Berlin the Big Easy the Windy City it goes by many names but whatever you call it
It's a laid-back town of sandy beaches and carefree Island living as far as the eye can see
but when the Templin Institute tool Angela this remote tropical paradise in October 20 19
We weren't here for the famous rivers free lobster or vanilla pineapple. Margaritas
No, we had come to attend PDX con
But while everyone else was busy waiting in line
we decided to hit the town see the sights and
Discover a little bit about a city that some have probably described as the Paris of Europe over the course of the week
We did encounter some Russian tanks defect to East Germany
Swear fealty to the Kaiser Reich and then check out all the latest games and news from Paradox Interactive
Our travels didn't end there though like but with fat before us we managed to pursue some paradox staff back to their headquarters
Undetected in Stockholm aka Sin City
we snagged a private tour of the new offices before checking out a series of creepy robots a bunch of guns and a famous the
unstable Swedish warship
It was a thrilling trip of danger deception and DLC and what we're calling operation platypus race to the old world
By the time we arrived in Berlin I had been awake for over 41 hours while Larissa resembled a walking corpse
The only cure was to sleep instead. We went to the German Russian Museum during World War 2
This building was part of a Wehrmacht pioneer school
And on the 8th of May 1945 it became the site where Nazi Germany officially surrendered to the Allies
We saw a ton of artifacts and exhibits from the war. But the heart of the museum was the surrender room itself
It's been preserved in its original state since the signing of the German instrument of surrender, which remains there to this day
Either that or it was a copy
I forgot to check right behind the museum was the highlight of the visit some World War 2 era Soviet tanks
It was a lineup of all the greats an is-2
Is you 122?
su-85 and that BM 13 cata uske
See there it is and
Of course, there is a separate space reserved for the legendary t-34 right at the museum's entrance
The next day after a welcome and very much necessary rest, we made our way to checkpoint charlie
It seems we weren't the only ones who had this idea as within a few minutes of our arrival
The place was overrun with tourists who could have predicted that
After trying in vain to get some footage of the checkpoint without strangers standing in front of it
Our next stop was the Berlin Story bunker
It displayed the history of the city from its founding in the 12th century to the modern day
All of it was housed in a World War 2 era bunker
Which they didn't allow cameras in so you'll just have to guess what that was like
After walking down historic unter den Linden and seeing the Berlin University
Opera House and some nice statues we ended up at the German Historical Museum
the collection housed here was unbelievable some highlights included a stained glass window depicting Wilhelm the first an
Absolutely
enormous painting of the inauguration of parliament to the reichstag by wilhelm ii a veil mocked flak cannon commonly known as an 88 and
a Volkswagen Beetle
Video footage doesn't really do it justice
Especially the footage we took because the first security person we ran into said we couldn't use our camera stabilizer
We ended our second day in Berlin with a tour of the city's famous landmarks the Berlin victory column
Commemorating the Danish Prussian war the Soviet War Memorial in tear garden and then of course the Reichstag I can say absolutely
That it did not disappoint. I always imagined it a lot smaller
So seeing just how big this building is in real life was pretty cool
We ended things with a visit to the Brandenburg Gate the night
We were there video and images were projected on its surface
It was another tour through German history presented on a very unique canvas crowded with tourists though this weird
Have I kept having the same ideas as us?
Earlier in the day. We had the great idea
That would be cool to get some footage of the temptin flag building triumphantly in the wind in front of the Brandenburg Gate
But, you know not everything works out the way you hope
And so we finally arrived at the main event PDX con 2019
The convention was hosted within rundfunk DDR now mostly known as funk house
Which during the Cold War served as the East German broadcasting center?
The building is in a remote part of Berlin amidst the ruins of crumbling factories
And if mobs of post-apocalyptic warriors had emerged at any point, it would have definitely fit the atmosphere of the place
thankfully though there were only a few war bands in sight and PD ex-con was a real thing not a
convoluted trap meant to capture and study us for those unaware
the convention is a three-day celebration of paradox Interactive's Games a
Place where they can announce new projects and expansions where fans and developers can hang out talk about video games and the whole community
Can interact on a personal level?
