How I Pulled Off a 10-Day London Vacation for $700 [Travel]

How I Pulled Off a 10-Day London Vacation for $700Back in September, we published serial traveler Matthew Kepnes' ultimate travel hacking guide, sharing his best tips and advice on how to travel cheaply without sacrificing comfort. The guide inspired many questions, so Matt had an idea: It's one thing to say "Hey, this stuff works," but it's another to actually show how it works. So here's how Matt managed a 10-day trip to London for a measly $700.

Ed. note: While not every hack Matt employs will come easily to all of us, his guide is full of clever methods that can shave dollars off your next trip?to London or elsewhere. Also worth noting: Several of Matt's suggestions involve using rewards points or miles. At first glance, that may seem rather unrealistic if you aren't already a frequent traveler, however Matt does provide several tips for how you can accumulate points and miles without spending any money.

Photo by Andresr/Shutterstock.

The first city on my list is London. I came here for a 10-day trip for a travel conference and thought it would make for the perfect example. London is notorious for being one of the most expensive places in the world to visit. No one goes to London under the assumption that they aren't going to spend a lot of money.
And that's why London is a perfect first place to do this. Because, if you can travel hack London, you can travel hack anywhere.

Using my own travel hacking tips, 10 days in London only cost me 481.21 GBP?$710 USD. That works out to be roughly $70 USD per day. And that's not just my day-to-day expenses. That includes EVERYTHING?my flight to London, my hotel, transportation, food, drinking, and attractions.

Think about that for a second: I had a 10-day vacation in London for $700 USD that included airfare. When was the last time you went to Europe for that little money? When was the last time any real big international trip cost that kind of money?

How Did I Do It?

Before I explain how I did it, I want to take a second to explain some of the ground rules I laid out for myself. I didn't backpack London. My goal was to show the budget travelers of the world?the two-week holiday makers?that you can do London on the cheap without being a backpacker. That saving money isn't all dorm rooms, couchsurfing, and eating pasta.

So, visiting London as a budget traveler, I made three rules:

1. I wouldn't stay in hostels. I wanted to stay in nice accommodation to prove that even a hotel stay can be cheap.

2. I had to eat a few nice meals. When you go on holiday, you want to eat nice food, so I agreed that I would have at least two really nice meals in London.

3. I couldn't say "no" because it was expensive. Many backpackers skip sightseeing because of the cost but I wanted to do all the normal sightseeing activities regular tourists do. You don't go on a short vacation to not sightsee right?

With these ground rules in place, I set off to do London as your average, everyday traveler.

Part One: The Flight

I used my American Airlines frequent flier miles to pay for my flight. A round-trip ticket from Boston to London cost me 60,000 miles, plus a service charge of $165.10 in taxes and fees.

The miles I used were "anytime miles," but American Airlines also offers "OffPeak Miles" (off-season really), and you can actually fly to London for as little as 40,000 miles round-trip.

How do I get so many miles?

I'm a frequent flier, so I can generate a lot of miles per year. I normally fly about 40,000 to 50,000 miles per year, which, compared to most travel writers, is pretty low. But I've written extensively on how to get miles for free. I sign up for bonus credit cards, sign up for deals, use preferred merchants, and sign up for every contest that gives extra miles. All told, I have accumulated over 400,000 frequent flier miles with American Airlines alone through these methods.

While I have written many blog posts on how to get free miles, here's a quick summary of the best methods:

Sign up for a branded airline credit card: Whether you love Delta or fly United and the Star Alliance, all U.S. carriers have a branded travel credit card that gives you 25,000-30,000 points when you sign up and make one purchase. That's a free economy ticket right there. Airline credit cards are the best way to kick start your mileage balance. Often times they offer huge sign up bonuses. For awhile, American Airlines gave you 75,000 miles when you got their branded credit card. Virgin Atlantic has offered 50,000. United has done 40,000. The quickest and best way to gain a lot of free miles is to get one of these travel credit cards.

Watch out for special promotions: I sign up for all airline mailing lists. I always watch out for special 2-for-1 mile deals. Or when they have special card offers to earn extra miles. American Airlines just gave me 1,000 miles for watching a demo on their new shopping toolbar. I once got 5,000 miles for joining Netflix. Often times you get miles for filling out surveys or they will give you a 100% bonus on purchasing miles. Promotions help big time, and airlines seem to always be offering them. Utilizing promotions over the course of a few months can yield big results.

