PARIS🇫🇷BLOCKCHAIN WEEK - POST🎤MALONE I ₿ITCOIN I LOUVRE & RED🍷WINE

Actually, I wanted to talk about all my thoughts about how tough I’ve been working lately, how I keep staying motivated, and my spontaneous decision to go to Paris. Yes, when money is tight and you are betting a lot on your dreams, you basically become an “all-inclusive” one-person company. And if you still have to earn money on the side to keep everything going, you end up carrying too many thoughts, too much risk, and too many questions about why you are doing it in the first place. Especially after numerous annoyed cancellations, bitchy and pissed-off comments that you have to answer with a smile and an apology, you start wondering whether good enough will ever actually be good enough. But honestly, this is a crazy story anyway, and I should focus on the “details".

While waiting for the French🇫🇷TGV, I was having breakfast and an okay-ish coffee in the business lounge at Frankfurt train station. I have to say, I like traveling through Germany on an ICE train when there are no delays. But this time, I was excited to experience my first French train journey. I know French people are super proud of their culture, and I could feel it immediately after stepping onto the train. And I have to admit, the French accent in English is still somehow kind of romantic, in my opinion. On the way, I met some innocent young German investment dudes. I was kind of jealous, I have to admit. They probably earn way more money than I do and don’t have to worry about the end of the month. But I was risking so much time and money on my dreams without knowing whether it was going to be successful. Could they imagine what I’m going through? Do they know how much risk and discipline it takes? Even though I look like a man of steel, proudly announcing my partnerships and talking positively about the project, I sometimes wonder: Is it actually healthy to present everything so positively?

But isn’t this how every successful passion project starts? It was early in the morning, so I didn’t need to book a hotel for the previous night, especially because Paris is expensive. I hadn’t booked a hotel yet because I was still hoping to find an affordable price while searching on my way to Paris. I even had to change my clothes in the restroom of the French TGV. However, I was still excited, with all these thoughts running through my head, to finally arrive at the station in Paris.

I booked an Uber and drove directly to the Shangri-La Paris. It somehow felt like being in a movie. Perfect weather, an excited French taxi driver, the usual weekday traffic, French radio music, and a short sightseeing tour through Paris.
I was ready to hit Paris Blockchain Week. It had been ages since I was last in Paris, and I still regret not having come here more often in my twenties. The vibe throughout the city felt like a driving sightseeing tour past the Opera, different parks, and France’s proud and iconic landmark, the Eiffel🗼Tower.

Can you imagine? The visionary Gustave Eiffel financed the majority of the Eiffel Tower himself, spending an amount of money most people won’t earn in their entire lives and betting everything on his masterpiece. It took hundreds of workers more than two years to build this monument, starting back in 1887

On my way to the Cointelegraph event at the Shangri-La Paris, one of the finest hotels you can stay at in the city, I knew that a single night there would basically burn my credit card. Arriving at the hotel, I felt kind of nervous, even though I had been looking forward to it for days. After doing some research, I realized it had originally been the palace of Napoleon’s grandnephew, built in 1896. I couldn’t imagine the massive wealth these people must have lived in back then, even though there was no internet, no refrigerators, no airplanes, no TVs, or any of the other amazing inventions that came later in the 20th century.

I have been to many luxury hotels, but even just entering the lobby was a five-star experience. I would dare to say that this is one of Paris’s most luxurious hidden gems. The staff was super professional, and I could only imagine which politicians or high-profile figures had stayed here overnight. It was surprisingly quiet, but as I stood in the elevator, overwhelmed with emotion, it was only a matter of seconds before I was thrown straight into the shark tank of storytellers, business partners, sales managers, and maybe even some scammers?

Entering the room, I could instantly feel the heat of business negotiations. Marketers, exchanges, traders, banks, regulators, and lawyers were all there, trying to sell something. For a true introvert, this might be a nightmare, but for someone like me, this was the place to be. I was completely unprepared. Honestly, it was my first time enjoying free champagne, macarons, and such an international atmosphere inside a building full of history and luxury, while being just a German-Korean guy in the middle of countless conversations.