That's the marketing pitch anyways, and maybe the most rewarding aspect of pdx con is that it's actually true
Yes
Even on the busiest days with crowds of people flooding the space
Paradox developers were wandering around and chatting with anyone who struck up a conversation with them
Friday was the first day of pdx con and limited to the press VIPs and miscellaneous people like us
Instead of the frenzied crowds and dramatic reveals. We'd see over the next couple of days
There were roaming gangs of journalists taking in
Presentations of what paradox was going to announce what the major features of all the new games were and taking questions
The whole space was absolutely spectacular
Funk house is such an incredible building and seeing it lit up by thousands of colored lights with fog machines going off in random places
Really gave it this magical quality. I think my favorite section was the cities skylines area
I dubbed it the chill zone
Although I never actually took him home with the chill there
Which I deeply regret another regret of mine was that there was a speakeasy hidden in the back of the building
Which I didn't actually find until it had been closed down
throughout the rest of the building there were various stages set up her panels and events a
Corridor filled with paradox board games and the commune in the corner where we had our own little booth right next to the Kaiser Reich
Team, we weren't entirely sure what to do on this first day
We weren't journalists and I'm not sure if we were technically allowed to attend the presentations that were happening
But that didn't stop us from trying when nobody was looking
We even got to play a bit of stellaris Federation's before we got scared and failed
Later we tried to sneak into the surviving the aftermath demo session
But the guards caught us and we were exiled to the outside world as a consolation prize though
We did get to try out to Empire of sin the new 1920s gangster themed strategy game from Shaun and Brenda Romero
We weren't allowed to film anything
But I can reveal one key detail a few months before I'd complained on Twitter that the Canadian flag used in game wouldn't be designed
Until 40 years after Empire of sin took place. Wouldn't you know it on the build we tried out the
Design had been fixed to one period-appropriate
hashtag influencer
Saturday was the big one
Crowds began to gather outside even more smoke machines were turned on and everyone got ready for the announcement show
Mark, and I got some great seats actually
It was more of a concrete divider slab that we didn't so much sit on as stand next to
We could talk about all the announcements and reveals, but the most important thing to happen during the show was missed by almost everyone
The previous day we handed out Templin Institute ribbons to all the paradox staff to wear on their lanyards
We kind of figured they'd take them off before doing anything important, but nope. Our logo was featured prominently on the stage
We really should have included our name or something. We wasted a really good marketing opportunity
Of course
the biggest reveal took place at the end as candles were wheeled out a choir appeared amidst the swirling fog and
Crusader Kings 3 was officially announced
The atmosphere in that room whose overwhelming with a thousand people shouting out long live the king
The rest of the day was spent wandering across the show floor
We got to meet a bunch of people at our community booth introduce ourselves to some fellow content creators
And I got to take part in the stellaris arc of ascension game
our friend a speck was hosting and streaming the whole thing and let's just say that I performed to make nificent Lee and won the
Whole thing, but don't look into that
Day to close with the paradox Awards where members of the community were recognized for their achievements and contributions in a major upset
We weren't even nominated. So next year we'll need to do one of those for your consideration campaigns after that
The stage was taken over by a few bands
Even as someone who only found out recently that music produced after 1989 even existed. It was pretty good
I mean I had no idea what was going on
What's at that giant banana? I don't know nevertheless. There was a fitting end to the night
The next day was the last of pdx con and filled to the brim with computers where anyone could play almost everything?
That was shown during the event. There were huge land games of hearts of iron for Europa, Universalis
Stellaris Crusader Kings - and if you wanted to play some surviving the aftermath in the wreck of an old car you could do that
Which is exactly what I did
there was also a huge crusader kings themed mega game that dominated the show floor a
Place where various kings plotted their way to supremacy while being weary not to draw the ire of the Pope or even death itself
Overall PDX Khan was a fantastic experience
Being able to approach the developers of some of my favorite games and talk with them about their plans
Inspiration and whatever else was something I've never experienced before and what really sets PDX Khan apart
While the convention was over our trip still had a few days left to go
We ended up in Stockholm having been graciously invited to check out paradox Interactive's new offices first, though
We had to check out something everyone told us we needed to see
In 1628 the Vasa
What was to be the flagship of the Swedish fleet took its maiden voyage out on to stockholm harbour and immediately capsized and sank
Turns out the king of sweden kept on adding more and more cannons to the design despite the engineer saying it would never float
In the 1960s, the ship was recovered from its watery grave and having been remarkably. Well preserved is now on display at the Vasa Museum
Alongside some recreations of what the ship originally looked like. There was a lot of really interesting
Displays on both 17th century Sweden and the raising of the Vasa itself
I can definitely see why this museum is held in such regard
There's probably only a few places in the world where you can see a warship of this era preserved
So well this though was only the first on our list of stops
Technica news 8 is stockholm's Museum of Technology. And while we were there, it featured a huge exhibit on robots both real and fictional
Surprisingly the scariest robots weren't those of the t800 line that nearly exterminated humanity
But instead this robot comedian who did a pretty decent Humphrey Bogart impression
And this amorphous blob that just seemed to glare at you with its cold dead eyes
Of course the reason we were in Sweden at all was to take a look at paradox Interactive's new offices
Unfortunately with most of the staff still recovering from PD ex-con and not even fully moved in yet
There was only so much we could see
I'm gonna judge your
What is you've got like a million of something in here? Is this leftover from paradox cod? Nope
Okay, I don't know what to say about this
We were still able to meet with some of the stellaris team and deliver some bribes though
The new office is really cool with each floor themed around a different era Victorian World War two and space or the future I guess
It's also mostly off-limits for video. So this brief footage will have to do for now
Getting the chance to fly to Berlin attend PDX con and head over to Stockholm was an
Unbelievable trip the Templin Institute has been privileged enough to start being invited to all sorts of remarkable events
And we're so grateful for these opportunities
if
You enjoyed following along with our experiences in PDX con and beyond?
we'll be posting all future trip videos on the template archives as
Always you'll find a link in the description
Thank you for helping make this whole thing happen
We got some other trips and ideas lined up for the future and we'll do our best to share what happens with all of you
March is #WomensHistoryMonth & #USSPACECOM is recognizing the contributions of women in military history. In 1948, Congress passed Women’s Armed Services Integration Act, which granted women right to serve as regular members of @USArmy, @USNavy, @USMC & @usairforce. #WomenInSpace pic.twitter.com/w2YillJTyf— U.S. Space Command (@US_SpaceCom) March 19, 2020