After a long, tedious wait, last Wednesday it was finally time for Intel Pack4DreamHack Winter 2011! It’s already the fourth time I’m allowed to join, which has enabled me to see how this event has grown each consecutive year.

I still remember, back in 2008, Intel sponsored just me and four of my friends to take the trip to Sweden. Of course, we didn’t have a luxe bus back then, just a small van in which I was allowed to drive us to and from Jönköping. This was such a tremendous experience and has struck me with the love for this event ever since. Now, in 2011, an astonishing 150 (!!!) people took the trip in two huge double-decker luxury buses. Just seeing so many people gives me a great feeling!

For me, it all started early that day. I got up at 7 AM due to the sheer enthusiasm and anticipation. I agreed to meet my friends at noon so we could drive to Eindhoven (the place we got onto the bus) and after a brief wait, the bus arrived. After loading our stuff in, we climbed aboard and from there on it was pretty much a very smooth sailing.

The trip went very well; no traffic jams, we hit our ferry nicely on time and thanks to the friendly weather (still haven’t seen any snow yet!) for the first time in the history of Pack4DreamHack, we arrived before the event started, around 7 AM! Thanks to Rob we were able to get our wristbands without having to queue up (as there was a huge queue already) and about an hour and a half later, believe it or not, we were pretty much settled.

Since then, I’ve been gaming and gaming and gaming and… well yeah, gaming, hehe. I’ve seen a few booths and I got the chance to play Diablo 3 today. I must say I’m looking forward to tonight as well, as our very own DJ Hance will perform, just like last year. I’m going to be at the first row to cheer for him. I have no doubt he’ll rock the place down!

Tomorrow night we’ll hit the town. Let’s see if I can score a nice Swedish lady or two! Again I would like to give a huge thanks to Intel for arranging this wonderful event and allowing me to join in. Even though this edition is still far from over, you can count on me again next year!

Frido Meijer

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