I could feel the money floating around the room, but how do you actually catch these big deals here in France? I’ve learned in life that contacts are everything in business, so with that attitude, I focused on networking instead of boring panel discussions. Also, I’m not much of a good listener anyway. However, I wasn’t prepared to follow the herd to what they called La Suite Shangri-La. The entire rooftop terrace, along with its panoramic view of the Eiffel Tower, had been rented out just for us. It was an absolute high-end event. Beyond networking, I got swept up in the vibe of endless French champagne, five-star finger food, and a live DJ playing over Paris. I felt like a king looking out over the city and the freedom that everything is possible in life.

I felt like history was being made right there, blending old money with the new. Maybe going to Paris had been a good decision after all but reality hit me back when I remembered that I was going to spend the night in a one-star budget hotel outside of Paris. In the end, I didn’t care at all. I was slightly drunk, walking through the city toward the Louvre with a good business partner, discovering hidden streets and simply enjoying the adventure of the Parisian night.

My first night was okay. The room rates, along with the 20-minute drive out of the city, definitely didn’t feel like the best investment, but as they say, money rules the world. I was staying on the edge of the 11th/20th Arrondissement. The crazy contrast between spending the day at the Shangri-La Hotel and spending the night at my HotelF1 one-star budget hotel was even funnier to accept the complete downgrade if you still drunk.

But honestly, I don’t really care where I sleep, as long as I get a quiet night’s rest. In fact, I’d be much more annoyed if the hotel were expensive and I didn’t even have enough time to enjoy it.

After a short night, I explored the area around my hotel and stumbled upon a Carrefour inside an almost deserted shopping mall. Interestingly, supermarkets in France open quite late compared to Germany, and having wine right at the entrance seems to be an intrinsic part of French culture. Amazingly, even the supermarket croissant turned out to be a proper French croissant. Who would’ve thought? In Germany, supermarket croissants taste pretty terrible, and I’m not sure if calling them croissants would actually be considered an insult to the French people.

For me, time is a crucial asset on business trips. Renting a scooter or an e-bike is the perfect match when the weather is good. Even if it takes me half an hour to ride into the city, I get to see so much more along the way while still arriving quickly at the events I need to attend. And that’s what counts. Sometimes, I manage to hit up to eight events in a single day if necessary, no matter what city I’m in. Paris, in particular, has such a rich and fascinating history that it practically begs to be experienced from its streets.

So why not work and travel, just as the words suggest? Maybe it’s just my personality adventurous,, being always eager to see the world. In the end, the first day wasn’t even that interesting in terms of contacts or events. It was more of a sightseeing tour through various streets before taking a quick power nap to prepare for the first evening of networking events.

With more champagne, creative French finger food, stunning locations, and solid business contacts, the night turned out to be quite short once again. With the same German-Vietnamese friend who had recently earned his doctorate obviously just for the title, of course, we ended up at the Ritz-Carlton late that night.

This is why contacts are so important in life. Thanks to him, we managed to crash the VIP event inside the hotel. The banquet hall was incredible, and the dinner looked amazing, even though we only arrived in time for dessert. Still, the wine was the perfect way to wrap up the night and make a few more contacts

The following day is one I won’t forget anytime soon. The words POST MALONE alone will probably drive the click rate for this blog post through the roof, and I’ll definitely dive into the full story of how that happened for all the hardcore fans. It started with the usual routine: hopping between different events, enjoying smooth bike rides through Paris, making interesting contacts, and enjoying the great weather before heading toward the Louvre and into the streets where people come to show their style and be seen.

I can’t forget standing in front of this beautiful blue flower facade restaurant, Le Musset, at 169 Rue Saint-Honoré, which had been taken over that day for a private crypto event hosted by Creditcoin and GM Coffee.

Through the interesting connections I made with my partners and the delicious steak with French potatoes, I immediately knew this is great business day to enjoy. I was kind of sad that everyone went back to the main conference, but I couldn't afford it at that moment. Paying a four figure price for a ticket is just insane. So instead, I stayed with the positiv vibe and did some remote work in the restaurant instead.

Suddenly, I realized that something strange was happening. Someone asked for a beer and walked upstairs to the second floor, wearing cowboy-style brown shoes, blue jeans, and a slightly dark green jacket. It didn’t take long before he came back.With his tattooed hands, neck, and head, I immediately thought: this could be the only singer of one of my favorite songs, “Circles.”Post Malone himself. I’ve probably listened to “Circles” at least a thousand times, along with some of his other music. He took his beer and walked outside with a woman who appeared to be with him, along with a few bodyguards around them. I didn’t realize at that moment that he hadn’t actually left.

