h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Irish airspace open again. The airline companies are not starting any flights to Britain until tomorrow, and are using the planes to bring back stranded passengers from the continent. (Passengers stranded in Britain mostly came home by ferry already). Things should be back to normal by Saturday morning, so fingers crossed, I'll see you all in Mannheim.

I'm pretty confident it's going to go ahead as planned, now, too.

A word of warning - the weather forecast for Sunday is REALLY HOT! In these parts, hot means hot. The forecast is about 20 degrees, but here in the Rhine valley it's usually 5 degrees above what was forecasted, and 20 degrees feel like 25 degrees in this climate.

Come prepared - pack your sunglasses, sunhats and tee shirts. A day in the park will certainly be the best way to spend the day if it really is summery.

oh no. I don't do hot.

25°C is hardly hot.

It's certainly hot by Irish standards!

Don't listen to B'El - 25°C is a summer's day over here.

I think 25°C is a nice, warm temperature.

actually, 25°C is usually enough to send me screaming looking for shade and a cold floor to lie on!
I'm such a northern lass...

Sounds pleasantly warm to me, though i am wearing not one, but two Icelandic (!!!) jumpers at the moment.

According to Met Eirian and BBC, the ash seems to be drifting towards Canada now, still not sure of my own situation, since i'd need to know on the Friday if it's worth travelling to Dublin, then back again if it's cancelled.

Plus, being a nervous flyer anyway, i tend to think i would arrive a wreck...will keep monitoring the situation.

Meanwhile, we have two new lambs, born last evening.

zdt

You won't have time on the flight to be nervous, zdt, because you'll have to listen to me talking. I can talk a lot when the humour takes me.

Ah, let's start laying bets as to who has the gift of the gab; my mother kissed the Blarney Stone.

So, Gnomon, what should we do? Latest seems to be the dam thing is still smoking (unlike in Irish pubs) but wind seems to be sending it towards our USanian fiends.

I really need to decide by Friday, so i can get to Dub that night, i've cancelled the visit to MiL, better she knows one way or t'other, so #if# it's on, will need to change return flight to same as yours, can you email me please?



zdt

I've already given you the details of both my flights, zdt.

Frankfurt to Dublin, Sunday, EI 657, dep Frankfurt 8pm.

It may cost more to change your flight to a different date than to book a new flight and just not turn up for the original one.

I'm going to assume the Saturday morning flight is going ahead and will check in on Friday from home.

I see that in post 99 I said the flight back was at 9:30, but it isn't. It's scheduled for 8pm.

Why cancel the trip to MiL, zd? Surely waiting a couple more days would mean that the coast (stratosphere or whatever) is even clearer and less risk involved.

Err... do we have a meeting point already? If so, can anyone remind me of it ; if not, could we decide on one?

I´m away from home (and more importantly, from the office and the internet!), so not sure when I´ll be able to log in again; will try tomorrow, that should be ok.

Shall we meet at the station or somewhere else?

________________________
And, yes, 25 degrees *is* hot. Or at least, really warm.

The first thing I'll want to do after arriving at the station is to go to my hotel and check in - although it will probably be too early to do that. The station sounds like a good place to meet, but I don't know what time we'll be arriving there. ZDT and I are due to arrive in Frankfurt at 10 but by the time we've got through the airport, bought our tickets for the train and travelled to Mannheim it will be 11 or even 11:30. Wandrin' Star is arriving in before us so we'll meet her at the airport. I think Bel and MMF will also meet us at the airport. So there should be a group of 5 arriving at Mannheim Station around 11:30.

I've got all tht planned out. We shall meet at the station, some arriving at 10, some at 11, some at 11.30. There is a restaurant directly in the station called "Zapatto's" where we could eat before venturing out into the big city. That way we can wait in comfort for stragglers.

If I know which trains you are on I can meet you on the platform, otherwise, the restaurant is off to the right (entrance inside the station) when you come up from the subway.

If you go through and out of the station by mistake, you can easily see the restaurant from the outside. Looking at the station from the outside, it is, of course, on the left.

You can take your bags into the restaurant with you as it has plenty of legroom (I checked) or you can deposit them in our car (which we shall park underneath the station). After lunch, it will be a more conventional time to check into hotels and we can do that on our way into town, as we pass both hotels and they are only 300-400 m from the station.

Otherwise, I see no reason to diverge from the suggestions I have made in the entry.

For the Sunday, I shall prepare you all a picnic, to keep expenses down, as we shall be eating out on the Saturday and the Sunday. There is a nice café in the park where we can get drinks.

Sorry - I don't mean "eating out on the Saturday and Sunday" - it'll be two meals out on the Saturday.

I think I'm ETA around 11 or 11:30... I have to check.
Gnomon - I think we're in the same hotel (WS too? - Central Hotel) and their check-in time is 14:00 so I think if we stop for lunch/coffee/chinwagging etc, by the time we get there, we're ok for time.


Unless anyone wants me to call about possibilities for early check-in? (or at least, depositing bags or whatevers)