Sign up for a non-airline credit card: Sign up for a non-airline credit card like a Starwood American Express card and you can get 10,000 sign-up points. When you convert 20,000 points into miles, you get a 5,000-mile bonus. I highly recommend signing up for this card too but signing up for any "points" card like the AMEX travel card or a Capital One card will do. Afterwards, you can transfer your sign-up bonus points to the airline you use and redeem them for flights.

For all of these methods, the bonus points take about 6-8 weeks to post from the time you sign up for a credit card. If you want, sign up for my free newsletter?I always post the best mile bonuses on it. Or read Boarding Area, which features all mileage bonuses big and small.

Note: Readers of my blog know I've been in Europe for long time. However, I also went home to Boston in September on a round trip flight from London. I'm using that flight as the basis for this article.

Part Two: Accommodation

I had hoped that by the time I went to London, my Marriott or Starwood points would credit to my account. Marriott is offering a new card with Chase that got me 70,000 points plus 1 free stay for signing up and after the first use. I jumped on this deal but the points took too long to place into my account. On the plus side, I now have 70,000 points and a free night at the Marriott for future use.

A few months ago, Starwood hotels offered a 60,000 points bonus. I signed up but forgot to use the card quickly enough and by the time I remembered, the point transfer took too long.

However, my points didn't get credited in time, so I used more American Airlines miles for this. I used 68,000 points plus $25 USD for 5 nights accommodation in a 4 star hotel. I stayed in a hotel near Hyde Park, a very well-to-do neighborhood in London.

Now, while you can use airline miles for vacations and hotels, you never get as good of a point conversion as you do with flights. Five nights using hotel points would have cost me just 50,000 points. The point here, though, is that by signing up for a branded hotel card, you can use those points to get free hotel stays for your next vacation. Or you can use the bonuses from an airline. Either way, getting free hotel rooms isn't that hard.

For the other 4 nights I was London, I used Wimdu, an apartment rental company. While I normally like hostels, I wanted some peace and quiet while in London as well as a kitchen. The room cost 150 GBP ($238 USD) for 4 nights.

Regarding all these credit cards: While you may get a small short-term ding opening lots of credit cards in a short time, over the long term your credit will be fine so long as you pay off all your cards at the end of the month. Even after opening all these credit cars, I still have a credit score of about 800.

Part Three: Attractions

London is great for sightseeing because so much is free here. It makes sightseeing on a budget really easy. The best museums?British Library, British Museum, National Gallery, Natural History Museum, Museum of London (just to name a few)?are all free. Hyde Park? Free. Kensington Gardens? Free. It's easy to fill a few days with sightseeing in London without ever spending a penny.

But sadly, not everything is free. For attractions that weren't free, I used the London Pass. This tourist card cost me 54 GBP ($86 USD) for two days of sightseeing. It covers over 32 destinations and offers free public transportation. You can get a pass for up to 6 days (87 GBP). There are hundreds upon hundreds of dollars in savings with this pass. However, I didn't have much time nor the desire to see all 32 spots. I was able to see:

  • Westminster Abbey
  • Tower of London
  • St. Paul's Cathedral
  • Ben Franklin House
  • Britain at War Museum
  • Shakespeare's Globe Museum
  • London Tombs

Without this pass, the same attractions would have cost me 104.55 GBP. I saved 50% by using the London Pass and I didn't even use it for everything it offers. This is why in so many of my posts about various cities I always stress getting a city pass if you plan to do a lot of museums and tours. You can save a lot of money by doing so. It's one of the best budget travel tips out there and is all too often overlooked.

Part Four: Food

I didn't want to be the typical backpacker and eat kebabs and pasta for every meal. But at the same time, I know locals don't eat out 100% of the time, either, and a great way to save money is to cook, which is part of the reason I got a place with a kitchen for my last 4 nights. I wanted to mix eating out with cooking a few meals. During my 10 days in London, I spent 103.80 GBP ($165 USD) on food, which broke down the following ways:

I spent 9.11 GBP on groceries, including bread, sandwich meat, vegetables, and pasta. This was enough for 3 dinners and 3 lunches.

