tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20213892.post8090794099301348935..comments2023-12-22T08:29:29.230-08:00Comments on WHAT IS TRUTH: Blogging Our Europe Trip: Days One and Two -- Travel and ArrivalKent Brandenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13419354741455959191noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20213892.post-11645557509314447612018-05-29T20:08:56.857-07:002018-05-29T20:08:56.857-07:00I say don’t go...I say don’t go...Terry Basham, IIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15354045499775379475noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20213892.post-80781583455895634102018-05-29T16:06:15.338-07:002018-05-29T16:06:15.338-07:00Kent,
I'm sure everyone else has told you eve...Kent,<br /><br />I'm sure everyone else has told you everywhere that you MUST go to while in Great Britain, so I'll refrain. Annette and I really enjoyed our trip there for our 10th anniversary. I laughed several times in your blog-journal. Especially the driving parts, I've been there too. Once we went around a roundabout three or four times before we could figure out which road to take out of it. That was before the days of digital maps. It brought back many memories. I'm sure you'll have many to share with your family for a long time.<br /><br />Best wishes,Jeff Voegtlinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13038716402776736733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20213892.post-41245606159138357902018-05-29T13:39:29.773-07:002018-05-29T13:39:29.773-07:00Dear Bro Brandenburg,
May you and your family hav...Dear Bro Brandenburg,<br /><br />May you and your family have a wonderful time in Europe!<br /><br />Last year when my wife and I went to Rome and Britain I surprised her and we flew first class. There are ways to use miles and points to do it for a cost comparable to what people pay for economy (in cash 1st class is totally unreasonable). We had a fantastic flight and were perfectly well rested with no to almost no jet-lag upon arrival.KJB1611https://www.blogger.com/profile/09696273086955004524noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20213892.post-29015858832280706652018-05-29T03:18:47.883-07:002018-05-29T03:18:47.883-07:00More on driving -- roundabouts.
Roundabouts. The...More on driving -- roundabouts.<br /><br />Roundabouts. The person coming from your right has the right of way. If you can't clear where he is going before he gets there, do not get in front of him. If he does not hit you, he will at least get angry and make gestures, and he may not see your "American tourist" sign. <br /><br />Busy roundabouts are difficult. They are not as bad if you understand the signalling. When you approach a roundabout, you signal as if it were a normal intersection. If you are going straight out the other side of the roundabout, you do not signal as you approach. If you are leaving it to the left, you signal left as you approach and get in the left lane. If you are leaving it to the right, you signal right as you approach and get in the right lane.<br /><br />Leaving a roundabout -- when you know where you are going, you want to signal to the left as you are passing the PRIOR exit. That way, people know you are leaving at the next exit of the roundabout. (Obviously, if you are leaving to the left, you were already signalling left when entering the roundabout, so no problems there.) Do NOT signal left unless you are leaving -- people will assume you are leaving and will go out in front of you. <br /><br />If the roundabout is very busy, it can be hard to get into it. But you do not need absolute clearance to go. You either need clearance or you need to see, by their signals, that the oncoming cars are leaving before they get to you. Watch their signals and you will quickly learn how this works.<br /><br />PRO TIP: If you don't know where you are going, or which exit you are supposed to take, signal right, get in the right lane, and go all the way around the roundabout, signaling right, until you figure it out. I have gone around a roundabout three times before I saw the sign I was looking for and left it. It is much better to look dumb going around a couple times than to go several miles out of the way.<br /><br />Roundabouts are nice if you need to make a U turn. <br /><br />Narrow roads. This also is important to understand -- the middle line is not a law, it is a guide. People will cross the middle line even as they are driving towards you. They will expect you to do the same. If there is an obstruction (parked car, whatever) and there is still two car-widths between the obstruction and the side of the road, those two car-widths will be used. People will come into your lane to get past the obstruction and expect you to move over close to the kerb to give them room. Do NOT think that "my lane is my lane." If your lane is wide enough to share and they need it, you will be expected to share it.<br /><br />If someone flashes his headlights at you, he is doing one of two things. He might be telling you, "Go ahead." This can happen at an intersection or on a narrow road with passing places. If you drive on those roads, you may wish to flash your lights when you are stopping at a passing place, so he knows you are stopping.