Travel home

Pickup from UPA was dead on time and it is a beautiful morning with the sun shining through a light build up of cumulus mostly was shaded by the tall pine forest off to one side or the other as we head NE to Vilnius.

Every vehicle I have traveled in since my arrival has had the engine management warning light on... The driver spoke Lithuanian or German so we didn't talk much on the way to Vilnius and the back seat was a little uncomfortable as it wasn't long enough in the leg for me.

61 km to Vilnius crossed a railway line at a level crossing with very little in the way of warnings or barriers, not quite the H&S we're subject to in the UK... 

At that time in the morning there was very little traffic... Just straight roads and pine forest... By 0715 a river bridge spanned the  Vokė a left tributary of Neris. Aparently Vokė flows from Papis Lake, near Merkys and looks like a good place to go and explore. Traffic by now was beginning to build up as we passed large industrial estates with railway connection, hummm what a good idea, didn't we used to do that in the UK? As we entered the Vilnias area it was obviously getting to rush hour but we kept moving on the dual carriageways without a problem. 

We arrived at the airport around 07:30 leaving plenty of time to get through the airport processes. As it happens the plane had not arrived at the planned time and we were eventually advised that the departure would be 10:30 not 0930. It  actually took off just after 11:00

Seating on the plane: if you're traveling with crutches don't book the seat by the emergency exits. They will move you and row 1 where they put me has very little leg room!

Safely on the ground finally in Warsaw. There was a long way to walk to the baggage claim and I think crutches don't go well with a cabin bag and a long walk. Airport assistance is probably a good idea, especially for the way home after an operation!

Wizz Air are apparently famous for delays to their flights and this was certainly true of today. The flight to Liverpool was delayed for another 1.5 hours, this gave me sufficient time to have a relaxing lunch in the Restauracja Atmosphere near gate 9N. Chatted with some nice Polish people on their return to their home in the UK.

When the plane finally arrived I had texted Catharine to say we were boarding but then the pilot told us that we had around 30 minutes to wait until there was a slot due to weather conditions around Europe. 

Flight was OK but again legroom is a real problem for those who have had operations. I made efforts to manipulate my feet through to my thighs as often as I could but the plane was completely full and there was no real opportunity to move at all. 

On arrival back in Liverpool again it was a long walk from the aircraft to the border agency check and then a VERY long queue. When I finally got to the desk I was told that I should have used the wheelchair lane.... Why didn't one of the agents standing around idly chatting tell me this and save me a very long walk around those stupid taped queuing lines. 

Catharine was waiting for me having had to park in the multi-storey car park as the plane was so delayed and this cost her £10 instead of £3 for a pickup. The rest was easy, Catharine drove us home with not that much traffic as the England World Cup football game was on TV that evening. 

Home at last and time to relax after a meal cooked by Kat. 

A quick note on my visit to see my GP this morning, Thursday 12th.

I rang and got an early morning appointment with my GP as someone had just called in with a cancellation. I handed him the X-Rays and the note from the clinic in Kaunas and his words were "A beautiful Job!" and "Fantastic to have the X-Rays with the Patient for review". So full marks to the team back in Kaunas. However the nurse asked if I had the tool for extracting the staples, which I didn't so I rang Jurate and she is getting the necessary information back to me tomorrow. 

Onward and upward... Been a day of catchup on all sorts of things today, plus exercise, resting and more heat treatment on my knee.