Not sure how many times I have said this but I will say it
again. It’s time to be back on the road
again but this time it is a first for me.
I have to travel to Holland and a small city called Almelo
as that will be my base for the foreseeable future. My time in the US has come to an end but I am
still on the same project only that I have responsibilities in Europe now and
not across the Atlantic.
So back to today and I am due on site tomorrow and as Almelo
is on the Dutch and German border the best route would be to travel from the
Rotterdam/Amsterdam area and that is why I have chosen the P&O Ferry from
Hull to Rotterdam. I could have flown
and it would have been slightly quicker but this way, I get to have a relaxing evening
on the ferry, enjoying the facilities and entertainment and then have a good
night sleep before driving the couple of hours across Holland to the city. On top of that, it is considerable cheaper to
travel by ferry and take my car rather than, travel to an airport, pay for
parking, fly and hire a car so we all win.
Another bonus is that I can set off late afternoon rather
than early morning which a flight normally means. The journey was a pleasure, against any build
up of rush hour traffic and getting to King George Dock was literally about 40
minutes from my front door. Checking in
was very quick and I was soon in the queue to board and about another 20
minutes of listening to the radio later I was driving onto the ship. I have to admit the parking is very tight and
I suppose they do it to get the maximum cars and therefore revenue for each trip. I could get my bags out of the car as no car
was behind me at the time but once I got out of the way, I have no clue how I
am going to get my stuff back in when you see how close they have parked the other
cars. But that is a problem for tomorrow
morning. There must be some money people
crossing the North Sea as parked around me in the queue to board was a Rolls
Royce and a very nice Lamborghini, neither of which I have seen parked near me,
maybe they have better spaces if you pay more.
It has been some time since I traveled on this ship, and
that was as a foot passenger when I visited Amsterdam with my son some years
ago, but tonight I get to see it as a single person, watching all the couples and
families enjoying their start or ending of their holidays. There doesn't seem to be many people using
this crossing for work as I am. I am writing
this in the Bar and as there is no wifi connectivity then it will have to be
uploaded later, but as I sit here, there seem to be very few people in the main
entertainment area at this time. Later
it could get busier as the stage is set up for a band to play which is a nice
way to while away the hours on your way to work.
I remember that the cabin’s were small but you don’t quite
remember how small until you get back into them. I am lucky that I have a cabin to myself but
when there are two adults it can be very cosy, in fact one will have to sit and
wait for the other to move around. I
have to admit the cabin also looks a little “tired” with a few scratches and
gouges on the walls. Also the bedding I
have on my bunk is clean but has got rips, even the pillow case, but it is
clean so it’s no real issue.
One mistake already is that I have forgotten to pack my
European adapter. I have my US one in
the case but that is not much use here.
To finish off the blog for tonight, the ship I am on is the
Pride of Hull, one of the two larger ships that serve out of Hull. There are two slightly smaller ones that
travel to Zeebrugge which was the last trip I did from here when my son and I
traveled to Brugge for a day trip which I have to admit is a cracking place. I would recommend it to anyone for a short
visit, very picturesque and nice to walk around the town.
It looks like it is time to settle down and watch the band
so time to sign off from my first day of another week of travel.
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