Almost Christmas

Almost Christmas

We have had a wonderful time last weekend at our friends D&D in England. I could tell you everything here myself - but D has pretty much summed it up on his blog… Naw - can’t do that - have to write it myself here.

The flight to and from the UK was nice - thanks to a new thing you can now buy with your EasyJet flights called “speedy boarding” with a little extra you get to board the plane first - along with the handicapped or the little ones, but it sure make Jens and me sit on our most beloved Exit Row Seats, or as the handsome flight attendant on EasyJet called them : “would you like to sit on of our Business Class Seats” - the more legroom seats.

In both directions to and from Gatwick this work really well - for Berlin this means we really only have to be at the airport like an hour before the scheduled take off in London this only gets you in front of everyone else - thanks to high security measurements in the UK and very unfriendly airport ladies - but we will get there later.

D&D were the perfect hosts (again) and we really really enjoy our time with them. Sadly we never get to host them in our home in Berlin due to one of the D’s cat allergies - and we would not want to send Kitti and Dolly away for the weekend - anyway they usually spend their time in Berlin at the Kudamm101 - the hotel that Jens and I had our wedding party.

Well we got to London Thursday, D made a fabulous English breakfast with bacon, and scrambled eggs, tomatoes and all - very yummy. We took the train into town - yes D&D don’t like that close to London - but they are so close to the airport - so it does not really matter and within sixty minutes you usually get into London anyway! Jens and I went separate ways due to the fact that I did not really want to see the Rosetta Stone and also because for the first time in eight years I wanted to see what our London office looks like, so I paid my colleagues from London a visit. Nice people - and finally a face to all the staff that usually call me up with questions, remarks or problems. The place however looked like it could need some new paint, maybe even a new office? Afterwards I met up with our friend D ( oh I know - so many friends with D ) - well this D used to work with me in Berlin until she got fired and has been working in Dusseldorf ever since - well she now works in London and I met up with her at her office - nice place - I guess they have more money than my company - nice building, all new with a gym and a nice coffee place and cafeteria. Well we met up with a friend of hers and walked to Soho - oh we were walking for miles, well for about an hour really - but it was fun. We went to dinner on Old Compton Street and most of us ( we met up with another friend of D&D’s B ) and my friend D’s friend R spent a wonderful evening there. My choice of food was not the best, as I was unable to eat all of my dinner, due to the fact that it was so spicy that I just could not finish it. I was so happy that my friend D and I had purchased some French bread just before so that I could nibble away on my baguette on my way home.

Friday was basically a nice day with the hiatus being the visit to Avenue Q - whenever I told anyone about the show ( basically actors, with puppets on their arm singing and dancing ) people went like “oh how nice” giving me the impression that they really thought it was a weird thing to do and that it could not be any fun - well let me tell you - this show is so funny. You laugh a lot, it is really a fun show to watch, the only thing that made us go “hmh” was the fact that the average age in the audience was maybe 25… The show was great - we have the tunes - and we even got a CD the next day by one of the case members of avenue Q but that would be for the next paragraph.

Saturday on the D’s went to see a Soccer Match and the three of us basically has a late start, went into town to do some walking and shopping and meeting up old friends of JENS: M&M&C
We walked through London - bought some CDs some DVDs and spend some money for our March trip to the UK - when J and I are off to see Dolly Parton in concert. So happy that we have opted to fly to London on the Saturday before the concert, because that way we were able to buy tickets for another show in March, the Gondoliers… A Gilbert and Sullivan Masterpiece - one of Jens’s favorites - and since we were in a jolly mood we opted that one of the upper XXX was only good enough - and of course they still had the tickets. I am sure JENS is very happy and I will just see how much I like it! After the tickets we shopped a little more ( bought the CD I mentioned in the Friday section ) and met up with M&M&C for lunch. Very nice actually - JENS knows M since his civil duty times in Israel back in 1982 - they have a long history and thanks for the Internet found each other again a couple of years ago when I encouraged JENS to send an email to M’s agent ( M is an actor ) and we have been in contact ever since. Their little daughter C is such a little angel - and she loved D - so the two got along really well - and when D started to draw little frogs and cars for her she was in heaven. We stayed long enough in London to catch up with D’s husband D and all went back by train to the Valley of the Trolley Dollies.

