starrymarkb
Established Member
I'm afraid this TR is going to lack pictures as my camera went missing over the weekend.
As usual I spend the Pentecost weekend in the East German city of Leipzig, a city famous for Wagner & Bach for a cultural event.
Just like my last trip my journey began at Exeter Bus Station with the 8:30 501 to Heathrow. As usual it was a twin axle Elite. The trip was a little eventful as kids running amok forced an unplanned stop at Bridgwater while the kids were secured. Other then that it was a pretty standard NatEx run with an ontime arrival at Heathrow Central Bus station.
Leaving the bus station it was a short walk to HEx who were on strike (I'd planned to take my Oyster and use the tube but realised on the coach that I'd forgotten it!) - still I managed to time it well with about a 5 min wait for a 332 for the short transfer to T5. Check in was quick and I was quickly through security even allowing for taking New Rocks on and off. A pint and some charging later and the flight to Berlin Tegal was called from the B gates. So a ride on the transit beckoned. Rather cheekily T5B was plastered with adverts for Virgin Atlantic (yet again the Bearded one shows maturity).
The A320 (G-EUUT) looked very small sandwiched between a B777 and an A380 (the A380's tailplane is bigger then the wings of the A320
) - Took my seat at the back after evicting yet another suit from my seat (always seems to happen!)
There was a bit of a delay getting airbourne as there was a large queue at the holding point. Takeoff was the usual slow one from Heathrow (Airbii derate the engines for long runways to save fuel and wear). Freebies were Crisps and Vodka & Coke. Landing was from the West at Tegal and it seemed to take ages to get the airbridge attached. Passport control was carried out leaving the airbridge and was pretty slow, but not as slow it took the bags to come off. It took about 30 mins and there is a belt for each gate. Boarding for the return flight was was in progress by the time the bags started appearing.
I then had a long walk to the bus stop for the TXL bus into the city. The bus (Badged as Solaris) was very busy with people even standing by the front doors! The trip took about 20 mins to a temporary stop outside Berlin Hauptbahnhof. From there it was a short walk through the Hbf to the Motel One where I dropped my bags and headed back to the Hauptbahnhof for a meal at the AsiaGormet (Huge Chicken & Noodles and Beer for about £6) sat outside watching ICEs come and go.
To Be continued
As usual I spend the Pentecost weekend in the East German city of Leipzig, a city famous for Wagner & Bach for a cultural event.
Just like my last trip my journey began at Exeter Bus Station with the 8:30 501 to Heathrow. As usual it was a twin axle Elite. The trip was a little eventful as kids running amok forced an unplanned stop at Bridgwater while the kids were secured. Other then that it was a pretty standard NatEx run with an ontime arrival at Heathrow Central Bus station.
Leaving the bus station it was a short walk to HEx who were on strike (I'd planned to take my Oyster and use the tube but realised on the coach that I'd forgotten it!) - still I managed to time it well with about a 5 min wait for a 332 for the short transfer to T5. Check in was quick and I was quickly through security even allowing for taking New Rocks on and off. A pint and some charging later and the flight to Berlin Tegal was called from the B gates. So a ride on the transit beckoned. Rather cheekily T5B was plastered with adverts for Virgin Atlantic (yet again the Bearded one shows maturity).
The A320 (G-EUUT) looked very small sandwiched between a B777 and an A380 (the A380's tailplane is bigger then the wings of the A320
) - Took my seat at the back after evicting yet another suit from my seat (always seems to happen!)There was a bit of a delay getting airbourne as there was a large queue at the holding point. Takeoff was the usual slow one from Heathrow (Airbii derate the engines for long runways to save fuel and wear). Freebies were Crisps and Vodka & Coke. Landing was from the West at Tegal and it seemed to take ages to get the airbridge attached. Passport control was carried out leaving the airbridge and was pretty slow, but not as slow it took the bags to come off. It took about 30 mins and there is a belt for each gate. Boarding for the return flight was was in progress by the time the bags started appearing.
I then had a long walk to the bus stop for the TXL bus into the city. The bus (Badged as Solaris) was very busy with people even standing by the front doors! The trip took about 20 mins to a temporary stop outside Berlin Hauptbahnhof. From there it was a short walk through the Hbf to the Motel One where I dropped my bags and headed back to the Hauptbahnhof for a meal at the AsiaGormet (Huge Chicken & Noodles and Beer for about £6) sat outside watching ICEs come and go.
To Be continued
