After the farewell dinner with our friends from India, I went back home for the weekly evening online chat session with my student group in California. However, in the UK the time has changed from daylight savings time to regular time, whereas it has not yet changed in the US... so when I went online, only a few students were there, as they had been already waiting for one hour... why can the daylight savings time not be changed simultaneously in all countries of this planet?
Then, after midnight, I began packing my stuff for the travel next day, and I was done with everything at 3am.
Wednesday morning was cold, grey, foggy in Leeds. Driving to the airport, then a bit of sun came out. Leeds-Bradford airport was very empty, I got immediately to the check-in counter. Later I meet Georgi from LeedsMet who is also travelling to this meeting: the bi-annual face-to-face meeting of the project EuroPLOT, in Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic. Departure was on time, and arrival in Prague was 20 minutes ahead of schedule. There was a thick grey cloud cover, no sun came through.
I got a white Fiat Panda. Nice car, but the 1.2i engine seems quite weak.
Instead of driving around Prague on the south side, Georgi and I decide that it might be nice to drive straight through Prague towards the East. And yes, we had a glimpse at the illuminated Hradschin, after crossing the river Vltava (Moldau) near the Karls Bridge, as the evening darkness set in. Around 19:00 arrival in Hradec Kralove.
Nice meal for dinner: Altboehmische Kartoffelsuppe, Lendenschnitte mit Boehmischen Knoedeln. And Pilsener Urquell.
At the after-meal walk, I see the participants from Krems: Peter and Erich, who just arrived. And then we meet Nicolai, Margarethe, Helle, and Tom. A few of us decide to go out for another pint, and we end up in the Na Hrade restaurant. When we enter, a very familiar smell hits us which I had not smelled for quite a while: cigarette smoke. It is apparently (still) legal to smoke in bars and restaurants, and this smell is somewhat reminiscent of past times. The bar itself with its interior decoration at the wall appears also to be so nostalgically out of the past.
And now the mind moves to the EuroPLOT meeting which will take place on Thursday and Friday.
Showing posts with label flight. Show all posts
Showing posts with label flight. Show all posts
Thursday, November 03, 2011
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Travel to India - With Obstacles
After the proposal submission which had kept me busy for the past few weeks I finally could relax - and prepare for the next venture: I had one day to get ready for the travel to India, in relation to the "Rivers' Movement" project. We had postponed this travel already twice: an original travel plan back in November did not work out due to schedule conflicts, and a travel in March was not possible because of that proposal work. But now I was ready for the 600 movie channels on Emirates Airlines, and for the scorching summer heat in Gujarat where it is now about 48 deg C.
In the morning of Thursday, Brian Lewis called me, telling me that he heard about a volcanic cloud from Iceland which prevented airplanes from taking off. But we decided anyway to go to Manchester airport and see the situation there. Well, the flight was cancelled. Pretty strange: the airline employees at the help desk were not able to help us, we had to call the central reservation line. And that was broken for a while, a voice message was played "this is a test message" and nothing else. But finally we got through, and were able to rebook our flights for Tuesday, 20.April. Then we had a cup of tea and sat down for a while, before returning back to Leeds.
In the morning of Thursday, Brian Lewis called me, telling me that he heard about a volcanic cloud from Iceland which prevented airplanes from taking off. But we decided anyway to go to Manchester airport and see the situation there. Well, the flight was cancelled. Pretty strange: the airline employees at the help desk were not able to help us, we had to call the central reservation line. And that was broken for a while, a voice message was played "this is a test message" and nothing else. But finally we got through, and were able to rebook our flights for Tuesday, 20.April. Then we had a cup of tea and sat down for a while, before returning back to Leeds.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Travel to Krems, Austria
On Thursday I had a full day of travel: getting a taxi in the morning 7:15, train leaves Leeds Station at 7:55, arrives at Manchester Airport 9:15. Flight leaves at 11:00. Everything works like a clockwork, but I am somewhat tired. The night before I had worked on my presentation for Friday, and I had brought it in the final shape. But then I only had 4 hours of sleep. So I closed my eyes and slept during the flight. Nothing else to do - the night before I had forgotten to check-in online, so I did not have a window seat on the first leg of the trip.
