Germany 2019 - Day I + Day II - Handball Welt & Berlin start
Handball Welt WM 2019 - Day One (I)
I was not working on Thursday in the end but I did not want to take any risk. I therefore settled for a 11.30 am departure. Had I known that BA would cut on foods/drink for 'normal passengers' now boarding as Class 4 or 5 and that I would not be working in the morning at the time of booking, I would have probably purchased a business seat!
It was a long wait and I managed not to spend any money at all.
I was worried the camera would cause a lot of concerns. It did not materialise. What did annoy me was the fact that you had to retrieve the boarding pass from the machine. Basically the BA staff members have their task scope reduced. Which in turn makes them less motivated. Which makes them less likely to be nice towards their clients at the desk check-in.
A couple of minutes later than advertised the gate number was displayed and I managed to board the flight with my window seat. I never really read in full The Times and nor the Financial Times free of charge. Instead I slept and looked up through the window but it was too late for a nightlife picture from the sky. The flight was very quick.
On the guided tour we were told that Tegel was not a good airport and it would be replaced. Despite its shortcomings it is very well connected to the East Berlin nexus (being Alexanderplatz, where our hotel was located) via the TXL bus shuttle ride. As soon as you arrive you have a short but intimidating wait for the passport checks. Then you end up in a room whose look is that of 60s/70s. The alarm-like noise was incredible and suddenly no luggage would move. We saw some travellers taking their suitcases directly from the baggage reclaim corridor. I was almost the unique passenger waiting for my suitcase. Thoughts of the Krakow events came to my mind but I saw my suitcase. What a relief! But I was nervously waiting for the baggage reclaim machine to run.
Handball is in Berlin !
Then I followed the signs towards the bus shuttles in order to catch the TXL and pay the relevant fare. The airport looked really empty and almost soulless. Upon arrival two TXL buses were waiting for me. How good this was ! I went for the second one before I got disturbed by the smokers. I tried to use a fwe words in German but the German driver responded in English. He also remonstrated that I did not need to get it stamped at the front. It was around 22.20 hours (Local Time) on a Thursday night and the bus was packed. It took us roughly 45 minutes to get to Alexanderplatz. I got extremely worried when I was the only one left on the very large coach and the driver went off the avenue then did an U turn to park his coach. I asked him whether at what time he would start on the Sunday morning. He said that I should look up on the lamp posts from the main avenue. I only subsquently learnt that this part of the city was in East Berlin.
At first glance the Alexanderplatz made me think of the backdrop of the Gare of Lyon in Paris. I got a bit nervous as it was getting a bit chilly ; I was tired and I could not see where the hotel was. Quick obviously the Holday Inn green light shone and I could fathom where to go ! Happy days ! I was starving. I got my room quickly but the card was almost instantly desactivated, which made me really upset. Luckily someone asked for the lift on the 5th floor. I took a picture of our room to the Whatsapp group. I told Mum that I was starving but I had safely arrived.
Both the Denmark and the Germany games had finished when I got to the hotel. No replays were shown on TV. These were comprehensive wins.
I got a replacement card from the helpful hotel clerk and decided to go out in order to a) check the scheduled departures for Sunday morning b) get something to eat/drink
By divine surprise, in what was the center of East Berlin there was a stark reminder of Munich very close to the hotel. A Munchen Hofbrau biergarten !
And, as it was getting late (close to 0.30 am), instead of an expensive pizza, I opted for a 0.5 l cola and some crisps from an off-license shop. For some reason I did not stay up very late thereafter and the bed sheets looked far too thin to me. I carefully took my pyjama from the light suitcase. I enjoyed being on my own but I am also eager to see all the handball friends tomorrow. I know they like me and I respect them. We are all so different but we share the same passion. I suddenly realized that this time I did not have any photo presents and I do not know what I should say about my health hazards etc.
Handball Welt WM 2019 - Day Two (II)
Here we go. The Spanish shirt has not arrived as of yet. The hotel clerk said that I should wait for 10 am. No luck !
