Tooner & Dr Tooner head off to Europe

[Tooner]

Monday was a travel day. We needed to be at Gare du Nord for a midday departure for Brussels. That gave us plenty of time to visit Luxembourg gardens again, this time with Dr Tooner in tow! I went for a run reasonably early and thoroughly enjoyed the run around. One of the featurs of the gardens at the moment is the displays and photographs about WW1. The Gardens are surrounded by photographs of trenches, artefacts and mouldering equipment which are fascinating. There is also a map you can walk over to see how close the Germans got to overrunning Paris.

I also got to see how they move large palms around the gardens!

We had a quick breakfast and this time Dr Tooner headed up to the gardens with me. He took his camera this time, as he wanted to take photos of the places his Aunt had painted when she lived in Paris. In 5 mins flat we had all the paintings covered! Clearly she didn't get too far into the gardens when she went painting.

Interesting too, Dr Tooner took a photo of the palace with the ever present Tour Montparnasse sticking its nose into it!

Overall, our impression of the HI Notre Dame was pretty good. In all, our stay cost us EUR10 in addition to the prepaid room. With the free drink, breakfast and mini-bar, it was a good deal. Status was definitely recognised, too!

After a slightly nervous wait for a taxi for the station (traffic is bad and we need to keep onto the taxi company to get them to come), pretty soon we were on our way and, despite the traffic, very quickly at Gare do Nord. Getting to the Thalys platform is very easy from the main entrance, and there is of course none of the palaver with checking in as there is for Eurostar. 5mins after getting to the station, we were on the train and waiting to go.

I've not experienced Thalys before, and it was interesting as the train we were on was heading to Essen, so announcements were in French, German and English. As this was only a 90min journey, the lunch service was commensurate with an airline! Get em out quick, run around with coffee and then collect them all just before Brussels. Having said that the food wasn't too bad, and the little bottle of wine was tasty too.

One thing that wasn't good was the offer to arrange a taxi at the other end. I did fill in the form, but at the back of my mind I did wonder if it was worth it. My memory of where the hotel was suggested the fare should be easy, and I hadn't previously found it difficult to get a cab from a station in Belgium. Nevertheless, we duly headed to the information point as directed by the Thalys staff and, together with an English couple waited.... and waited...and then waited some more. Then we gave up, headed outside and picked up a taxi from the rank. To top it off, the Thalys organised cab was EUR24 flat, whereas our driver charged EUR15 flat (which was backed up 2 days later when we headed back to Midi for the Eurostar): a saving of EUR9! My advice: don't book a taxi in Brussels using the Thalys people unless it is for somewhere a fair way from Midi!

After we were dropped at the hotel, the Amigo staff swung into gear. We were on an AMEX fine hotels package and all the trimmings were included! Breakfast, internet, a EUR85 credit etc etc were thrown in. The only blemish on the fine service was the beds weren't set up correctly, and part way through fixing this up the lights all went off as the hotel lost power! After we both went for a walk around the old part of town (the hotel is literally next to the Grand Place) past 50,000 chocolate shops, we went to the square for dinner. Moules and Frites for Dr Tooner, and flemish stew for me washed down by Duvel. Nice.

While not too strenuous, I'm learning that Dr Tooner needs to take his time and have lots of rests. Tomorrow is the big drive!

 

[RooFlyer]

Only just caught up. Enjoying the TR very much, thanks

 

[Tooner]

On Tuesday we headed out to Germany via Netherlands to visit my uncle's grave and hopefully the place where he was initially buried. We didn't exactly start early, but Dr Tooner went for a quick walk around the square while I got ready and we had breakfast at the hotel. The free breakfast is the buffet, while a la carte items are charged to the room. To be honest, the buffet had a good range of options including eggs, bacon, mushrooms etc so unless you really hate scrambled egg there wasn't a need to order from the menu.


