Mittens 2016: Orust, Sweden 30 July - 06 August

[AGA]

Mittens will be from Saturday 30 August to Saturday 06 August on the island of Orust, Sweden, please read!

Info from Andail:

Okay, just updating the thread with some travel info.

From Gothenburg, buses depart from Nils Ericsson-terminalen, which is right next to the central station.

You take Stenungsund Express to Stenungsund station, where you change to bus Orust express which will stop at Edet on northern Orust.
Here's a site that will allow you to check the times.
http://reseplanerare.vasttrafik.se/bin/query.exe/sn?ld=fe1&OK#focus

Esseb will hop off at Uddevalla and take the Orust Express directly to Edet, which is a much quicker trip.

Once you get off the bus it's a 5 minutes' walk to the cottage, and I'll put up signs.

I'll drive up there on the 30th with my car, which has room for 4 passengers, so give me a shout if you want to tag along.

We will have to leave the cottage in the morning of August 6. If you need to stay another night in Gothenburg for connection reasons you can use the guest room of our apartment, but we won't be there ourselves until midnight or so, since we're going to a wedding that same day.

Planned activities for this Mittens:
* Mittolympics (with events such as archery with historically accurate bows, ring-tossing with historically accurate rings, darts, croquet etc)
* Beer and sing-along around bonfire
* Board games
* Board game jam (we'll form small teams and construct our own board games using a plethora of cards and pencils and other stationery I've probably nicked from work)
* AGS show and tell (bring memory sticks)

Since there's no booking or renting involved, you're free to show up with just a day's notice, but signing up late means you'll probably get to stay in a tent, depending on participation (which will probably be all time low, considering this is basically a plan B mittens).

Do post here if you have more questions!

Attendees:

• 2ma2
• AGA
• Andail
• Chrille
• Esseb
• Monsieur OUXX
• Tamara
• yamipanda

(8)


It looks like the Caribbean is a good option for many of us this year.  The Australia idea we can maybe come back to next year.  Please see this post for some possible Caribbean destinations.

So the idea of Mittens 2016 being in Australia was raised at this year's Mittens.  Quite a few people seemed interested, but since I appreciate Australia is a loooong way away for most of us - and quite expensive - it might be good to have this possibility on everyone's radars sooner rather than later.

We didn't really discuss a time or a place, beyond the suggestion that it might not have to take place in the traditional July or August Mittens timeframe, now so many of us are grown up and not at school or university (with their associated summer holidays).  I mainly wanted to start the discussion now, and to make people aware that it costs around â,¬1200 to fly to most of eastern Australia (I checked Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane) from Europe so you should all start saving!

Australia seems a fair idea, since over the last 14 years we've had 9 in Europe and 5 in North America.  Maybe for the 15th anniversary we should try a whole new continent, one which many of us will have never visited before!  Plus of course our lord and creator Chris Jones will likely be there, since he emigrated to Aus last year.

[Quintaros]

I'm keen for Australia next year.  I don't have a preference for location as I'm sure I'll spend an extra week or two after Mittens to see more of the continent.  Timing is more important to me as I'd prefer to avoid the peak temperatures.  I think March/April or October/November would be my preferred timing.

[AGA]

Our summer is of course their winter, so what we consider peak is actually 15-20 degrees in Sydney for instance...  The months you mention are actually more mid 20s.  Sydney doesn't seem to get that hot overall from what I can see though.  The other cities may of course be much hotter!

[Quintaros]

Yes Sydney looks to be pretty moderate year round but other areas less so.  The months I specified look good for most areas. 

Plus I prefer to spend my summers at home and do my travelling abroad during the colder local months.

[Disco]

I am very much up for going. Will almost certainly not be able to go if it were scheduled earlier in the year, but anytime post-August should work fine.

[Snarky]

I'm also very interested, but wouldn't be able to go in the (NH) spring; late 2016 is a much better possibility.

[Layabout]

I'll go.
My vote would be either Melbourne or perhaps northern Queensland, like Ayrlie Beach or something.

[sonneveld]

That would be amazing. I would definitely go.  Any chance of it being in Sunny Canberra?

[AGA]

Okay, so, it's now 2016.  Due to the higher than usual cost involved, and fact that many of us are likely to want to take two or three weeks off work to make the most of the trip, it might be a good idea for us to start planning...

Questions are:


Who's interested in attending?
Where should it be?
When should we do it?

[Slasher]

Brompton, Gillingham, Medway. Kent, UK

[AGA]

Brompton, Gillingham, Medway. Kent, UK

You're 12 years too late to attend a Mittens in the home counties, I'm afraid.

[Grundislav]

I would not be able to make it to Australia this year.

If this is the case with the majority of attendees, might I suggest somewhere in the Caribbean as an alternative? It's been something that's been discussed several times before, serves as a nice "halfway point" between the US and Europe, and can be done in the summer. Only issue is it's right in the middle of hurricane season. Just a thought!

[Disco]

I am definitely up for an Australian Mittens. If location/distance or cost is an issue for most folks, I would prefer an alternative that would best suit the majority.

[Adeel]

Make it Melbourne, Australia and a new person might actually come and join you guys!

PS: It's not me.

[AGA]

Make it Melbourne, Australia and a new person might actually come and join you guys!

PS: It's not me.

Does this person not have access to airplanes?

[Snarky]

I'm up for Australia, as long as it's in the fall... err, spring... later in the year, anyway (and not the last couple of weeks of August).

[Adeel]

Make it Melbourne, Australia and a new person might actually come and join you guys!

PS: It's not me.

Does this person not have access to airplanes?

I doubt this person even possesses a car, let alone driving himself to work. Having access to airplanes is obviously out of the question.

Or is it?

[LindaBelle]

Oh( with great pleasure I`d like to visit Australia( But I`m afraid that the airplane tickets are too expensive and there I don`t know where to stop..Hope next summer I`ll be able to go to Australia.

[Disco]

It seems that there are about five or six non-Australians willing to make the journey at this point.