Sunday we slept in and were almost late for our lunch - a very lovely place called the Hillside Inn - a pub restaurant with Sunday Roast - we basically went there because Jens was so much looking towards eating a Yorkshire Pudding - and well he had three of them that afternoon, I think we all really really really enjoyed our lunch - thanks again D&D for the invite! We went to London one last time to see Swan Lake - this was my first ballet apart from the things you may see on TV - and due to the fact that the Swans were an all male cast, I for the first time really had the feeling ballet is something erotic, because the Prince and the Swan… mhm that was something else!

Monday we went to Crawley to do some last minute shopping and of course I could not leave the country with at least one visit to my favorite ASDA supermarket… I was really fast I think we were in and out of the store in less than thirty minutes. Due to the fact that you are no longer allowed liquids in your carry on we could not take any drinks with us or things that are gel-like or liquid for that matter unless we packed them really carefully like the jams that we bought in the food court of Fortnum & Mason’s anyone every tried Banana Jam? I will -very soon. Well - going back is never much fun, but leaving from a UK airport these days is HELL - sorry but it feels like you are stuck in a queue from the time you wait in line to check in until the very moment that you get on the plane. OK with EasyJet you are used to no thrills so the 20 minutes in line to check in weren’t that bad - remember Speedy Boarding - we said our Good Bye’s to D&D the moment we hit the second queue to enter the Security before the Security. There were people with Ziploc bags asking everyone if they had any liquids in their carry ons, and as there is a strict one carry-on policy at Gatwick Airport everyone was made pack their two bags they might have had into one bag. One serious hag managed to pick on Jens and me due to the fact that both our carry-on trolleys were 57cm instead of the allowed 56 cm. She was furious when we refuse to go back to check in and check them - all the snipped at us was : well you will see for yourselves when those things don’t fit through the machines to screen them and then you will end up all the way at the end of this queue. Needless to say she was wrong - as we waited through security no one bother about the extra centimeter our carry on had and we through to the Duty Free Zone in a little over an hour. Needless to say that after that you can buy all the liquids of the world and you have bags of Duty Free Merchandize to bring on board - while I see the possibility of an assault with liquid explosives I think the way Gatwick airport is treating this and it’s passengers is a little OTT - I mean Schönefeld airport has the very same measurements, yet it still feels civilized,…

Anyway - on Tuesday I was lucky enough to have the day off ( well overtime ) Jens had to go back to work - and I was able to pick up the car that we left in the garage just before we left for London to have the door fixed… €1,140 to have a car door changed…

Tuesday night was also the event of the year for my company. We had our 2nd annual After Work Party - maybe the last of its kind - we will see. It was a nice event and I guess there must have been about 4,000 people at the venue. It was really nice to see everyone in a relaxed atmosphere and for the first time in my life really, I drank beer - well non-alcoholic beer Jever Fun but still, I think I drank about seven bottles that evening. Mostly due to the fact, that a dear colleague from London was with us at the party, and let me tell you, British men (and women I suppose) can drink. I think I lost count at bottle number 10 ( sorry G - but you know I don’t mean you harm -- it was still a fun evening and I am sure we can do this again maybe in London maybe in Berlin ).

And now it is Saturday, December 23 - we still have not had any snow but I am sure 2007 will bring us some.

Tomorrow we will spend most of our day at my parents place, lunch and dinner and then we will open the presents that we have received from friends. We did not want to give each other anything this Christmas - as the trip to London with all the shows was more than enough.

Merry Christmas and Frohe Weihnachten everyone.


Torsten and Jens