Moving on from WEBMU

The Whiny Expat Bloggers Meet-Up has been an annual treat for us, through which we’ve met fantastic people and explored areas (sometimes new, sometimes familiar) through a local’s eyes. In the last few years, we’ve taken on an organizational role, helping the hosts execute the event, lending guidance and fomenting discussion. However, this feels like the right time for us to step back.

We’re open to attending future meetups, but WEBMU needs a new driver if it is to continue. We’d be happy to hand over the existing resources (blog, FB and forums) to anyone who wants to carry on. Or maybe WEBMU will continue under someone else’s auspices, but in a different form. If you’d like to try giving WEBMU a facelift, go for it. Contact either of us via any of the methods listed here. And if there’s no interest, we’ll eventually shut down the meetup’s online presence.

It’s been a good run, and lots of fun, and we still have and value friends we made through WEBMU. Thanks to everyone who has participated and made it so special!

WEBMU 2014: Nürnberg!

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The votes are in and Nürnberg ended up running away with WEBMU 2014, but we still need to settle on a date. The dates that are best for the organizers (full disclosure: we’re a couple of the organizers) are up over in the forums now. Go take a look and choose the date or dates that are best for you and we can nail this thing down.

Need access to the forums? Let us know that you’re not a bot and we’ll take care of it. Have local Nürnberg knowledge that you’re just dying to share? Leave a comment and we’ll get you involved.

WEBMU 2014 Location Voting Open

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The nominations are in and it’s time to vote! There are a quite a few more cities and regions to choose from than last year, including a couple of repeats and one far-flung locale.

What is WEBMU you ask? Why, it’s the Whiny Expat Bloggers Meet Up. Click the link for a little history on the event.

Voting will close on March 31, 2014. That’s two whole weeks to see what’s on offer, find out more about the options, engage in some campaigning and debate and cruise the blogs of potential participants. To vote, go check out this thread in the Expat Bloggers in Germany Forums. Can’t access the forums? Let us know here or on Twitter (@ExpatBloggersDE) and we will get you taken care of.

Happy voting!

WEBMU 2014 Location Proposals

We seem to be getting an earlier start on the Whiny Expat Blogger MeetUp planning this year. Matter of fact, there have already been several proposed locations in the Gathering Ideas thread. So far, the following places have been discussed:

  • Wine-regions (Rhine/Mosel area – click the squiggle on the map)
  • Hamburg (repeat?)
  • Nürnberg
  • Flensburg
  • Würzburg
  • Regensburg

Not all of the suggestions have local hosts, so if you know one of those places and feel like showing it off, let us know. We’re entertaining suggestions until March 15. Stop by the forums and tell us what you think!

WEBMU 2013: Prague

The Whiny Expat Blogger Meetup this year was a much lower-key affair than it had been in previous years. Part of that might be that all five parties (counting me and Sarah as one) in attendance had been to Prague before. It was very difficult to scare up interest this year, and the schedule just didn’t work out for a lot of prospective attendees.

But even with a smaller group than expected, we still had a great time. Continue reading WEBMU 2013: Prague

WEBMU 2013: Field Trip to Prague!

The planning of our annual Whiny Expat Bloggers Meet-Up has been kind of different this year. I tend to think that the nearly nonexistent Spring lulled people into feeling that it was miles away and we were slogging on about it way early. Plus, there was a lingering hangover of fabulousity from WEBMU 2012 Berlin. Now, Autumn is making itself felt and we’re under a month out. So to help with your short-term planning, a small reminder:

WEBMU 2013: Prague! Sept. 20-22

Ok, maybe not so small.

It’s time for WEBMU to take its show on the road! A little Bohemian adventure to cleanse the porky German palate! There will be a firm schedule up shortly in the forums and we’ll have a few hotel recommendations as well.

See you in September!

Stasi Museum via WEBMU 2012 in Berlin

WEBMU 2012 in Berlin was last weekend (I’m still recovering from it). Given that most or all of the attendees have visited the usual tourist spots in Berlin — Brandenburger Tor, Reichstag, East Side Gallery, etc. — our WEBMU hosts put together a program off the beaten path, concentrating our activities around neighborhoods in East Berlin. My favorite agenda item of the weekend was our visit to the Stasi Museum in Lichtenberg. Continue reading Stasi Museum via WEBMU 2012 in Berlin

WEBMU 2012 in Berlin — Schedule of Events

Under a month to go — time to firm up your plans for WEBMU 2012 in Berlin! Snooker in Berlin has posted the agenda for our annual expatriate blogger meetup weekend in our discussion forum. We converge on Germany’s capital (for the first time in the history of this tradition) officially on Friday night, September 7th. There’s a pre-event during the day on the Friday, and this year, there’s even a pre-pre-event for those making an extra-long weekend of it (like we are).

Snooker and Mandi of No Apathy Allowed have wonderful things planned for us. Besides the exact agenda, there’s also a guide to local transit and a hotel/hostel/apartment recommendation list. There’s even a handy map of all the points of interest for the weekend.

It’s not too late to sign up, or swing by and take a look if you’re still on the fence. Visit http://forums.expatbloggersingermany.com and click on one of the buttons under “Howdy, Stranger!” to get started. You qualify for membership if you

  • live in Germany,
  • are from somewhere else, and
  • blog in English

So tell us all those things about yourself when you apply, please. But hurry — WEBMU’s almost here!