Happy November, readers—let’s jump right into the updates, shall we?
First up: a recap of our time at the Spiel Essen Board Game Convention at the tail end of my trip with Nia. Attending Essen has been on my bucket list for 20 years. Between watching YouTube recaps and reading blogger reviews, I thought I had a pretty good idea of what I was walking into. I was expecting exclusive convention-only releases, plenty of English editions, and meet-ups with famous game designers.
You can probably guess where this is going, can’t you?
To my genuine surprise, I found the whole thing pretty underwhelming. Roughly 80% of the games on offer were only available in German, French, or Portuguese—which honestly shocked me. Even when I knew an English version existed in the wild, the booths at the convention didn’t have it for sale. Baffling. On top of that, the “meet-ups” turned out to be mostly with artists rather than designers, and I didn’t come across a single true convention release or exclusive launch. It was mostly just standard stock you can order off Amazon any day of the week.
And then, of course, there were the crowds.
From the minute we got in line at the Essen U-bahn station—where we were basically herded like cattle and stuffed onto the subway—the human wave never let up. Every single day of the convention was completely sold out, translating to roughly 55,000 attendees packed into the halls each of the four days.
The lines to buy games were brutal, and trying to play a demo required hovering like a hawk and pouncing the second a seat opened up. Heck, just moving from point A to point B was an obstacle course. The congestion got old really fast.
In a hilarious plot twist, Nia—who had spent the lead-up whining about having to go—ended up loving Spiel Essen. She got hooked learning Magic: The Gathering and walked away thrilled with a 30th Anniversary Pokémon set. Meanwhile, I struggled to find anything in English worth buying!
The absolute saving grace of the trip was meeting up with our old Malawi board-gaming pals, Sean and Vandana, whom we hadn’t seen since 2019. We managed to squeeze in three games together and catch up over a great dinner. Their company went a long way toward mitigating the more frustrating parts of the convention. Having attended U.S. conventions like Origins and Gen Con, they assured me I’d be much happier at one of those.
So, while I can’t give Spiel Essen a ringing endorsement, I’m glad I crossed it off the list so I can say I’ve experienced it. But I definitely won’t be back.
Changing topics: I’ve had my first few doctor visits here in Germany, and I’ve been genuinely impressed thus far. I know one of the standard refrains from Germans is how long you have to wait for an appointment, but as it turns out, when you’re a private-pay customer, things move remarkably fast. Go figure!
On Tuesday of last week, I saw an orthopedist about some recurring pain in my right hamstring. I was thrilled to find he had fantastic English, a wonderfully warm demeanor, and really seemed to know his stuff. The facility itself was top-notch—easily equal to, if not nicer than, many U.S. offices I’ve visited. And the cost of the initial consultation? Just 40 euros.
When I filled him in about my old injury from 2023, he looked at me sideways and noted that it was pretty unusual for a muscle pull to still be acting up after all this time. His recommendation: an MRI.
Conveniently, the radiology facility was in the same building and worked in tandem with his office, so his assistant booked me in right then and there for three days later. The total tab came out to 583 euros—roughly half of what I was charged in the U.S. for my last one two years ago. Of course, insurance picked up most of that U.S. bill, and I’m hoping they’ll cover this one, too. The one minor downside to the overseas system is that you have to pay out of pocket in full up front, then submit for reimbursement and cross your fingers.
True to form, the imaging center was spotless, and the MRI machine was the exact model I’d used back home. But what happened next honestly blew my mind.
Instead of being sent home to wait weeks for a follow-up appointment to discuss the results, I was told to head back upstairs to the doctor’s office. I wasn’t entirely sure what was protocol, but I did as I was told and took a seat in the waiting room. Less than 30 minutes after my scan finished, I was back in the doctor’s office. A radiologist had already read and interpreted the scans, and the doc was pulling them up on a screen to walk me through the highlights.
I was seriously loving the German efficiency of this!
The bad news: I have an old muscle tear in my hamstring with lots of scar tissue build-up (likely a souvenir from 2023), alongside a brand-new, smaller tear nearby.
The treatment plan: more PT, an ultrasound-guided platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection, and shock wave therapy. When I naively asked when I should schedule the first shock wave session, he just looked at me and said, “Now.”
He directed me out to the front desk to let them know I wanted it done immediately. And sure enough, five minutes later, I was lying on a table getting my very first shock wave treatment. Wild, right? In the span of 90 minutes, I got an MRI, had it interpreted by a radiologist, reviewed the results with my doctor, and had my first therapy treatment. It’s nice to know that not only will I be getting quality care here, but that it will also be a very good use of my time. 😊