After breakfast, we headed off down the hill to the Tram/Metro station. We were getting on at Bourse where it travels underground to Gare Du Midi. After a short stroll through the terminal (we'll be back here tomorrow) we got to the Hertz desk and collected the car. I'm not sure if it was an upgrade, but the Ford Focus (or similar) in the booking turned into a Volvo V40. It has an in built GPS, so I was not going to drain my iPhone using Google Maps! (Or so I thought). I tried my best to familiarise myself with the GPS and tapped in what I thought was the address (don't be silly - not that simple!). One false turn getting out of Brussel, but that was quickly corrected and we were shooting down the motorways. It is quite pleasant being able to legally travel at 130kmh (in Netherlands and Germany), but you need to as it is a long drive (240km)


After quite a while, our GPS lady directed us to a suburb of Kleve, but not the cemetary. Oh no! The name we put in the GPS was not the cemetary. After turning around, we parked and tried to get a signal on my phone to get the address to plug in the GPS. Eventually we got it, and headed off. We discovered a pristine and very clear sign, in English, directing us LEFT where we had turned RIGHT. Oh well. After a short while we got there, parked and headed over.


We were quickly able to find the graves of my uncle and the rest of his crew. All except one of them was RAAF (one from the RAF) and, I was told, the Bomb Aimer survived the explosion and escaped back to England.


The photos of this very beautiful place don't really do it justice:






After wandering for a while, and leaving a note in the visitors book, we decided to try to get to Zwelbrock where the plane crashed and the crew were initially buried. A small trip this one - 60km!


After more German and Dutch motorways, and some smaller roads crowded with cyclists, we arrived at Zwelbrock (just inside Germany). There is a beautiful catholic chuch and graveyard:


We met a friendly Dutchman named Jaap who told us the area was best known for the Flamingos that come to the lake every summer. Clearly a crashing Lancaster doesn't make it anymore!


After that, we headed back the 240km to Brussels. Initially we had a lot of trouble locating the Hertz depot, but finally, after just scanning the map, we found it and locked it in.


With one pit stop at a BP, where we spent a penny, or rather, 50c which gave us a voucher for 50c off a purchase, we eventually arrived back in Brussel around 7pm. Unfortunately, the traffic was pretty dour, and I was starting to find the instructions difficult to follow. We ended up "going around" after I missed a turn, but eventually we dropped the car, headed back to the Metro, walked up the hill and went to dinner in the Italian restaurant at the hotel in an effort to wipe out our Eur85 credit for food and drinks. A nice dinner and nice way to end a big, but rewarding day.

 

[Tooner]

Today we caught the Eurostar to London. A slow start; I went for a run, and after breakfast we headed out to do some shopping. We ended up at Elisabeth just off the Grand Place and picked up some very nice Belgian chocolates. Dr Tooner bought scarves from the souvenir shop (I can't tell you which one, but then there are 1000 or more!


Some interesting things as I wandered around:


Those pot-plants are taller than me!


Tin Tin is everywhere!


The famous fountain, surrounded by camera wielders.




Around midday we checked out of the hotel before heading to the Eurostar terminal. The staff were very helpful and organised a taxi for us, though I was a little concerned it took about 15 mins to turn up. Eurostar requires passport, security etc after checking in, and we were at the point of cutting it fine.


I was impressed with most things at Hotel Amigo, despite the slightly rocky start with the beds and electricity. One thing that was woeful was the WiFi. My work laptop worked fine, but the i-ware struggled anywhere in the room. Most times I was forced to sit on the floor near the door to get any reception at all. While the staff were apologetic, I'm wondering if they've got the right equipment for an old building and some extenders might be needed.


Eventually the taxi arrived and we headed to Midi. We checked in, did passports for France (the train stops in Lille and Calais) and then for UK. Chatting to the UK Border Officer, each of them is there, in the booth for around 2 weeks at a time (not 24 hours obviously), and the officer we were processed by was heading to Paris after Brussels. We agreed the Paris booth has a little more light and space compared to the Brussels booth! After an eternity getting through the security screening we were on our way up to the train.