Perhaps this year we could spin an Australian meetup into a separate event and have it later in the year? We could take Francisco's idea of having Mittens in the Caribbean (another popular idea from years back), and make Australia a northern winter/southern summer destination for those interested. This allows extra saving time, and we could have Mittens Prime sooner rather than later.

[AGA]

There are arguments for both sides really.  For Europeans European Mittenses are relatively cheap, the same for North Americans at NA Mittenses.  People from Australasia and south Asia however are forced to spend crazy money in both those cases, (and end up never actually coming...) so isn't it fairer the rest of us make the trip over at least one time?

I'm also wondering just how much stuff there is to do on a Carribean island aside from sunbathing and drinking Bahama Mamas.

There have already been a few small scale Aussie meet ups I believe, but never anything on the scale of Mittens.  Maybe having a larger group, for a longer time, would encourage more Aussie AGSers to come out of the woodwork and come along.

[magintz]

I'm interested if it's in Australia.

I can rate Melbourne as a good place

#livesinmelbourne

[Weston_Kaunk]

No idea what finances will be like next year, but I have family in Australia and NZ so this would be about as good a chance for me as it could get ^^

[AGA]

So I've had a look at Grundislav's suggestion of the Caribbean.  Turns out I wouldn't be able to do Australia this year myself, since I will not have earned enough time off from my new job by then.  Australia should definitely be done one of the coming years though.

Since 'Caribbean holiday' basically means luxury, I've looked at the cheapest options.  If we wanted an island, it seems to be Domician Republic, or if island is okay Cancun (Mexico).  Cancun would provide us access to interesting Mayan sights like Chichen Itza, but could also be pretty damn touristy.

Some options for Dominician Republic:

HUGE (32 bed) villa, $1043pw - https://www.vrbo.com/3673349ha
Medium (20 bed) villa, including staff, $2583ow - https://www.vrbo.com/2516
Small (15 bed) villa, $1834pw - https://www.vrbo.com/722383
Tiny (12 beds) villa, $2100pw - https://www.vrbo.com/3768488ha

There are literally thousands of options for large villas on DR though, all of them offering crazy luxury for really quite cheap.  Flights are not quite as cheap, but it's no more expensive than flying to the US, and definitely cheaper than Australia for most of us.

Oh, and I was looking at the first week of September.  Someone mentioned preferring to do Mittens later in the year, and early Autumn might be better for avoiding the deadly tropical heat too.

[Darth Mandarb]

While there is very little chance I'd be able to go this year I can offer up some advice (as I've been to DR a few times and all throughout the rest of the Caribbean).

Punta Cana (DR) is AMAZING.  You will, however, play 5x as much for that amazing-ness.

Santo Domingo (DR) is pretty nice (not as great as Punta Cana) and the prices are much lower.  Flights into Santo Domingo are probably the cheapest you'll find (flying into Puerto Plata is 3x as expensive). It's a very nice and safe (as long as you don't wander out of the Colonial Zone) touristy type place.

Cancun is also a really cool (safe) place.  It is VERY touristy though.  It does have the added benefit of "excursions" you can do since it's not an island.

Some other places I've been that are very nice:

• Roatan, Honduras - this is a small island (maybe not too many side-quests to embark on), but is very nice
• Saint Martin (Sint Maarten) - again, a small island but loaded with things to do
• St. Lucia - I love this place but it is pretty expensive
• Ocho Rios, Jamaica - better than Kingston.  Very touristy but lots of neat things to do (like climbing Dunn's River Falls)
• Belize City, Belize - this place is nice (as long as you stay in the main area) but there are a HUGE amount of "excursions" (including Mayan ruins) available

I can fly into Santo Domingo (DR) for dirt-cheap so if we end up choosing that area I might (big maybe) be able to come in for the weekend.

I'm happy to pay my share for the whole week though if I can make it!

Happy hunting.

[AGA]

Nice to have all that insight!  I'm happy to hunt around and do any organising that's necessary, assuming enough people show an interest to make it viable.

[Disco]

I've been reading up on some Caribbean destinations and have found Puerto Rico and Barbados to sounds rather inviting, though I have been to neither (or any West Indie).

Puerto Rico has plenty of good looking villas that are in the 2-3k range, so a bit more than Dominican Republic, but has better water quality apparently. This place got my attention, and there are many more in the range/quality.

Barbados sounds intriguing, but is a bit more expensive. It has less crime than PR and some of the purest water in the world according to Wikitravel. I would only really consider that if numbers are higher than in the previous few years.

The Dominican Republic and most of Darth's suggestions (with the exception of Jamaica) all seem like good places to spend a week, and flights are looking inexpensive to most places as well. 

[AGA]

I mainly chose DR because it was rated the cheapest Caribbean island to visit on some travel site.  I guess the main decider overall should be accessibility of villa from airport, and relative expense of flying to said airport. The flight cost difference is greater when you take transatlantic connections into account.

[Quintaros]

I'm down for a Caribbean destination as well as long as the dates are right. 

[Disco]

Dominican Republic is said to have an extensive and cheap bus system that goes most places around the country. A lot of the travel sites make out DR to be a dangerous place to drive in general, so avoiding renting would be a positive there. A lot of the villas I found the past few days have listed cars as either recommended or not necessary.

The Puerto Rican properties I found almost all listed a car as necessary. While driving is said to be better (if a little crowded), the cost of rentals would need to be considered while checking properties.

[AGA]

What do Americans think about trying to score visas to visit Cuba?  It's apparently quiite easy...

[MillsJROSS]

I can do the Caribbean. Not sure about Cuba, or rather I'm fairly certain that Cuba is not worth the hassle.

We might want to plan around hurricane season considering the peak times are August\September (hurricane season goes from June through the November).

[Disco]

Not sure about Cuba, or rather I'm fairly certain that Cuba is not worth the hassle.

Agreed.

As much as I would like to visit Cuba someday, I would prefer the path of less resistance.