<br /><br />The other thing he might be doing is warning you of a hazard on the road. If you are going along and someone flashes and it isn't a case where he's telling you, "go ahead," he may be letting you know there is an accident, a speed trap, a sheep on the road, whatever.<br /><br />Have fun, stay safe! See you soon, Lord willing!Jon Gleasonhttp://www.mindrenewers.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20213892.post-91317375382358631702018-05-29T02:44:55.749-07:002018-05-29T02:44:55.749-07:00Wow, Kent. I never realised you'd never been ...Wow, Kent. I never realised you'd never been here before.<br /><br />Ok, some advice, some of which is too late, but maybe it will help other people.<br /><br />If as an American you are coming to the UK and you've never driven over here before (or only done so on holiday -- not "vacation", by the way, "holiday"), book in advance and specifically request an AUTOMATIC. Do not tell yourself that you know how to drive a manual transmission. Of course you do -- an American one. There are SO MANY THINGS TO THINK ABOUT that you don't want to be thinking about shifting with the left hand. Please read what Kent said and trust me on this.<br /><br />That's for everybody else, since it is too late for you. <br /><br />A little more about driving here. <br /><br />Speed limits: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_speed_limits_in_the_United_Kingdom. Unless otherwise posted, 70 mph on motorways (M4, M25, M1, whatever). 70 mph on "divided carriageways" (what you'd call "freeway" or 4-lane). 30 on streets in town, unless otherwise posted (we're getting more at 20 up here, probably down there, too). 60 on roads outside of town. In-vs-outside is generally defined by whether there are street lights. But again, many roads do have a limit posted.<br /><br />A speed limit sign is a round white sign with a red border and black numbers. See the "50" sign on the wikipedia page. There are also white/light gray signs with a black slash across them (also pictured on that page). This means national speed limit and you will see it in the countryside or when leaving town. 60 or 70, depending on the lanes. Note the picture on the page, it has national speed limit on a single track road -- you certainly would NOT drive 60 on that road. Speed limits are not intended to supersede sanity.<br /><br />Single track roads -- they have passing places. Please take it easy on these roads, and be alert to oncoming cars. Sometimes someone has to back up to the nearest passing place, so it is better to stop for one if you can see the need coming.<br /><br />If you stop at a passing place, and it is on your side of the road (left), you pull into it. If it is on the right, you do NOT pull into it. You stop across from it and let the oncoming car use it to past you. <br /><br />I recommend you make a sign to put in your back window that says "American tourist". :) Have someone remove it before you park, though, so it won't be seen when you are parking, and you certainly don't want it visible when you leave the car. There are those who would assume you have valuables and target your car. But if you are driving with a sign like that, people will be more patient. They don't mind idiots who have an excuse, it's the people they think are idiots without excuses that make them honk their horns, etc. Instead of being angry at you they will laugh when you do something stupid, and tell their friends about it. This is good for international relations.<br /><br />I'm going to hit the limit for this comment, so will do another one.Jonathan Gleasonhttp://www.mindrenewers.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20213892.post-23808705849587210412018-05-29T01:07:12.655-07:002018-05-29T01:07:12.655-07:00Hey Pastor,
Having just visited England a few yea...Hey Pastor,<br /><br />Having just visited England a few years ago, a lot of this is pure dejavu. Here are my tips.<br /><br />1. You don't need an oyster card if you have a contactless credit card. Just swipe the credit card on the tube at both ends and it bills you automatically.<br /><br />2. To get used to driving, the thing that helped me the most was this thought - "put my passenger in the gutter". If the person you are driving in the passenger seat is hard against the side of the road as you drive, and if you're aiming to get them there as you go around corners, it helps greatly. I drove around in a country on the "wrong side of the road" muttering "passenger in the gutter" over and over as I drove and it helped.<br /><br />3. The poms are very easy on speeding - In Australia if you are 1km/hr over they get you. In England there are barely any speed signs, and it actually doesn't matter if you are over the speed limit on highways. As our guide said - if you are 5 mile an over the officer might frown. If you are 10 miles over they might pull you over and ask you to be careful. If you are 20 miles an hour over they might stop you and take you to the station.<br /><br />4. I went to Spurgeon's church on a Wednesday night and the message was excellent, but it was in the basement. I asked a guy to take me up the top to see the auditorium, and he did take me, but it was bombed in WW2 and there is nothing original there from Spurgeon's time.<br /><br />Have a great time Pastor!<br /><br />JoshJoshuanoreply@blogger.com