My trip started out well enough on Saturday when I left the house at 3:00 PM. I had an hour and 45 minutes before the scheduled flight to get to the airport and check my oversize luggage.
At 4:05 PM, just as we we about to board the flight to London, the Gate announced the airplane was being put out of service for electronic ‘fly-by-wire’ control issues.
Not to worry, I boarded another 777 at 6:45 PM and taxied on and, then off, the runway. An AC Converter malfunction put airplane #2 out of service.
Call up 777 number three!
At 9:45 PM we boarded and pushed back from the gate at 10:10 PM. It is now 7 hours and ten minutes since I left the house, and we had only traveled a few feet from the gateway.
Nine hours in the air and six time zones later I touched down in London to re-book the connecting flight to Frankfurt, Germany. Two hours on the ground, two more hours in the air and one more time zone later, and easy-peasy, I land in Germany!
I caught the 7:54 PM (it’s now Sunday) high speed ICE train to Stuttgart, via Mannheim and we raced along at 241 kph to my destination. (Fare €59). A cab ride later (fee €20) and I’m here in just under 24 total hours!
Here’s a short movie clip from the train ride:
[29.3 Mb Video]
I was amazed how quiet it was. And yes, the trains did run on time.
Cheers from Germany.
The timeline above should explain my lack of recent posts.
You must be logged in to post a comment.