Well, first of all, another impression from the Royal Alcazars in Seville – the entry hall. Looks just like the hallway of our home… 
On a completely different matter: I was in Brussels last week, and had a nice, rather productive workshop there. And then used the metro. Went in with my wallet, came out without it.
Great. Really great.
Credit cards, ID-card, money, drivers license, health insurance card. Everything gone. So, standing in the middle of Brussel without anything – that was certainly not the funniest day I had in a while. Fortunately, some colleagues were with me, who baby-sat me somewhat – and the German embassy was just a couple of blocks away. So I went there to get a temporary ID-card, in order to at least be able to get on the plane home. Fortunately, I had a copy of my ID-card on my laptop, which speeded things up considerably.
Then to the police, just to officially report my ID stolen – didn’t want “me” to turn up say at the border in southern Italy or eastern Poland. Problem was that the policeperson spoke fluent French and Dutch – to which I could equally fluently answer in English, German or perhaps Swedish. Fun… Sort of.
Grrr. Now I spent already a considerable amount of time in the various German administrations to get my life back. Problem is, that I’m stranded here in Germany and can’t go back to Gothenburg without having my passport back first. Screws up my schedule considerably.
Oh boy, am I looking forward to my vacation!
Thomas
PS.: I guess it’s a really good idea to have an electronic copy of ones Passport and/or ID-card placed with somebody that one can call in case of such an emergency. In order to have it faxed/mailed to a police station or embassy.
Oh, that is really an annoying situation. It’s not only the direct damage, but also the hassle and the time lost, add to this the bad feelings and the anger. I am feeling really sorry for you – and a certain relaxation comes up when thinking back of those Barcelona pickpockets, that once selectively stole only my cash money.
On the Alcazar’s entry hall: Looks really inviting with those harmonious brown colors and the felt coolness of the stone floor under the arcs.
Yeah, in hope of that, I also left my contact details with the police and the local lost & found office of the tram company. Just in case mine was a “kind” thief.
But according the the woman at the embassy, I shouldn’t hold my breath. We had our meeting with the EU commission services and around the EU quarters there seems to be a real cordon of very professional pickockets waiting for their prey. And those guys have a whole exploitation chain behind them, in order to make use of the credit cards, passports, etc.