[AGA]

Using DM's advice, I've tried to find nice, affordable places in a variety of places, for a variety of sizes (around $250 for a week per person, some much cheaper):


Mexico (in / on Caribbean Sea)

Casa Iguana, Akumal, Quintana Roo	12	https://www.vrbo.com/685228	$349
Casa Calypso, Cozumel island, Quintana Roo	16	https://www.vrbo.com/392963	$279

St Maarten (Dutch side)

Beach House, near Phillipsburg	12	https://www.vrbo.com/6604345ha	$285
Villa Caribbean Jewel, near Phillipsburg	13	https://www.vrbo.com/153811	$314

Dominican Republic

Home with Large Private Cave, near Punta Cana	12	https://www.vrbo.com/4133084ha	$300
Gorgeous Three Level Penthouse, Boca Chica, Santo Domingo	12	https://www.vrbo.com/3707320ha	$175
Apartment, Santo Domingo Este, Santo Domingo	16	https://www.vrbo.com/3819341ha	$97

Belize

Stress Free, Hopkins	16	https://www.vrbo.com/793312	$89
Crimson Orchid Inn, Orchid Bay	18	https://www.vrbo.com/453569	$69
Eco Jungle Resor, Middlesex, Stann Creek District	20	https://www.vrbo.com/634115	$75

Saint Lucia

La Gampierre, near Saltibus

12

https://www.vrbo.com/644297

$360

Jamaica

Old Fort Bay Cottage, Ocho Rios

12

https://www.vrbo.com/716115

$400

Honduras

L'Alize, West Bay Beach	12	https://www.vrbo.com/437116	$385
Private Water Front Estate, Caribe Pointe	14	https://www.vrbo.com/346754ha	$340
Ocean View Villas with Pool, West Bay Beach	17	https://www.vrbo.com/98897	$340

[Disco]

I very much enjoy the looks and description of Casa Iguana in Mexico and the Large Private Cave house in Dominican Republic. We have never had a cave on the property before! The situation of the Caribe Pointe house in Honduras looks fantastic as well. Those three properties are the standout ones for me on the list.

My main concern at the moment is the numbers. It is April now, and about half a dozen have chimed in thus far. What's going on, people?!

[Grundislav]

I'm a bit up in the air right now, not sure if I'll be able to afford it currently. But if I can come, I will!

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

Wow, I'd love to go but I just can't afford it.  Sounds really rad though, I wish you guys the best!

[Andail]

While an awesome idea, this sounds pretty unlikely for me. I think I'll have to wait for another european mittens, frankly...

[Radiant]

Well, I was asked to comment here. Much as I'd like to return to the Caribbean one day, for the upcoming year any location outside Europe is simply not going to be possible for me.

[AGA]

I very much enjoy the looks and description of Casa Iguana in Mexico and the Large Private Cave house in Dominican Republic. We have never had a cave on the property before! The situation of the Caribe Pointe house in Honduras looks fantastic as well. Those three properties are the standout ones for me on the list.

My main concern at the moment is the numbers. It is April now, and about half a dozen have chimed in thus far. What's going on, people?!

I agree.  I think if we really want a Caribbean island, the cave one seems best.  I am actually more leaning towards Mexico though (house you mentioned), mainly because there'd be more to do.  That place is 1hr from Cancun, and 2hrs from Chichen Itza and other Mayan sites: http://wikitravel.org/en/Mayan_Riviera.  The trouble with Caribbean island holidays is they're usually more about drinking, sleeping and relaxing than most Mittenses are, and Mexico would give us the best of both worlds...  If you look at the actual beds described, it also fits up to 15 people if we share.

I've sent out a PM to all previous Mittens attendees alerting them, and put up a banner.  12 people wouldn't be unusually small (we've had four 12/13 person Mittens), but let's hope we can find that many!

[abstauber]

Hey, as much as I'd like to finally visit the Caribibean (and meet you guys again after ages), I need to wait for an European location as well. Being a parent now, I'm still completely without any spare time.

*keeps fingers pressed for 2017*

[Snarky]

I'm probably going to sit this one out. But good luck, and have fun!

[cat]

We will not make it either, but we wish you an awesome Mittens!

[m0ds]

Thanks for the msg! Looks lovely but way too adventurous for my wallet, sorry! Whilst I'm sure the rolling ocean, beaches and reefers are amazing out there... You can give me that in the form of Margate and I'd still be happy. Everything Carib has to offer you can find in Spain etc, it's literally just paying the money to a) get that tiny bit of extra culture [of which you have about 5 days to find] and b) to have another stamp of a new destination in your passport and c) cater for the 1 or 2 people (out of a majority of usually 10 or so) who can't afford Europe.

I'm thinking of a euro alternative whislt you folks are globe-trotting, cos it's clear we have enough Euro's interested every year, it always comes down to what 800 pound flight location you guys have chosen this time round which seems to be the bit that leads to low attendence. You had one of those last year, so would think maybe you'd avoid that this time round?

point being, please don't forget the reason Mittens was established, so that the most people have the opportunity to meet up in the most convinient way possible. This globe trotting element was never part of the original reasons and as such is why in some recent years attendance at Mittens has been somewhat lacking..? Mittens is no longer doing what it can to get as many AGS people together as it can and now focusses on pleasing a core few friends. This year (and planning of it) is hitting that home once more. Understandably you can never please everyone, but I think it's about time we considered having 2 things running on a year when "Mittens" decides to be in the far reaches of the world.

