So my dear, here comes finally the promised review to our Afba weekend in Vösendorf. Exactly two weeks ago it was now that we were invited in Lower Austria to announce the shortlist nomination of Miele.

As you know, it caught me in the meantime with a juicy cold. But the real reason why this review comes just now is that I've deliberately left my time. I really had to let some time pass, to let the whole impressions work, to process and arrange. In the meantime, I also received some mails with questions on certain topics, which are apparently not discussed in public. Therefore, I, the Slovakian-Tyrolese country, will take over the role of the bride who dare. These two weeks, however, I also needed, because there were a lot of impressions at my first bloggerevent - of every sort. Good, but also less good and of course from joy to disappointment was everything. Distance to the experience is good, because otherwise resonates with negative impressions additionally the disappointment.
And I wanted to make you a review, with the personal disappointment left out.
Of course, this review is purely my subjective description of my personal impressions, and I do not want to put anyone in a bad light with this post, certainly not offend and even attack anyone. But this first blogging event I participated in has raised some questions in me that I've tried to answer for me. There were first-hand doubts about whether the bloggers' scene really is what I want in my life. In this post I want to let you participate in my personal thoughts and impressions and I would be very glad if you announce your view of the things in a comment under it, or me by mail.

Already anticipated - we could not convince with our newborn, fresh blog www.lucina-cucina.com and did not make it to the shortlist. That this would be the case at the first start, only someone who had not seen the Afba videos before could go out. Partially, I was surprised at what this award really is about. For me, an award is a distinction that is bestowed on a particular performance and usually by an independent, impartial and quite selfless jury. Here, however, it was very quickly clarified what was really important to this jury. Perhaps also good that only so few have seen these Afba videos. As of 14.09.2017 whole 28 Views at the video of the sponsor Casinos Austria. Is not just the world. In this video I realized: a rogue thinks that a newcomer has a chance. 7 views of this video come from me alone, as I wanted to make sure I understood everything. So I wonder now why none of the bloggers made themselves in advance, if one considers that a total of 863 submissions have taken place. Personally, it was the video of Mrs. Elisabeth Leiter, responsible for the marketing of Miele Austria. The video was very impressive, well explained and very authentic. Seems to be a very sympathetic woman. We would like to know you, but unfortunately we could not find you at this event

I would like to give it to everyone who has made it and deserves to come to the shortlist. As a matter of fact, at the beginning of the event, we sat down at a table where the nominated Maria Prieto Barea sat with her blog New Cakes On The Block. We were able to get to know Maria and find that she is a very charming person with a very attentive, kind friend. We even got coffee from the friend, very attentive, thanks again. Dear Maria, I treat you very much, since your blog is extraordinary and stands out from the crowd. I keep your fingers crossed for the final. You need to know, Maria does not just make her blog with photos, but she also supports her recipes with her own illustrations. A precaution on the blog is always worthwhile.

But let's start at the beginning:
I was very happy when the invitation had come from Miele. Mr. Chr. Said it was only dry, that surely everyone will get it, but I am now the emotional part of our relationship and so I was still very happy, after all, it is for me a whole new world that made me curious. I am very inquisitive, always open to new, but nevertheless skeptical enough to light everything from all sides. It is clearly the realistic part, but together we complement ourselves very well.
We followed the invitation and went to the Miele Experience Center in Vienna. Since we have never been to a blogger, this was of course very exciting. We were very excited about what to expect. Miele Experience Center Vienna - hui, already a very promising name of a company with products that you do not have to imagine - almost every housewife dreams of - so we were already very excited.When we arrived, of course, was immediately photographed the building from the outside and we have ever noticed the many cars before. Many people were already there and were already standing at the entrance in a small queue, so that the young ladies at the reception could take the data. Positive we always, we entered the entrance area and presented us with a warm "Hello" at the end of the queue. Some of them were already very surprised and answered quite helpless our hello. Hihi, does not seem so common in Vösendorf, but with us on the mountain a normal deal with fellow human beings. As it turned out for us later, the stickers distributed by the ladies, which were provided with our names and the blog address, were meant to attract other visitors. This action reminded me of our cows in the pasture - the legislature is forcing farmers to give these cows to the cows, to number them and catalog them so that they can be identified at any time. However, the problem of identifying people on the mountain is still very old-fashioned, but very efficient. We use the mouthpiece given by God - if anyone is interested, just ask. Does always work. As we noticed, the label method had its weaknesses. Some visitors had problems with identifying these identification labels - so they were not really effective. However, I was very happy that these ladies were as old-fashioned as I was. They also had such a relic from the Stone Age. They needed a pen to write the names. Looking around, I noticed that I was the only one armed with notebooks and pencils to dare. All other participants used advanced phones. So it would have been more sensible to print QR codes for everyone at the entrance. Then the visitors could have mutually scan - would have been a different experience.