In Munich I only had very little time between the flights. But I wanted to get some local food. The restaurant Kaefer would only serve full meals, but I just had time for a quick snack. So I just got a single "Breze" from them. Hmmm, these real Bavarian Munich Brezen (=pretzels) are just soo good! Soft and warm dough, but a thin crust outside. Just right. On the way to the gate I saw another place, which had a Leberkaese, and I got a roll with warm Leberkas and sweet mustard. Is a staple of Bavarian rustic cuisine, and I did not have one for a long time. So while waiting for the boarding, I just stood there and munched my sandwich, to the envy of the other waiting passengers.
For the flight to Vienna I had a window seat. But there was nothing to see - a thick white cloud seemed to hang over all Central Europe. When landing in Krems, there was even a slight drizzle.
Got the rental car ok, and then drove from Wien Schwechat towards Krems, which is about 70 km west of Vienna. Not much traffic on the road, I moved along swiftly. Once arrived, I rushed to the town center to get some essential purchases, for example something to drink for later. Also got some cash from the bank. Realised that I had forgotten to tell my bank that I will travel abroad - I am sure that they will block my debit card soon again, as they usually do when I use it abroad.
Go to the restaurant "Alte Post" in the centre of Krems, a quite rustic place with typical heavy meals. Afterwards I do some last fine-tuning of my presentation
In Munich I only had very little time between the flights. But I wanted to get some local food. The restaurant Kaefer would only serve full meals, but I just had time for a quick snack. So I just got a single "Breze" from them. Hmmm, these real Bavarian Munich Brezen (=pretzels) are just soo good! Soft and warm dough, but a thin crust outside. Just right. On the way to the gate I saw another place, which had a Leberkaese, and I got a roll with warm Leberkas and sweet mustard. Is a staple of Bavarian rustic cuisine, and I did not have one for a long time. So while waiting for the boarding, I just stood there and munched my sandwich, to the envy of the other waiting passengers.
For the flight to Vienna I had a window seat. But there was nothing to see - a thick white cloud seemed to hang over all Central Europe. When landing in Krems, there was even a slight drizzle.
Got the rental car ok, and then drove from Wien Schwechat towards Krems, which is about 70 km west of Vienna. Not much traffic on the road, I moved along swiftly. Once arrived, I rushed to the town center to get some essential purchases, for example something to drink for later. Also got some cash from the bank. Realised that I had forgotten to tell my bank that I will travel abroad - I am sure that they will block my debit card soon again, as they usually do when I use it abroad.
Go to the restaurant "Alte Post" in the centre of Krems, a quite rustic place with typical heavy meals. Afterwards I do some last fine-tuning of my presentation
Monday, June 29, 2009
Return back to Leeds
Monday morning I get my stuff ready packed, have breakfast, then check out. Still some hours, so I decide to drive a bit into Long Island. Cross over a toll bridge into Atlantic Beach. The beaches there have a light sand, there are also many dunes. But it is not possible to freely access the beach: one would have to pay somewhere else to get an admission, or be a resident.
I stop a few times to take some pictures, then drive on.
This little stretch of land has two coasts: one outward to the Atlantic, another one inward towards the mainland.
Time is getting tight, I need to get back to the airport. Have to find a gas station to fill up the rental car. Everything works out in time, and I fly back. During the approach of Leeds (LBA) the Emley Moor TV Tower peaks out of low ground fog.
I stop a few times to take some pictures, then drive on.
This little stretch of land has two coasts: one outward to the Atlantic, another one inward towards the mainland.
Time is getting tight, I need to get back to the airport. Have to find a gas station to fill up the rental car. Everything works out in time, and I fly back. During the approach of Leeds (LBA) the Emley Moor TV Tower peaks out of low ground fog.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Travelling to Athens
The taxi is waiting on time - 4am. At Leeds Bradford I have breakfast. Slightly pathetic ambience. The flight to AMS leave on time, I arrive 25 minutes earlier than scheduled in Schiphol. Not much time for browsing around, have to go to Gate C9, to the Schengen area. Sitting in the next plane, I see my suitcase as it moves into the plane on the conveyor belt.
