Sharing Insights For Drupal Mountain Camp Event

My Takeaways from the Drupal Mountain Camp Event, 16-19 February 2017, Davos, Switzerland.

~Climb mountains, not so that the world can see you but so you can see the world!~ And I was blessed to get the opportunity in the most beautiful place on earth! Imagine attending a Drupal Event in the scenic Swiss Alps (with temperatures plummeting to as low as minus 11)! The sights were no less than a fairy tale, and the Drupal learning – truly out of this world. No words can describe, no camera can ever capture the beauty of the place (and the learning from the event) - one has to live it, experience it and boy were I lucky! 

The 4-day Drupal Mountain Camp Event was held at Davos – a valley in Eastern Switzerland and surrounded by snow-clad, picturesque mountains. My hotel was located at an altitude, with the very relatively low level of oxygen. The experience was truly exhilarating – almost like Drupal coding while hiking! The venue of the Mountain Camp Event is an International Congress Center, host to many International conferences. The 4-day event, held from 16-19 February 2017 was a perfect combination of coding and (winter) chill, events and entertainment, food and fun. 

The first day began with a warm welcome of a delicious chocolate mountain – the Swiss are known for their chocolates, and the mountain was truly a finger-licking experience. While the days were spent in workshops and sprints – with extraordinary learning, evenings were fun-filled. On the Thursday evening, we got to try our hands at ice skating! Having only seen people skate in movies, it was a great chance for us to feel no less than movie stars! On the next evening, we got to enjoy an incredible sledge ride in the Alps - spinning down the slopes (at what feels like a million kilometers an hour) resulted in a great adrenaline rush. On Saturday night, we got to see a live ice hockey match between Davos and Zurich – thanks to the sponsors. And on Sunday, after a day spent in sprints, we could also ski and snowboard – god was I living a dream?

I was very lucky to have heard some great keynotes (especially on Open Source & API first Drupal), some eye-opening talks and sessions in the Drupal community, in addition to education, research, and Agile process tips for attendees of all levels (technical developers, business owners, and project managers). 

With this event, I experienced my many firsts! My 1st time in Switzerland, my 1st time as a speaker, my 1st sledging adventure, the 1st time I witnessed snowfall, and my 1st Live Hockey match! I was also privileged to attend the Speaker Dinner (don’t forget to catch the pictures on Twitter and Flickr). The social nights were fab – I thoroughly enjoyed the Swiss beer, made some great new friends, and danced to some peppy Indian and Bollywood numbers. 

I thought I was the farthest travelled attendee, all the way from India, while there was Lauri who came from across the world – Australia.  A memory: Signing on the Drupal Love board was fun, and it has been safely stashed by Ursin Cola.

All in all, a marvelous event! I would like to thank the organizers, sponsors, and speakers from the bottom of my heart, and also to those innumerable strangers who helped me find my way in a German speaking country, a place where English is not even an option!