Ms Alexandra Palla, the initiator of this award, opened this event dressed in red. Red, like the logo of the Afba-Award and of course as red, as the Miele logo itself. It does not fit much more - it impresses me very much when someone is thinking about his outfit. This occurred to me immediately, because this was exactly my job. Also Mrs. Petra Ummenberger (in the picture with Leoparden look to see), responsible for PR- and Eventmanagement Miele, made me a very sympathetic impression and radiated exactly the characteristics, which the familial enterprise Miele best described. Just as family and openly, she took us to bloggers and gave us a sense of décufication. There was no level between companies, sponsors and us simple bloggers. I liked this very much.The program foresees that we bloggers were divided into 4 groups, who were chosen to bake 4 nominated recipes - with the recipients of recipes, of course. The showcases were very nicely arranged by Miele. All the ingredients were very well prepared and were waiting to be used by us. For this purpose we have received a practical cooking apron from Miele - a real backyard atmosphere was created. Great I found that all Miele devices were free to use, so they could be tested in practice. Unfortunately, our recipe blogger was not present and thus the chaos broke out at our table. Thanks to the help of a very loving Miele lady, Mrs. Schneider Sonja, who helped us a lot, we managed to get the festive brioches with chocolate from Simone Filipowsky of s-küche. Very praiseworthy were the very pleasant explanations of our wife Schneider. She has answered all the questions, including the equipment, expertly.All in all, however, this part of the event gave me the impression of being an organized chaos. Most of the visitors conversed loudly, which was also good to exchange, but the efforts of Mrs. Palla to make interwies with bloggers went completely into the blank. A pity, because that would have been the moment, to draw attention as an unknown blogger.Very praise and thank you, I would like to put the efforts of Miele and / or Afba a really nice buffet on the legs - that was really terrific. Lovingly arranged on us excellent delicacies, which were all served for free to a buffet, as well as the exceptionally many different beverages served by the many nice waiters and waitresses adequately served. A warm thank you for it - visually, tastefully and from service-technically 1A.The time to the nomination of the nominees was used to make contacts and, above all, to exchange ideas with peers. It took a little bit, but the ice was soon broken and there was the possibility to make quite nice and dear acquaintances. With some I had already written before the event via Instagram, but it is quite different, if one then this person live and in color in front of himself. Much in today's digital world is just fake. Everyone wants to stage themselves and, of course, show off his partly invented chocolate side. At such an event you have the possibility to convince yourself personally of the picture, which was mediated on the Internet by someone. In any case, convinced me a very powdery sugary blogger, Denise and Dominik of powdered sugar love. I like people who have no inhibitions to get to know someone who is open-minded and also makes an effort to exchange ideas. Like a couple is powder sugar love. They have even traveled over 500 km from Germany to Vösendorf, just to participate in this event. As a lovely, open and positive person for me, among other things, the Eva Dragosits with her partner from the blog: @ichmussbacken out. Your love for baking could also be recognized by her commitment to Brioche baking. Sabine Link, pink-dressed @diebackprinzessin, the other Eva as equally engaged with this picture over the shoulder looks, convinces not only by their nice style, but with excellent motifs on their blog. There were many more people who have personally convinced me, as, for example, Cliff Kapatais with his lovely little daughter, found at @pixelcoma and Diana Patesan from @ kochen.mit.diana. However, as everywhere, there are always two sides of a coin - even in the blogger scene, people are filled with envy and disgrace. Unfortunately, it is a pity, since you can move more and more together.

Finally. At 17.30, there was then the hotly awaited announcement of the nominees. As already mentioned, we did not make it to the shortlist as well as the majority of those present. What personally bothered me a lot more was the fact that the nominees were brought to the stage, they interviewed why they had just sent this recipe - but absolutely no mention was made by the organizers about why these six bloggers were chosen by the jury. Hello? This is precisely the part that would have interested us non-nominees in this room, everyone. WWW - in this case why, why wieso. If there had been an answer to these questions, at least everyone would have been able to improve for the next year. That is why it is really in the life - one should, want and must constantly improve and learn from failures. At least I make my life exactly the same, even if it is partly very serious setbacks in life, however, everything has also a good side. The non-nomination, of course, does not count to any serious setbacks, but it would have been nicely explained by the sponsor Miele to get the reasons why these recipes were the big draw. It was striking that a lot of nominated bloggers already have cooperations with companies, including Miele. I really treat it to everyone's heart and I also keep my fingers crossed. May the man who deserved it most.

