Barcelona pictures
Upon arrivial in Barcelona I was greeted by blue skies while the Alpes and Pyrenees were still covered in snow.
For the journey into town I had several options and went with the train. In retrospect the bus might have been more convenient, though. I started walking from from the northern tip of Passeig de Garcia. The street is your usual major street improved with a bit of Gaudi architecture as well as nice street lamps, trees and the sunny weather to go with it. Around the La Rambla area I made took a few diversions through the narrow streets with all the small stores.
The pedestrian area was bustling with people so it was hard to get good shoots. I went to the La Boqueria market off La Rambla where the (morning?) market was still in full swing. Main staple on the market was the jambon but most of the produce looked tempting. Among the fruit stands were a few tapas outlets. It was too busy and after all sitting there would make one the perfect target for petty crimes. The area outside the market appeared to be area targeted by those folks.
I continued walking to the amazing Plaza Real and the Plaza de Sant Jaume. I intended to visit the Museum of City History underneath/next to the Plaza de Rei but they were closed until later that day. I decided to wander around and wait for it to reopen. Instead of often quoted 60 minutes you need to tour the museum I spent around 90 minutes as it was amazing. Basically it is a maze of walkways through an archaeological excavation accompanied by an audio guide. The exhibit was a part of the old roman town found while moving (yes!) another building on top. The exhibition features everything from the city wall (made of recycled stones and even tombstones) to an upscale home with connections to the sewers. There was also a church with multiple generations of building projects - all on top of stone inlays in perfect condition which used to be part of the home next door. Overall this museum is a must-see for every visitor!
Finally I was off to early dinner at Cerveceria Catalana. I thought about ordering the huge sampler plate but instead went for three small dishes and a cold beer.
Albeit the Hamburg came last the food and service was good. This tapas bar was the obvious choice for lunch the following day. I took the subway to Diagonal Mar commercial center where I stopped by at the local Alcampo supermarket to get some water, wine and sweets to nibble on. At the Hilton I checked into my King Executive room on the top floor (23rd) with a water view. The woman at the check in desk informed me that although I had lounge access (nice outdoor terrace on the 15th floor) she recommends that I would head down to the full restaurant for breakfast - fine with me. I went upstairs, took a long bath, had some of the nice red wine and relaxed in the easy chair while watching US TV (Family Guy marathon). Bliss!
The next morning I went downstairs for breakfast and ordered poached eggs as I could not find regular eggs on the buffet. A few minutes later two slightly overdone eggs were served on toast with some salad. People from neighboring tables stared at me but when I pointed them to the menu which lists all the stuff one can order the kitchen must have had lots of orders coming in in a short time.
I took the subway to La Sagrada Familia and on to Park Güell where I walked around for about an hour. Unfortunately weather changed a bit to the rainy side and made me head to lunch earlier than anticipated. When I arrived at Cerveceria Catalana the lunch service was still in full swing and the rain made more people flock around the umbrellas outside. I resigned and went to a family style place where the only thing worth mentioning was the mushroom salad.
Back at the airport I was told that my flight to Frankfurt was about an hour late. Since my connection in Frankfurt was only 55 minutes this sounded like trouble. To make bad things worse it was the last flight of the day (arrival at 10:45PM in Hamburg) and the last Hamburg-bound flight before the Lufthansa pilot strike. I tried to get on the Munich flight and even though they managed to find me a business seat did not let me board as the Munich-Hamburg connection was totally oversold. I bought Internet access in the lounge and checked my options. For sure I wanted to stay clear of Lufthansa mainline flights as much as possible. I was hoping to get to anywhere in Europe with a connection to Hamburg Monday morning. The obvious connection was through Milan on Lufthansa Italia - one of the reasons why the Lufthansa pilots were on strike. Unfortunately the flight was canceled leaving some 150 passengers in Barcelona and fighting for seats on the remaining flights. The Stuttgart flight was fully booked as was the Düsseldorf one. My only hope was that the Frankfurt flight could make up some time on the way and would bring us to Frankfurt in time to make the connections. In the end we barely made it thanks to a slightly delayed flight to Hamburg. I was in Hamburg five minutes before the curfew with all the information displays already showing impacts of the Lufthansa strike ahead.
