we got back to the hotel, and I took a nap before meeting Kate Hewlett and her friend for dinner, which was — I am not making this up — a tofu hot dog covered with some kind of weird relish and crispy onions. I don't say this lightly: it changed my life in many unexpected ways. In fact, I think I'm going to have another one for lunch today.
Before I forget: the Cosplay here is phenomenal. I've seen a Wampa that was easly 2.5 meters tall, a couple dressed as Major Asshole and Dark Helmet, a Storm Trooper who I'm pretty sure was with his son, who was dressed as a miniature Scout Trooper.
The coolest thing, though, was a group a women dressed as Cat Nurses from Doctor Who. I looked for The Face of Boe, but he was nowhere to be found.