On a whim I decided in late 2015 that I wanted to attend a Supernatural Convention. I had started watching the show in June 2015 and was hooked after the first few episodes. So I booked the tickets, hotel and flight and before I knew it, May 2016 had come around.
My family, some friends and colleagues were a bit concerned about me going to another country all on my own, to a place I've never been before, to spend a weekend with a bunch of complete strangers, and all of that over a TV show. But I was determined to go and see, if this kind of event was something I'd enjoy. (Spoiler alert: I did!)
Day 1: Friday, May 14th
When planning my trip I decided to arrive a day early, just to be safe and not get caught in up in any work that might pop up spontaniously.
So on Friday my alarm went off at 4 a.m. and I made my way to the airport to catch my early flight to Düsseldorf (Germany). Making my way through the traffic this early and all by myself I started to get a bit nervous, praying that I didn't forget anything crucial at home. With one last look at the runway and the ever-rising sun I boarded my flight and 20 minutes later lifted off.
Landing in Düsseldorf 1 hour later, I collected my bag and made my way to a cab, which took me to the hotel in about 15 minutes. The very friendly receptionist told me that I couldn't check into my room until 2 p.m. but could leave my luggage with them until then. After giving them my bag I stood there, in the lobby of the Hilton hotel, all by myself, not knowing what to do with myself, several hours early. So I took off to take a walk in the sunshine, to get my head free and to pass the time. I found a nice cafe just outside the nearest park and spent a good time reading "Cloud Atlas" there, until I decided to make my way back to the hotel. By then several people had already gathered, obviously attending the same convention as me. I soon found a group of teenagers who were also waiting to get their rooms, so we spent the next 3 hours on the terrace chatting about this and that. The also took me to have lunch with them, just as a nice lady and 2 younger girls came outside. They were beaming and greeting us, saying that this also was their first convention. I didn't have time to chat for longer cause the others were leaving too, but promised to see them again later on.
During lunch, I had this weird feeling of not belonging at all and feared that I had made the wrong choice by coming here. The group wasn't mean or did anything to make me feel unwelcome or anything, I just felt weird for some reason. Like I was only there cause they couldn't say no. Like I was a baggage they just carried along. Just like it had felt all the time in school. This never-ending feeling of not truly belonging and I hated it. So my first instinct when we got back to the hotel was to be on my own or get into a crowd where the chances of being noticed were rather slim. I noticed that the hall where they would give out the tickets was getting rather full so I decided to stay in that hall, although being half an hour early, just to have some purpose and also maybe getting my tickets faster. As I made my way through the hall I looked at everyone who was already gathered there, recognizing familiar faces: The lady and the 2 young girls I had met on the terrace earlier today. I heaved a sigh of relief and went over to them, only to be met by a huge smile. I had the privilege to meet Tanja and her 2 nieces again and we immediately engaged in a long chat about the show and the waiting time for the tickets flew by in a heartbeat. We collected our stuff and continued to get out Photo-Op and Autograph tickets. It felt so incredibly good to have someone else who was a first-time convention guest and we just clicked from the first few minutes. While waiting in line a few girls went around carrying big cardboard boxes and handing out small "waiting packages", which constisted of a piece of candy, a band-aid, some sanitary hand-wipes and a small packet of salt with a matchstick taped to it. Added was a small note saying: "You are not alone" - "Always keep fighting" - "SPNFamily".
This captured the spirit of the convention perfectly for me - a family who is there for you, no matter where you are from. We admired our little package while sipping our coffee and chatted the rest of the afternoon away.
After some time I decided to check out my room and have a short rest, since I was already overwhelmed with all the experiences I had gotten on that day.
To be perfectly honest, I don't remember an awful lot more of this day, I know that I spent some more time with Tanja and the girls but can't even recollect specific details - but I do remember seeing Osric by the elevators before I retired to bed, but being too shy to go up to him and say something. But in that moment my mind sort of realized, that I was about to meet the stars of my favourite show in the flesh and live and wasn't sure how I would handle all the excitement!