coast line south of Barcelona
For the journey into town I had several options and went with the train. In retrospect the bus might have been more convenient, though. I started walking from from the northern tip of Passeig de Garcia. The street is your usual major street improved with a bit of Gaudi architecture as well as nice street lamps, trees and the sunny weather to go with it. Around the La Rambla area I made took a few diversions through the narrow streets with all the small stores.
one of the many small stores
The pedestrian area was bustling with people so it was hard to get good shoots. I went to the La Boqueria market off La Rambla where the (morning?) market was still in full swing. Main staple on the market was the jambon but most of the produce looked tempting. Among the fruit stands were a few tapas outlets. It was too busy and after all sitting there would make one the perfect target for petty crimes. The area outside the market appeared to be area targeted by those folks.
tapas booth on La Boqueria
I continued walking to the amazing Plaza Real and the Plaza de Sant Jaume. I intended to visit the Museum of City History underneath/next to the Plaza de Rei but they were closed until later that day. I decided to wander around and wait for it to reopen. Instead of often quoted 60 minutes you need to tour the museum I spent around 90 minutes as it was amazing. Basically it is a maze of walkways through an archaeological excavation accompanied by an audio guide. The exhibit was a part of the old roman town found while moving (yes!) another building on top. The exhibition features everything from the city wall (made of recycled stones and even tombstones) to an upscale home with connections to the sewers. There was also a church with multiple generations of building projects - all on top of stone inlays in perfect condition which used to be part of the home next door. Overall this museum is a must-see for every visitor!
Plaza de Rei
Finally I was off to early dinner at Cerveceria Catalana. I thought about ordering the huge sampler plate but instead went for three small dishes and a cold beer.
grilled green peppers with sea salt
battered and fried small fish
the amuse geule Hamburger
Albeit the Hamburg came last the food and service was good. This tapas bar was the obvious choice for lunch the following day. I took the subway to Diagonal Mar commercial center where I stopped by at the local Alcampo supermarket to get some water, wine and sweets to nibble on. At the Hilton I checked into my King Executive room on the top floor (23rd) with a water view. The woman at the check in desk informed me that although I had lounge access (nice outdoor terrace on the 15th floor) she recommends that I would head down to the full restaurant for breakfast - fine with me. I went upstairs, took a long bath, had some of the nice red wine and relaxed in the easy chair while watching US TV (Family Guy marathon). Bliss!
The next morning I went downstairs for breakfast and ordered poached eggs as I could not find regular eggs on the buffet. A few minutes later two slightly overdone eggs were served on toast with some salad. People from neighboring tables stared at me but when I pointed them to the menu which lists all the stuff one can order the kitchen must have had lots of orders coming in in a short time.
I took the subway to La Sagrada Familia and on to Park Güell where I walked around for about an hour. Unfortunately weather changed a bit to the rainy side and made me head to lunch earlier than anticipated. When I arrived at Cerveceria Catalana the lunch service was still in full swing and the rain made more people flock around the umbrellas outside. I resigned and went to a family style place where the only thing worth mentioning was the mushroom salad.
Back at the airport I was told that my flight to Frankfurt was about an hour late. Since my connection in Frankfurt was only 55 minutes this sounded like trouble. To make bad things worse it was the last flight of the day (arrival at 10:45PM in Hamburg) and the last Hamburg-bound flight before the Lufthansa pilot strike. I tried to get on the Munich flight and even though they managed to find me a business seat did not let me board as the Munich-Hamburg connection was totally oversold. I bought Internet access in the lounge and checked my options. For sure I wanted to stay clear of Lufthansa mainline flights as much as possible. I was hoping to get to anywhere in Europe with a connection to Hamburg Monday morning. The obvious connection was through Milan on Lufthansa Italia - one of the reasons why the Lufthansa pilots were on strike. Unfortunately the flight was canceled leaving some 150 passengers in Barcelona and fighting for seats on the remaining flights. The Stuttgart flight was fully booked as was the Düsseldorf one. My only hope was that the Frankfurt flight could make up some time on the way and would bring us to Frankfurt in time to make the connections. In the end we barely made it thanks to a slightly delayed flight to Hamburg. I was in Hamburg five minutes before the curfew with all the information displays already showing impacts of the Lufthansa strike ahead.