Mittens - For getting the majority together at the most affordable price (aka Mittens Lite)
Mittens Pro - for those who earn 40k a year & want to explore the world (aka Mittens Deluxe)

You're basically handling a "Mittens Pro" here, aren't ye

ps. This is not a big moan even if it types that way, I had been talking about this with my rents, again they asked why I'm not attending a thing I established. So thought a bit of a muse/thoughts summary would be more useful than just "Thanks but can't" message. Wherever you have it, if I go to it or not, its great that it continues on year on year. And even I can't deny Carribean was a big "we need to do this" from day 1. I'm not as poor as I was back then and it is in the realm of possibility for me nowadays. But damn man, I am not into this big & costly flights thing. I'd like to find the confidence to just flight to NYC or something but even that feels tough nowadays. Kudos to your big travels (and the same for ppl who do it to visit AdventureX). I do wonder though, if Mittens should be reserved for low cost, max people, creative type holiday, and on years where it's obviously a diminished quantity of people wanting to attend, just make it a friends event without the nametag. Cos I do like to go when I can, which is usually one year in every three, because Mittens dictates it. So either we need more than 1 or 1 needs to know when it's a friends only gig, or sth

[AGA]

Not everyone lives in Europe - 'low cost flights' are never cheap for everyone involved; Disco comes every year from the US even though he's not on 40k a year.  The last Mittens in Europe was Portugal, and perfectly affordable for most, and still only had 13 attendees.  Don't read  too much into the cost, I get the impression from at least some of the people who responded that it's other stuff like having busy real lives - children, studies to finish, etc, that's as much of an issue.

The main reasons for having it in different places are that a) going to the same place / country for your summer holidays every year is boring, b) AGS is a global thing, not just European.  If you work full time, you only have so much time to take off to have a holiday, so why not make the most of the opportunity and make a real holiday of it, rather than going to Bognor and wasting the annual leave you could use on going to the Caribbean?

[selmiak]

I had to look up Bognor, and this looks interesting

[Stupot]

I had to look up Bognor, and this looks interesting

change it to Mittlins!

[MillsJROSS]

Let's switch it to Europe *if* we can get more people to attend. In all fairness this mittens is too close to last years mittens. We can do the Caribbean the year after. Grundislav was the one who recommended this location and he's not even sure he'll be able to attend it.

We can go back to countries or even rent the same places again. We've had plenty of variety and a fifteen year cycle ain't too shabby. I would be more than willing to just start back where it all began.

Could we get the number of people who would (definitely) go if it was somewhere in Europe?

[AGA]

I added a poll.

Let's switch it to Europe *if* we can get more people to attend. In all fairness this mittens is too close to last years mittens. We can do the Caribbean the year after. Grundislav was the one who recommended this location and he's not even sure he'll be able to attend it.

Much of Europe is just as close together as this would be...  We usually do Europe for two or three years before an American Mittens, so why not the other way around?

[tzachs]

Hi, unfortunately we won't be able to attend this year, and the reason is this guy:

[imgzoom]http://i.imgur.com/klz69JM.png[/imgzoom]

You kids have fun, though, with all of your nights full of sleep and dreams!

[AGA]

Still not many responses, but it does look like Europe might be more popular. Cat mentioned Croatia as an option a couple of years ago, so maybe we can consider that as an option. It's somewhere we haven't had a Mittens yet. There are loads of properties available and lots to see and do.

Great news, new parents!

[cat]

Cat mentioned Croatia as an option a couple of years ago, so maybe we can consider that as an option.

Since I assumed that we cannot attend Mittens this year, we already booked another vacation. So chances are pretty low, that we will come even to Croatia.

I will most likely attend AdventureX this year again. This is always an option for those Europeans that can't attend Mittens overseas. I hope to see some of you guys in London

[MillsJROSS]

I'd prefer not to go Croatia.

I'd be game for going back to England. Iceland is also on my personal wish list.

[AGA]

The UK is a terrible destination for Mittens though, there's not that much to do outside the larger cities, and within them it'd cost a fortune to house so many people.  Iceland could maybe work, but would again hit people's unwillingness to spend money on travelling.

[Andail]

I'll just throw my cottage on Orust into the mix for the heck of it. We've already been there once (or twice actually , for some), so that kind of goes against the basic mittens tradition of visiting new places, but it has lots of advantages:
* Free housing
* No need to book anything in advance
* Good connections for most Europeans (practically free flights from London with a bit of planning, for example)
* Beautiful scenery with beaches and nature and all that crap, but also close to Gothenburg

If we end up doing a caribbean mittens, I'll even consider having an alternative meeting there anyways.

[m0ds]

Nice! I agree England is a little bit... unfancy (though probably nice for Mills and others from far away).

Personal opinions...Orust would be great. Honestly I'd prefer somewhere with a pool and not natural jellyfish filled waters, but your offer is too kind to refuse, and as I have not been to Sweden since when was it, 2003? Over 12 years ago? Would definitely highly consider this. A kind offer dude! You're right it does have manby benefits.. the only downside is that there is no nearby shop? I can't remember. I definitely remember not being able to get alcohol, but thats cos I was barely 20 at the time..haha!! It would be a nice place for mills, grundy and such to visit if they haven't already. Though it may not be so nice for couples... I recall maybe 4-6 beds and the rest tents? I wonder how/if it's changed over the years.

PS. I'm not personally part of the "somewhere new" crew. I didn't realize it was 'tradition'. I think that's pretty much just AGA pressuring It's always nice to see new places, but its always nice to take a freebie thats on offer once in a while! Anyway sounds like that can also work as a backup/alternative, if some go ahead with Carrib or such. No reason not to do that. We can Skype each other.

[AGA]

Of course there's a reason not to do that.  Splitting into two separate smaller groups will result in half the fun for everyone involved.

Orust would be fine, if people are determined to opt for the cheapest option.  It really does look like only a handful of people are going to come regardless of where it is this year though, so it seems a bit silly to keep trying to come up with ideas to try to encourage more people to attend who won't come regardless of the location.

[Snarky]

Don't count on me or let this interfere with your decision, since it depends on a lot of other things, but if it's in Sweden I might come after all, at least for part of it.

[Grundislav]

And I'm out as well. I just can't afford to do any traveling this summer, as much as I'd like to.

[AGA]

So to summarise Andail's offer for those not in the know, he is suggesting he host Mittens at his family's summer cottage on the island of Orust, close to Gothenburg, Sweden.  this was the location of Mittens
#2 in 2003, although the cottage has been refurbished since then.  Gothenburg has two airports, and is accessible for quite cheap from most of Europe.