I spent 2.20 on water bottles, which I refilled over the course of my trip.

My hotels and serviced apartment provided breakfast, though I did go out for McDonald's one morning. I just love those hash browns.

The rest was spent on dining out. I got pizza one day, went out for good Thai for one dinner, had great Indian one night, ate typical fish and chips the next, had a few Starbucks green teas, and tons of kebabs. They are everywhere in London. According to my friends, you are a true Londoner if you are dining on kebabs, especially if it's after a night out.

As I said, I didn't want to skimp on meals. I ate how I wanted to eat, when I wanted to eat. I did look for deals though as any good budget traveler knows that good food doesn't have to be expensive. In London, I found the best way to eat out on a budget was to look for lunch specials. Most restaurants I came across had lunch specials and many pizza places offered a "buy one, get one free" deal on takeaway.

Another great way to save money is to get the Taste Card. This diner's club card offers 50% discounts on thousands of restaurants as well as two for one specials. It can really pay off, especially on those nice meals you'll want to have. You can only live on fish and chips for so long.

Part Five: Transportation

My London Pass covered public transportation for the two days it was valid. And since cabs in London are notoriously expensive even by London standards, I refrained from taking them.

For transportation to Heathrow airport, I took the Heathrow express to get into the city (18.50 GBP) and the London Underground to get out (5 GBP). Around the city, I loaded my oyster card (metro card) for unlimited use within Zones 1-3 for 7 days at a cost of 32.20 GBP. (Everything you really need to see is mostly in Zone 1, but my conference was in Zone 3, so I had get out there.)

Conclusion: How Much Would This Trip Regularly Cost?

Had I fallen into the trap that most people do of booking a "normal vacation," in London, this trip would have cost me three times as much.

A flight to London from Boston right now is currently running around $650 USD.

Currently, the average price of a decently rated 3-4 star hotel in central London is 70 to 100 GBP ($111 to 158 USD) per night. For my 9 night trip, that adds up to around $1,000 USD as I would have gone with the cheapest.

Had I refrained from cooking, I probably would have added about another 70 GBP ($111 USD) on dining out knowing my eating habits.

If you add up all of that plus my transport and food, I would have spent around $2,000 USD. By traveling hacking and cleverly using reward points, I spent 10 days in London for less than the current price of a flight to London, saving myself $1,300 USD! Think about that. I saved 66% off the cost of a normal vacation, and I didn't skimp on anything. I just traveled smart, used reward systems, and everyday frugality to my advantage. I stayed in nice places, dined out well, and saw all the attractions I wanted. I didn't sacrifice comfort.

One the most important points I wanted to get across with this trip was to show people that cheap travel doesn't mean bad travel. I wanted to take a vacation to London that my parents or friends?people who wouldn't be caught dead sleeping in 15 bed dorms to save money?could take. I wanted to travel cheaply without sacrificing comfort.

And I did just that. "Travel Hacking" might not be the best phrase in the world, but the principles behind it are simple and easy. Travel doesn't have to be expensive. Repeat that. Travel doesn't have to be expensive. By investing just a little extra time into planning my trip, I was able to have a wonderful trip for around the cost of the going rate for a flight to London. You don't need to spend thousands traveling. A vacation doesn't need to cost an arm and a leg and the next time you are inclined to think so, just remember that yes, it is possible to travel any cheap and anyone can do it.

Note: One thing that is missing from this article is my conference costs. Most people don't visit London for travel conferences, so I didn't add any costs related to that conference to this post.

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/6PPZFcy4oM8/how-i-pulled-off-a-10+day-london-vacation-for-700

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'Breaking Dawn' tops holiday weekend box office (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? Vampires feasted at the Thanksgiving weekend box office, bringing the newest "Twilight" movie its second win in a row over a strong comeback for "The Muppets" and other family fare that filled theatres.

"The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: Part 1" delivered an estimated $113.5 million around the globe from Friday through Sunday. The film ranked No. 1 for the second straight week at U.S. and Canadian theatres, where ticket sales hit $42 million for three days and $62.3 million over the five-day Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

The film's total box-office take since its release reached $489.3 million globally.