Eurostar is quite plush compared to Thalys and the service was a little more than the brusque LCC style service on Thalys. We had a choice of main (Shrimp and Potato salad or cheese with vegetables), bread was offered more than once, and there were more people serving, but it is still a bit production line. While we did notice we had entered the tunnel, as usual I zoned out and before we knew it we were out the other side. It wasn't too much longer we were in London, in a cab and then at our friend's in Islington. The afternoon was quite relaxed, and then we went out for a lovely dinner with our friends at the Canonbury Pub; it was lovely to be sitting outside in the evening sun. Especially as it is freezing at home, although our friends are heading to Australia tomorrow and will be landing in Melbourne on the Saturday it is expected to snow!


A quiet day, with no kms driven by me at all!

 

[Tooner]

The next 2 days were work for me, and Dr Tooner was free to roam London. Given his previous form in Paris, I figured he wouldn't get up to much, but he did use his Oyster card to get to the City and visit the St John's museum.


Otherwise not much to report except seeing Julius Caesar at the Globe. We were due at 7:30 and at 7pm we were trying to work out where to have dinner. I remembered having a good, quick dinner at Leon at Southwark and the restaurant was still there. Fortunately it wasn't too busy (every other place which looked anything like a pub was packed to the gunnels due to the warm weather), and we managed a dinner of shared bowls in 15 minutes flat!


The Globe was amazing and the play fantastic. I particularly liked how the audience in the yard were incorporated into the crowd scenes by strategically placing objects and players amongst the audience. You're not allowed to take photos during the play but thought I'd take one of the view after the play finished.



The only downside was the captions were behind a pilllar and there are a lot of stairs to get to our seats. We survived and a short cab-ride later Dr Tooner was fast asleep!


Friday was also quiet for Dr Tooner, though he managed to find a place to get his hair cut! Dinner at home that night as we are off to Plymouth tomorrow!

 

[Tooner]

Apologies for the rapid fire updates. I wrote these on the plane in an attempt to catch up. I'll almost be up-to-date when we get home!

 

[Major]

For those wanting details of War Graves, this is a good place to start

War Grave and Memorial Photographs supplied by The War Graves Photographic Project

 

[Tooner]

For those wanting details of War Graves, this is a good place to start

War Grave and Memorial Photographs supplied by The War Graves Photographic Project

If you are visiting the graves or want to find where your relatives are, this is a great place to start. There are also details and maps of the cemeteries here: CWGC - Homepage

There is also a book (in a brass door cabinet) in the cemetery that details the story and where all the graves are. The Reichswald cemetery mostly has airmen from the 1944 bombing campaign and soldiers from the push into Germany. While Kleve is starting to move closer to the cemetery, it is still in the middle of the forest and very well maintained.

 

[Tooner]

I'll try and finish off in a few posts. There is a bit to talk about, but it won't take long.

On the weekend we headed to Plymouth to spend some time with my Aunt / Dr Tooner's sister. She has a packed schedule of relly visits lined up for us which should be nice. At least the pace will be slow, what with Dr Tooner's hip and her walking frame!

We got up reasonably early on the Saturday morning in order to catch a 9:06 train out of Paddington. I've caught a train to Plymouth on each of my visits over the last few years, so it is getting to be second nature. I did decide, however, to do something different: rather than walk out to Liverpool Road and hail a cab (didn't work too well on Thursday when heading to the Globe), I decided to Uber it. There were a few Black Uber's (and many UberXs) around, and within a few minutes a well appointed Merc pulled up outside and we pile in. The trip was quite quick given the relative lack of traffic and I soon got an email telling me the trip from Islington to Paddington had cost all of GBP17. Not bad at all!

I picked up our tickets and had a quick wander around and discovered the 1st Class loune was open. Good news: I thought it wasn't open on Saturdays! WE headed in and relaxed until the platform was announced. unfortunately, our train was leaving from Platform 8, rather than the more usual 1 or 2!

We headed to our train and settled into the seats. Before long we were off.