Flying over Germany - it is snowy down there. I sleep a bit. When I wake up I see the Alps: Inntal, Oberaudorf, Scheffau, Wilder Kaiser. I identify Kitzbuehel, then the Grossglockner. A warm roll is served, together with a box of small things, among them a salad. I wanted to read more, but fall again asleep. Snow also above the Macedonian mountains. Then preparing for landing.
Islands, costs, towns, olive trees. Some archaeological digs. Landing at the Athens airport. Quite modern, just opened a few years ago. My suitcase comes almost last. The directions towards the train station are unclear: the Greek wording for "to Metro" is crossed out, but the English version "To Trains" still stands, so I follow the signs. A bright sun hits the eye, blue sky. But not warm.
Indeed, the Metro is not going since a few days, due to construction work, but the "Suburban Train" is. I had not read about that suburban train anywhere on the web, but on my map printout I see it as the dashed line.
The first sight outside of the airport: the big blue/yellow IKEA. As always, this is comforting and worrying at the same time: comforting, because in case I would ever move to here, I could get inexpensive decent furniture. Discomforting, because this globalisation removes the individual experience of regions in the world. The IKEA store was also one of the first things I had seen in Beijing in summer 2007. There were three IKEAs in Los Angeles. There is one in Leeds. One in Munich. They are everywhere. Ok, the world is growing together, and some common standards are getting accepted. But it is also a bit sad, to see these blue box buildings in every corner of the world. I had not seen one in India...
The suburban train goes quite fast: my GPS shows 176 km/h. Get off at the station Nepatziotissa, then change to the metro green line. Quite a long distance into town still. One more change of trains, to the red line, then I walk out of the subway station exit. As I am trying to locate my hotel, I realise that I forgot to print the map. I vaguely remember that it is two blocks north of the station, so I begin to walk in the direction. It is sunny, so I do not mind. Soon I realise that I am in the wrong street - need to be one parallel. Finally arrive at the hotel "Titania".
Flying over Germany - it is snowy down there. I sleep a bit. When I wake up I see the Alps: Inntal, Oberaudorf, Scheffau, Wilder Kaiser. I identify Kitzbuehel, then the Grossglockner. A warm roll is served, together with a box of small things, among them a salad. I wanted to read more, but fall again asleep. Snow also above the Macedonian mountains. Then preparing for landing.
Islands, costs, towns, olive trees. Some archaeological digs. Landing at the Athens airport. Quite modern, just opened a few years ago. My suitcase comes almost last. The directions towards the train station are unclear: the Greek wording for "to Metro" is crossed out, but the English version "To Trains" still stands, so I follow the signs. A bright sun hits the eye, blue sky. But not warm.
Indeed, the Metro is not going since a few days, due to construction work, but the "Suburban Train" is. I had not read about that suburban train anywhere on the web, but on my map printout I see it as the dashed line.
The first sight outside of the airport: the big blue/yellow IKEA. As always, this is comforting and worrying at the same time: comforting, because in case I would ever move to here, I could get inexpensive decent furniture. Discomforting, because this globalisation removes the individual experience of regions in the world. The IKEA store was also one of the first things I had seen in Beijing in summer 2007. There were three IKEAs in Los Angeles. There is one in Leeds. One in Munich. They are everywhere. Ok, the world is growing together, and some common standards are getting accepted. But it is also a bit sad, to see these blue box buildings in every corner of the world. I had not seen one in India...
The suburban train goes quite fast: my GPS shows 176 km/h. Get off at the station Nepatziotissa, then change to the metro green line. Quite a long distance into town still. One more change of trains, to the red line, then I walk out of the subway station exit. As I am trying to locate my hotel, I realise that I forgot to print the map. I vaguely remember that it is two blocks north of the station, so I begin to walk in the direction. It is sunny, so I do not mind. Soon I realise that I am in the wrong street - need to be one parallel. Finally arrive at the hotel "Titania".
