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Articles Tagged ‘Switzerland’

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“Punctuality is Our Aim”

Wednesday, December 28th, 2005

22 Dec – 24 Dec, 2005

“Punctuality is Our Aim”. So, the signage says every way you turn when near Iberia check in counters. They’re missing, big time! We were late by over an hour, from Amsterdam to Madrid. We were late from Madrid to Fuerteventura. On this return leg, the plane was an hour late from Teneriffe to Madrid, meaning we missed our connection to Frankfurt (one of their flights left on time!!!, or maybe not too late, in any case). We missed that one by minutes. And even more annoying, was the strike at Madrid airport meant that after landing we had to sit for 15 minutes on the plane before being allowed to disembark.

So, Iberia managed to get us on another flight. We should make the connection in Frankfurt. Iberia plane arrives at Madrid and at the gate on time! Looking good! Iberia plane leaves Madrid 20 minutes late. Should still have time. We land30 minutes late. Should still be fine. Qantas plane is only parked two or three jetways down. We’ll make it. Qantas flight to Singapore closes 10 minutes before departure time. We miss it by a minute or so. We shout expletives at imaginary Iberia people who are not there to hear us…

24 hours in Frankfurt, at a cushy hotel, courtesy of the airline. Worst part is, though, we will not reach Perth until Christmas morning, now.

Berlin

Thursday, November 24th, 2005

20 Nov – 24 Nov, 2005

What an amazing city Berlin is. Third time here, and we could still entertain ourselves so easily, with dozens of things left for another time. Some were new sites, some were things we have not got around to in previous visits, and some were things that we could not help but see again.

Highlight sites for this time round: controversial, yet amazingly powerful, recently opened Holocaust Memorial; fantastic exhibition at the Guggenheim; the glass addition atop the revamped Reichstag; Russian war memorial at Treptower park; the Berlin Wall Documentation Centre.

We stayed with Sonja, a friend we met in Argentina. And we also managed to catch up with Sharon, a friend from church from Melbourne, currently in her third year living in Berlin.

Holocaust Memorial, Berlin
Holocaust Memorial

Reichstag, Berlin
Reichstag

Beer and coffee with Sharon
Coffee and familiar looking beer, with Sharon

Turjikistan tea house, Berlin
At the Turjikistan Tea House, with Sonja

So, Piggy went to Zurich…

Friday, November 11th, 2005
10 Nov - 11 Nov, 2005 Like Ziggy, the Piggies went to Zurich. Second fondue. Rene style. Although, he promised us fondue 6 years ago and then fled the country (actually fled the continent) when we threatened to turn up ... [Continue reading this entry]

Fondue has rules?!

Thursday, November 10th, 2005
5 Nov - 10 Nov, 2005 Do you know that fondue has rules? They are very secret, and are only revealed to new fonduers as they break the rules. Penalties can be quite steep - dropping your bread in ... [Continue reading this entry]

“Would Richard and Joanne deMeester from Australia please come to the information desk”

Saturday, October 29th, 2005
28 Oct - 29 Oct, 2005 "Would Richard and Joanne deMeester from Australia please come to the information desk". How embarrassing. No, the Munich welcome committee was not wanting to present us with a welcome pack. Rather we ... [Continue reading this entry]

It’s Istria

Monday, October 17th, 2005
15 Oct - 17 Oct, 2005 Our return to Istria was prompted by the weather. In 2002, we did the "sights" of Istria, Porec, Pula, and Rovinj. But, oh how it rained back then. The marvellous sunny week ... [Continue reading this entry]

And just when you thought the rain was going to lift…

Saturday, October 8th, 2005
8 Oct, 2005 We did some internet, today. The photo sums it up... Trogir