Taking Out Foreign Currency

[Richard Barrett]

leave St Pancras 10.58, in Berlin 21.06, or similar. Not so bad.

No you're right, that's a lot quicker than I would have expected. Don't forget the time change though! However... you still have to be quite early at St P for international trains, and then of course there could be a problem in the tunnel which forces you to hang around in the waiting area for half a day in the company of many hundreds of other impatient passengers, or your train can be late for some other reason causing you to miss your connection so you have to wait two hours for the next one, and don't think that just because a train is run by Germans it's going to run on time or sometimes even at all! I speak from experience of all of the foregoing

[Richard Barrett]

For the very lucky ones ...

For others who are older and have even HAD a serious illness it can be very expensive indeed.

The trouble with health insurance is that the most needy are the most penalised and sometimes even denied!

Well I don't know about that, maybe you're right, but the last time I got myself some travel health insurance for a visit to the USA there were no questions about my previous history.

[teamsaint]

No you're right, that's a lot quicker than I would have expected. Don't forget the time change though! However... you still have to be quite early at St P for international trains, and then of course there could be a problem in the tunnel which forces you to hang around in the waiting area for half a day in the company of many hundreds of other impatient passengers, or your train can be late for some other reason causing you to miss your connection so you have to wait two hours for the next one, and don't think that just because a train is run by Germans it's going to run on time or sometimes even at all! I speak from experience of all of the foregoing

well quite.

But I loathe flying, although not quite enough to actually stop me doing short hops.

Funny how in my mind I'll ignore all the problems in order to go by train rather than fly( getting to St P in time for 10.58 means an eye watering peak time ticket from somewhere in Hampshire , Basingstoke £22 is your best option) and a few days parking at £10 a day, plus the roulette of the signalling at Wimbledon/Clapham last replaced before the war, and poorly maintained ever since it would seem.......

[Richard Barrett]

But I loathe flying

Me too... and I end up doing it at least twice a month usually.

[teamsaint]

Me too... and I end up doing it at least twice a month usually.

Thats tough.

I find it a bit better if I don't have to drive at my destination,

However to make it worse, BA ( flying with them somehow seems marginally less bad than Easyjet )appear to have removed free snacks from their short haul flights.
Cheapskates.

( says the man looking to cross a continent for £50 !!)

[Richard Barrett]

Living as I do now outside the Easyjet zone, I haven't used them for a while but I have to say I quite like them, it's an honest sort of service and the staff are generally cheerful (neither of which could be said about the worst airline in the world with whom I will never travel again even if I have to walk, I can't bring myself to mention their name but they are of the Irish persuasion). The queueing part can be tedious though.

[MrGongGong]

The queueing part can be tedious though.

Don't whatever you do opt for "speedy boarding"
at many airports it simply means you get on the bus first to drive to the plane so get off the bus last and get no choice of where you sit

[ahinton]

Don't whatever you do opt for "speedy boarding"
at many airports it simply means you get on the bus first to drive to the plane so get off the bus last and get no choice of where you sit

I've used that on several occasions and have never found it to be as you describe it, I have to say.

[teamsaint]

I'm never in any hurry to board......

[ahinton]

I'm never in any hurry to board......

I am - because I'm in a hurry to get off at the destination end - but that wasn't what I was talking about, which was that "speedy boarding" in my experiences has always been about boarding the plane when ready to do so rather than anything that might or might not happen before that stage.

[MrGongGong]

I always make sure I have a copy of Formalised Music under my arm so never seem to have problems getting a row of seats to myself

[ardcarp]

Change of tack......

If Trump says or tweets something silly tomorrow and the US Dollar crashes, will this automatically mean the Pound (GBP) increases in value? If so, would that be a good time to stuff my mattress with Euros?

[P. G. Tipps]

Change of tack......

If Trump says or tweets something silly tomorrow and the US Dollar crashes, will this automatically mean the Pound (GBP) increases in value? If so, would that be a good time to stuff my mattress with Euros?

Nah, Swiss Francs ...

[MrGongGong]

Nah, Swiss Francs ...

or
Chickens and Wagner Scores

[Richard Barrett]

Don't whatever you do opt for "speedy boarding"
at many airports it simply means you get on the bus first to drive to the plane so get off the bus last and get no choice of where you sit

Indeed so. Not that I care that much where I sit.