This trip is a bit planes, trains and automobiles and I was able to critically assess the FirstGreatWestern 1st class service against the Thalys and Eurostar. Overall: Poor! As I noted I've used this service over a number of years and the standard of interiors etc has not changed and the service has gone downhill. The buffet was a tiny express buffet for the whole train. Free water, tea and bikkies for 1st class passengers is pretty poor compared to Thalys (which should be broadly comparable) and the service non-existent.

We were, of course, late into Plymouth, and my Aunst was waiting for us. Over the next day we dined at River Cottage Canteen and Diner (great value) and lunched at Royal Western Yacht Club (Sunday carvery: special!) and then I was back ona train to London. I don't know whether it was a complete surprise to FGW, but the train was full and ran out of food 3/4 into the journey. Net result: I landed at Paddington at 9:30pm hungry!

Over the next few days I was at work and met up with Dr Tooner (he stayed in Plymouth for an extra 2 days), and then we went shopping on our last day in London (the Wednesday).

Next, the trip back to home!

 

[Tooner]

The trip home started very early on the Thursday morning.

Etihad Chauffeur had called on Wednesday and I had missed the call. Our flight was at 9:15am, and the pick-up from Islington was to be 5:15. Contrast this to Sydney where the 2:50pm flight had a 1pm pick-up! I did think about suggesting a later time, as Mr Google suggested only 45 mins to Heathrow, but I decided to live with it: it would give us more time in the Lounge!

Despite the early pick-up we had enough time to organise things and at least leave the house in some sort of order. With the brand new wheelie we now had 7 pieces of luggage: three check-in and 4 cabin bound. I was hoping I wouldn't have to wheel it too much. After a very quick journey to Heathrow to Terminal 4 (haven't used it for years!) we were met at the drop-off point by Porter and guide. A massive contrast to Sydney where we were left at the kerbside to fend for ourselves! Our guide walked us into the terminal and straight to the counter to check-in. We said bye-be to the cases and, with our guide, headed to the express lane for security. This took a while; Dr Tooner had bought my mother a watch which was gift-wrapped and couldn't be scanned so had to be unpacked (he had also failed to pack liquids in the plastic bag I gave him, but anyway!). Eventually we were on our way and straight to the lounge, which is where the Concorde Lounge used to be when it was the BA terminal. We got there around 6:30am, so had plenty of time to call home on Skype (it was Mrs Dr Tooner's birthday), have some breakfast in the restaurant section and also a shoulder massage (well worth booking!) Service was very attentive and the food delicious. If you crave bacon, however, this is not the place for you unless you are able to accept Turkey Bacon as a substitute (not my cup of tea, though). After a pleasant time trying to get my work email to work (epic fail), our flight was called in the usual Etihad manner; One of the Lounge Angels comes around to personally let you know. Dr Tooner had wandered off to go gift-buying and was nowhere to be seen, so eventually I headed off with 4 cases in search of him. He wasn't far away, purchasing tacky gifts for grandchildren!

After a brisk walk and provision of passports etc, we were on board. This flight was in a 777-300 rather than A340 for both legs, first to Abu Dhabi and then on to Sydney. While the suites in First are pretty much the same and we were used to the mini-bar and coat cupboard etc, but the smaller cabin (4 fewer seats in F) had a different layout for galley and toilets. While the A340 has the main F toilet on the RHS, meaning the passengers on the LHS have to walk through the galley, on the 777 the main toilet is behind the bulkhead in front of Row 1 and the galley is avoided. A much better arrangement in my view. Another aspect which is pleasing is the lack of overhead compartments. All luggage is designed to go under the mini seat at the other end of the suite. That means the roof can be lit with little stars (I have a photo I'll post later).

It turns out we were the only passengers in F for this leg, so the Chef and 2 FAs were literally begging us to have something to eat! We did relent and have some lunch, and in my case I accepted the Chef's recommendation to have rack of lamb, which was sensational! Coupled with some fine French wine it was a lovely lunch.

