Finally on my Way!

It was a long travel day, and night! From Edmonton to Birmingham, England, (via Calgary and Frankfurt, Germany!) We arrived in Frankfurt this morning (Monday 17th) after an uneventful overnight flight from Calgary. We arrived at what we were told, as the plane taxied in, was about 9:30 am local time, however, once inside the terminal all the clocks said 10:30 am! My next flight to Birmingham, England was to start boarding at 11:10!

Although I had just gotten off a plane (so I assumed I was already “through security”), there were long hallways, fairly well-signed, although currently under construction, directing us back to a security checkpoint. As I joined the long line, I saw it was now 10:56. I pleaded with the young couple in front of me, although not very hard - they were very agreeable! - to let me scootch to the front of the line. And they did! I thanked them profusely and went through the whole security rigamarole again. The woman attendant was hesitant about the elastic knee brace I was wearing, but eventually let me proceed. I jammed everything back into my small backpack, and hurried down several hallways and an escalator before finding my gate. As I approached the desk at the gate, the woman was just picking up the microphone to announce that boarding was going to start! I know many of you seasoned travellers have probably all had close calls like that. A last minute gate change or something else… these things happen often… and they just add a little intrigue to the adventure! But they certainly raise one’s heart rate!

As I stepped on to the long accordion bus that would take us across the tarmac to our waiting plane… I was very grateful for that young couple who barely batted an eye and waved me on through in front of them. Had I waited in that long snakey line, I would have missed that flight for sure. It was less than a two-hour flight from Frankfurt to Birmingham, (and we went back an hour in time!).

When I arrived in Birmingham, on this beautiful sunny warm day, I checked in to the small, but very central hotel I had booked, and went out to do some errands. I needed to find a place to change some paper pound notes I had, to the new polymer-type bills that they now have here. Similar to what we use in Canada. (Merchants and services no longer accept the paper bills as of Sept 30, as they try and phase them out.) Apparently the Post Office will do that for you, particularly when you are a tourist and don’t have a bank account here. So I found a major Post Office, and got that done. The gentleman was very nice, and actually went above and beyond for me. I then went to the biggest train station here in Birmingham - which is very close to my little hotel (I booked this one on purpose!) and spoke to another very nice fellow who was very patient and funny, and chatty too. We even talked about the Queen for a moment, and her recent demise. I bought a train ticket for tomorrow to start making my way down to a little town called Chipping Campden, where the Cotswold Way path starts. I have to change trains (or to a bus), at Stratford-upon-Avon… and am looking forward to taking a look around that very famous and historical place while I’m there.

My fatigue is catching up with me! I got here this morning and feel like I hit the ground running! I’m really pleased with all that I accomplished. I took a few pictures of Victoria Square, with an old fashioned carousel in the middle of it, although it wasn’t going today. There is also a very large statue of Queen Victoria in the middle of the square. On the way back to the hotel, I stopped at a grocery store to buy a few things for dinner and breakfast.

Tomorrow will be another travel day… but I’m sure a more relaxing one than today!