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A long trip.......
The trip to doha was long and so is this page and this is just the begining, pictures will be coming soon.....
I was on teletext:

Sunday, May 19, 2002
I have had my first competition this season. It was in Doha in Qatar, Middle East and the trip could not have gone worse.....

It is such a long story that I just sum up the worst.

1 it started off at two o'clock on Monday morning.
2 our prepaid KLM tickets had changed overnight to two other persons flying from Budapest instead of Frankfurt and they had already picked our tickets up.
3 once we finally reached the person in Doha who had arranged our travel he told us he had changed our tickets and now we could
pick them up at British Airways instead of KLM, unfortunately, the plane was already gone.
4 the next morning I had to get up at three again to get on our changed new flight.
5 Sabine and I finally arrived in Doha, unfortunately our poles did not arrive.
6 the day after the competition the Floe's poles had disappeared out off the hotel and were nowhere to be found.
7 on our flight back we got hold up in London: the air traffic control computer was down. Our flight was cancelled.
8 we succeeded in rebooking to another flight to Frankfurt, unfortunately this one was cancelled too.
9 we decided not to wait for our luggage again but report it as lost and catch a train back home. We missed the last train.
10 we went back to the airport, Floe and Sabine found their bags, I did not.
11 we slept at the airport and got the train to Brussels and got picked up there. after spending two days on airports and in planes, cars and trains we finally got home. By now we had missed our next competition which was Saturday in Saulheim.
12 I checked our lost baggage report on the internet and found out they had only registered two of our three bags. off course these were the two we had found back ourselves, my missing bag was not reported.

luckily there are still some things that make up for it :

1 I suddenly had a whole day more at home, I did some training, laid in the sun and got me a good treatment for my back at the physiotherapist.
2 I saw a really nice film on the plane: a Beautiful Mind, it made me cry. I wonder what the other passengers were thinking ;-)
3 Our poles were found and as they couldn't get in time to Doha,they were sent back safely to Frankfurt.
4 I could jump the competition on Floe´s poles, who had flown Monday on the plane Sabine and I had missed because we didn't know we were flying British Airways. Luckily Floe has almost the same poles as I have.
5 the callroom was a very nice big tent with couches, fauteuils, rugs on the floor, chandeliers, a giant tv and air-conditioning.
6 I did pretty well for my first competition although I was very nervous I jumped 4,25m and got second.
7 I got a very nice price and $3000,- which is very much for me.
8 Sabine and I had missed the big buffet on Monday evening and therefor also the traditional dress every athlete got to wear for the occasion. Luckily two managers: Ellen and Caroline, already had lots of them at home and so Sabine and I also got a traditional dress.
9 We had a day left in Doha and spend it with a nice training session, relaxing on a floating mattress in the sunshine, a short trip to the shopping mall and to a little island in the bay. On the way back we were surprised by lots of children playing in a little park which by day had been totally deserted and now, late in the evening, it was just packed. Interesting to see who people in such a different country live their lives.
10 I was finally frustrated enough to buy me a nice trolley for my cabin luggage, now Sabine and I didn't have to carry our laptops, video cameras and all our other stuff anymore.
11 I was very glad to get home and I am very happy with my wonderful bed.
12 I found out that my new laptop does not only work with the electricity adapter that is in my lost bag but also with the adapter from my old laptop.
13 I cannot wait to start tomorrow in Rehlingen.


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June 22, 2002 last updated