Germany Trip
Jul. 11th, 2005 10:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
redfiona99Well it was an adventure, that's for certain.
First of all the getting up at 2.45 am is not recommended. Stupid thing was that I was more awake then than I normally am. Got to the airport, small minor freakage at the check-in because I didn't have a ticket and was supposed to pick it up there and the man would insist that I had a ticket. Once he explained that it was an e-ticket it all made a lot more sense.
Aeroplane food on KLM is okay. They actually got me to eat cheese sandwiches, although that was possibly through the sneaky method of not offering anything else. Was okay actually, was 'sweet foccacia bread' so it tasted like fruit cake.
The clouds look a lot nicer from above than from below.
Also saw a Saudi Royal Air Force plane at Manchester. It was a dinky little thing. I presume one of the Sheiks had been to the horse racing.
Had a mad dash round Amsterdam, not helped by the passport checking queue. Cute passport control officer though. Needn't have rushed, boarding on the flight to Hamburg was delayed.
KLM managed to leave my luggage in Amsterdam which caused a bit of a problem. Remind me to ring them tomorrow. Also Danny was madly worried - he thought I was travelling from London for some crazy Danny reason, and I'd accidentally said I was flying with Lufthansa not KLM, so he thought I'd been blown up. Literally there was an unofficial watch out for me at both Hamburg airports - the description was 'small confused English person'. Thank you Danny.
Actually he was sweet though. As was his sister, who looks nothing and everything like him like siblings often do.
Had a bit of a wander round Hamburg. Important details:
- Harbour is huge (by size not tonnage it's the largest in the world)
- St. Pauli is one of those places everyone should go to.
- Amused by the decorated Hummel's.
- Even saw the red light district - dear UK government - legalised prostitution has not lead to Hamburg's destruction therefore it won't here.
Slept well that night for some reason ;)
Party was great fun, I was made to speak German and everyone was astounded that there exist English people who speak more than one language. Lizzie will understand what I mean. Everyone was deeply cool. Will post a locked post with photos later when they're developed in 15 months time ;)
Didn't sleep that night because was talking and then it got too late to worry about that.
Managed to get to the airport after another bit of a mix up. And then the fun really began. The plane that was supposed to be flying to Amsterdam was broken so we were delayed till 2.30. KLM told everyone who would therefore miss a connection to report to their desk and it would be sorted. Everyone was getting connected from Amsterdam so there was a 2 hour queue before I got seen to, and I was only half way up the queue. I was lucky though, I got talking to other people and some of them were going to New York so they were in even worse trouble than I was, as was the boy going to Newcastle.
KLM basically transferred us to other airlines so I flew back with Lufthansa. Beforehand I managed to buy a schnitzel with chips and vegetables for 5 Euros (£3) well done me I say. Even better was that it wasn't my money, it was a KLM voucher.
Slept all the way back barring 5 minutes of eating. Did buy a German magazine about politics and social and moral issues designed for young people, kind of like Time but for the youth of today. Reason 563 why Germany rocks (and the UK sucks) magazines like this actually exist.
Got back, got baggage after an unseemly long wait and came home. Had great fun, think the rest of the fencers were idiots for not going and just yeah, am of the happy shiny people.
First of all the getting up at 2.45 am is not recommended. Stupid thing was that I was more awake then than I normally am. Got to the airport, small minor freakage at the check-in because I didn't have a ticket and was supposed to pick it up there and the man would insist that I had a ticket. Once he explained that it was an e-ticket it all made a lot more sense.
Aeroplane food on KLM is okay. They actually got me to eat cheese sandwiches, although that was possibly through the sneaky method of not offering anything else. Was okay actually, was 'sweet foccacia bread' so it tasted like fruit cake.
The clouds look a lot nicer from above than from below.
Also saw a Saudi Royal Air Force plane at Manchester. It was a dinky little thing. I presume one of the Sheiks had been to the horse racing.
Had a mad dash round Amsterdam, not helped by the passport checking queue. Cute passport control officer though. Needn't have rushed, boarding on the flight to Hamburg was delayed.