Barcelona weekend trip
Last year I scored a decent weekend trip to Barcelona on Lufthansa. In conjunction with a Hilton sale in January I got myself a perfect getaway. Lufthansa pilots recently announced that they'll go on strike making air travel next week a major pain if you are booked on Lufthansa mainline flights. Thanks to this my flight home Sunday night went from empty to fully booked in a matter of less than two days. Lufthansa even stopped selling seats on the Barcelona-Frankfurt route that day.
Food-wise I found an amazing spot: Cerveceria Catalana, rated #5 restaurant in Barcelona on tripadvisor.com. Weather appears to be a mixed bag with sun tomorrow and clouds on Sunday, though.
Food-wise I found an amazing spot: Cerveceria Catalana, rated #5 restaurant in Barcelona on tripadvisor.com. Weather appears to be a mixed bag with sun tomorrow and clouds on Sunday, though.
Hong Kong Island skyline
The amazing Hong Kong Island skyline as seen from the southern tip of Kowloon in a hazy night. My rice sack tripod came in handy - well spent money on THE pod.
Hong Kong island skyline
Hong Kong food
Being the foodie I am here are a few pictures from the food we enjoyed in Hong Kong. Note that all the airplane food will follow in the next few days.
First off here's a typical snack from the Grand Stanford Intercontinental Club lounge.
The second evening we went to a Korean BBQ place. Basically you purchase a seat and select raw food from the buffet. Once back at your table a waitress fires up your gas BBQ on which you cook your own food.
The third day was well spent at Sushi One. Since we were a group of five we ended up ordering lots of dishes to share.
In the background of the previous picture you can see beds of rice with a tuna paste on top. It was amazing and I guess it wasn't even toro quality.
The following day we met with more people and went for dim sum. It turned out to be a quite touristy place although lots of locals were present. The dim sum wasn't offered in the traditional boxes but ready to eat on the plates.
First off here's a typical snack from the Grand Stanford Intercontinental Club lounge.
Veuve Cliqout Champagne and scallops
The second evening we went to a Korean BBQ place. Basically you purchase a seat and select raw food from the buffet. Once back at your table a waitress fires up your gas BBQ on which you cook your own food.
meat selection at the Korean BBQ restaurant
various meats including ox tongue, octopus and duck
The third day was well spent at Sushi One. Since we were a group of five we ended up ordering lots of dishes to share.
salmon and tuna sashimi
In the background of the previous picture you can see beds of rice with a tuna paste on top. It was amazing and I guess it wasn't even toro quality.
chicken knuckles and tempura
plain octopus
soft crab tempura (awesome!)
tuna nigiri
sushi
Alaska roll
eel with sesame seeds and teriyaki sauce
more sushi
pineapple and mango ice cream for dessert
green tea ice cream
The following day we met with more people and went for dim sum. It turned out to be a quite touristy place although lots of locals were present. The dim sum wasn't offered in the traditional boxes but ready to eat on the plates.
dim sum
duck breast and deep fried lychee at the Intercontinental club
Kowloon
During my Hong Kong trip last week I had the time to walk around Kowloon a bit.
view north on Nathan Road from the Jordan subway station area
the infamous Chungking Mansions building
meat stall in Kowloon
typical side street
Sameba Cathedral
During my trip to Tbilisi, Georgia I had the chance to see the Tbilisi Holy Trinity Cathedral also known as Sameba Cathedral. It's quite an interesting building - actually brand new compared to most churches I visit.
Sameba Cathedral Tbilisi
January weekend trip to Atlanta
I am currently sitting in the Turkish Airlines lounge at Istanbul airport waiting for my flight(s) home later today. The last six weeks I've been on the road constantly and other stuff keep me busy during the week. Now I am looking at about twenty folders of partly sorted photos and try to catch up on stuff.
The 30th of January (a snowy saturday morning) I set out for Hamburg airport by car with the intention to end up in Atlanta some twenty hours later. I would take the scenic route on the way back the following day. My flight route was Hamburg to Brussels to Washington to Atlanta. After a short night in Atlanta I was on my way back to Newark via Washington and Philadelphia. In Newark I would board a Lufthansa flight to Düsseldorf with a short connection to Hamburg. It was a whopping 9448 miles on HAM-BRU-IAD-ATL-IAD-PHL-EWR-DUS-HAM.