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Travel: Vorarlberg - Student PhD Conformation Vivas
On Sunday, I left for a short travel to Austria: The Leeds Met International Faculty has PhD students in Austria who have enrolled in the new "European PhD" program. In this program, their thesis will be supervised by people from both the UK and their home country. My contribuytion to this supervision is to provide "German language", as these students can write their thesis in their mother language.
Unfortunately the hotel had no internet, so I was not able to send updates However, I have tried something new: TwitPic which allows to send pictures to Twitter. On the left side of this blog here is an automatically updatd list of the latest pictures. I learned about TwitPic after the reports on the news about last week's airplane water landing in NY.
The travel was ok. I went with KLM from Leeds through Amsterdam, then further on to Zurich. The train ride to Dornbirn was easy: a fast train (EC) to Bregenz, then a local train to Dornbirn. On the way back it was more complicated: There were many small segments, as at the time when I wanted to be at the airport, no direct train was scheduled. The fastest route to Zurich Airport (Kloten) goes close to Lake Konstanz. But I chose a more southern route: through Buchs and Sargans. I had hoped to see a few nice mountains in snow. However, it rained on Tuesday, and the clouds were hanging very low, so I had no mountain visibility. But the ride was still enjoyable: very scenic railway along the Walensee and the Zurichsee.
Unfortunately the hotel had no internet, so I was not able to send updates However, I have tried something new: TwitPic which allows to send pictures to Twitter. On the left side of this blog here is an automatically updatd list of the latest pictures. I learned about TwitPic after the reports on the news about last week's airplane water landing in NY.
The travel was ok. I went with KLM from Leeds through Amsterdam, then further on to Zurich. The train ride to Dornbirn was easy: a fast train (EC) to Bregenz, then a local train to Dornbirn. On the way back it was more complicated: There were many small segments, as at the time when I wanted to be at the airport, no direct train was scheduled. The fastest route to Zurich Airport (Kloten) goes close to Lake Konstanz. But I chose a more southern route: through Buchs and Sargans. I had hoped to see a few nice mountains in snow. However, it rained on Tuesday, and the clouds were hanging very low, so I had no mountain visibility. But the ride was still enjoyable: very scenic railway along the Walensee and the Zurichsee.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Travel Back
We leave early in the morning, after breakfast. The car brings us directly to the airport in Ahmadabad. On the way we can for the last time "enjoy" the low sense of risk that traffic participants show...
The check-in goes quite fast. Brian has to unpack his suitcase at the X-ray check, but no problems otherwise. The airline rushes us somehow, no time even for strolling around at the airport (there is actually nothing to stroll around...), we are quickly hurdled into the bus to the plane. Then the flight takes off 30 minutes earlier than scheduled! That never happened to me before.
In Dubai I go to the Burger King, and have a large salad - and a meaty juicy burger. The first meat after almost 2 weeks!
The last flight leg goes by without any problems. I have a brief nap, then I watch a couple of movies. Landing in Manchester ok. It is dark and cold. We just miss the 19:22 train to Leeds, so we will take the next one in an hour. Brian takes the route through Sheffield to Doncaster, as this will bring him home earlier.
A big adventure is over. I have now actually been in India!
The check-in goes quite fast. Brian has to unpack his suitcase at the X-ray check, but no problems otherwise. The airline rushes us somehow, no time even for strolling around at the airport (there is actually nothing to stroll around...), we are quickly hurdled into the bus to the plane. Then the flight takes off 30 minutes earlier than scheduled! That never happened to me before.
In Dubai I go to the Burger King, and have a large salad - and a meaty juicy burger. The first meat after almost 2 weeks!
The last flight leg goes by without any problems. I have a brief nap, then I watch a couple of movies. Landing in Manchester ok. It is dark and cold. We just miss the 19:22 train to Leeds, so we will take the next one in an hour. Brian takes the route through Sheffield to Doncaster, as this will bring him home earlier.