I enjoyed a good breakfast at the hotel. I was sat next to a young lady on her own. I did not want to disturb her. What motivated me to go out initially was the light snow. When I came back from my walk, having used my mobile phone, I said hello to Antoine and to the local French lady whose name I cannot remember. I looked after Antoine stuff whilst he was handling thousands of calls and dealing with many issues including delays arising out of snow-related bad weather in Bavaria where the Spanish players flew to last night.
The Humbold University has various buildings and there are various libraries associated with this institution but when one does not speak German it can be a tad tricky. Last night I saw some buildings beonging to the Humbold University before we got to the main station.
I entered one university building (see picture above) within walking distance from the DDR museum (whose website looks indeed very interactive) and Alexanderplatz asking where I could find the libraries. I did this in a half convincing manner but I wanted to know where to go in order to get the Napoleon stories going.
We managed to get to the Brandenburg Tor instead. Roughly half an hour walk.
It was a gusty wind experience. Rain and cold wind.
Berlin is an immense city. I only saw a very tiny section. Later I would not do the odd 14-kilometer walk so many fellow supporters did as I concentrated on my media duties.
Museums, statues and opera houses are on display in this part of Berlin who was under Communist rule until the reunification in the 1990s.
We are getting ready and look forward to seeing all the fans.
We already met with some of the most prominent French fans including Michel Barbot and his friends. Some travelled by car from Narbonne, Normandy and Paris. Unbelievable. Challenge Maranne will actually disappear ; it will be called Challenge Michel Barbot instead.
When Lorene Kempe arrived I helped her settle and I went with her to a pharmacist (apotheken). She was not feeling very well.
I had a drink and sausages with Dede and Lorene at the Hofbrau Munchen.
I did not know my way and I just knew we had our pre-paid return fare for three stations only.
It is actually situated between two stations and I missed the section near the arena where bricks and mortars from the Berlin Wall were on display
I under-estimated the time to pick up the accreditation before the first match. I was getting very stressed. It was windy and rainy. Not ideal for a new lens purchased following the IHF nod and the birthday's camera on its genuine international debut! I showed the accreditation email to a volunteer with my glasses full of rain and my hands suffering from a freezing cold weather. I also asked whether I should pay now/here for the photo bibs. They said that it would be the case at the media centre.
I was not working on Thursday in the end but I did not want to take any risk. I therefore settled for a 11.30 am departure. Had I known that BA would cut on foods/drink for 'normal passengers' now boarding as Class 4 or 5 and that I would not be working in the morning at the time of booking, I would have probably purchased a business seat!
It was a long wait and I managed not to spend any money at all.
I was worried the camera would cause a lot of concerns. It did not materialise. What did annoy me was the fact that you had to retrieve the boarding pass from the machine. Basically the BA staff members have their task scope reduced. Which in turn makes them less motivated. Which makes them less likely to be nice towards their clients at the desk check-in.
A couple of minutes later than advertised the gate number was displayed and I managed to board the flight with my window seat. I never really read in full The Times and nor the Financial Times free of charge. Instead I slept and looked up through the window but it was too late for a nightlife picture from the sky. The flight was very quick.
On the guided tour we were told that Tegel was not a good airport and it would be replaced. Despite its shortcomings it is very well connected to the East Berlin nexus (being Alexanderplatz, where our hotel was located) via the TXL bus shuttle ride. As soon as you arrive you have a short but intimidating wait for the passport checks. Then you end up in a room whose look is that of 60s/70s. The alarm-like noise was incredible and suddenly no luggage would move. We saw some travellers taking their suitcases directly from the baggage reclaim corridor. I was almost the unique passenger waiting for my suitcase. Thoughts of the Krakow events came to my mind but I saw my suitcase. What a relief! But I was nervously waiting for the baggage reclaim machine to run.
Handball is in Berlin !
Then I followed the signs towards the bus shuttles in order to catch the TXL and pay the relevant fare. The airport looked really empty and almost soulless. Upon arrival two TXL buses were waiting for me. How good this was ! I went for the second one before I got disturbed by the smokers. I tried to use a fwe words in German but the German driver responded in English. He also remonstrated that I did not need to get it stamped at the front. It was around 22.20 hours (Local Time) on a Thursday night and the bus was packed. It took us roughly 45 minutes to get to Alexanderplatz. I got extremely worried when I was the only one left on the very large coach and the driver went off the avenue then did an U turn to park his coach. I asked him whether at what time he would start on the Sunday morning. He said that I should look up on the lamp posts from the main avenue. I only subsquently learnt that this part of the city was in East Berlin.