My flight to Brussels was delayed and I ended up arriving at 11:50AM for my international connection scheduled to leave at 12:10. Being on separate tickets missing the connection would have been my problem - I had a 3+ hour connection scheduled to enjoy the lounge in BRU and make sure I'd make it. When I arrived I was already some 30 minutes late for boarding and found myself in the wrong terminal - with immigration and security separating me from a 2km dash to the plane. I ran and somehow made the flight. In Washington the immigration and customs officers believed my travel patterns were suspicious which earned me some special treatment. As the flight was delayed in BRU already I was late and jumped a few lines to make it to the announced boarding gate during boarding time. Problem was, that the snow impacted operations that much that United decided to use a different plane docked at a different gate at a different terminal - in fact the one I just walked by some 20 minutes earlier. I was happy to see boarding delayed by an hour but somehow that turned into three hours once we got on board and waited for de-icing.
In a nutshell my plan of eating good Chinese food at Hong Kong Harbour in Atlanta and doing some shopping at Lenox Square mall were squashed. Instead I did not even pick up my rental car and went straight to my $36 motel close to the airport. In the morning I could not check in for my United flight thanks to some delay out of Atlanta which resulted in a connection with a slightly negative connection time. I asked to be rerouted to Newark so that I would make my international connection. The gate agent complied and found me a connection via Chicago in Economy Plus on United planes. Chicago should be avoided in the wintertime but that particular weekend it was way less affected than Charlotte. The previous night there were six stranded passengers from Charlotte in my motel shuttle alone.
Due to the changed flights I had to longish layovers (in Chicago and Newark) but both not long enough to comfortable get out of the airport and for instance drive to the Jersey Gardens Mall off Newark airport. I used the time to read a book that I brought along - I left my laptop at home.
The transatlantic flight was short (six hours) but a pleasant experience thanks to the great crew. A snobbish guy in his mid forties was blatantly telling his son about his connection to Sylt and his travels in the next few weeks. When the purser arrived, introduced herself and told me that if I need anything I should ask here he was kind of dazzled how somebody else appears to be more important.
My final connection to Hamburg was delayed a bit but still I showed up at work on time some 10,000 Miles&More miles richer.
The 30th of January (a snowy saturday morning) I set out for Hamburg airport by car with the intention to end up in Atlanta some twenty hours later. I would take the scenic route on the way back the following day. My flight route was Hamburg to Brussels to Washington to Atlanta. After a short night in Atlanta I was on my way back to Newark via Washington and Philadelphia. In Newark I would board a Lufthansa flight to Düsseldorf with a short connection to Hamburg. It was a whopping 9448 miles on HAM-BRU-IAD-ATL-IAD-PHL-EWR-DUS-HAM.
My flight to Brussels was delayed and I ended up arriving at 11:50AM for my international connection scheduled to leave at 12:10. Being on separate tickets missing the connection would have been my problem - I had a 3+ hour connection scheduled to enjoy the lounge in BRU and make sure I'd make it. When I arrived I was already some 30 minutes late for boarding and found myself in the wrong terminal - with immigration and security separating me from a 2km dash to the plane. I ran and somehow made the flight. In Washington the immigration and customs officers believed my travel patterns were suspicious which earned me some special treatment. As the flight was delayed in BRU already I was late and jumped a few lines to make it to the announced boarding gate during boarding time. Problem was, that the snow impacted operations that much that United decided to use a different plane docked at a different gate at a different terminal - in fact the one I just walked by some 20 minutes earlier. I was happy to see boarding delayed by an hour but somehow that turned into three hours once we got on board and waited for de-icing.
In a nutshell my plan of eating good Chinese food at Hong Kong Harbour in Atlanta and doing some shopping at Lenox Square mall were squashed. Instead I did not even pick up my rental car and went straight to my $36 motel close to the airport. In the morning I could not check in for my United flight thanks to some delay out of Atlanta which resulted in a connection with a slightly negative connection time. I asked to be rerouted to Newark so that I would make my international connection. The gate agent complied and found me a connection via Chicago in Economy Plus on United planes. Chicago should be avoided in the wintertime but that particular weekend it was way less affected than Charlotte. The previous night there were six stranded passengers from Charlotte in my motel shuttle alone.
Due to the changed flights I had to longish layovers (in Chicago and Newark) but both not long enough to comfortable get out of the airport and for instance drive to the Jersey Gardens Mall off Newark airport. I used the time to read a book that I brought along - I left my laptop at home.
