Vilnius to Riga

We left our hotel and drove northwards towards Latvia. Our first stop was just over the border at the Palace of Rundale. This palace was the former summer residence of the Duke of Courland (one of the areas of the Baltics) and was designed by the same guy who did the Winter Palace in St Petersburg. The tour of the palace revealed many amazing rooms with decadent wallpaper, floorboards and trim. You had to pay to get into the gardens so afterwards I strolled around the front (also nice) and watched the ducks on the canal that ran through the property.

Upon reaching Riga, the grand capital of Latvia, we drove through amazing buildings, past triumphant squares and stunning boulevards we pulled up in front of our hotel (the Raddison Latvia). It was a very nice hotel and the rooms were modern (if a bit small). After seeing all the splendour that surrounding me I automatically made a priority list. First, laundry; second, drinks in the bar and thirdly, dinner. I found the Laundromat a short distance from the hotel and managed to get what I wanted to accomplish across to the attendant though sign language and a smattering of Latvian that I had read in my guidebook. She answered me in broken English so I can only assume it was that my newness tot he language was obvious.

Vilnius

The next day we went to explore the town. It was full of old buildings and churches. We had a couple of hours to look around the city. I explored many of the churches in town but there were still many more that I didn’t get the chance to have a look at. I also spent a bit of my time in the main square listening to some musical acts on stage. They had all kinds of music playing from rock and acoustic to classical and even opera. The crowds walked my, some stopped. By the time I had to leave to catch the bus a small crowd was now watching the performances.

I’d decided to go on the optional tour to Trakai Castle that afternoon. Trakai is a small, traditional, red brick castle that sits on a small island in the middle of a lake about half an hour outside the city. The castle was originally built by one of the first kings of the region. Since that time it has been destroyed and rebuilt to what it is today. I was told that many films have been shot there including Robin Hood (which version though I’m not too sure). The whole place was very touristy although there wasn’t much to the castle itself. There were a couple of rooms which had been done up with the history of the castle and informative panels about certain sections. We had a local guide this time who took us through the castle. She was a good guide whose commentary wasn’t as dry as everyone elses. She was also the first local tour guide that liked to take questions. We hadn’t see that in any of the three countries we’d been in so far so it was a nice change.

That night I also attended the ‘optional’ dinner excursion. The tour guide described the restaurant as a ‘folk law dinner’ although there was very little folk law and the dinner wasn’t up to much either. We had our orders taken on the bus a day or so before. I decided to order the fillet of cod served on a bed of mashed potatoes and a traditional salad. In the end what I was given was fish and chips. It wasn’t a pleasant evening that I had invisaged. The staff were rude and unfriendly and the people doing the entertaining, singing and playing traditional instruments appeared bored. This carried on throughout the evening. Even with the coffee after dinner no milk was served. I asked a waiter for it who replied “in a minute" in an exasperated tone. The milk never arrived and after the reaction I received from asking the first time, I did not want to ask again. It was interesting to note that the tour guide and driver were treated differently to the paying customers with the staff being friendly and, I noted, they got milk with their coffee. We were rushed through the meal, in and out with a three-course meal plus coffee in an hour and a half. The consensus among those people on the tour said that the meal was disappointing and staff were solemn unsmiling and rude. When this information was relayed to our tour guide she replied much the same as before. That it was impossible to please everyone and that there was nothing she could do. Apparently it was even too much to listen to the issues the people had with their meal. Even though all who attended (apart from the tour guide and driver) paid 60 euros for the meal. The rest of the evening was spent in the hotel bar with the others who attended the meal. The meal was crap but afterwards was a nice way to spend the rest of the evening.

Warsaw to Vilnius

In my true wussy sense I woke up this morning with a slight headache. I put it down to a bug that I’d picked up in the long hours I’d spent on the bus and not the beer I’d drank the previous night. It was another early morning and a drive that took pretty much the whole day. Today we were heading from Warsaw to Vilnius in Lithuania. After a quick stop in Augestow for lunch we continued driving arriving into the capital city just as it was getting dark. From the bus, the city seemed like many other I had been to. Some posh areas, some looking derelict. Some fancy restaurants lining the streets, some people (quite a few actually) digging through rubbish bins.