A big adventure is over. I have now actually been in India!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Departure from Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA)
Last week has been a very busy week. Deadlines, two bids submitted, several meetings, making a poster, ISMAR issues. And then the yesterday night again packing. Ensuring that all the gadgets are ok, fully charged, that all the cables are available. It is not the most efficient way in which I am dealing with this... more a brute-force approach. Several power adaptors for the different devices, redundant set of cables so that I do not get stuck should one one work (happened already once). I leave in time, drive first briefly to the campus. Need to make a printout in my office. Also take a few flyers of the Centre for Creative Technology - one never knows if they are needed.
The weather has been mild and warm, a bit humid, but some sun rays. Now, however, as I drive towards the airport, the mist turns into a grey fuzzy haze, and small rain droplets form on the windscreen. Does not look good - I hope that the flight is not delayed. I had not taken a taxi this time, but had reserved a parking space near the airport. 47 Pounds for 8 days, appears reasonable to me. When I enter the Long-Term parking, every possible space appears to be occupied. I had been there before, and it never was a problem; I always had found a space right near the entrance. But now all spaces there are filled. What is happening? Are all these people travelling on an EU grant so that they can afford the parking? I continue to search. Did not know that the parking area was so vast. Through parking areas 2, 3, further to 4,5. No space. No traffic either - these must be all people who came here on the weekend. Who would fly now on a Tuesday into holidays? Finally, at parking area 7 there are spots available. I park, get out, and the slight rain drizzle continues. This time I have 5 pieces of luggage: suitcase, carry-on bag, laptop bag, camera bag, and poster roll. I consolidate the camera bag into the carry-on, but there are still 4 bags to pull all the way to the terminal, through that long parking area. The rain does not help... I grab a trolley and put everything on it. I could wait at one of those bus stations for the courtesy bus, but I decide that time is already tight, and I would rather walk quickly to the check-in. Halfway through there is in fact a courtesy bus coming from the terminal, bringing people to their cars. I will do that as well upon my return. I could get in now, at least be dry, but I do not know how long that bus will circle around. So I keep walking quickly toward the terminal, passing signs which state "no pedestrian walk across the parking lot. Take the courtesy bus".
When I enter the Jet2 check-in area in the terminal, it looks like a zoo. The Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) could almost close if it had not these Jet2.com flights. I remembered to queue towards the right for Jet2, the left side would lead to another budget airline. But as I wait there for a few minutes, nothing is moving. I am getting nervous now, the time is running. I leave the trolley and walk towards the front. An attendant is blocking access to the actual check-in queue. I ask her where I should go for my flight. She points me to a counter where very few people are. Great. She also mentions that the flight may be already closed... not so great. I grab my luggage and stand behind the few people of counter 43. Then it is my turn. The flight is not yet closed. But my suitcase is too heavy. Only 17kg are allowed, mine is 18 kg. So I have to walk across to pay 6 Pounds. As I come back, the clerk sees my big poster cardboard tube. This would also need to be checked in, as I cannot take so many pieces into the plane. She makes a phone call, and then it is decided that I can take the tube into the plane. Good.
Now towards the X-ray control. They have refurbished it since the last time I was here. Two isles now, one for fast track. When getting my car parking, I had noticed on the web the option to pay 5 pounds to get a fast track. Now this really shows the hypocracy of all that security hype: it is just plain money extraction from the customers. This does nothing to help security, any terrorist can pay it if they want to. Where is here the difference between this "official sanctioned fasttrack procedure" and the good old method to slip the officer a fiver so that he lets you go through faster (not that I am implying that this has ever happened...)? There is no difference. But I had refused to slip that fiver when seeing this option on the web. So I am stuck in the slow queue.
Fortunately there is no queue. But the officer who checks boarding pass and passport, tells me I have too many pieces of carry-on luggage. Why the hell is that? Whad does it impede security if I have one or three bags to carry? But I do not complain, smile friendly instead. Pack the laptop bag into the carry-on bag which is now almost bursting. The poster will have to go separate still. And I am allowed to carry the laptop separately. I squeeze it under my arm, hope it does not all out. The controls are very thorough today. Is there any security alert? They seem to be more thorough than 3 weeks ago at Manchester Airport. After I have passed the control, I start again to establish my seveal carry-on items: the wheeled case, the laptop bag, and the poster roll will just have to be separate. The camera bag stays nicely in the wheeled case.