[Monsieur OUXX]

I am extremely interested by Sweden.
However I can't seem to find the dates. Am I understanding properly that the final dates will be decided after knowing who's interested?

[AGA]

I am extremely interested by Sweden.
However I can't seem to find the dates. Am I understanding properly that the final dates will be decided after knowing who's interested?

Yup.  Traditionally with Mittens we first try to get a vague level of interest from everyone, then try as much as possible to plan the final dates around people's availability.

[Chrille]

I wasn't planning on going anywhere far this summer, so if it takes place on Orust I'd most likely attend for a day at the very least, or if that fails, hook up for any activities in Gothenburg.

[Quintaros]

I could do Sweden. 

[JSH]

I will definitely join you guys if it ends up being here in my home country

[MillsJROSS]

Sweden works for me.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

[Andail]

Cool to see such positive reactions to returning to Orust, Sweden

So to summarise Andail's offer for those not in the know, he is suggesting he host Mittens at his family's summer cottage on the island of Orust, close to Gothenburg, Sweden.  this was the location of Mittens
#2 in 2003, although the cottage has been refurbished since then.  Gothenburg has two airports, and is accessible for quite cheap from most of Europe.

In addition to what AGA said:

* The cottage+extra cabin have room for maybe 10 people to sleep relatively comfortably. That's with some extra mattresses squeezed in. The rest will have to sleep in tents, which I'll do personally.

* Everything is basic modern standard except there's no shower, which means we'll just use the wash basin, or the ocean. If we end up doing Gothenburg city, we could even visit my apartment, if only to clean our filthy selves. If you're super picky there's even the option of booking a hostel room (â,¬70 for a double room) in nearby town of HenÃ¥n.

* There's a direct bus from Gothenburg to the cottage that takes some 60-90 minutes or so depending on traffic. I'll probably time my driving up there with the first batch of travellers, so some 3-4 people can go in my car.

* There's a camp site kiosk a 15 minutes' walk from the cottage, and then large supermarkets 10 mins by car/bus, so that shouldn't be a problem. The liquor shop is equally distant.

* We'll all partake in the time-honoured Mittolympics, with fun events such as archery and ring tossing.

Now, I'd recommend going there in the first week of August. That's the latest I can go myself, and since summer weather in Sweden is fickle at best, it's wise to skip as much as possible of June and July. I don't personally mind going earlier, but then we can probably expect worse weather.

Let me know if there's more you need to know.

[AGA]

Brief correction: apparently one of the airports has now closed, but its services have moved to the remaining airport.

I need to be home in the second week of August, since I already have plans.  Sat 30 July - Sat 06 August would fit around the dates you mentioned though, assuming it doesn't conflict with other people.  The modern thing to do is to run a Doodle poll though: (I'll PM you the link, Andail): http://doodle.com/poll/5a7zec8cn54aidxp

Oh, and I'm happy to butt out of the organising of this.  I've just been trying to get people interested for so long now it just feels like I'd may as well continue.

[AGA]

So far it seems Quintaros is the one person who can't make any dates.  But I know he said he would prefer later in the year.  Would September be an option for you, Andail, or is July really all you can do?

[Andail]

September is sadly not an option for me. While teachers get nice and long vacations, we can't really play around much outside of those.

[AGA]

Oh yeah, teacher...  Is early August the latest you can go in that month without impacting your work?

[Andail]

My girlfriend starts working after that, which means we'll have nobody to take care of our child from then on.

All of July and week 1 of August is pretty much the window I can give.

[milkanannan]

How about doing it in Qatar. Anyone? ANYONE?

[MillsJROSS]

Drop the kid off at the Kennel. It'll be fine.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

[Andail]

Drop the kid off at the Kennel. It'll be fine.

We can't do that in Sweden, what with the socialist regime and all their "rules"

[Dave Gilbert]

Would *love* to come but family responsibilities say no. Maybe next year.

[yamipanda]

I'll definitely go if it's in Sweden. Any time would work for me, except the last week of July.

[AGA]

I'll definitely go if it's in Sweden. Any time would work for me, except the last week of July.

Ir's easier to keep track if you vote, please!

[yamipanda]

Ah, didn't see the poll. Sorry. Voted.

I'll definitely go if it's in Sweden. Any time would work for me, except the last week of July.

Ir's easier to keep track if you vote, please!

[edmundito]

Unfortunately I can't make it this year regardless of it's held. But Sweden sounds good, though!

[MillsJROSS]

I think Sweden is the place to go. It looks like we have more people willing to attend.

Which makes me feel better about backing out if Quintaros can't make it. I can't cheat on my Mittens wife (openly).

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[Creamy]

Mmm...Sweden is tempting

[reismahnic]

Oh, this sounds wonderful!
So all I have to do is let you guys know I would like to go, and you'll cover all my expenses, right?...

No?...
That's not how this works?...

Well, have fun. I think its so cool that this community meets up in person.
You're all awesome.

[Andail]

You're all awesome.

Yup!

Okay, just thought I could bump this ever so slightly. Not that I need definite answers yet... or maybe ever, but a general idea of the attendance would be nice.

I think the first week of August is pretty much set in stone by now, given the poll result and also what I said about the weather.

To reiterate; accommodation is free this year, which means if you book a flight early on, this could be a really cheap vacation in what may be one of the most beautiful areas of the world. Trust me, I've been around the world a fair bit

[AGA]

I'm trying to get those previous Mittens attendees who may no longer read the forums interested too.  We'll see!

[abstauber]

Sweden - especially Gothenburg sounds indeed very tempting. Unfortunately my vacation ends on 31th July.
Let's see if I can move it for a week. But yes: I'm very interested and we've got a direct ferry connection to Gothenburg

[JudasFm]

I wish I could come but it's just too far Never mind; I hope everyone who goes has a great time

[Esseb]

I'll sort out my vacation tomorrow, I might show up, it's only a (somewhat long) bus ride away.

I expect the 2003 Mittens game that was rumoured to be in development will be finished this year.