The hotel was called the Hotel Gratis and was situated a little way from the centre of town. It was a nice big room however and that was good as I was sharing again with Merv. Due to the late arrival, dinner was served at the hotel and consisted of Borsch (a beetroot soup) and fish (covered in a suspect looking whitish green sauce).

Poznan to Warsaw

It was an early start the next day and we drove for several hours before stopping at a McDonalds for lunch. I had a wrap with bacon, mushrooms and other miscellaneous substances. Early afternoon we arrived in the city of Warsaw. Our hotel, the MDM, was in the business centre of town (about half an hours walk to the old town). I had a new roommate, Michael (Merv had his own room). He was a big improvement and I noted was neat, tidy and put a towel on the bathroom floor when using the shower.

In the afternoon I went on the ‘optional’ tour of the rebuilt medieval city. After the war the whole area was rebuilt to look like it had before (although I’m guessing with proper electrical wiring and sewerage system). It looked impressive. Even though we were shown pictures of the ruined buildings taken after bombing raids by the Germans, it was hard to believe that the rebuilt versions were the same ones. It was very impressive. For the rest of the afternoon we were left to explore the town. Looking into the many souvenir stores, churches, cafes and other touristy places.

That evening I met up with some of the others on the tour for drinks and dinner. After plowing my way through one and a half litres of beer (in one glass!) I retired to my room and fell asleep listing, not to snoring or farting, but to accordion music being played on the street outside.

Berlin

I got a glimpse into what makes a tour director after the ‘optional’ tour around Berlin (which I did not attend). Some of the people who took the tour did not think it was worthwhile and not worth the money they paid as it didn’t stop at some of the most famous sights. Our director turned around and said that it was impossible to please everyone and that there was nothing she could do. There was no sympathetic ear or reason for that particular route. Needless to say, most people did not find it a satisfactory answer to their concerns. To me however, it spoke volumes about our tour guide and set the tone for dealing with any other ‘issues’ that people may have while they were on the tour or about any of the other ‘optional’ excursions.

After a morning in Berlin we spent the rest of the day driving to Poznan in Poland. Poland is a funny place. Throughout the rural areas there were hundreds of signs for Night Clubs and tequila. These glitzy signs are usually outside what look to be very low socio-economic towns and villages that look like they haven’t changed for centuries. What was also an eye opener was the number of women standing on the quiet country roads in the middle of nowhere dressed up like 80’s hookers with fluro faux-feather boas and knee-high boots.

Although Poland at first thought to be a ‘first world country’ it was interesting to note that the water in the country, and indeed all of the Baltic countries, is unsuitable for drinking. All tourists are warned not to drink the water. This was noted in tourist information at hotels throughout the trip until we reached Finland. Despite having to wait for half an hour to check in, not being able to move in the lobby due to a conference, or use the lift, or (for some reason) the stairs, I had my own room. It was bliss! I did my laundry in the sink and let hung it out to dry throughout the bathroom. After that I went to the shopping centre nearby to try and find a UK to Europe adapter for my camera plug. It was not a fruitful quest.

The Tour Begins

The cycling world championship was being held in Copenhagen that weekend that I arrived. It was therefore not a real surprise to see the Astanda team sitting down to breakfast in the dining room. I wouldn’t have known who they were if I hadn’t seen the team jerseys. They looked relaxed and didn’t seem to be the least put out that they were served up pasta for breakfast. I guess they had a long way to ride that day and so they needed all the energy they could get. Me on the other hand, only had to get on the bus, so I had the full cooked breakfast, with cereal and yoghurt on the side. As I sat eating I was amazed to hear my roommate start telling me about his prostate, the trouble, timing and frequency of his urination and going through a blow-by-blow account of how a prostate should be checked, not something you want to hear about, especially over breakfast and especially when you’re eating sausages! I was glad when it was time to board the bus. I’d met the tour guide, Giovanna, that morning and she told me which bus was ours (three were leaving from the hotel that morning). I chose a seat next to a window and sat down.

