Travel to Kaunas

 2022-01-20

Due to the early flight from Liverpool airport Catharine and I had arranged to drive to Liverpool, stay overnight at Travelodge just by the airport. As normal we took Jazz out for a walk early catching the sunrise over the village as we traversed the beach back home. 

After coffee I completed the Passenger Locator form for Lithuania and complete some of the still outstanding tasks from my to do list.  

We planned to set off from home in the late afternoon but after hearing that Britannia Bridge had been closed due to an RTA, shortly after midnight, with a fatality and remained closed all morning. As a result we were concerned about getting off the island especially as we then heard that a lorry had got stuck in one of the arches on Menai Bridge. Consequently there were huge queues in both directions with a lot of people being unable to get to work and the supply chain totally interrupted. We changed our plans and decided to set off after an early lunch. We went via Brynsiencyn to deliver Jazz for ‘holibobs’ with Hywel and Kat’s dogs so that Catharine could come with me to the hotel and then drive back after dropping me off at JLA for the early requirement of 06:50. 

We were lucky as at the time we got to Britannia Bridge from LlanfairPG as the traffic going east had cleared and we were able to get straight onto the A55. However further down the A55 there were more hold ups as there was contraflow at the tunnels after Llanfairfechan.

The rest of the drive was uneventful and we arrived just before 16:00. Travelodge was a bit disappointing as the double room only had one chair, the sound from the TV was poor and the state of repair was not the best with a very worn carpet and the internals of the bathroom in a bit of a state. 

After checking in we went for a walk to the National Trust Speke House estate. However the notice at the gate said that it shuts at 16:00 so we didn’t go in very far then turned around and walked back to the hotel. The state of littering around this area before getting into the estate was awful; it is upsetting that our communities are so poor at maintaining acceptable standards with rubbish, fly tipping and general waste!

Having arrived back at the hotel we had coffee and checked out the food menu, which looked acceptable, so we decided to eat at the hotel, what a mistake that turned out to be! Having ordered the food at around 18:00 we waited and waited until eventually the poor young lad admitted that due to staff shortages the stock levels of food were insufficient and so we had to change our menu choices. When the food finally arrived it was awful and not at all as described on the menu! Still we got a free half of lager each for our disappointment. 

An interesting discussion with a fellow hotel guest who also felt that the service and standards left a lot to be desired. 

2022-01-21

After a reasonable night’s rest we had set the alarm for 05:30 and got ourselves organised so that Catharine could take everything I didn’t need back home and she went down from the 5th floor where our room was to the ground floor to get me a cappuccino, to have with my breakfast. As she doesn’t like lifts and enclosed spaced she came back via the stairs and was surprised at how much effort that took!

So here I am in the airport having cleared Security and having coffee in The Kissing Gate on the way to the boarding gate. The gate announcement didn’t happen until around 08:20 and with my priority boarding pass I was cleared quickly to my window seat 15a just in front of the wing, well actually opposite the engine!

The flight was fine with the two seats next to me clear but the number of people wearing face masks below their noses or taking them off was pretty upsetting!

Apart from when I was drinking my coffee my face mask was on correctly all the time. Incidentally the coffee was so hot that I could hardly hold the cup and I was not able to drink it until we had almost landed at Dublin airport! 

There was a long walk from the plane to the Immigration control and the signs for connecting flights disappeared part way along so I got a little confused. Eventually I made it through the security and walked for ages back to the departures to check in again. All well now as I am sitting in the lounge area writing this latest part of the blog, although the guy at the gate had to let me in as you are only supposed to be in the departure lounge for a maximum of 5 hours. 

Now at just coming up to 12:00 the flight list shows flights as far ahead as 18:20. My flight is not yet listed… When  I was having lunch at the Marqette, a varied and pleasant salad mix with a glass of wine to keep me calm, the gate 113 was showing for the flight to Kaunas. 

It was good to see that Irish yachting got some advertising:

 

It is now just after 16:00 and I have ventured to gate 113 to see where it was, it is right at the end of the building! I have found another charging point to top up charge on the computer and phone. Dublin is a huge airport and seems very efficiently run. Just could have done with a shorter wait to get my connection. 

Shortly I will walk back to the Marqette for a bit to eat before boarding. 

Following another salad I am now on board my flight with an expected duration of 3hrs 5mins so with the 2 hr time difference in Lithuania this means our arrival is at 23:50 local time according to the boarding pass. Take off was on time and once again I have the two seats next to me on my row vacant. 

Feeling quite tired now so I will try and get a bit of shut eye and see how things are in a while. 

UK time is now 20:17 so Lithuanian time is 22:17 and I am getting a bit uncomfortable from sitting for this length of time but not long to go now. The seats on RyanAir aeroplanes are a bit closer than other more expensive airlines with no bags for things on the back of the seat in front so it is a bit difficult to organise things and there is not enough room to open my laptop and use the keyboard easily. 

As we landed there was a round of applause for the flight staff and most passengers where well behaved as they exited the plan. Once outside I realised that my footwear choice of boat shoes was probably not the best as there was a layer of snow which was quite slippery on the way into the customs gate. 

There were no issues clearing customs and the Nord Clinic taxi was waiting for me with my name displayed on an iPad. The drive to the Hotel took around 25 minutes so I was checking in at around 01:00 with a very helpful assistant with details of my room and arrangements for breakfast starting at 08:00. 

Off to bed:

Things to remember before flying

• Download music

• Download books or films. 

• Make sure your euro card is on google pay!