As mentioned previously, Justin and I are going to London to visit Michelle and Graham when our Chilean friends Joan and Mayira will also be visiting them there. And we get to see Shell and Graham's new place too! But first I need to apply for a UK visa... again.
However, there is no UK visa office in the Netherlands; the closest one is in Dusseldorf, Germany. So after doing the online application and getting all the documents together, I made the long journey to Dusseldorf and back today.
First stop was Utrecht Central station from whence I caught the international high speed ICE train to Dusseldorf. Wow, what a fancy train! A comfy seat with a soft head rest, so much leg room and space in the train in general. The experience was only marred by a very insistent and forward lady carrying on about her reserved seats, a bit ridiculous and unnecessary but anyway.
I imagined getting quite lost in Dusseldorf but the visa office was close to the station and very easy to find; even I could find it in a few minutes without my gps, aka Justin! In my experience, the Visa process is generally an unpleasant process including heaps of paper work and usually unfriendly, unhelpful visa staff. Imagine my surprise when everyone from the doorman and security lady to the form collector person, the cashier and biometric collection people were extremely friendly and knew how to smile! This was the most surprising and pleasant visa I have ever applied for!! (apart from the cost, getting all the papers together and spending the whole day traveling on the train...) Visa offices in SA can really take note of how it is done in other places, it really doesn't have to be the unpleasant process they often make it. I really hope the US visa I have to apply for later this ear is as easy and pleasant! Now hopefully the UK visa is approved and arrives along with my passport and other documents with the courier service in time for our trip!
I made a booking for 1pm in case there were train delays but I arrived with plenty of time and was able to apply much earlier than my allotted time. With a hot pretzel in one hand and a Starbucks hot chocolate in the other, I jumped on a train heading back after arriving only an hour and a bit before, much sooner than expected =) No fancy ICE train this time, just a normal intercity train via Venlo. All in all, about 6 hours travel time, but arriving home with enough time to squeeze in an afternoon nap =)
Due to not doing anything exciting in Dusseldorf, here are only a few random photos, lol.
The fancy high speed ICE train
Street sign in Dusseldorf. I like the way they have the numbers on the sign.
The train from Dusseldorf to Venlo
For a border station, Venlo is very small and random!
In other news, this weekend there was a smidgen of sunshine which we used for a return trip to Utrecht. We visited last Summer but it was a cold rainy day. At least this time it was mostly sunny if breezy and cool. Bron was looking for a new second hand bicycle for leaving at Delft station to get to the University and back. Having had no luck finding a good reasonable second hand bike in Rotterdam, we decided to try a shop in Utrecht recommended by a friend and we were successful! I will miss my little purple bike but it is going to a good new owner and my 'new' one is much more comfortable. We had a nice day walking around the canals and old city centre in Utrecht.
A Utrecht canal looking very Springy =)
Wandering boibs taking a break on a bench
Daffodils!
The new bike that will live at Delft station. It is very comfy!
The annual Rotterdam Marathon was run through the city on Sunday. We watched most of the race on TV and then headed out into the city after the leaders had come in to enjoy the atmosphere in the city. Wow, the top group was so strong and super fast! A route that normally takes us 30 min to cycle one way, they ran both ways in 20 minutes! It was really Amazing to watch. The winning time was 2:04:48.
This coming weekend we are staying over in Brussels on Saturday night. One of Justin's work colleagues has invited us to her Dad's varsity DJ reunion party. Looking forward to finding the Tin-Tin shop this time and jamming to old school tunes!
Hope you had a good weekend and have a good week ahead!
x
I can't believe it, you went overseas to get a Visa to go overseas! funny! but don't worry, I am sure it's going to worth the trouble, we are going to have too much fun!
ReplyDeleteReally can't wait to see you guys!
Have a lovely week.