Getting ready to set off

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David here...

We set off for Köln tomorrow from Stansted via Peterborough - an opportunity to have a final, traditional pub lunch before flying out of the country for 12 months. We both finished work on Friday, which was an odd experience for both of us even though we'd done it previously. It didn't really feel like we were leaving work, despite both having nice leaving drinks with our colleagues. We both felt that once Monday came around we would be at work again as normal. Obviously Monday came around and we didn't head off to work as normal, though we couldn't have a lie-in as we had to get up to put our mattress outside for the council to take away. We timed it well as they arrived as soon as we had closed the front door.

Saturday was all about packing the final things in the house and getting our backpacks ready. As you can see from the picture, we did manage to pack up all of our belongings, though it was touch and go at one point as both of our packs wouldn't zip up. After a bit of moving stuff around though we finally got them closed easily. On Sunday we had a nice meal with our families and said our farewells.

Monday was mainly cleaning. The floor has been washed down, the cupboards cleaned out, the carpets hoovered, dusting done and the outside of the house tidied up a little. We did manage to pop out and have British fish and chips for lunch one last time. What all of this work now means is that we should have a relatively easy day tomorrow with just a few remaining jobs to complete before an early start on Wednesday to get our 10:30 train. I have to admit that it still doesn't feel real at all, the same feeling that I remember from the last trip that seemed to last pretty much all the way round. It all feels a bit surreal and I have to be honest, I'm still in shock that we're actually going away again for 12 months and that it starts on Wednesday.

Today should be fairly sedate, a few jobs to do but nothing major, before a final evening making the most of our home, with the Champagne that I got as a leaving present from work and a film. We need to be on our way into Nottingham centre at about 09:30 to drop off the keys with the letting agent before making our way to the station and our journey actually beginning. It all feels very organised, quite relaxed and all under control...which means we've probably forgotten something.

Anyway, the next blog entry will be from foreign shores, likely to be Germany, where we'll be blogging about hunks of pork, the beauty of beer and the glorious sound of Heavy Metal.

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