Hey everyone! FOSDEM and MySQL Belgian days are over, and I wanted to share my impressions from an incredible 4-day journey filled with talks about databases and, of course, the famous Belgian beers. 🍻
🛬 Touchdown in Brussels
After a whopping 16-hour flight from Sao Paulo, I arrived in Brussels on Wednesday, a day before the MySQL Belgian days kicked off. It was all about unwinding, savoring local cuisine, getting used to the timezone, and gearing up for the events ahead.
🏨 Hotel Hopping
A bit of a spontaneous traveler here – I ended up splitting my stay between Hygge and Marriott due to a last-minute trip decision. Pro tip: Book your stay early in Belgium! Both hotels were cozy and reasonably priced, but Hygge is better connected to the event locations – ICAB for MySQL Belgian days and ULB for FOSDEM. Uber also works in Brussels.
ULB
ICAB
🎤 Kicking Off MySQL Belgian Days
Thursday brought the excitement of the MySQL Belgian days, initiated by Frederic‘s warm welcome. A big shoutout to Frederic for orchestrating this fabulous event – your efforts in bringing together sponsors and speakers and setting up all the logistics were nothing short of amazing!
We dived into a day filled with insights from names like Percona, ReadySet, Booking, AWS, Ubuntu Canonical, Cash App, PingCAP, and PlanetScale. The talks ranged from best practices to innovative products, enhancing our MySQL experience.
Dave Stokes from Percona
Peter Zaitzev, Percona founder
Marcelo Altmann, from ReadySet
🌟 Day Two: A Blend of MySQL and Oracle
The second day was a mix of Oracle’s finest – Miguel, Frederic, Luis Soares, and more, sharing their expertise on MySQL and Oracle Cloud services. The variety was wide, but I personally would’ve loved a more mixed approach across both days for a more community-centric vibe.
And hey, I’m thrilled to share that I was named one of the MySQL Rockstars of 2023! 🌟 What an honor!
From left to right: Alkin, Giuseppe, Frederic, Vinnie (Sveta was not able to join the event, and she was nominated rockstar as well).
🍽️ Belgian Beers and Dinners
The event ended with a delightful dinner for the MySQL community with a taste of authentic Belgian beers. The perfect way to celebrate the end of an enriching conference!
🌐 FOSDEM: A World of Tech
Saturday marked the start of FOSDEM, and the Percona team represented the open-source community brilliantly. The event was a tech enthusiast’s paradise, with sessions spanning Machine Learning, Blockchain, Python, Databases, and more. The variety was overwhelming in the best way possible!
Yevhen (Evgeniy) Patlan as Slonik!
And the Percona team:
Edith, Yevhen, Kai Wagner, Nikolas, Aleks and Maria.
A standout talk for me was from my colleague Charly Batista in the Postgres dev room:
And Edith in the containers room talking about operators:
And who could forget the fun PacMan Lego raffle by Percona to wrap up Sunday?
🚀 Final Thoughts
Being part of an event like this is truly a game-changer. It’s not just about the tech; it’s about breaking out of your comfort zone, networking, and getting a sneak peek into the future of technology.
I’m already looking forward to Brussels 2025! A huge thanks to Percona for this opportunity and to Oracle and Frederic for making it happen. See you next time!