The transatlantic flight was short (six hours) but a pleasant experience thanks to the great crew. A snobbish guy in his mid forties was blatantly telling his son about his connection to Sylt and his travels in the next few weeks. When the purser arrived, introduced herself and told me that if I need anything I should ask here he was kind of dazzled how somebody else appears to be more important.
My final connection to Hamburg was delayed a bit but still I showed up at work on time some 10,000 Miles&More miles richer.
Tbilisi, Georgia
I haven't even finished sorting the pictures from previous weeks trip to the US but stuff happend in the meantime. I was supposed to fly Ryanair out of Bremen - a first for me. Instead I ended up in 20cm snow in Tbilisi, Georgia.
I was casually surfing the L'tur Lastminute website when I found a good deal to Tbilisi. Why Tbilisi? A friend whom I went to seconday school with is currently in Tbilisi working for a private company backed by the German Federal Government focusing on development work in those kind of countries. Last year we met again and it was obvious that I would have to come visit. A few teasing photos later I added the TBS airport code to my automatic searches for cheap flights. With a trip priced at half the usual cost and perfect flight times (leaving friday after work, return just in time monday morning for a conference call) I could not resist.
Once I contacted my friend and she confirmed that she would have time (and that I could crash at her place saving some serious money) I booked the flight. Eight hours later I was on board a small Austrian Airlines plane that would bring me to Tbilisi via Vienna.
More impressions and some interesting photos will follow. In a nutshell I had a blast and will be back for sure.
I was casually surfing the L'tur Lastminute website when I found a good deal to Tbilisi. Why Tbilisi? A friend whom I went to seconday school with is currently in Tbilisi working for a private company backed by the German Federal Government focusing on development work in those kind of countries. Last year we met again and it was obvious that I would have to come visit. A few teasing photos later I added the TBS airport code to my automatic searches for cheap flights. With a trip priced at half the usual cost and perfect flight times (leaving friday after work, return just in time monday morning for a conference call) I could not resist.
Once I contacted my friend and she confirmed that she would have time (and that I could crash at her place saving some serious money) I booked the flight. Eight hours later I was on board a small Austrian Airlines plane that would bring me to Tbilisi via Vienna.
More impressions and some interesting photos will follow. In a nutshell I had a blast and will be back for sure.
Krua Thai in Cologne
What the Krua Thai website lacks the staff makes up for in service and quality. It an imbiss style outlet where you get your own drinks from the fridge. This thai restaurant was on my short list of places to try while in Cologne. It was well worth the 15 minute walk.
While the sate appetizer (at 4 Euro) was a bit disappointing the red curry I had was awesome. The greens were cooked spot on and still crisp and green. The chef must have quenched them - something you probably don't see at your usual take away place.
sate appetizer
Gai Phad King - somewhat different from the menu description
Panaeng Nüa - red beef curry with peanut/coconut sauce
While the sate appetizer (at 4 Euro) was a bit disappointing the red curry I had was awesome. The greens were cooked spot on and still crisp and green. The chef must have quenched them - something you probably don't see at your usual take away place.
Prague Hardrock Cafe
The Hardrock Cafe Prague only opened last April ... after I've last been to Prague. I remember that ten years ago street vendors were selling fake Hardrock Cafe t-shirts. Now that there is a real one none of the vendors dares to sell fake ones.
Prague Hardrock Cafe
Prague Hardrock Cafe
New York City weekend
Continental Airlines left the Skyteam Alliance last year and joined the Star Alliance which I much prefer. Thanks to a common bug in the booking process I scored a cheap ticket on the direct Hamburg to Newark, New Jersey flight. I should earn my first frequent flyer miles in 2010 while also spending a weekend in New York City. At first I thought of booking a continuation flight to Washington as I haven't been there for years. When I found out that a group of Flyertalkers meet in New York that particular weekend it was a sealed deal. Another $35 later for a decent hotel room on the Upper Westside I had everything laid out perfectly.
I left quite early Saturday morning as road conditions with lots of snow were unpredictable the night before. In addition the added security meant two security checks instead of one. I made it in time and asked how much a cash upgrade to BusinessFirst (the Continental Business class product - there is no First) would be. I declined when I heard the offer of $1500.
The flight was rather uneventful albeit my Inflight Entertainment system started rebooting constantly after around 90 minutes. Service and food were on-par with Lufthansa and really good compared to my previous experiences on that route.
