Friday, March 23, 2012

Two weeks to go

Well, really less than two weeks to go, but who's counting.
Airfares all taken care of, train tickets to Saxony from Brussels, my walking itinerary received from the organisers. Doesn't look too daunting, just a few ups and downs and talk of vertical ladders and not for the "faint-hearted", or people with "poor balance", but that mountains for you.
Tickets from Dresden to Munich, after the walk, and booked into the YHA in Munich, for one night at least.
Oh, and had my flu vaccination!!
So, pretty much set to go.
Not packed, in fact not given it too much thought, so I'm not set to go, who am I kidding.
At least the backpack, suitcase and footwear are ready
Well, I have at least retrieved my carry-on suitcase from the shed, but that's about all so far.
I have added some things to my pack, most notable the Australian Flag, so when I get stuck with the language, I can point to it and look dumb (dumber).
Other things happening , like the Friends of the Heysen Trail AGM-TONIGHT!!
So I guess you can say it's a work in progress.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

It is now just one month before I fly out to Brussels to start a five week journey that will lead to an ANZAC Day Dawn Service at Villers Bretonneux-what I hope to be one of the highlights of the trip.
Everything is in order NOW, though a catastrophe earlier in the week threatened to derail things, albeit briefly.
My flights, which had been arranged through my nephew, who works for Etihad, were cancelled, as a consequence of him resigning his position, to move back to Australia. Unfortunately, along with the cancellation went my really cheap Business Class seats. Bugger.
Some hurried changes and of course more money put things right.

It's all there passport, Euros (at quite an acceptable rate), E tickets, Eurail Pass, Self-guided walk in Saxony, the battlefields tour of the Western Front and the aforementioned Dawn Service, a tour of the D-Day Normandy Beach landing sites and then some time in Paris, with a leisurely week to get back to Brussels to fly home.
Much of this will be on my own, some with an organised tour, sharing with an ex-soldier, whom I have never met. His comment when I told him I was a GP was "Oh that'll be useful!" so I hope that doesn't mean he's of poor health. No doubt all will be revealed.
I have some pretty tight schedules to keep, albeit in the first few days, with hurried train trip, once off the plane at Brussels airport, to catch the train that will take me, via Frankfurt, to Dresden to start my walk in "Saxon Switzerland". All this without a word of German, null, nichts, zilch.
Danke got for iPhone Apps.