I ended our last blog with Ragnar and I parting ways at the Copenhagen Airport. Ragnar made his way to Germany for a 3 day Seminar, while I continued on to England for a debrief with one of our returning Associates. Except for 3 small ‘hiccups’ along the way, my trip went smoothly and I was home by midnight.
1 - Since I was enjoying my visit with Jancy, I left it quite late to go to my gate. (Thankfully I had checked in earlier.) Suddenly I realized I hadn’t changed my watch to Danish time. Whoops! Would I be able to make it on time? The line was quite long going thru security, and by the time I had my hand luggage in my hands again I was afraid I would miss my flight - I basically ran (for what seemed like forever) to the other end of the airport. Are Discounted Airlines always on the outer ends? As I was approaching the gate, I could see everyone lined up and ready to board. Even thought I think it was my first time to be the last one on the airplane, thankfully I didn’t miss my flight.
2 - Less than an hour later, we had landed in England and I was in line to go thru Immigration. When I got to the front of the line I was told that I was in the wrong lane and was sent to the back of another one. I started to explain that even though I have a Canadian passport, I have a British Resident Document stamped in it. Realizing that I wasn’t getting anywhere with that and knowing that I am the guest in this lovely country, I quietly walked back to the end of the other lane and slowly made my way to the front again. This time I was met with a big smile, while being told that I didn’t need to be in this lane since I have a BRD - I should have been in that lane over there - the one I was originally in. Time to smile back! Also time for another race to catch my train on time.
3. - This time my jogging through a public place didn’t pay off - I missed my train by about 2 minutes. Since trains leave the airport on the hour, and thinking that I had a day pass for the train, I thought my only concern was to wait 58 more minutes. Less than an hour later, I was sitting comfortably on the following train when the conductor broke the news - my ticket was not for that train. I won’t go into the details of what followed, but that cheap, on-line ticket was replaced with an expensive, on the spot one. It left me thinking for quite awhile - the same route, the same company, the same.....................
But like I said above, I did make it home that night. Being greeted at the end of the 3 hour train ride by a friend from NTM was wonderful, and the last 20 min. by car was uneventful.
Meanwhile Ragnar made his way to the German Wings waiting lounge. There he met a coworker from his home town and they traveled on to Germany together. Being able to stay at our NTM Guest House was an added blessing since it is close to the NTM German Headquarters where the meetings were held. He found the Seminar very interesting and helpful.
1 - Since I was enjoying my visit with Jancy, I left it quite late to go to my gate. (Thankfully I had checked in earlier.) Suddenly I realized I hadn’t changed my watch to Danish time. Whoops! Would I be able to make it on time? The line was quite long going thru security, and by the time I had my hand luggage in my hands again I was afraid I would miss my flight - I basically ran (for what seemed like forever) to the other end of the airport. Are Discounted Airlines always on the outer ends? As I was approaching the gate, I could see everyone lined up and ready to board. Even thought I think it was my first time to be the last one on the airplane, thankfully I didn’t miss my flight.
2 - Less than an hour later, we had landed in England and I was in line to go thru Immigration. When I got to the front of the line I was told that I was in the wrong lane and was sent to the back of another one. I started to explain that even though I have a Canadian passport, I have a British Resident Document stamped in it. Realizing that I wasn’t getting anywhere with that and knowing that I am the guest in this lovely country, I quietly walked back to the end of the other lane and slowly made my way to the front again. This time I was met with a big smile, while being told that I didn’t need to be in this lane since I have a BRD - I should have been in that lane over there - the one I was originally in. Time to smile back! Also time for another race to catch my train on time.
3. - This time my jogging through a public place didn’t pay off - I missed my train by about 2 minutes. Since trains leave the airport on the hour, and thinking that I had a day pass for the train, I thought my only concern was to wait 58 more minutes. Less than an hour later, I was sitting comfortably on the following train when the conductor broke the news - my ticket was not for that train. I won’t go into the details of what followed, but that cheap, on-line ticket was replaced with an expensive, on the spot one. It left me thinking for quite awhile - the same route, the same company, the same.....................
But like I said above, I did make it home that night. Being greeted at the end of the 3 hour train ride by a friend from NTM was wonderful, and the last 20 min. by car was uneventful.
Meanwhile Ragnar made his way to the German Wings waiting lounge. There he met a coworker from his home town and they traveled on to Germany together. Being able to stay at our NTM Guest House was an added blessing since it is close to the NTM German Headquarters where the meetings were held. He found the Seminar very interesting and helpful. 
Added to the seminar was time with coworkers from many countries as well as former students who live in that area. He especially enjoyed his time with friends in a Russian/German village - observing some of their culture and tasting some of their home made cooking. Other friends took him on a tour of the Haribo Factory the day he flew home. I wonder if it was coincidence that they are his favorite candy? But I don’t need to wonder if he was able to find room in his suitcase for some gummy bears - that was a given.
Mean while back home in England, I had the joy of spending some time with Jenny. She had recently returned home to Northern Ireland after working as the school nurse in an International School in Thailand for 18 months. When our Associates come back from their field of service we like to meet with them for a time of debrief. Sometimes we go to their area, and other times they come here. 
We talk about their time away - hear their joys and struggles of their time overseas, listen to their experiences, suggestions and then talk about their reentry to their home county. I really enjoyed a couple of days with Jenny, hearing about all of her adventures, the things she had learned and observed, plus seeing photos of the various ministries she was involved in. We also had good chats about coming back to her home country - the things that had changed and things that hadn’t. Our time together was great - meeting her at the train station was fun - saying good bye to her at the end was sad. 
1 comment:
Oh my, that was quite the trip...so sorry about that. :-( I've had the same exact thing happen at immigration before, just to be told (like you were) that I should have stayed in my original line that I had been kicked out of. Oh well, glad you made it home safe and sound. It did make for an interesting blog post though! :-)
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