This would otherwise have been a quiet and quick sector to Abu Dhabi, but things got interesting (in a not good way) when the announcement was made: "Is there a doctor or other medical staff on board to deal with a medical emergency?". Given Dr Tooner really is a doctor and had his cards with him, we mentioned this to the FA. Fortunately there was a Doctor in another cabin who was assisting, but the crew now had something to do! As one of them said, they train for these sort of situations and they were keen to put the training to use. Unfortunately things did not turn out well. Not long after, with apologies, the in-flight entertainment system was shut down, presumably to devote all power to the defibrillator. After a while the IFE was restored and we heard that the poor man had died. What they did with him we don't know, but when we landed in Abu-Dhabi, paramedics, doctors and police were on board and interviewing a young family who clearly had been travelling with the dead man. Very hard on them, and they looked very pale and worn-out.

After that excitement, a slightly shorter walk to the interim security check and then into the First lounge, again!

 

[Tooner]

Some photos from the first leg

 

[Princess Fiona]

The trip home started very early on the Thursday morning.

Etihad Chauffeur had called on Wednesday and I had missed the call. Our flight was at 9:15am, and the pick-up from Islington was to be 5:15. Contrast this to Sydney where the 2:50pm flight had a 1pm pick-up! I did think about suggesting a later time, as Mr Google suggested only 45 mins to Heathrow, but I decided to live with it: it would give us more time in the Lounge!

Despite the early pick-up we had enough time to organise things and at least leave the house in some sort of order. With the brand new wheelie we now had 7 pieces of luggage: three check-in and 4 cabin bound. I was hoping I wouldn't have to wheel it too much. After a very quick journey to Heathrow to Terminal 4 (haven't used it for years!) we were met at the drop-off point by Porter and guide. A massive contrast to Sydney where we were left at the kerbside to fend for ourselves! Our guide walked us into the terminal and straight to the counter to check-in. We said bye-be to the cases and, with our guide, headed to the express lane for security. This took a while; Dr Tooner had bought my mother a watch which was gift-wrapped and couldn't be scanned so had to be unpacked (he had also failed to pack liquids in the plastic bag I gave him, but anyway!). Eventually we were on our way and straight to the lounge, which is where the Concorde Lounge used to be when it was the BA terminal. We got there around 6:30am, so had plenty of time to call home on Skype (it was Mrs Dr Tooner's birthday), have some breakfast in the restaurant section and also a shoulder massage (well worth booking!) Service was very attentive and the food delicious. If you crave bacon, however, this is not the place for you unless you are able to accept Turkey Bacon as a substitute (not my cup of tea, though). After a pleasant time trying to get my work email to work (epic fail), our flight was called in the usual Etihad manner; One of the Lounge Angels comes around to personally let you know. Dr Tooner had wandered off to go gift-buying and was nowhere to be seen, so eventually I headed off with 4 cases in search of him. He wasn't far away, purchasing tacky gifts for grandchildren!

After a brisk walk and provision of passports etc, we were on board. This flight was in a 777-300 rather than A340 for both legs, first to Abu Dhabi and then on to Sydney. While the suites in First are pretty much the same and we were used to the mini-bar and coat cupboard etc, but the smaller cabin (4 fewer seats in F) had a different layout for galley and toilets. While the A340 has the main F toilet on the RHS, meaning the passengers on the LHS have to walk through the galley, on the 777 the main toilet is behind the bulkhead in front of Row 1 and the galley is avoided. A much better arrangement in my view. Another aspect which is pleasing is the lack of overhead compartments. All luggage is designed to go under the mini seat at the other end of the suite. That means the roof can be lit with little stars (I have a photo I'll post later).

It turns out we were the only passengers in F for this leg, so the Chef and 2 FAs were literally begging us to have something to eat! We did relent and have some lunch, and in my case I accepted the Chef's recommendation to have rack of lamb, which was sensational! Coupled with some fine French wine it was a lovely lunch.