"Breaking Dawn: Part 1" is the fourth movie in the "Twilight" series, one of Hollywood's most lucrative franchises. The movies are based on best-selling novels by Stephanie Meyer about a human-vampire-werewolf love triangle, a story that has generated legions of die-hard female fans.

For the latest movie, "word of mouth is good. (Fans) are supporting the film," said Richie Fay, president of domestic distribution for independent studio Summit Entertainment, which backed the film.

In second place, audiences welcomed the Muppets back to theatres for the first time in 12 years.

New Disney movie "The Muppets" starring Jason Segel and Amy Adams alongside Kermit, Miss Piggy and their puppet friends took in a strong $29.5 million at North American (U.S. and Canadian) theatres in three days. The five-day holiday weekend haul reached $42.0 million domestically. Two international markets added $1.6 million.

Disney bought the rights to the Muppets in 2004 and the media, entertainment and consumer-products giant is eager to interest a new generation in the characters.

"It's hard to have anyone argue we didn't bring them back," said Dave Hollis, Disney's executive vice president for motion picture sales and distribution. The movie's performance "exceeded expectations," he said.

The Muppets starred on a weekly television show in the 1970s and early 1980s plus a series of films, the last being 1999's "Muppets from Space."

Critics loved the new Muppets movie, with 98 percent giving a favourable review on aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences awarded an A rating on average, according to exit-polling firm CinemaScore. The movie cost about $45 million to produce.

FAMILY FILMS COMPETE

In third place for the weekend, dancing penguin sequel "Happy Feet Two" earned $13.4 million over three days domestically during its second weekend in theaters and $18.4 million through five days.

Rounding out the top five were two other new family movies that critics adored.

Animated 3D movie "Arthur Christmas," which cost about $98 million to produce, pulled in $12.7 million at domestic theatres over three days and $17 million in five days to finish in fourth place. The movie explains how Santa delivers presents around the world in one night and has earned $22.3 million overseas since opening two weeks ago.

Rory Bruer, president of worldwide distribution for Sony Pictures, said the film "opened about where we hoped it would" and he expected the Christmas theme would appeal throughout the holiday season.

"Hugo," a 3D family movie, ended the weekend in fifth place with $11.4 million over three days and $15.4 million over five days. The movie centres on an orphan living in a Paris train station in the 1930s.

The film exceeded studio forecasts for its release in about 1,300 locations, far fewer than the 3,000-plus for the other widely released films, said Don Harris, president of domestic distribution for Paramount.

In a small number of theatres, "My Week with Marilyn," starring Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe opened with $1.8 million from 244 screens from Friday through Sunday. Critics have praised Williams' performance in The Weinstein Co. film and mentioned her as an Academy Award contender for the role.

Walt Disney Co released "The Muppets." Privately held Summit Entertainment released "Breaking Dawn - Part 1." "Arthur Christmas" was distributed by Sony, and Hugo was released by Paramount, a unit of Viacom Inc. Time Warner unit Warner Bros. distributed "Happy Feet Two."

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Bill Trott)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/india/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111128/india_nm/india607549

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Think-tank proposes short-term euro zone bond fix (Reuters)

BRUSSELS (Reuters) ? Euro zone states should pool their short-term borrowing via a joint fund to enable countries pursuing EU-approved policies, but unable to borrow at normal rates, to access affordable funding, a European think-tank panel proposed on Monday.

A group of bankers, economists and market experts from the European League for Economic Cooperation suggested an EMU Bond Fund as a bridging solution to the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis, aimed at restoring market confidence.

"Our modest proposal is designed to provide a limited degree of mutual support that will be sufficient to allow adequate time to states that are themselves trying to restore their competitiveness," the authors wrote.

"If the euro zone demonstrates that it is on track to meet these initial economic (and political) goals of renewed competitiveness and sound public finance, then its individual members will have a compelling story to tell the investors of the world."

The fund, which would last only four years, would complement moves to instill stricter fiscal discipline and economic reform in the European Union. It would be open to all euro area states whose policies had been approved by the European authorities.

EU paymaster Germany has so far rejected all proposals for joint bond issuance, arguing that it would remove the market incentive on governments to implement painful austerity measures and economic reforms.