My tour group consisted of about 24 people. Most were retired although plenty weren’t. It was a mix of American, Canadian, Australian, Singaporean and a couple of New Zealanders. Most of them were pleasant enough to talk to and most of them I did. The morning’s itinerary was for a tour of Copenhagen and the drive Berlin (via the ferry). The start of the tour was all right. As the ‘included’ local tour guide was telling us all about Copenhagen we wound our way through the streets to the Palaces. These were the same palaces I had seen the day before on my walk around the city. I would therefore have much preferred to have watched the start of the cycling championship which were passing on the street between the palaces and the church. We missed it by a couple of minutes. We then had half an hour to look around (distances being such that you could walk to the bus and browse in the opposite souvenir shop in that time, but not see any of the other sights that the city had to offer). From there the bus moved on and drove us around to the parliament where we had an hour to look around. Unfortunately it was early on a Sunday morning and so only a bakery and a coffee shop were open in that area. Instead I wandered away to the canal and whiled my time away watching the ducks (Mallards). Soon enough it was time for the bus to pick us up again and take us to Berlin in Germany.

Ferries in Europe are big and this one was no exception. Our bus drove into the massive hold of the ferry and four more could have been fit in behind it. There were eight lanes of traffic inside the ferry as well as a large middle section. Upstairs there were three main decks and an outside viewing area, two restaurants, a bar and large duty free shop. It was a short trip across the sea and a short time (just enough for lunch and a chance to admire the view), the boat was pulling up at the harbour in Germany. The bus drove straight to Berlin where we would spend the night.

Our hotel was of the Best Western variety, however when we arrived it was dark and so dinner was the only plan. A group of us went to a local beer garden for tea. I can fully appreciate why tourists get such a bad wrap in countries like Germany. Our group just barged in and automatically started talking to the waitress in English with no attempt made to speak German or even say anything in German. Some of the older guys in the group then started taking photos of the young, pretty, blonde haired, blue eyed waitresses. They didn’t really appreciate this and so told them. This did not appear to have any effect on the two guys who finished taking their photos. The next thing that would give tourists, and particularly Australians, a bad name happened next. One of the other guys, an Australian started having an argument with one of the waitresses (who could speak English) about they type of glass for his beer. He wanted on without a stem (remaking loudly that it would make him look like a poof) and wanted a normal looking glass. At this point, I just shook my head, picked up my glass (with a stem) and walked outside. I didn’t sleep much that night, being kept awake by my roommates nocturnal trumpeting. Apparently though, as he remarked to the whole group upon me coming down to breakfast, I kept him up all night with my snoring. I know the truth, I’m not sure my roommate does.

To Copenhagen

Security is a pain. It is not because you have to line up for ages, have your bags x-rayed and then given a ‘pat down’ by some random member of staff. It is because of the rude and ignorant staff. Now, another security measure is that you can liquids of up to 100 mL on as hand luggage. This liquid for some reason must be stored in a clear plastic bag. Why? How does the clear plastic bag help security? How does putting your liquid in a plastic bag make the flight safer? I don’t get it. I don’t’ think the person who came up with the idea even thought it through! I had a tube of toothpaste. One tube. Purchased a matter of hours ago. This had to be put in a plastic bag to be x-rayed. Outside the bag it was a security threat. Inside it was safe. What is worse is that I had to pay £1 to purchase a bag! If something is a security threat and you want to make people believe it, then you don’t make they pay for a bag for one tube of toothpaste. Then it just looks like a money making scheme. What is worse is that the rude lady security guard, on an obvious power trip, could not tell me how putting my toothpaste in a plastic bag makes it safer than not having the plastic bag. 48p for a tube of toothpaste which ended up costing me double that to take it on the plane. That is why I hate security. I can see where the idea comes from and I understand. But doing things like that is just dopey as it takes away all the credibility of the policy. I can fully understand why people get annoyed with these dickheads who force you to follow these pointless rules. The worse thing is that they don’t even bother to find out why they are being told to enforce it. It shows that there is something seriously wrong with the security systems and agencies in this country.