This would otherwise have been a quiet and quick sector to Abu Dhabi, but things got interesting (in a not good way) when the announcement was made: "Is there a doctor or other medical staff on board to deal with a medical emergency?". Given Dr Tooner really is a doctor and had his cards with him, we mentioned this to the FA. Fortunately there was a Doctor in another cabin who was assisting, but the crew now had something to do! As one of them said, they train for these sort of situations and they were keen to put the training to use. Unfortunately things did not turn out well. Not long after, with apologies, the in-flight entertainment system was shut down, presumably to devote all power to the defibrillator. After a while the IFE was restored and we heard that the poor man had died. What they did with him we don't know, but when we landed in Abu-Dhabi, paramedics, doctors and police were on board and interviewing a young family who clearly had been travelling with the dead man. Very hard on them, and they looked very pale and worn-out.

After that excitement, a slightly shorter walk to the interim security check and then into the First lounge, again!

Very sad for the family, and a difficult flight for the crew. It's one of the calls I always dread hearing on long haul flights but good on Dr Tooner for offering to assist.

 

[Tooner]

The final leg from Abu Dhabi was the long one!

After a pleasant stay at the F Lounge at Abu Dhabi and some duty free shopping for me (making sure Mrs Dr Tooner's present was among them) and some very nice satay we were ready to board. The gates for flights to Australia are at least clse to the lounge, but also suffer from the need for secondary screening and liquids etc. Fortunately I had popped the 100ml of liquids I bought in the see-through bag (and Dr Tooner was sorted out this time!), so it didn't take too long.

On board, we were personally escorted to our suite (as we were for each boarding) and promptly placed our things in all the usual places. The flight seemed quite full and all suites were occupied. I did notice a couple in the A suites who probably would have rathered the middle pair, but being in the middle with the privacy screen down enabled me to ensure Dr Tooner did at least have a chance to respond to questions and people speaking to him (he is rather deaf, and even with a hearing aid, noisy environments are pretty difficult). Sorry about that, but we were offered the seats in LHR!

By my reckoning, we needed to get some sleep early in the flight and then be awake for the last 7 hours at least. Well, for me at least! I'd worked out that Dr Tooner was happy to sleep whenever and it didn't seem to prevent him from sleeping once off the plane.

So, we told the FAs we were going to sleep and then wake up a little later. As we'd eaten in the lounge we'd pretty much get straight to sleep after take-off. I noticed some others had already changed into the comfy pjs, so a few others had the same idea. After watching the take-off from the nose-cam (love that feature), I got changed and hit the hay. Dr Tooner (who didn't get into his pjs once on any flight) just went to sleep. I found myself setting an alarm (!) to wake up in 6 hours to ensure I didn't overdo it, and fell in to probably my deepest sleep of either flight. I guess I was used to the arrangements!

I particularly liked the lighting in the cabin - the little stars are pretty (photo to be uploaded later - can't do it on the computer).

After my alarm went off (and actually woke me up), I started watching a movie and a little while after the chef appeared to see if I wanted anything. Well,..... How about a steak sandwich? No problem! Let me just say, it is worth it! And the chips are dinky too. I tried not to think about the turkey bacon, though!

Later, after Dr Tooner woke up, I thought I'd have something else, and had a omelette. Again, well worth it, and a proper one out of the fry-pan and all. Around this time I was cruising through the entertainment and, having exhausted the episodes of Veep, watched every episode of a lame British spy comedy with some faintly familiar actors in it. Before long, we were coming into Sydney and had landed! Although there is a little fuss about coming into land, in general it all passes F by! Sure you have to ensure everything is battened down and seat upright, but I generally watched TV or the nose-cam right to the gate.

After landing, we disembarked via the second door (a strange arrangement, as it means J disembarks before F), and wandered through the duty free plains to the smartgate. Both Dr Tooner and I had e-passports, so I helped Dr Tooner to get his ticket. Unfortunately, he couldn't quite get the hang of it and needed some help at the gate! Nevertheless, we got through and after a few minutes wait, all cases were out, and we headed to the express lane and straight out to find out Etihad Chauffeur team waiting. Within half an hour of landing, we were in a car and heading the 20 mins down the road to my sister's place and home!

Next, a few final thoughts on Etihad and their F cabin and service!

 

[Tooner]

Photos from final legNovelty camel

Twinkly stars in the roof!