[Andail]

Of course you're coming, Esseb! And bring some board games in case it will rain.

[Monsieur OUXX]

I'm maintaining my interest, especially now that the dates are known.

[Disco]

Unfortunately I am out for this one. I had been counting on a September/October Mittens and planned accordingly.

Rather bummed to miss everyone, hoping plans are better for 2017. Enjoy!

[AGA]

We have booked flights on the specified dates.  We'll be arriving at Göteborg Landvetter Airport at 11:20 on 30 July.

[Esseb]

I haven't booked any flights since I'm just a short train ride away.

[Andail]

FYI, Esseb, unless you want to take the opportunity to visit Göteborg, you might want to get off at Uddevalla, and take the bus from there. If your train stops there, that is.

[AGA]

For that's four of us confirmed.  Smallest Mittens ever!

[Bulbapuck]

Oh wow, completely missed this.

I live in Gothenburg and have considered attending Mittens for years. So I'm definitely interested in this, just have to check if the dates aren't colliding with anything. But I don't think they do.

That is if it's okay. I have never attended a mittens and have been away from the forums for some time. Considering that it's your home Andail I feel I can't just say "count me in".

[Andail]

That is if it's okay. I have never attended a mittens and have been away from the forums for some time. Considering that it's your home Andail I feel I can't just say "count me in".

That's not how Mittens work; they're official meetings. I can't pick and choose my favourites from the forum less than everybody else can! Unless they're my mortal enemies, of which I have plenty.

that's four of us confirmed.  Smallest Mittens ever!

Joel is pretty much confirmed, and last I spoke to YamiPanda she sounded pretty definitive as well.

[2ma2]

OK, yeah, another Mittens accessible by non-airborne means is to good to pass up. AGA's PM-campaign was truly effective on this ol' fool

I have a tent with room one additional Mittenee. The only downside as that a close friend insists on getting married on the 6th of August so I might need to depart from the festivities early, along with the aforementioned tent. Still, nothing a bit of organizational Tetris can't solve.

[AGA]

Hmm, so speaking of tents and sleeping spaces...  We weren't planning on bringing a tent, since we haven't paid for hold luggage.  Are enough Swedes / Scands going to bring tents for us to manage?  Also, what about bedding?  We can of course pay for hold luggage if there's a desperate shortage of stuff.

Also: hooray for Linus!

[Andail]

Only swedes need worry about tents I'm working on Blazej and Helm too; the former rather positive, the latter tentatively so. This might turn out a kind of reunion mittens
And yay for Linus indeed!

[Snarky]

Wish I could, but no summer holidays for me this year. So I'm a no after all.

[Goldmund]

Wheee! Me & Helm will come.

[Andail]

Wheee! Me & Helm will come.

That is wondrous news. I shall slaughter our finest lamb.
Sausage. Lamb sausage.

Also, what about bedding?

Depends on how choosy you are; I'll try to procure an ample supply of sleeping bags and blankets and stuff, but there won't be a full set of bedding for each and every guest, no.

[Creamy]

It turns out that I don't have many vacation days left. You can delete me from the list

[Miez]

Damn ... Sweden is not so far away and I'd really like to attend. But I've taken a long (long!), hard look at my work schedule en financial situation and sadly I won't be able to make it this year.
I'll just start saving for next year.

[m0ds]

What if others helped you with that? I don't know. I'm on the fence if I'm honest. I love pools. I don't love shitty lakes. But there are cool people, and if memory serves there is a nice place to have a fire and hear Andail drunkenly sing. But if I do I think I'll be a relatively last minute addition. Don't really care where I sleep I remember last time a huge spider everywhere so whatever, it's all the same Is anyone hiring a car to and from somewhere? I liked the bus. But we were a group then. I'm not so keen on travelling alone about the place this time round. Hmm, still a maybe then I spose

[Andail]

I love pools. I don't love shitty lakes.

Wtf? That's the crisp clean ocean, my good sir. You prefer to swim around in the urine and chlorine of a pool instead of the liquid emerald that caresses the Swedish west coast?

What are you, an 85-year-old slightly demented ex millionaire? Shut up and book that flight already.

[m0ds]

Thanks Mr Motivator Don't you live in Goteborg? Will you or anyone be driving from there? I mean half the people who are going don't even use AGS boards anymore how am I supposed to find out? Alternatively if you can just prepare some useful bus info or something to like, ease an anxious person's mind, I might book that ticket. Thank you!

ps. I need to ask monkey_05_06 about those files (he has the most up to date version) but hope to get them to you asap!

[Andail]

Okay, just updating the thread with some travel info.

From Gothenburg, buses depart from Nils Ericsson-terminalen, which is right next to the central station.

You take Stenungsund Express to Stenungsund station, where you change to bus Orust express which will stop at Edet on northern Orust.
Here's a site that will allow you to check the times.
http://reseplanerare.vasttrafik.se/bin/query.exe/sn?ld=fe1&OK#focus

Esseb will hop off at Uddevalla and take the Orust Express directly to Edet, which is a much quicker trip.

Once you get off the bus it's a 5 minutes' walk to the cottage, and I'll put up signs.

I'll drive up there on the 30th with my car, which has room for 4 passengers, so give me a shout if you want to tag along.

We will have to leave the cottage in the morning of August 6. If you need to stay another night in Gothenburg for connection reasons you can use the guest room of our apartment, but we won't be there ourselves until midnight or so, since we're going to a wedding that same day.

Planned activities for this Mittens:
* Mittolympics (with events such as archery with historically accurate bows, ring-tossing with historically accurate rings, darts, croquet etc)
* Beer and sing-along around bonfire
* Board games
* Board game jam (we'll form small teams and construct our own board games using a plethora of cards and pencils and other stationery I've probably nicked from work)
* AGS show and tell (bring memory sticks)

Since there's no booking or renting involved, you're free to show up with just a day's notice, but signing up late means you'll probably get to stay in a tent, depending on participation (which will probably be all time low, considering this is basically a plan B mittens).