Anyway, rant over. I boarded my flight after telling the security guard what I thought of their rules, only leaving when I saw her colleagues starting eye me suspiciously. The flight was uneventful and I arrived at the airport and, after a quick consult of my iphone map, I walked to my hotel. This was the first ‘day’ of the tour. I walked into the hotel lobby and tried to check into my room. Apparently they only have one key for each room and my roommate was already up there. I wandered up as the lady at reception phoned up to let my roommate know that I was coming up.

When I knocked on the door my roommate opened it. I’m not sure if he expected me. He said that he had received the phone call but, as he answered the door in his underpants, I don’t know… I found out quickly though that he was a bogan, and that explained everything. I guess the main hint was that he introduced himself to me saying, and I quote. “I fart and I snore”. He then proceeded to get undressed and change right in front of me while still talking and repacking his bag. This was a man that I hadn’t even met for two minutes and already he was making the single supplement of $1500 sound a very good idea. Still, I decided to make the best of it and just ignore the whole first impression. After meeting the rest of the group the next day, I couldn’t help thinking why the tour couple didn’t pair me with someone closer to my own age instead of the 50 year old light and curtain salesman that they did. After dumping my bags and freshening up I left the room and caught the train into the centre of Copenhagen. I’d arranged to meet Lewis, Naomi and Edie in the city. They were arriving around 2 pm and so I had a little time to see the sights. I wandered past the Royal Palaces, fortresses, harbours, monuments and lots of other sights that the city had to offer. While waiting I spent a bit of time by the fortress moat, watching the ducks swim by. It was quite relaxing. As the time to meet drew nearer I wandered back to the centre and found my way to the mall and to the prearranged meeting spot (with a lot of help from my iphone).

It was good to meet Lewis and Naomi. They came around the corner and seemed to appear out of the crowds pushing Edie in her stroller. I couldn’t believe how big Edie had grown. When I saw her just over a year before she was tiny. I could hold her in one arm then but now, it took two. She was smiling and happy. I’d like to think that it was to see me but probably just because she was in a new place and getting to go for a ride in her pram. After they checked into their hotel we wandered back into town and saw a few more of the sights. We went to check out the Little Mermaid statue and Nyman Harbour, both of which are very famous in the city. We ended up having dinner in a restaurant on one side of the harbour. It was a nice evening. I’d missed the first day of my tour but couldn’t be happier that I did.

Wandering round Westminster

After a whirlwind tour of historical London it was time for Mum to head off back to Bristol and for me to start my tour, first however, we had the day to explore a bit more of London. The first stop was the Palaces at Westminster. We took the tube to Westminster Station and walked towards the parliament building. It took us some time to find the ticket office (which was hidden down a set of steps, behind a wall in a building across the road), and took us just as long to get through security. You had to have your photo taken and have the pass around your neck while you’re inside. The queue was long but we got through and wandered up to the gates of the Great Hall, where the tour began from. There we joined another queue and waited for our tour guide to arrive. We climbed the steps from the hall and headed inside. My first impressions of the building was that, compared to Australia’s parliament house, it certainly had more plush setting and a lot more history. We were told about the gun powder plot and how a bomb had hit the parliament during WWII. The House of Commons was directly hit and did a lot of damage. They rebuilt the parliament after the war just the same as it had been. It was interesting to note that if all members of parliament were to attend, there wouldn’t be enough seating for them all. This is because there is something like 350 seats and 450 members of parliament. It was kept this way so it would not look too empty when it was seen on television. We also walked through the House of Lords and all the way to the Queens Chambers. It was also interesting to note that the House of Commons is the one place that the Queen is not able to go. When opening parliament she gives here speech from the House of Lords with the doors open through to the House of Commons so that they are able to hear. It was good to go around the parliament and it certainly was impressive. Once the tour finished we left the parliament and wandered outside and over the Westminster Abbey, which is just across the road.