Boarding at 15:00. I had paid the 12.50 Pound fee for an extra legrooom seat, but since this is at an emergency exit, the seat back does not recline. The legroom is great though. They just took out the seat in front of it, so that I have actually the lenght of two seats. I stretch my legs and take a nap.
The flight takes only 2 hours.
The weather has been mild and warm, a bit humid, but some sun rays. Now, however, as I drive towards the airport, the mist turns into a grey fuzzy haze, and small rain droplets form on the windscreen. Does not look good - I hope that the flight is not delayed. I had not taken a taxi this time, but had reserved a parking space near the airport. 47 Pounds for 8 days, appears reasonable to me. When I enter the Long-Term parking, every possible space appears to be occupied. I had been there before, and it never was a problem; I always had found a space right near the entrance. But now all spaces there are filled. What is happening? Are all these people travelling on an EU grant so that they can afford the parking? I continue to search. Did not know that the parking area was so vast. Through parking areas 2, 3, further to 4,5. No space. No traffic either - these must be all people who came here on the weekend. Who would fly now on a Tuesday into holidays? Finally, at parking area 7 there are spots available. I park, get out, and the slight rain drizzle continues. This time I have 5 pieces of luggage: suitcase, carry-on bag, laptop bag, camera bag, and poster roll. I consolidate the camera bag into the carry-on, but there are still 4 bags to pull all the way to the terminal, through that long parking area. The rain does not help... I grab a trolley and put everything on it. I could wait at one of those bus stations for the courtesy bus, but I decide that time is already tight, and I would rather walk quickly to the check-in. Halfway through there is in fact a courtesy bus coming from the terminal, bringing people to their cars. I will do that as well upon my return. I could get in now, at least be dry, but I do not know how long that bus will circle around. So I keep walking quickly toward the terminal, passing signs which state "no pedestrian walk across the parking lot. Take the courtesy bus".
When I enter the Jet2 check-in area in the terminal, it looks like a zoo. The Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) could almost close if it had not these Jet2.com flights. I remembered to queue towards the right for Jet2, the left side would lead to another budget airline. But as I wait there for a few minutes, nothing is moving. I am getting nervous now, the time is running. I leave the trolley and walk towards the front. An attendant is blocking access to the actual check-in queue. I ask her where I should go for my flight. She points me to a counter where very few people are. Great. She also mentions that the flight may be already closed... not so great. I grab my luggage and stand behind the few people of counter 43. Then it is my turn. The flight is not yet closed. But my suitcase is too heavy. Only 17kg are allowed, mine is 18 kg. So I have to walk across to pay 6 Pounds. As I come back, the clerk sees my big poster cardboard tube. This would also need to be checked in, as I cannot take so many pieces into the plane. She makes a phone call, and then it is decided that I can take the tube into the plane. Good.
Now towards the X-ray control. They have refurbished it since the last time I was here. Two isles now, one for fast track. When getting my car parking, I had noticed on the web the option to pay 5 pounds to get a fast track. Now this really shows the hypocracy of all that security hype: it is just plain money extraction from the customers. This does nothing to help security, any terrorist can pay it if they want to. Where is here the difference between this "official sanctioned fasttrack procedure" and the good old method to slip the officer a fiver so that he lets you go through faster (not that I am implying that this has ever happened...)? There is no difference. But I had refused to slip that fiver when seeing this option on the web. So I am stuck in the slow queue.
Fortunately there is no queue. But the officer who checks boarding pass and passport, tells me I have too many pieces of carry-on luggage. Why the hell is that? Whad does it impede security if I have one or three bags to carry? But I do not complain, smile friendly instead. Pack the laptop bag into the carry-on bag which is now almost bursting. The poster will have to go separate still. And I am allowed to carry the laptop separately. I squeeze it under my arm, hope it does not all out. The controls are very thorough today. Is there any security alert? They seem to be more thorough than 3 weeks ago at Manchester Airport. After I have passed the control, I start again to establish my seveal carry-on items: the wheeled case, the laptop bag, and the poster roll will just have to be separate. The camera bag stays nicely in the wheeled case.