Do post here if you have more questions!

[Monsieur OUXX]

OK so about the no-renting situation. I'm your typical camper and I don't care about sleeping under a tent. However it requires me to bring stuff (lseeping bag, and if confirmed, a tent!). So is there a way to kno more about that?

Also, can we have more details about financial participation? Like, surely we'll be asked to contribute to some stuff?

[Andail]

Alright, kind of important update here: Basically I need a role call at this point (by the end of this week, at least). After a recent round of cancellations (Helm, Goldmund, Joel) we're down to 9 people who are more or less confirmed, which is kind of dangerously low imho.

I'm aware this is a kind of contingency-mittens after the first plans were scrapped (Carribbean Mittens), so we knew participation was gonna be low, but 10 people feels like a lower limit personally. If fewer turn up, we could always make it a long weekend or half-week event instead.

OK so about the no-renting situation. I'm your typical camper and I don't care about sleeping under a tent. However it requires me to bring stuff (lseeping bag, and if confirmed, a tent!). So is there a way to kno more about that?

Also, can we have more details about financial participation? Like, surely we'll be asked to contribute to some stuff?

Accommodation depends on number of mitteneers, and how far they've traveled. Guests from far away - which is you - will probably be given beds indoors. A sleeping bag is always nice if you can fit it, otherwise we'll try to sort that out for you.

As for financial participation - I don't know exactly what you mean here, but you pay for what you eat and drink and bring home for souvenirs. We'll regularly go buy groceries in a nearby supermarket, and there are also some restaurants there (thai, pizza, that kind of stuff) and we'll probably barbecue most days. If you mean water and electricity then that's on the house.

[AGA]

We have booked flights, so a cancellation or change of length would be inconvenient...

Go get Chrille on Facebook and talk Swedish at him until he comes.

[Esseb]

I'm just a short busride/train ride away, so I'll be there.

[Andail]

AGA, well obviously I'd let you stay there for the duration either way.

Esseb, great!

Ok. we'll be a merry bunch (but let's hope we don't get any more late cancellations...)

[yamipanda]

I'll be there.
I don't own a sleeping bag, so if anyone could provide one that would be nice. Even better would be if I could get an actual bed. That way you won't have to endure my complaining about how my back and everything hurts and how tired I am because I couldn't get my 8 hours.

[Andail]

I'll be there.
I don't own a sleeping bag, so if anyone could provide one that would be nice. Even better would be if I could get an actual bed. That way you won't have to endure my complaining about how my back and everything hurts and how tired I am because I couldn't get my 8 hours.

Check!

[Chrille]

Still thinking about this. I can't take the whole week off unfortunately, but I've got a tent and it's not a very long trip for me either so it doesn't really require much planning on my part. Hoping to spend a few days there at least.

[2ma2]

I'll be there. I've bought my train tickets already, so changes in length would be a tiny inconvenience, but I would've cut Mittens short by a day anyway since I'll attend a wedding at the 6th.

[yamipanda]

Is anyone else travelling from Stockholm and want to go together?

[AGA]

We're coming via Gothenburg airport. However I guess most people will be coming through Gothenburg at some point, so maybe we should all post our travel itineraries.

Arriving Gothenburg airport 11:20 30 July
Leaving TBD 06 August

[yamipanda]

I haven't bought tickets yet, but I'm going by train so.. I'll be at Gothenburg Central Station some time on the 30th.

[Esseb]

I won't be going as far south as Gothenburg. I'll go from Oslo to Uddevalla and then a bus from there.

[Monsieur OUXX]

I'm definitely confirming my attendance. However I might arrive one or two days late, and leave one or two days early (or something -- overall I will just miss one or two days).

[JSH]

Sadly, I'm gonna have to decline after all, my boss won't give me any more vacation days

[yamipanda]

So... dilemma. The Pride Parade is on saturday. :O Miss the parade or miss a day of Mittens?

[AGA]

I assume the parade will be there every year, but Mittens is unlikely to be in Sweden again any time soon...

[Esseb]

We can have a Mittens parade!

[Andail]

Yeah we can totally throw a mittens pride parade, it'll be another mittens first. The first mittens first will be the family-sized attendance.
Also, if you arrive Saturday (day time) you can go with us in my car.

[abstauber]

Sorry, I won't make it either.  Same as JSH, I just don't get those extra vacation days and I even have to work this weekend.

[Monsieur OUXX]

Sorry, I won't make it either.  Same as JSH, I just don't get those extra vacation days and I even have to work this weekend.

Pity, I was happy to see you

[AGA]

Sorry, I won't make it either.  Same as JSH, I just don't get those extra vacation days and I even have to work this weekend.

Pity, I was happy to see you

Hey, check your PMs!

[yamipanda]

Ok. Mittens Pride convinced me. XD See you saturday.

[Bulbapuck]

Apoligies for the late reply, I had to check if I was free this weekend so that I could be there for a few days at least, but it seems I only have one free day so I unfortunately can't. Stupid me made plans without checking the dates first :/

I have a bunch of boardgames btw that I won't be using for a few days:


Not pictured are "Love Letter", "Alahambra" and "No thanks". I live in KÃ¥lltorp in the eastern part of Gothenburg so if you want to borrow some it's fine by me.

[Esseb]

I'll be bringing a few boardgames, plus a couple that could be played sans any boards/pieces as long as we have some paper/imagination. My games are more of the party game-ish variety though since classic style board games are a bit unwieldy to travel with. Concept (from Mittens 2015 fame), Codenames, Love Letter, A Fake Artist Goes to New York, etc.

[Esseb]

Andail: When/if I get to Edet bus station on my own, how exactly do I get to the cabin? Can you link to Google maps with geocordinates?

[AGA]

It's in the woods.  Just wander around for a bit until you fall into a lake.  Get out and you're at the cabin.

[AGA]

We're going to bring Set and Exploding Kittens, for some non board based games.

[Esseb]

I'm calling PETA on you.

[AGA]

It's spelled Petter.