We queued once again. It cost about £18 to get into the abbey which came with an included audio tour. We wandered around with the speaker to our ear through the abbey. We queued, then entered the tombs of previous kings and queens. They have a café at the abbey. It is in the cloisters area. While this seemed a bit tacky it didn’t stop us from having a cup of hot chocolate there and a muffin. As I walked around the abbey, I kept thinking back to how I’d seen it on the television with the wedding of Charles and Diana, and more recently, Will and Kate. You could picture they walking down the isle, saw where the guests sat and when we left the abbey we did so via the western gate where all the guests, including the queen, entered on that day. It was amazing to think of the history of the place. We just don’t get that in Australia.

Mum was booked on the 5 pm bus so we headed back to Victoria Coach Station and had dinner in a nearby pub. I said goodbye to Mum and the wandered back to train station to collect my bags from the Left Luggage section. I’d planned to spend a little longer in London that night before heading back to the Bus station but an hour later I’d looked in all the shops I’d wanted to and lingered on as many benches as necessary so decided to head to the airport early. My flight was leaving ridiculously early the next day so I decided that I would just spend the night there (rather than paying for a nights accommodation and having to leave super early anyway. It was just getting dark when I arrived at Stanstead after a bus ride that seemed to take forever. With my backpack on my back and another in my hand, I entered the airport. After making three circuits of the check in area I chose the spot where I would spend the night. It was a row of benches near one of the large windows overlooking a car park. I sat down and took out my book. Five minutes later I decided that the book wasn’t exciting enough and went off to find a W H Smith store. Half and hour later I had a new book (and a multi adapter for my camera) and wandered back over to my spot. It was a long night. I slept for about two hours all up. That was pretty good considering how busy the airport was. Even at two in the morning the cleaning staff were still driving round on their little floor sweeper buggies past sleeping passengers without a second glance. I know this as I saw several of coming round and random intervals throughout the night. At around four in the morning I changed my spot, fearful that if I fell asleep again (a slim chance but a chance none the less) then I would not have my phone alarm to wake me as the battery had run out. I relocated to a dirty bit of floor near a wall plug and after plugging in my phone, lay down again. An hour and a half later and it was time to line up for my flight check in. I wasn’t the first one there, which surprised me, I did notice however a few tired faces in the crowd and recognised them from various places around the airport. They’d obviously spend the night there too.

Historical London

Day two in London and we had more sights to see. It was going to be another right royal day. Our plan was to go to the Tower of London in the morning and then head over to Hampton Court Palace in the afternoon. We arrived at the Tower just on opening and walked through the imposing front gate. I’d been to the tower once before (in 1999) and now, over ten years later, nothing had changed. It was still as impressive as before. With buildings that have been there for centuries, little change is good. It lets you picture the history throughout the Tower. We wandered around the Tower, through the exhibits that they had set up in many of the rooms, and pictured what it would have been like throughout history. The most impressive thing though, was the Crown Jewels. I guess that’s what everyone really goes there to see, the crowds were a testament to this. We waited in line, slowly winding our way into the vault. The Crown Jewels are kept in a massive vault with solid metal doors about a foot thick. You pass them while standing on a conveyor belt (flat escalator) and slowly glide past them peering in through the thick glass at the glittering jewels beyond. They certainly were impressive. Actually, impressive doesn’t really even come close. They were very impressive. Spectacular even, and this is coming from someone who sees jewels as expensive polished stones. There were many crowns in there, each more breathtaking than the last. Each crown was set with not just jewels, but pearls, lace, velvet and a lot of just as impressive stitching. After having a second look, and stopping to admire a solid gold plate (exquisitely cast and bigger than my car) we left the Tower and went to Waterloo Station to catch the Southern Line train to Hampton Court.