Boarding at 15:00. I had paid the 12.50 Pound fee for an extra legrooom seat, but since this is at an emergency exit, the seat back does not recline. The legroom is great though. They just took out the seat in front of it, so that I have actually the lenght of two seats. I stretch my legs and take a nap.
The flight takes only 2 hours.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Departure and Last Excursion
This is the travel day, no seminar in the morning. A few of the seminar participants alreayd had departed during the night, as their flights left early. For me this is the first day in a while when I can finally sleep a bit longer and have breakfast at a reasonable time: around 11:00.
I pay the accommodation bill. Fortunately, I can pay partly with Cyprus Pounds, so I do not need to drive to any bank for exchange. I had packed my luggage after midnight, so I am ready to go. There is some time, my plane is scheduled to leave at 16:50. So I decide to again to a brief excursion. This time I head straight towards West, to some Roman sites. But first, I partially fill the car tank and get some more cash.
Drive on the motorway, passed Limassol. Get out near Kurion, drive along the coastal road. I had been already at this site 2 years ago, so this time I do not enter, just pass at the side, But I visit the remains of the old Curium stadium.
Back at the bungalows, I take my luggage and give Reinhard a ride to the airport, where he pics up his rental car and his arriving family.
It is very hot and humid, the walk from the rental car return to the terminal is just about 200 m, but is quite exhausting.
There are long lines at many check-in counters, but the line to Cyprus Airways is fortunately very short. At the duty free shop, I buy a small bag for my laptop. At the seminar, I was always walking around with my in-flight case, which has wheels but is just too big for lugging it around. I had no choice, as thre were adaptors and cables in it. But the new bag also has some extra space; so from now on I will use this bag for the laptop.
Boarding is delayed. When we are finally in the plane, there is another complication: two people whose luggage has been checked in, are not on board. And for safety reason they have to remove the luggage. One would think that it is easy to identigy the luggage - they all have tags on them. But now, all passengers have to leave the plane, identify their luggage on the tarmac, and then return again. In the end, two suitcases remain left over. There is always something interesting happening wiht Cyprus Airways...
The plane leaves with more than one hour delay. Stop in Paphos where most passengers in the front rows join this flight. Then takeoff towards Manchester.
The plane arrives 50 minutes late, at 21:50. Long line at the immigration control. My luggage is there ok. Missed the 22:22 train, so I take the next one an hour later. That train for some reason takes longer than the otehr trains during the day: 20 minutes more. It drives a strange route: instead of turning at Manchester Piccadilly Station, it continues further West until Salford Crescent, then returns from there into the opposite direction, hereby also passing Manchester Victoria Station. At 1:00 I arrive in Leeds.
I pay the accommodation bill. Fortunately, I can pay partly with Cyprus Pounds, so I do not need to drive to any bank for exchange. I had packed my luggage after midnight, so I am ready to go. There is some time, my plane is scheduled to leave at 16:50. So I decide to again to a brief excursion. This time I head straight towards West, to some Roman sites. But first, I partially fill the car tank and get some more cash.
Drive on the motorway, passed Limassol. Get out near Kurion, drive along the coastal road. I had been already at this site 2 years ago, so this time I do not enter, just pass at the side, But I visit the remains of the old Curium stadium.
Back at the bungalows, I take my luggage and give Reinhard a ride to the airport, where he pics up his rental car and his arriving family.
It is very hot and humid, the walk from the rental car return to the terminal is just about 200 m, but is quite exhausting.
There are long lines at many check-in counters, but the line to Cyprus Airways is fortunately very short. At the duty free shop, I buy a small bag for my laptop. At the seminar, I was always walking around with my in-flight case, which has wheels but is just too big for lugging it around. I had no choice, as thre were adaptors and cables in it. But the new bag also has some extra space; so from now on I will use this bag for the laptop.