[m0ds]

Have a nice week! A bit too impractical for me sorry but I'm sure you'll have a cosy, good time!

[Snarky]

Yeah, enjoy your mini-Mittens, guys! Very sorry I couldn't make it this year, but hope to see you all for Mittens 2017!

[Esseb]

Just got back to my apartment. On my way downtown now to show Berian and Tamara around Oslo.

It was nice seeing everyone, old and new. Small Mittens this year but every bit as fun. Photo gallery will come when I've had time to delete 90% of the images.

When unpacking I realised we still had two unplayed board games. I'll save them for next time.

[Chrille]

It was wonderful to meet everyone, old and new friends alike. Thanks to Petter for the hospitality and kindly driving us around, and to everyone for bringing board games. Fun times!

I'll certainly try to make a bigger effort to attend future meetings.
Some photos: https://goo.gl/photos/1pUxCqRsfTSjy4dRA

[Andail]

Back from Mittens (and the wedding I attended yesterday).

Had a great time this year. The family-sized congregation meant we did most things together; played the same games, went on the same excursions, were involved in the same discussions. This seems to have brought out the best in people.

Monsieur Ouxx apparently spent his previous mittens in voluntary isolation, but this time around he was charmingly social and outgoing, and besides giving me plenty of competition in the Mittolympics, we also had some great political discussions.

It was great seeing 2ma2 again, whom I haven't seen in like a decade, and he did a great job hosting an entire session of actual Call of Cthuhlu roleplaying, which we all merrily participated in, which might be a mittens first.

I always enjoy the company of Esseb and Berian, whom I have spent lots of AGS irl-meetings with, and I felt I learnt to know Tamara properly this time around. Chrille, my fellow Gothenburgian, is being his own laid-back, nice-guy self, and should definitely start frequenting more Mittens.

YammiPanda, whom I've met once before at the Kathy Rain release party, was a nice addition to the Mittens crew.

I thoroughly enjoyed hosting this Mittens, and I hope I can make it next year, wherever that'll be!

[Monsieur OUXX]

I'm in between trains right now, but here's a quick tribute to Cato! (Kato?)

http://youtu.be/f488uJAQgmw

[Snarky]

W00t!

Glad you had a good time, gutted I wasn't there.

So no plans for next year yet? Tahiti? Bahrain? Timbuktu? Rio? Borneo? Hull?

[AGA]

Iceland was mentioned...

[Monsieur OUXX]

Just effin' come to my giant absent parents house in Paris. Like, seriously.

Just to clarify: it's the house that is giant. And the parents are absent.

[Snarky]

You should not have clarified. Mittens at Grandgousier and Gargamelle's place would be great.

[AGA]

Mine and Tamara's photos.  I'll upload the Blank White Cards and misc. other papers soon.

[Monsieur OUXX]

Could someone just-- Could they tell you to-- like, ... NOT touch babies' penises?

[Monsieur OUXX]

Thanks a lot to you guys for the great moment. I don't think there is one moment that I did not thouroughly enjoy.

Between the games, the laughs, the randomness of the situations... Like some have said before, it was nice this time to get to know one another thanks to the smaller group. All of yous are pretty cool. And very nice. which is important! I liked that we were constantly switching between silliness and interesting conversations. I liked that there was constantly somehting to surprise us and keep us occupied. I also loved the feeling of being a group while still having complete individual freedom.

I cannot put in phrases the nice collection of memories that I'll keep. Simple memories of pleasant feelings, like swimming away around that island, sorting out he confusion and laughter at croquet, making huge sandwiches, falling asleep while playing board games late in the evening, listening to several "exotic" accents, fighting the Master while listening to Linus speaking with a British accents, etc.

All of that mixed together and blended perfectly.

So, one last time: Thanks a lot to you all, for your kindness, your dynamics, your cleverness.

PS: I'll post the pictures asap.
PPS: when typing Grandgousier in google images I get all these images of horrible looking abyssmal fish. Yuck.

[yamipanda]

Mittens was SO MUCH FUN!!! Lots of <3 <3 <3 to all of you who made the week so awesome, especially our kind host Petter.

[Monsieur OUXX]

our kind host Petter.

+1!

[Snarky]

PPS: when typing Grandgousier in google images I get all these images of horrible looking abyssmal fish. Yuck.

Do both, and you get these guys:

Mittens 2017

(Oh great. Imgur decided to turn to shit.)

[Monsieur OUXX]

Do both, and you get these guys

I know who they are :-) Their names are actually funny because they mean "largethroat throat" (they eat all the time) spelt in a medieval way. Nowadays I bet you 99% of French-speaking people would believe that "Gargamel" is just a made-up name for the Smurfs villain.


So here are my pictures. Let me know if the link is not working (Facebook permission settings are black magic) http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1306867615997562.1073741844.100000230070679ype=1&l=08c9798b58

[Disco]

Looks like a good time was had by all Was that mini-golf a Mittens first? I do not recall seeing that in photos from any AGS event. Bummed that I could not make the location this year Looking forward to 2017!

[Monsieur OUXX]

Wait. Wait.

I'm just receiving a message from the other world.

[Andail]

I don't want to go wherever Chtulhu himself wants us to go.

Also, France has been done pretty recently...

[AGA]

Not that we should necessarily go to France, but that was actually eight years ago...

[AGA]

1000 Blank White Cards.  Thanks to Esseb for the use of his image gallery script.

[Monsieur OUXX]

1000 Blank White Cards.  Thanks to Esseb for the use of his image gallery script.

The electricity/lamp thing was awesome. The most awesomestest thing I've ever seen.

[Esseb]

My photos at last - Lightroom was giving me a bit of trouble - but better late than never: http://esseb.com/photographs/mittens_sweden_2/

[Jack]

Handful of breast in the group photo plus a licentious expression. That's how it's done.

[Chrille]

Nice photos!

[FruitTree]

looks loke a great week with great people! cool photos!

[Stupot]

Nice pics Esseb. Looks like a lot of fun was had.