Hampton Court Palace is the large red brick building next to the river. You can see it from the train station. A quick walk over the bridge and you are there. From the ticket office you walk down a long road which leads to a roundabout and the front entrance to the palace. Surrounding the main court are long corridors, formal gardens, staterooms and lots of kitchens. They say that Henry VIII enjoyed his food and the palace certainly attests to that. The food preparation wing took up almost one side of the palace and were quite impressive. Our audio guide told us what went on in the kitchens and it was amazing to think of all the people working in there. It was kitted out with all of the modern facilities such as roasting spits and boiling pots and had massive fires which must have made it quite uncomfortable for the child who would have had to turn the meat on the spit. The rooms were impressive as one would imagine and the garden, formal in its creation, had secret areas surrounded by high hedges which would have been private to the whole court. These were filled with flat lawn, greet shrubs or colourful flowers. Water features were also common throughout these private little gardens and in front of the orangery. It was interesting to hear about the palaces and how they operated. Being there made the history even more interesting.

First day in London

It was about seven-thirty when I awoke the next morning. A cup of tea and half an hour later Mum and I were on our way down to breakfast. The breakfast room of the hotel was the basement level. It was tiny. I couldn’t he having a quick look into their kitchen on my way to the continental breakfast buffet. It was clean and all stainless steel but I questioned their washing and sanitising process with the breakfast dishes. I put it out of my mind (my work is dull enough as it is without doing it on holiday), and buttered my toast. After breakfast Mum and I wandered into town.

Our first stop was the Buckingham Palace ticket office. We purchased tickets for the 11 o’clock entry and then went for a wander around St James Park and watched the squirrels. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Buckingham Palace is the most impressive palace I’ve seen (and I’ve seen a few!). I couldn’t say there was one thing that didn’t amaze me, from the carpet to the ceiling it was stunning. That isn’t even taking into account any of the history or moments of the palace that I’ve watched on the telly. We ambled around listening to audio tour and taking our time, taking our time to soak it all up. We saw an exhibition of the Royal Faberge collection which consisted of some delicately carved and super expensive ornaments including quite a few of the trademark eggs. It was impressive. It took around two hours to go through the ‘guest wing’ and before we knew it we were standing on the steps overlooking the rear garden. After a few photos we headed down one of the winding paths, past the lake and out of the palace grounds.

After a quick lunch in a pub we once again wandered off through the narrow streets. We ended up in Westminster, by the cathedral to be exact, and went in for a look. It was impressive inside but the view from the tower was even better. From the top you could see most of London, the classic skyline all around with 360o views. From the top you could see the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye, the dome of St Paul’s and even Buckingham Palace. It was windy at the top, but the sunshine shining down made it an even better view.

We couldn’t stay up there for too long as we had an appointment. Laura was paying for a treat for both Mum and me. Afternoon tea at Browns Hotel, one of the poshest establishments in London. The spread was impressive, three tiers of scones, sandwiches and cakes. And of course tea. We spend the rest of the afternoon sitting in the luxurious surroundings and eating all we could. After going through two set of tiers and two tea pots full of tea, it was time to head back to the real world. And we wandered out the land of top hats and into the one of baseball caps.

The flight from Brisbane

I was excited when I arrived at the airport. Dad dropped me off around nine at night. My flight was due to leave a little before midnight so we were in plenty of time. After one last coffee I said good-bye and wandered downstairs to start the customs process. It took hardly any time at all. In fact I spent more time filling in my form than standing in line. Before I knew it I was through and browsing in the souvenir shops on the other side. I toyed with buying a camera duty-free but in the end, even the tax free prices were too much for me to part with at that time. After much umming and ahhing I wandered over to the gate.

