Investment presentations, a boat party on the Danube, unveiling plans to create a free private city in Honduras and screening a documentary about yours truly made Heuereka II a whole lot better than the inaugural birthday conference I threw last year in the Austrian capital.
This time based in the heart of Vienna, Heuereka had an expanded guest list and speaker list, workshops, dining and, of course, late-night drinking. But there were also mid-day stress-busting practices led by an expert in the field, so everyone could chill out if need be.
Oh, and even though the main event ended a week ago, Heuereka II is still ongoing. Look… here we are riding a tank in Belarus:
And since then we have moved onto Georgia. This time around, Heuereka has been so much fun that we couldn’t allow it to end. Rather, we took the conference on the road and integrated it into the perpetual traveler lifestyle by making a group trip to Belarus, Georgia and Cyprus.
Back to Vienna. About 120 people coming from around the world — from Paraguay to Georgia — joined me in Vienna for Heuereka II. This year’s event was geared toward an international crowd, not just the German-speaking world, and the speeches were in English.
We upped the ante in many ways, including by raising the level of discussion. At the Scholarium (Remember, the library and learning center that carries the torch of Austrian Economics), I co-moderated a discussion with Austrian economist Rahim Taghizadegan on the future of human liberty. We touched on tough topics, like how culture impacts societies’ productivity levels, and discussed the merits and potential of various libertarian city-state projects.
Titus Gebel shared inside baseball on some of the libertarian autonomous zones that are currently in the works around the world. And having recently visited the seasteaders in French Polynesia, bought property at Fort Galt in Chile and surveyed what’s working and not working among libertarian startup societies around the world, I threw in my two cents.
A friend of mine and co-investor also discussed the country I’m in right now, Georgia, as it relates to investing in agriculture. We are both invested in a Georgian walnut orchard, which we will be visiting on this Heuereka extension trip.
Other investment topics covered included cryptocurrency, real estate, mining, precious metals, diamonds and the Airbnb business. We also discussed the idea of investing in yourself through achieving peace of mind and by building your personal brand. Likewise, Rahim from Scholarium delivered a lecture on investing from an Austrian Economics perspective. Let’s just say it’s more of a realist approach to investing.
Adding a creative touch, we screened a short documentary film about my life as a perpetual traveler. The Modern Maasai, as it is called, was shot during a July 2018 safari I did in Tanzania with filmmaker Jannis Riebschlager. The Maasai are an African people who traditionally live a nomadic lifestyle. In the film, I visit the Maasai in Tanzania, and I learn how many cows it costs to purchase a Maasai wife. Can you guess the number??
This year’s main day of Heuereka took place inside the Raiffeisenbank building at Michaelerplatz, a grand and central location in Vienna famous for its horse-drawn carriages. I was staying in a top-floor Airbnb suite overlooking the square. The room and view were perfect. Many other guests also got city-center accommodation via a network of Airbnbs run by one of the participants in the conference.
For Saturday night dinner and endless wine drinking, we returned to Heuriger, the classic Viennese wine restaurant we visited a year ago. Some things don’t get old… for instance eating a giant buffet dinner and drinking pitchers of wine until the early morning.
The previous night’s festivities also included a buffet dinner. But it was more extravagant. For my 28th birthday, I chartered a boat on the Danube. Champagne glasses in hand, we departed the city center and cruised up and down the river, getting views by day and night of the Viennese skyline and surrounding nature. After partying on the boat for several hours (on my actual birthday), we moved to the Volksgarten night club, a now-traditional destination for Heuereka after-parties.
Being a good host, on some nights during Heuereka I would stay out until 7 am… even though conference events were starting at 9 am. My policy is simple: if a guest is out drinking, I will be at his side.
Given how much fun Heuereka II was, you might be wondering when and where Heuereka III will be and how can you get an invite. Well, given that it is an annual conference celebrating my birthday, I think you can guess the approximate dates. But where will Heuereka III be? For now that remains a mystery.
As for an invitation, I can’t guarantee you one, as many people will be requesting to take part in the festivities. But drop me a line and I might reserve you a spot.
