9/17/23: At 4 in the morning I checked out of my hotel room in Berlin, and into the Berlin Airport. I must have seemed really lost on how to go about doing baggage drop because after awhile an employee came over to me and said "come with me". Either that or God sent him to help me. He easily got luggage tags printed for my luggage and I was on my way. While going through security the TSA agent talked at me in German. She had asked me to do something it turns out. After noticing I was not responding she said "maybe English is better? and regave the task she had before but in English this time. The airport was pretty easy to navigate, with lots of signs with English translations and probably mostly all bilingual employees.
I made it to my plane and flew to Amsterdam for my layover (2nd layover in Amsterdam this trip). This time it wasn't as hectic, and I easily made it through to my plane to Bristol. Once arriving in Bristol I picked up my baggage and made my way to the bus that would take me to the Temple Meeds Train Station. Alternating the which hand I was using to pull my now broken suitcase along while being bent over. Luckily the walks with my broken luggage were never too too far. I was able to get on a bus from the airport, however the this particular bus's service ended at a central bus station. The bus station was confusing to understand so I eventually asked one of the employees for help, and he told me which platform to go to. (On my way back to the Bristol airport when I was heading home, the bus would take me all the way to the airport from Bristol Meeds thankfully). The bus arrived about 5 minutes later. Driving on the left side of the street actually didn't seem too strange when all the other cars were doing it. The weird part for me was having the driver sit on the right side of the vehicle. The walk down the street from the bus stop to the Temple Meeds (the train station) was the hardest walk with my luggage. By this time I had developed callouses on my hands so I again had to keep switching hands and crouch down. It was a slow-moving process even though the train station was only a block away from the bus stop. Luckily my train platform was one of the first ones by the entrance. The train station ended up feeling confusing to me too so I asked an employee where the train to Manchester would be, and it turned out that the platform I was meant to be at was the one we were standing next to. It was around noon at this point so I had to wait about an hour for my train. It turns out my train was a little further back then the platform when it arrived. Luckily I noticed before it took off without me.
The train from Bristol to Manchester takes around 3 hours by train. For about half of the trip I had my almost 50 pound suitcase on my lap so other passengers could sit by me. In hindsight I could have put the luggage on a shelf where you first get on or off. My train ended up arriving in Manchester late due to having to take a different route due to railway issues. England welcomed me with stereotypical rainy weather. The train car drove backwards for half the trip then forwards. I was able to sleep somewhat on the train. Thankfully Manchester was the last stop so I wouldn't oversleep. Kez was waiting for me at the platform when I arrived. It was around 4:30pm. Kez decided to order an Uber due to my heavy broken suitcase, and while walking towards the row of taxis/uber's one of them hadn't been paying attention and nearly backed into me. (It was a real Welcome to Manchester moment). Luckily I have fast reflexes and was able to get away quick enough. That would not have been a good start to my trip in England. Kez showed me her apartment, and handed me chips to eat while we caught up a little bit. Since it was a Sunday I was able to check out the church Kez has been going to. (The services are on Sunday nights.) We took the public transit to the church and there I got to meet some of Kez's friends. Unfortunately I was too tired after traveling all day to hang out after church. That night I had my first experience with Nandos. A British chicken restaurant, which Kez ordered as takeout (takeaway) when we got back to her apartment. I had been wanting to try Nandos, since I first heard about it. Their fries and the seasoning they put on their chicken was really good and flavorful and I would definitely recommend it. While we ate our Nandos meal we started watching "10 Things I Hate About You". Halfway through I was ready to go to bed so it was turned off, and my air mattress was set up for the night. The duvet cover had little honeybees on it which is one of the symbols for Manchester.
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