KLM managed to leave my luggage in Amsterdam which caused a bit of a problem. Remind me to ring them tomorrow. Also Danny was madly worried - he thought I was travelling from London for some crazy Danny reason, and I'd accidentally said I was flying with Lufthansa not KLM, so he thought I'd been blown up. Literally there was an unofficial watch out for me at both Hamburg airports - the description was 'small confused English person'. Thank you Danny.
Actually he was sweet though. As was his sister, who looks nothing and everything like him like siblings often do.
Had a bit of a wander round Hamburg. Important details:
- Harbour is huge (by size not tonnage it's the largest in the world)
- St. Pauli is one of those places everyone should go to.
- Amused by the decorated Hummel's.
- Even saw the red light district - dear UK government - legalised prostitution has not lead to Hamburg's destruction therefore it won't here.
Slept well that night for some reason ;)
Party was great fun, I was made to speak German and everyone was astounded that there exist English people who speak more than one language. Lizzie will understand what I mean. Everyone was deeply cool. Will post a locked post with photos later when they're developed in 15 months time ;)
Didn't sleep that night because was talking and then it got too late to worry about that.
Managed to get to the airport after another bit of a mix up. And then the fun really began. The plane that was supposed to be flying to Amsterdam was broken so we were delayed till 2.30. KLM told everyone who would therefore miss a connection to report to their desk and it would be sorted. Everyone was getting connected from Amsterdam so there was a 2 hour queue before I got seen to, and I was only half way up the queue. I was lucky though, I got talking to other people and some of them were going to New York so they were in even worse trouble than I was, as was the boy going to Newcastle.
KLM basically transferred us to other airlines so I flew back with Lufthansa. Beforehand I managed to buy a schnitzel with chips and vegetables for 5 Euros (£3) well done me I say. Even better was that it wasn't my money, it was a KLM voucher.
Slept all the way back barring 5 minutes of eating. Did buy a German magazine about politics and social and moral issues designed for young people, kind of like Time but for the youth of today. Reason 563 why Germany rocks (and the UK sucks) magazines like this actually exist.
Got back, got baggage after an unseemly long wait and came home. Had great fun, think the rest of the fencers were idiots for not going and just yeah, am of the happy shiny people.
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no subject
Date: 2005-07-11 09:54 pm (UTC)I cannot wait to go across the pond next year and visit her in Durham! It'll be neat to actually get up to Edinburgh as well, seeing as I never got that far north the last time.
no subject
Date: 2005-07-11 10:29 pm (UTC)I've been to Durham once on a Uni open day. It's very hilly ;) Actually it was really nice, if an inconvenient distance away, and unfortunately the course wasn't my type of biology. I shall be very jealous. Unless I'm in Prague at the time.
no subject
Date: 2005-07-11 11:07 pm (UTC)Lizzie does indeed know what you mean - it's that look of sheer amazement you get when you don't have to get everyone around you to speak English. heh.
Hmm... the whole "my God, you're English and you speak another language too?" thing seems to stem from the fact that so many English people go abroad and do that thing where they assume that people will understand English, even if they know no English, if they just speak louder and more slowly. I used to think it was a bit of a myth, but now I've actually seen people do it and it's disconcerting to say the least.
no subject
Date: 2005-07-11 11:14 pm (UTC)German education reason 5 why German > UK.
Sorry, that went kind of ranty, the idiotic monolinguism of this country annoys me.
no subject
Date: 2005-07-11 11:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-07-11 11:28 pm (UTC)According to friend who is doing French+Italian, the suckage continues at degree level too. Also don't get me started on the stupidity of having languages be non-compulsary at GCSE!!
But it's finally starting to bite the Brits on the arse, because they haven't got enough people translate things any more which is good for people like you and me who can.
no subject
Date: 2005-07-11 11:38 pm (UTC)Hmm, I was doing French and Italian for a year at uni and the suckage was actually at a minimum... then again, I was at UCL and we didn't do a great deal of speaking so I guess I don't really know how everyone else's French was. I know mine was nothing special, however. Strangely, it's got better since I'm not actually learning. LOL. And dear God, there are no words for how silly it is for languages to not be compulsary at GCSE. Island mentality at its worst there. We don't need languages! Away with you, foreigners!