Berlin, backed by the Dutch, Finns and Austrians, is also concerned that common euro zone bonds would increase its own cost of borrowing.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has said common bonds could only come at the end of a process of fiscal integration, but the proposal suggests an immediate solution to get over the crisis threatening the survival of the euro zone in its current form.

The proposed fund would borrow in the markets for at most a two-year term to match the borrowing profile of client states.

Its capacity would be large enough to finance for the next two years all the maturing bonds of euro area states that were unable to access capital markets on normal terms.

Italy, whose short-term borrowing rate hit 8 percent on Friday, a cost widely regarded as unsustainable, needs to refinance more than 300 billion euros in maturing debt next year alone.

The panel said borrowings would enjoy a guarantee involving all participating euro area states. The exact nature of the guarantee remains to be determined, subject to a market survey.

Countries that breached the EU's budget deficit ceiling of 3 percent of gross domestic product would have to pay an interest rate surcharge. States subject to sustained sanctions under the EU's Stability Pact rules would cease to be eligible to borrow from the fund.

"This scheme guarantees access to finance at 'reasonable' cost for all member states, stabilizes the monetary union, shelters countries from strong swings in market sentiment and improves fiscal discipline in the eurozone," the authors said.

"The announcement would be a huge political statement about commitment to resolve the problems of some euro area member states and deepen economic union substantially. It would be the 'big bazooka' that an outsider has called for," they said.

The authors included economists Graham Bishop of Britain and Rene Smits of the Netherlands, Austrian central bank official Franz Nauschnigg, the head of the European Capital Markets Association, Rene Karsenti of France, and bankers Wim Boomstra and Shahin Kamalodin of Rabobank, Niels Gilbert of DNB and Nicol?s Trillo Ezquerra of Spanish bank BBVA.

All participated in a private capacity.

(Writing by Paul Taylor; Editing by David Holmes)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111127/bs_nm/us_eurozone_fund

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Sky Sports dedicated F1 HD channel coming next season

The 2011 Formula 1 racing season just wrapped up in Brazil, but Sky is already breaking down what it will bring to the series as it takes over UK coverage next year. Launching in March, Sky Sports F1 HD will be a channel dedicated to round the clock coverage of the world's most technologically advanced racing series including every race, practice, and qualifying session. Sky customers with the Sports and HD packages will see the HD channel appear at number 408 on the dial, although there's no word yet whether or not it will be available on BT Vision or Virgin Media. Other tidbits include a promise of Sky Go access, and that despite the broadcaster's big 3D push, there's no such coverage planned for 2012. Seeing how long it took for true HD broadcasts from F1 we're thinking that could take a while, but here in the US we'd simply settle for a promise of no more tape delayed broadcasts on Fox (and some competent challengers for the Red Bull team while we're asking) for next season. Until then, check out this brief video trailer, plus a press release with all the details after the break.

Continue reading Sky Sports dedicated F1 HD channel coming next season

Sky Sports dedicated F1 HD channel coming next season originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Nov 2011 10:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Singer Charlotte Church: Press destroyed my career

Christopher Jefferies, landlord of murdered victim Joanna Yeates, leaves the High Court in London after given evidence in the Leveson Inquiry, Monday, Nov. 28, 2011. The Leveson Inquiry is Britain's media ethics probe that was set up in the wake of the scandal over phone hacking at Rupert Murdoch's News of the World, which was shut in July after it became clear that the tabloid had systematically broken the law. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)

Christopher Jefferies, landlord of murdered victim Joanna Yeates, leaves the High Court in London after given evidence in the Leveson Inquiry, Monday, Nov. 28, 2011. The Leveson Inquiry is Britain's media ethics probe that was set up in the wake of the scandal over phone hacking at Rupert Murdoch's News of the World, which was shut in July after it became clear that the tabloid had systematically broken the law. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)

Christopher Jefferies, landlord of murdered victim Joanna Yeates, arrives to give evidence in the Leveson Inquiry at the High Court in London, Monday, Nov. 28, 2011. The Leveson Inquiry is Britain's media ethics probe that was set up in the wake of the scandal over phone hacking at Rupert Murdoch's News of the World newspaper, which was shut in July after it became clear that the tabloid had systematically broken the law. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)

(AP) ? Singer Charlotte Church told Britain's media ethics inquiry that persistent press lies about her had blown her credibility "to bits" and badly damaged her career.

