Europe 2023, August 27

Last run in Eindhoven back at the canals, the roads and bike lanes were finally clear on Sunday morning and the rain just finished in time. That was followed by the usual waste of buffer time and actual travel time taking an intercity train to the airport and then a short international flight.

I thought there might be some delays with the F1 on the same weekend but it was an easy trip through to the airport, and only a small number of Red Bull fans were out so early. Got through bag drop and security pretty quick, then only had about an hour for the plane to leave. I was stuck sitting next to a woman who kept coughing every few minutes, thought people might have started wearing masks when they're sick now just in case.

I waited forever at the luggage carousel until thankfully my suitcase showed up right at the very end. The duct tape on the wheel has been holding together, but might need another patch up before leaving again. It was very easy to get into the city on the metro, changed platforms for an additional three stops then was at the hotel a short walk away.

By the time I was ready to leave the hotel again it was nearly 4pm so just went to explore the surroundings for a while. I got up towards the city centre and Tivoli Gardens amusement park before turning back. Found some supermarkets along the way, they also have 7-elevens here, and a close laundromat, although the instructions might be a little confusing.

Got a bit of emergency Danish money from the ATM since they don't use euros for some reason, the ATM exchange rate seemed really poor. I also immediately realised everything is crazy expensive here, somehow even another level beyond paying in pounds and euros so far.

The area close the hotel seemed a little strange, seems like a gentrified conversion of an old industrial area. Later I realised on the map it's referred to as the meat packing district, which makes more sense.

Got dinner and checked out the TV channels, sadly only like 10 channels and nothing in English like BBC. No fridge either but they have an interesting approach to the breakfast buffet, you have to book a time slot and you get 40 minutes.

I was going to go back out and walk around a second time but it started raining and I didn't pack an umbrella. The rain forecast for the coming days looks quite patchy too, which is a bit of a worry. I did bring a rain jacket designed for running in wet conditions, but it's not fully waterproof.

Made a bit of a plan for the morning that won't make me go bankrupt and tried to find a way to watch the last day of world athletics via VPN. Not looking forward to the evenings so much for the next week with no more athletics on at night and no English channels either.