Let’s start from the beginning. So, my flight was cancelled and I rebooked for the next day. I am really bad at packing and true a master of procrastination, these two hand in hand are usually in for a disaster and so was the case this time. It started light and great but ended up as a total tragedy.
February the 4th started with a 14th repacking (completed about 1am). The trouble with luggage on BA is that a checked baggage may be really large but it can weigh only 23kg, whereas the hand luggage needs to be small and also can weigh up to 23 kg but cannot contain liquids and sharp objects (is a battery “propelled” toothbrush a sharp object? I know that a guitar is a dangerous object and cannot be carried on board). Bearing that in mind and equipped with samasia’s scales I tried to make everything work out, which was pretty much impossible. I ended up removing most of my shoes (three pairs left plus sandals), loads of clothes and one bottle of booze that was supposed to be a present (there was still 1 left). After that, I tried to clean my room and my old comp but it was also not too much of a success. When I woke up in the morning the real mayhem begun. Anyways, all could be described by saying (or singing... which I did – I actually came up with a tune for that... a smash hit!) “One bag’s too heavy and the other is too small | I’ve repacked 20 times and I’ll do a little more”.
Skipping the part when my parents and I got on each others’ nerves big time and I forgot many important things, let’s head to the Warsaw airport (commonly known as Okęcie) terminal 2. After searching for a person responsible for wrapping luggage in plastic and checking in (I should also mention that BA offers check-in via Internet, which is really useful since you can view the scheme of the plane, see what’s for lunch and check if your flight is not cancelled – which I did earlier). I said goodbye to my parents and samasia and was in for a really long walk to my gate (preceded by a visit in a tax free liquor store).
I don’t really get what was the whole snow hustle about. When I arrived in London it was just cold. No snow! None! And the coat on the fields around London was thin (well, ok Marta’s backyard had some snow). Before I got onto “Piccadilly service to Cockfosters” I got a chance to see the new Terminal 5 of Heathrow airport. It is really... pretty and getting around is not that difficult, since everywhere there is staff ready to guide you around. The whole terminal is BA only so the runway is pretty monotonous. I went to a leave my large luggage at the company called “Left Luggage” which confusingly enough for me but not for the person who guided me there was on the right (LEFT not LOST). Then I went upstairs to do the check-in for tomorrow and after an hour of doing all that I made my way to Kings Cross.
I think I’ve never in my life had such a sense of freedom. Never mind the forgotten hat and some of the tea thing I left behind. It was great! Through all these years I’d forgotten how small the Tube’s cars are. When last time in London I’d always wondered how on Earth the funny small doors do not cut people’s heads off. On the 5th station from Heathrow an Irish guy got on the train and said that he would like to play a show for us. He took out his violin and started playing some Celtic tunes and then the James Bond theme but he did it in a Celtic manner. This was great! That really made my day.
Getting to King’s Cross took me another hour. I wanted to see St. Pancras and go to see Platform 9 ¾ I was supposed to wait at a local Starbucks for
St Pancras
and some more
Meeting Marta was great. I really miss her. She was one of the people I looked up to on my year, she always spoke her mind, which was driving some teachers crazy and she was really, how to put it? Courageous? Well, she had enough guts to just quit ILS. We got to her house in the Turkish/Greek neighborhood. I really loved it. Especially the atmosphere of so many people living together and not bothering each other unnecessarily and at the same time being very close. Marta treated me with bagels (I hadn’t had these in ages) and some weird British food (I always found British cuisine strange and sometimes even a bit off putting). After that we went to a Turkish place to have some really great Turkish pizza and iran. Then we visited a bar which had a real jukebox. British bar, Czech style. Finally I got to sleep in Nadine’s room with a white furisode hanging in the window.
Oh, and about chipolatas – we had none :)
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