She also said Monday that press intrusion had a devastating impact on her family life and particularly on her mother, who she said had tried to kill herself in part because she knew a newspaper article would detail her husband's extramarital affair.

The former teenage singing sensation described how cameramen tried to take photos up her skirt and down her blouse and published "intimate" details about her sex life when she was just 17.

"I couldn't get my head around that," said Church, 25, who blamed tabloid phone hacking for much of her lost privacy.

"I've been made a caricature for so long, and this person portrayed in the tabloids really isn't me," she told the committee in calm, measured tones. "It's not the person I am, and it's had a massive impact on my career. As an artist, I find it hard to be taken seriously because my credibility has been blown to bits."

Church, a pop and opera singer with a spectacular voice, was the latest prominent person to tell the committee how Britain's voracious and unscrupulous press has invaded their privacy and damaged their lives. She said she suspected her closest family members of leaking secrets when in fact the media were getting them from illegal phone hacking.

Prime Minister David Cameron set up the inquiry amid a still-unfolding scandal over illegal eavesdropping by the News of the World tabloid. Owner Rupert Murdoch closed down the newspaper in July after evidence emerged that it had illegally accessed the mobile phone voice mails of celebrities, politicians and even crime victims in its search for scoops.

More than a dozen News of the World journalists and editors have been arrested, and the scandal has also claimed the jobs of two top London police officers, Cameron's media adviser and several senior Murdoch executives.

The inquiry, led by Judge Brian Leveson, plans to issue a report next year and could recommend major changes to Britain's system of media self regulation.

Before Church testified, a man who had been arrested on murder charges and then cleared told the committee that tabloids had destroyed his reputation with false Page One stories.

Christopher Jefferies said the negative coverage of him was so widespread that some people still assume he is a "weird character" who should be avoided even though he was cleared of wrongdoing.

He was arrested last year by police investigating the murder of his tenant, Joanna Yeates. Another man has since been convicted of the crime.

Jefferies said he felt he could not go out in public because of the smears.

Last week, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, Hugh Grant and Sienna Miller all testified about the devastating impact that unscrupulous British media have had on their lives, along with the parents of murdered 13-year-old Milly Dowler and missing 3-year-old Madeleine McCann.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2011-11-28-EU-Britain-Phone-Hacking/id-5c3cd80865bb4062bf8e018417a8518a

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German police, demonstrators clash at nuke protest

Police used water cannons to disperse about 300 protesters hurling rocks and fireworks during an attempt to disrupt a shipment of nuclear waste in northern Germany on Saturday, officials said.

Some 50 activists also tried to sabotage the rail tracks that will be used by a train this weekend to transport the nuclear waste to the storage facility near the northern town of Gorleben, police spokesman Stefan Kuehm-Stoltz said.

Several thousand protesters gathered in the town of Dannenberg to hold a peaceful protest rally, police said. Organizers put the figure at 23,000.

Northeast of Dannenberg at least 700 people later broke through police ranks and staged a sit-in on rail tracks in an area of dense forest. Several hundred officers were deployed to carry the protesters away, which was expected to take several hours, police spokesman Martin Ackert said.

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The train carrying the shipment of 11 containers of nuclear waste reprocessed at France's La Hague facility entered western Germany on Friday after delays in France, where activists damaged railway tracks in an attempt to halt the cargo.

The shipment is expected to reach its destination sometime over the weekend. Some 20,000 German police officers are on hand.

Nuclear energy has been unpopular in Germany since fallout from the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine drifted over the country. The annual shipment from France has been a traditional focal point for protesters.

This is the first shipment, however, since Chancellor Angela Merkel decided to speed up shutting down all of Germany's nuclear plants, with the last one scheduled to go offline by 2022, following safety questions raised after the disaster at the Fukushima plant in Japan.

Activists in Germany say the waste containers, and the temporary storage facility near Gorleben, are not safe.

Germany has not yet decided where such waste, which remains radioactive for thousands of years, should be stored permanently.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45443901/ns/us_news-environment/

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