once more it was summer, and once more i went to a summer hacker camp.

this year would've initially been a hard choice between DEFCON 33 and WHY2025 because the dates collided, but with the ongoing fascism (etc.) -- and the ensuing higher risks for me to travel to the US -- my decision was made much easier.

the road to WHY

on the 2nd of August, i made my way with way too much baggage to my bus, which then brought me to my starting train station, from which my first train would depart (delayed) and bring me to Zurich HB.

at Zurich HB, i had about 4 minutes to switch tracks from one side of the station to the other. i almost made it, but the last escalator was broken, leading to the train departing just as i made it to the platform.

i took a train departing 15 minutes later to Basel SBB, but just barely missed my connection onwards to Mannheim. so, after rescheduling all my transport, i made it to Mannheim, and then to Köln and then finally to Aachen, where i would attend an event and spend the night.

the next day, a series of trains brought me from Aachen to Heerlen (finally in the Netherlands), then to Eindhoven, then to Amsterdam, where i finally got onto a train to Alkmaar, where one of the members of the NOC would pick me up to join the campsite.

but WHY started a week later!

very astute observation!

but, as usual, i was involved with buildup at the NOC (which, in a wet field, involves walking through a lot of mud and moving stuff around a lot).

muddy

but yeah, after some shenanigans and despite running away from the frequent rain, and having to do some very cursed fiber runs (e.g. pulling fiber through canals), we ended up finishing almost on time.

diluvian amounts of rain

this is definitely not jank

of note was when i somehow discovered that there was a massive flood in the main buildup shower area... which was unrelated to the showers, but right next to the NOC datacenter...
this flood occurred because the water main connection tore off due to the pressure.

flooding!

more flooding!

this led to one of the funniest gags of the event, being of course that in a country known for having great water management and notorious for being flat, the event managed to somehow flood a hill.

but we ended up with a functional field, ready to take on the flood of creatures the next day

last night of peace and quiet

the event

the event wasn't without any issues, specifically with occasional power outages and the leadership making a few blunders. one of said blunders was that the angel kitchen (where volunteers that are working shifts can eat for free) used a local provider and consistently under-ordered food.

but overall, the creatures were comfy, the event had an adequate amount of shitposting, and we had consistent amounts of sun and enjoyment. The nightlife was also fun, if a bit foggy at times.

where are my feet?

i also met a few creatures i would befriend and see at future events, such as Emilia, that i ended up abducting into the NOC team.

somehow, we organised, and a friend ended up bringing fondue equipment, and we ended up actually having a fondue on the second night... and then the night after... and the night after... etc. and we ended up organizing an event with two whole tables and like 15 or so creatures. this was the beginning of the unofficial so-called "fondue village".

something that hit me at the end of the event, specifically during the "Symphony of Fire", where i recalled that my first chaos(-bubble) event had been MCH 2022 (this events' predecessor, that i talk about in this blog post), and that that was also where i realized things about myself that would change the course of my life.

always a fun event!

the return

getting back to Zurich was somewhat less chaotic, because i was travelling much less encumbered, and departing by train from Utrecht, as a friend had driven me to Utrecht train station so that i could catch a train which would bring me to Frankfurt, then another to Basel, and a final train home.