Preparation
I spent a reasonable amout of time gathering information about exhibitors and products I’d like to see using the online tool myCeBIT. I subscribed the newsletter and took a look at the mobile website of the fair.

Voyage
Despite a strike of the train workers on the day of my departure, I had no problem travelling from Ulm (south of Germany) to Hannover (north of Germany) on Friday 5^th March.

Accomodation
I got a room at the Hotel Plaza in the city center and I’m totally happy with this choice. A special mention goes to the breakfast buffet, which offered a vast range of different tastes in a nice atmosphere. They even have waffles during the winter!

CeBIT highlights
Since the media coverage of the CeBIT is pretty high out there, I’ll just pick some personal highlights out of the big memory bag.

On Saturday morning (6^th March) I arrived at the fair after a short trip with the train. Of course it was crowded, Saturday being the last day of the exhibition and also the day most people don’t have to work on. Still, I was amazed at the smooth flow at the entrances and the wardrobe, as well as within the halls. I had absolutely no waiting time. The CeBIT’s organisation team did a great job there!

I discovered the cool post cards containing sound and video from HoneyPearTree.

I had fun tracking the CeBIT Twitter-Spy and almost caugh him once. Hunting, armed with a cellular phone in the middle of such a big exhibition, made the serious side somehow spicy. Talk about triggering the play instinct… (Am I ready for Geocaching nao?)

I was a pleasure to meet the big fluffy fox (alias Ludovic Hirlimann) at the Firefox stand. Firefox stays my favorite browser; I’m using it since a bunch of years and I still love it

While I was having a special glance at eReaders, I noticed there were always many visitors around stands selling… books.

The german magazine com! was giving away tons of software DVDs, magazines and mobile phones for free throughout the whole day.

Sightseeing
Unfortunately there was no time for a guided city tour for my first time in Hannover. That’s why I chose to buy the brochure “The Red Thread”. It provides information about lots of noteworthy locations in the town, all linked with a red-colored line on the ground. Following the line was a nice way to explore Hannover on my own, and I’ve found many interesting places to take pix. (Stay tuned to my photoblog to see them.)

In conclusion, I can say it was a great weekend and recommend the CeBIT and the city of Hannover.
If you’ve been there, how was your experience?

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