Sunday, March 25, 2007

From Dhaka to Dubai to Dusseldorf

To get to the ECIS IT07 conference I travelled for 24 hours from Dhaka, through Dubai (8 hours in the airport....bad connection) and then into Germany to Dusseldorf. The trip itself was relatively uneventful. I would not recommend such a long wait in the Dubai airport. The trouble with this airport is that transit accommodation costs and arm and a leg. I tried to use my old Emirates Silver FF card to get into the Emirates lounge where there is free food, drink, armchairs, TV and Internet. But they were on the ball and informed me, in a loud voice in front of everybody else (blush) that my card had expired and that I was now only a Blue FF member. I did however eventually find the free restaurant for Emirates flyers where you can get a meal if you are in transit for more than 4 hours (near Gate 23 for those in the same predicament).

I am enchanted with Düsseldorf so far! The Am Schwan hotel is a stones throw and a bit from the river (will get back to on it's name). I have an attic room which overlooks the river. This morning I woke up to the sound of swans (I am assuming this as they sounded swan-like). The trees are just emerging from winter and there are real signs of spring, with daffodils and other spring flowers. However, with my thin blood I am feeling the cold, and the wind is brisk sometimes but invigorating.

Duss1

Duss2
The view from my hotel window during the afternoon and then at sunset

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