TRAVEL PREPARATIONS

I’m so excited! After more than two years I will be A) travelling again, B) in an airplane and C) to one of my most favourite countries. I can’t believe, I haven’t flown anywhere for 5 long years. And I’m so looking forward to it. (Despite the horrible mask wearing issue!) Why? I just love it! I love to be at the airport early, have my usual Starbucks coffee and start my travel diary (old-fashionedly handwritten) before checking in and wandering around, through security check and browse the shops and magazines. Reading, texting friends or even doing some writing while waiting for my flight to be called.

Why I didn’t fly anywhere the past five years? Because my ex and I went everywhere by car. And our vacations took us to either England, the Netherlands or Austria (with a little Italy thrown in).After that Covid hit us, with me not going anywhere in 2020, happy to at least go home to Austria in 2021.

But now I’m back! Starting my travel year with a trip to Bristol, England. I guess it will take me longer to get there by plane as if I had actually decided to drive. Especially the return trip will be an ordeal. Flying from Bristol to Amsterdam, having to spend 6 hours at the airport for my flight back to Düsseldorf. Just because my connecting flight has been cancelled. Oh well, I will do what I always do. Move from one coffee shop to another, with my reading material and MacBook. Maybe do some airport shopping. There are worse locations to spend one’s waiting time.

Anyway, I’m not telling you yet, why I’m going to Bristol – instead of my darling London. I have to keep the suspense going (even though I might have mentioned the reason for my travelling to Bristol in one of my posts already). 

Apart from my real reason for going there, Bristol will be a treasure trove for the engineer in me. With Brunel and his influence everywhere you go. So, of course there will be some sightseeing. And of course, there will be some shopping too. And stupid me will be lugging some English books with me to donate to Oxfam or any other charity that comes across my way. Because, let’s just face it, Germany is not exactly the ideal place to get rid of English books (as in donating them) without fearing they would just be thrown away. And one just does not throw away books. (With the one exception: mouldy smelling books. The mould would jump to my other books and I just can’t have that!) AND I too love to browse books at charity shops and have come across the one or other in mint condition at a bargain.

The organizer in me has already looked up the most important addresses, checked the routes from my hotel to wherever I want to go, inquired regarding bus schedule from the airport to Bristol and back, I even got a brand new mini fold-out map, made notes on what to wear when, what to pack and what I absolutely have to buy back in England. (Not to mention having a printed version of my “yet-to-buy-booklist”. Sometimes it’s hard to track which books I already have and which I still want from my favourite authors!)

So, I’m absolutely ready to go! And in a few days I will. England, here I come!

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