Unfortunately, the coffee machines were not so much talk, only one was on the stage. Of course, the nominees will get all these promised vollautomaten, but beautiful would have been a handover. I find such awards always touching and emotional. The award winner has a great feeling, is more pleased, honored and the crowd applaudiert and is pleased with it. So there is certainly still a lot of organizational space to the top, to give a shortlist more value.
The whole spectacle of the proclamation actually passed very quickly and unfortunately the most left the building. Only powdered sugar love, Susanne Kuttnig-Urbanz alias the steam cooker together with her team and LucinaCucina wanted to exchange even longer among themselves. However, from minute to minute a worse feeling came to us in the leftover, since everything was already cleansed together and apparently everyone just wanted to go home. Too bad.
But many thanks to Miele for the beautiful and useful Goddies, which every visitor could take home as a showpiece for the excellent tasting at this event. LucinaCucina would like to thank Miele Austria again, for these very high-quality and useful supplementary gadgets. We have everything from the cooking spoon, the high-quality cooking apron to the high-quality coffee connoisseur glasses tested. As you can see at the bottom of a picture, we have given the right atmosphere to match the quality, also the test. Many many thanks.
All in all, it was a blogging event, where you could get to know nice people, gain experience and exchange and still have a lot of potential to the top. Also, I would have liked the sponsor Miele a-more-in-the-scenes. Great location, but I would also like to learn more about Miele, their history and their products personally. But no matter, it was not Miele, but the nominations for Afba. But it would have been nice, but I already know, it was my very first blogger.
Thanks to all who were there. Fun has made it at all events.

Lucina the Alien
I have long needed to arrange all these impressions for myself.
If you listened to the bloggers, then I have to say in hindsight, I the Landei, seemed to me like an alien from another star. Not only through the emergency book and ballpoint pen, I was also asked several times, which kitchen machine I had in use. Apparently, the young generation of bloggers could not do anything with my answer. Here, to the smile, a little excerpt from a conversation:

„…and which kitchenaid do you use?“
“ None.“
„None? And how do you bake?“  
„I have a hand mixer and the ofen is baking ffor me “

I know I live on the mountain, but I do not know that I live in the Stone Age. Or is it not rather that the young generation nowadays runs a backblog, but does not know at all that baking was a craftsmanship and is still rather?
I used to have a kitchen machine in the past, but this has only taken place with me and above all it belongs to me for baking as well. The air supply into the dough, through the own hands with the mixer or kneading the dough also with their own hands, is for me a substantial part of the baking. Surely there are HiTech kitchen helpers who are able to do this, but right now I am still living well, in my Stone Age. And by the way, it's also really fun and a perfect anti-stress exercise is also.

Blogger and blogger-relations
So I have to say, I find it a completely wrong development, which apparently is going on. The highest good that a blogger can have is his personal, subjective opinion. That's why bloggers are run in all imaginable media. If, however, large corporations buy bloggers with diverse, sometimes lucrative offers, to which the opinion and even articles still prescribe - I find this wrong. If cooperations arise, it is good for both sides. But if a blogger only wants to come to money and sponsors, I find questionable. A blogger must be authentic - then he is tracked by users. Believe me, people remember when this authenticity was sold to companies. The real power have bloggers with masses of followers, not bloggers with masses of sponsors. Only times as a thought, since this topic was also taken up, in our conversations.
Very thought-provoking me another topic, which was immediately addressed by several bloggers. The possibility nowadays of taking an apparent abbreviation to fame and honor by buying followers, I find personally reprehensible and as a clear deception to themselves. Whether it is also a fraud on the user, I have to be clear. For me, however, it is clear that in the present time, it is not really possible to assume that companies and sponsors have no IT department. With purchased followers companies want to deceive, does not work as well as deceive loyal users. It is noticeable to every prospect that 10000 new followers were generated from one week to the next. Also a rogue, who thinks that something is permanent.
But I will think about this topic again, or exchange ideas with others. But maybe it is ok, since you mainly only what pretends.

Lucina and the bad question
Last but not least, there is a question on the tongue for which there has not been a suitable answer in the last 2 weeks.

How is it that a jury member, a blog professional, with years of experience, chooses his own blog on the shortlist of newcomers?

will not let go of any doubt that there is much vitamin B in the Bloggerszene. These doubts were stoked at the event even by statements from some.
A newcomer is for me a novice. An inexperienced person who makes a thing for the first time or is completely fresh in a metier.
Or maybe a Nico Rossberg, if he would change the racing team, is not a Formula 1 champion anymore, but a newcomer? How do you see it?

In any case, for LucinaCucina after the Afba is before the SALT.
That will be my second blogger. We are very excited about it.
If you are also on the SALT, leave me a comment - then we could meet, get to know and exchange. I would be very pleased about a contact.

The really grandiose mega-program took place for LucinaCucina however only in the evening instead. But why this evening fell into the water and our Miele-Gooddies had to be misused, you can read in the next post.
In the meantime, I hope to have a lot of feedback on this article.
Your Lucina

PS: If anyone of you bloggers has interest in photos, in which he can be seen, you can contact me. The LucinaCucina Brieftaube will then teach you the photos. Below you can find some impressions of this event. You can find yourself somewhere.