I was the first one to arrive so I sat down, took out my book, and started the wait until it was time to board. The crowds slowly gathered and before long the announcement came over the loud speakers that it was time to board. I joined the queue and presented my ticket and passport to the lady at the gate. It always surprises me that you have to show it before you board the aircraft, especially in an international airport when you’ve already gone through security and customs, the airlines mustn’t have much faith in airport security. Of course, this part has nothing to do with security and more to do with keeping the general public in a prolonged state of fear in order to push government policy and politicians’ agendas, but I digress.

I’d like to say the flight was long and uneventful. It was long but not uneventful. Unfortunately. After dinner was served and the free alcohol was given out the guy in the seat behind me started to make a fuss. This involved kicking the seat in front of him, grabbing through the seats in front of him and yelling at the top of his voice to the people sitting in the seats two rows ahead. Unfortunately for me, I was stuck right in the middle of all of this. And doubly unfortunately for me, the flight crew did not want to do anything about it, no matter how many times me, and the person sitting next to me pushed our ‘call’ bells. Despite a few indifferent warnings from one staff member, the man behind me did not change his behaviour. For the next six hours I had to listen to him yell for more whiskey (he obviously couldn’t hold his drink, but the crew kept serving him until about four hours into the flight). He at least stopped trying to reach through the gap between my (and my neighbour’s) seat. This could have been because the last time he did it I grabbed his arm and tried to tear it from his shoulder bending it around and down in the process, but I’m not sure. I was glad when the captain’s voice came over the speakers that we were now going to land. The man behind me didn’t stop yelling all the way down and even out into the terminal. The crew smiled at him and said a cheery goodbye as he left. It’s a shame that the crew didn’t show the same courtesy to the other passengers when we were in the air. I swore then that I would never fly Malaysian Airlines again. It wasn’t just their service, but also the way they showed complete disinterest in the thoughts and feelings of the people sat near the drunk, and just appeared to want a peaceful flight (from where they were sitting down the cabin).

Unfortunately this promise was broken four hours later when I boarded my next flight to London (but I swore to not go with Malaysian Airways once this holiday was over). The next flight was a lot better than the last. I still didn’t get any sleep, and my seat was next to a bulkhead so I had half the leg room of all other passengers (including those in the rows) but at least I could sit without someone yelling behind me. In the following 12 hours I watched the Harry Potter. Harry Potter movies to be more exact. Movies 2, 3, 4 and 5. I also watched several episodes of the Simpsons, the Big Bang Theory and several mind numbing episodes of some other reality TV show about a someone with too much money and no brain. After what seemed like an eternity (as I’d had to resort to watching the reality TV show) the plane touched down in London. It was good to get off the plane. I walked through customs and then had to wait about half an hour for my bag to come through. After that I was out into the main terminal.

It was the faces of Mum and Aunty Carole who greeted me at the Arrivals gate. It was good to see them and despite not sleeping for the past 48 hours, I was happy. We caught the Tube into Victoria Station and had dinner in a pub nearby. Fish and chips and a pint of Fosters never tasted so good. I told my story to sympathetic ears and we all agreed that the flight crew should have drugged the man to keep him quiet (we didn’t, but it would have made my flight easier). After dinner Mum and I said goodbye to Aunty Carole and wandered off to find our hotel. A quick look at the GPS on my phone and we were winding our way through the busy streets of London. The hotel was a simple one but the bed was comfy and the shower hot. After climbing the 99 steps up to the room (over four storeys) it was very welcome.

Holidays!!!

After four years the time has now come. I'm off on holidays! It's been a while. So I'm looking forward to it. My plan is to do a tour around the Baltics and a bit of Scandinavia.

Suit Up!

Yesterday me and the EH admin had the important job of going through the disaster response kits and updating them. This involved making a list of everything in the kit such as high-visibility jackets, overalls, clip boards, pens and helmets and seeing that it was all there. On this occasion it was.

Getting Closer

As I said before... Vrooooooom!