I am writing this while stuck at Schiphol on my way back from the WeAreDevelopers conference in Berlin.
The airport chaos before the conference reflections
The day started with full panic mode.
At Berlin airport, right in front of the check-in desk, I reached for my passport and could not find it. I had around 1 hour and 45 minutes before departure, and the airport was not exactly close to my hotel. I called the taxi driver who had just dropped me off and asked him to take me back to the hotel immediately.
That driver, Mr. Ali, was incredible. He told me not to worry, refused to charge me extra, and drove nearly 40 minutes each way using every shortcut he knew to save time. He even canceled a family event to help me make the flight.
We found the passport, raced back to the airport, and I made it onto the flight.
Then, in Amsterdam, I got blocked from boarding my UK connection because the flight was overbooked and every passenger showed up. I used to think this only happened with budget airlines, not KLM. So now I am waiting several more hours in Schiphol.
First impressions of WeAreDevelopers
It was my first time attending WeAreDevelopers, and I did not know what to expect. Overall, I found it genuinely engaging.
Developers are often stereotyped as “nerds,” but I see a community of curious, honest builders who enjoy experimenting and shipping ideas.
On stage at WeAreDevelopers Berlin.
What stood out at the event
The conference was packed with AI products, especially agentic AI tools for:
- generating cleaner, better-structured code
- testing and validating generated output
- accelerating delivery workflows
One thing I found interesting was the contrast between startups and large incumbents. Smaller companies often brought fresh, focused ideas, while some bigger players looked like they were repackaging existing LLM workflows with new branding.
A snapshot from the Berlin trip.
Closing thoughts
This post is already long enough, so I will share deeper thoughts on my talk and the feedback I received in a follow-up post.
Also, curious question: who else has dealt with overbooked flights lately?