He was sitting right in front of me, outside, drinking his French beer, relaxing on his phone, while his bodyguards were positioned discreetly around the corner. Nobody realized it was Post Malone.

It was only later that I realized why there were two handsome models standing at the corners of the restaurant, together with a cute Collie dog. They helped take the attention away anyway. And it worked most of the time. Just not with me. Maybe it was destiny!

Everyone at the event was shocked and shy. Nobody wanted to talk to him. But if you can meet one of your favorite celebrities among tens of thousands of restaurants in Paris, and he happens to be sitting just in front of the window, how crazy is the chance of meeting someone like him again? It didn’t take long before I was standing in front of him with my crypto laptop, asking him to sign it. I haven’t met many celebrities, but he was not only kind but he also seemed genuinely surprised by the request.

At that time, I didn’t know that he had a few NFTs and was also a collector of different kinds of collectibles, from Pokémon and other items to various things he apparently enjoys collecting. I couldn’t help wondering how stressful his life must be when people constantly recognize him wherever he goes. How stressful must it be to just want to sit in a random restaurant, have a beer, relax, and enjoy some time without an audience around you? He had this smooth and relaxed voice. His teeth were somehow all silver or gold, and having two tattoos right under his eyes was definitely something different.

It was the kind of personal style you don’t see that often in Europe. America and Americans had always seemed somehow different to me through the movies and social media I grew up watching. And looking at him, you could immediately tell he didn’t come from Paris or France. Seeing him sign my crypto laptop with one of his famous songs, “Sunflower,” written and drawn on it as a sunflower, really hit me.

He shook my hand, said “Annyeonghaseyo” in Korean🇰🇷, and was ready to leave when suddenly people started asking for selfies. It didn’t take long before people realized there was a celebrity sitting right there and probably figured out who it was. But by then, Post Malone was already walking away toward the next street and disappeared from view. Of course, I couldn’t believe what had just happened. My friends who had left me earlier were super jealous and couldn’t believe it either.

The next two days were mostly about sightseeing through Paris. From the Louvre, along the riverside, to the views of the Eiffel Tower, with some wine and French Comté cheese. I also bought myself a little happiness with some Michelin-star Japanese ramen. I walked through food markets, tried oysters for a while, definitely not my thing and ended up at a live jazz bar. And as it always is in life, time seems to pass the fastest just before one foot is back on the train to Germany.

On Sunday, I had a quick lunch at the Instagram-famous restaurant Pink Mamma, where I tried truffle spaghetti, for the first time and indeed, it was really good.

And finally, I took a tour around the Basilika Sacre Coeur and noticed something that immediately caught my attention: a surprisingly clever marketing strategy from the church. They had card payment terminals for €5–10 candle donations. Perfectly modern for a church and with a German🇩🇪saying: “Who doesn’t goes with time, goes with time eventually” a true wisdom behind.

By coincidence, on my way back to the hotel, I discovered a Salvador Dalí museum. It reminded me of a time when I was traveling with colleagues in Skopje, Macedonia, and we stayed in a hotel that looked anything but normal. There were sleeping clocks, surreal objects, and this incredible creativity that made me think about what a human being can create when they allow themselves to be different. Dalí had already inspired me before, precisely because he was different from everyone else not only through his art, but through the way he presented himself. He was a Spanish surrealist artist who revolutionized the art world with dreamlike imagery, incredible precision, and a huge amount of self promotion. His entire life became a kind of Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art), shaped by his eccentric appearance and personality. For him, true creativity meant breaking the boundaries of reality.

His quote, “Have no fear of perfection. You’ll never reach it,” still makes me smile whenever I catch myself trying to perfect certain things again. And maybe that is exactly what this whole trip was about.

Being different.

Taking risks.

Not always knowing where things are going, and still keeping going anyway because that is what life is all about.

The train ride back to Frankfurt didn’t surprise me anymore. Deutsche Bahn was simply being Deutsche Bahn. This time, the onboard restaurant’s kitchen was out of service, so there was basically nothing available from beverages to food.

It was seven crazy days in Paris🇫🇷.

And I have a feeling it won’t be long before I’m back!