The Triumphant Return

Yesterday, I made it back to London.

The journey started after dinner in Berlin. I'd gone out with Kurt and Nora, and we finished dinner around 11:30PM. Although a bit early, I headed straight to the train station. From there, I caught a 12:44AM train to Koln. I was sitting next to this really nice German student, Max, and we chatted for a bit; therefore, I really only got about an hour of restless sleep before he got off at Dortmund, and I decided to stay awake (so as not to miss my transfer). I got in to Koln at 5:40AM and had to be on a train to Aachen at 5:47AM.

I made it. And thank goodness, too! There was a train after, but the Aachen station was where I first began to encounter some problems. I had my credit card and reservation number, as instructed by my Eurostar reservation, to pick up my tickets from a kiosk; however, my reservation number was alphanumeric and the machines only accepted numbers. When I inquired at the desk, the lady told me that I could only pick up my tickets at the Brussels station (my destination) and pointed this out in the small print on the ticket.

I hadn't slept much, and I was terrified that I would be stranded in Aachen. I'm pretty sure the expression on my face was something between fear and panic. Either way, the woman told me she could sell me a new ticket on the SAME train, so I took it.

I bought some snacks at the station. I got a banana, some water, and a Bionade (in the hopes that the sugar would keep me awake). From there, I caught my train to Brussels no problem.

I got into Brussels with about 45 minutes to spare, and I was anxious to use the restroom, but I decided it would be best if I checked in first. The line to check-in was virtually non-existent, and I made it through security to Border Control in a matter of minutes. However, I almost didn't make it through Border Control. Apparently, when you have the Student Visitor Visa, every time you travel outside the UK, you pretty much void your current visa and need to reapply upon entry. To do so, you need the admission letter from your university and proof that you're leaving the country within the six months admitted to you. I had neither of these things. They took my student ID, my healthcare card, and my passport, and left me in a room for about 25 minutes.

They eventually let me through, but I no longer had time to use the restroom and had to go straight to my train. The only available tickets (and actually the cheaper tickets by 13EUR) were in first class. They fed us. It was the most glorious stale bread lump ever. I had not realized how hungry I was until they brought out the food trays. The poor guy next to me must have been terrified. Especially because I would fall asleep without warning. I couldn't really control it, and there was no lead-up. One minute, I'd be sitting there, feeling awake, and the next minute I'd be waking up. No transition.

I got into London late, but I got into London. Our train arrived at about 11:00AM or a little after. The train station, St. Pancras, was packed with people: news reporters and many others waiting in line at Eurostar or waiting for a train out. When I got to the tube station, it was a madhouse. Luckily, not many people were waiting for my tube line, and I made it back pretty painlessly...

My first action on arriving home was to shower. And such a wonderful hot shower!

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. I went to Waitrose and got groceries, walked around the city for a bit, and met up with Cate in the evening.