Boarding is delayed. When we are finally in the plane, there is another complication: two people whose luggage has been checked in, are not on board. And for safety reason they have to remove the luggage. One would think that it is easy to identigy the luggage - they all have tags on them. But now, all passengers have to leave the plane, identify their luggage on the tarmac, and then return again. In the end, two suitcases remain left over. There is always something interesting happening wiht Cyprus Airways...
The plane leaves with more than one hour delay. Stop in Paphos where most passengers in the front rows join this flight. Then takeoff towards Manchester.
The plane arrives 50 minutes late, at 21:50. Long line at the immigration control. My luggage is there ok. Missed the 22:22 train, so I take the next one an hour later. That train for some reason takes longer than the otehr trains during the day: 20 minutes more. It drives a strange route: instead of turning at Manchester Piccadilly Station, it continues further West until Salford Crescent, then returns from there into the opposite direction, hereby also passing Manchester Victoria Station. At 1:00 I arrive in Leeds.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Stuck in Paphos
Serves me right.
Why did I choose to fly with a stop-over in Paphos? First, they told us to remain seated in the plane after the landing, until in 45 min the flight would continue to Larnaca. But then, after 20 min, they found a technical problem. Already the initial announcement in Greek had quite often the word "problema" in it... So I guessed that there would be such.
Now it is already 23:30 local time, and I should have been in Larnaca 1/2 hour ago. This will be a short night... And in the morning at 9am I will give the first lecture in the seminar...
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Why did I choose to fly with a stop-over in Paphos? First, they told us to remain seated in the plane after the landing, until in 45 min the flight would continue to Larnaca. But then, after 20 min, they found a technical problem. Already the initial announcement in Greek had quite often the word "problema" in it... So I guessed that there would be such.
Now it is already 23:30 local time, and I should have been in Larnaca 1/2 hour ago. This will be a short night... And in the morning at 9am I will give the first lecture in the seminar...
To view the terms under which this email is distributed, please go to http://disclaimer.leedsmet.ac.uk/email.htm
Cyprus Airways
In contrast to all those El-Cheapo airlines, Cyprus Airways is a "proper" airline, where the price includes everything: luggage, a decent meal, aq movie, and as much beer as one likes. A recent booking at Jet2.com (just to show an example) resulted in a low initial fare quote, but then a series of surcharges were added on: a sudden jump in the base price occured for no explicable reason, each piece of luggage costs, a seat reservation costs, extra legroom costs... Quite annoying. And then in the plane each drink needs to be paid, food is available for purchase only.
The fare with Cyprus Airways from MAN to Larnaca was just under £300, similar to what the final price with a low cost airline would have been.
When will airline catering providers finally invent some food items that are "flight-compatible"? For example, a coffee milk container that does not appear to burst when being opened. Or a type of light food which is compatible with the sitting for a few hours.
They say that one should not drink alcohol on flights because it dehydrates. I never had made this experience: one simply has to drink a lot of it to compensate the dehydration. :)
The flight left one hour late from MAN. As a am writing this, I am siting in the plane, just having finished my meal, and preparing for a work session. I need to prepare for tomorrow's seminar...
Since there is no way of live upload now, this post will be uploaded later in the hotel.
To view the terms under which this email is distributed, please go to http://disclaimer.leedsmet.ac.uk/email.htm
The fare with Cyprus Airways from MAN to Larnaca was just under £300, similar to what the final price with a low cost airline would have been.
When will airline catering providers finally invent some food items that are "flight-compatible"? For example, a coffee milk container that does not appear to burst when being opened. Or a type of light food which is compatible with the sitting for a few hours.
They say that one should not drink alcohol on flights because it dehydrates. I never had made this experience: one simply has to drink a lot of it to compensate the dehydration. :)
The flight left one hour late from MAN. As a am writing this, I am siting in the plane, just having finished my meal, and preparing for a work session. I need to prepare for tomorrow's seminar...
Since there is no way of live upload now, this post will be uploaded later in the hotel.
To view the terms under which this email is distributed, please go to http://disclaimer.leedsmet.ac.uk/email.htm
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