At first glance the Alexanderplatz made me think of the backdrop of the Gare of Lyon in Paris. I got a bit nervous as it was getting a bit chilly ; I was tired and I could not see where the hotel was. Quick obviously the Holday Inn green light shone and I could fathom where to go ! Happy days ! I was starving. I got my room quickly but the card was almost instantly desactivated, which made me really upset. Luckily someone asked for the lift on the 5th floor. I took a picture of our room to the Whatsapp group. I told Mum that I was starving but I had safely arrived.
Both the Denmark and the Germany games had finished when I got to the hotel. No replays were shown on TV. These were comprehensive wins.
I got a replacement card from the helpful hotel clerk and decided to go out in order to a) check the scheduled departures for Sunday morning b) get something to eat/drink
By divine surprise, in what was the center of East Berlin there was a stark reminder of Munich very close to the hotel. A Munchen Hofbrau biergarten !
And, as it was getting late (close to 0.30 am), instead of an expensive pizza, I opted for a 0.5 l cola and some crisps from an off-license shop. For some reason I did not stay up very late thereafter and the bed sheets looked far too thin to me. I carefully took my pyjama from the light suitcase. I enjoyed being on my own but I am also eager to see all the handball friends tomorrow. I know they like me and I respect them. We are all so different but we share the same passion. I suddenly realized that this time I did not have any photo presents and I do not know what I should say about my health hazards etc.
Handball Welt WM 2019 - Day Two (II)
Here we go. The Spanish shirt has not arrived as of yet. The hotel clerk said that I should wait for 10 am. No luck !
I enjoyed a good breakfast at the hotel. I was sat next to a young lady on her own. I did not want to disturb her. What motivated me to go out initially was the light snow. When I came back from my walk, having used my mobile phone, I said hello to Antoine and to the local French lady whose name I cannot remember. I looked after Antoine stuff whilst he was handling thousands of calls and dealing with many issues including delays arising out of snow-related bad weather in Bavaria where the Spanish players flew to last night.
The Humbold University has various buildings and there are various libraries associated with this institution but when one does not speak German it can be a tad tricky. Last night I saw some buildings beonging to the Humbold University before we got to the main station.
I entered one university building (see picture above) within walking distance from the DDR museum (whose website looks indeed very interactive) and Alexanderplatz asking where I could find the libraries. I did this in a half convincing manner but I wanted to know where to go in order to get the Napoleon stories going.
We managed to get to the Brandenburg Tor instead. Roughly half an hour walk.
It was a gusty wind experience. Rain and cold wind.
Berlin is an immense city. I only saw a very tiny section. Later I would not do the odd 14-kilometer walk so many fellow supporters did as I concentrated on my media duties.
Museums, statues and opera houses are on display in this part of Berlin who was under Communist rule until the reunification in the 1990s.
We already met with some of the most prominent French fans including Michel Barbot and his friends. Some travelled by car from Narbonne, Normandy and Paris. Unbelievable. Challenge Maranne will actually disappear ; it will be called Challenge Michel Barbot instead.
When Lorene Kempe arrived I helped her settle and I went with her to a pharmacist (apotheken). She was not feeling very well.
I had a drink and sausages with Dede and Lorene at the Hofbrau Munchen.
I did not know my way and I just knew we had our pre-paid return fare for three stations only.
It is actually situated between two stations and I missed the section near the arena where bricks and mortars from the Berlin Wall were on display
I under-estimated the time to pick up the accreditation before the first match. I was getting very stressed. It was windy and rainy. Not ideal for a new lens purchased following the IHF nod and the birthday's camera on its genuine international debut! I showed the accreditation email to a volunteer with my glasses full of rain and my hands suffering from a freezing cold weather. I also asked whether I should pay now/here for the photo bibs. They said that it would be the case at the media centre.
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