Although we left with 45 minutes delay the captain managed to get us to Newark on time. I rushed through immigration, picked up my bags and got through customs within 15 minutes. The immigration officer understood the concept of meeting with friends, having steak and earning frequent flyer miles and wasn't bothering me at all. Instead of the slightly cheaper train connection I opted for the bus which would allow me to directly connect to the train (MTA subway) at Port Authority Bus Terminal on 42nd street. When I got to the subway/train station I had to discover that this weekend some trains would not run at all due to constructions and others took different stops. So my carefully laid out plan went AWOL and I had to connect.
Less than 90 minutes after landing I left my hotel - sans baggage - bound to Penn Station to meet with a Flyertalker. The time to kill before the Flyertalk DO (a meeting where people DO stuff) was spent at Times Square. A quick stop at the huge Macy's at 34th and I could confirm that they had indeed the cloths I wanted to buy the next day.
The Long Island Rail Road and JFK Airtrain via Jamaica station took about an hour to get me to the meeting point at JFK - I was more than glad I fueled up on drinks and a Taco Bell taco. Note: The Penn Station food court has a brilliant selection of those greasy fast food joints you would otherwise not find in Manhattan.
At JFK I met lots of Flyertalkers while checking in for our fake flight to Butte, Montana. American Airlines was a brilliant host for the gathering and created a flight just for us. We all received real boarding passes which we used to pass security. An American Airlines official met us and a short elevator ride later we were inside the control tower where live operations are happening. It was amazingly calm before we got there and there was a total of six people working the entire JFK American Airlines operations. Everything from baggage scanning, flight and ramp operations to mis-connecting passengers were taken care of up there.
After a short snack stop outside the lounge we all boarded trains back to Manhattan heading to The Palm Tribeca where the organizer reserved a private room earlier including free flowing drinks. The meeting had a strong American Airlines background and most of the attendees hold status on American Airlines but they all know a few interesting things here and there beyond their own frequent traveler program. The feast of amazing food started with a Caesar's salad. The 9oz medium-rare filet mignon that followed was spot on but small enough to let some room for the Key Lime pie. The pie was less sweet than the one I had in Key West three weeks earlier which was well appreciated. I did not win anything during the AA trivia that followed. I did not try hard, though.
After dinner we were chatting away and I got to know a few interesting personalities which I would love to meet again. Shortly before midnight I called it a day and hailed a cab back to the hotel - after all I was up for 24+ hours.
I had the offer to see Ground Zero from the 29th floor of an adjacent office building but due to limited time I will probably take up the offer during my next visit. Instead I left my hotel at around 9AM, had some breakfast in the Upper Westside (lots of good joints there on Columbus Ave) and went to the Marriott on Times Square. Why the Marriott? I went to the bell desk and asked them to hold on to my luggage for a few hours until I check in. Of course I never checked in but it was a safe and cheap ($2 in tips) way to store a piece of luggage.
The day was spent walking through SOHO. Shortly after a cheap chinese lunch I went to Macy's for my cloths and the Marriott for my luggage. My 29 hours on the ground in the US were about to end thus I boarded the bus back to Newark where I spent about an hour before boarding my flight home. I picked up a $35 bottle of 15 year old Ron Zacapa which appeared to be a steal. I again declined the cash upgrade offer. Continental was asking $5200 (that is US Dollars and not Argentine Pesos) to upgrade to BusinessFirst on a 7 hour flight.
Monday morning I landed in Hamburg with a bit of delay but was at work before 10AM. I would do this again if I had the chance. The direct flight is much more convenient than the connecting options on Lufthansa. I hope United will keep the route open once the Continental merger goes through.
I left quite early Saturday morning as road conditions with lots of snow were unpredictable the night before. In addition the added security meant two security checks instead of one. I made it in time and asked how much a cash upgrade to BusinessFirst (the Continental Business class product - there is no First) would be. I declined when I heard the offer of $1500.
The flight was rather uneventful albeit my Inflight Entertainment system started rebooting constantly after around 90 minutes. Service and food were on-par with Lufthansa and really good compared to my previous experiences on that route.
first glimpse of the Manhattan skyline in the background
Although we left with 45 minutes delay the captain managed to get us to Newark on time. I rushed through immigration, picked up my bags and got through customs within 15 minutes. The immigration officer understood the concept of meeting with friends, having steak and earning frequent flyer miles and wasn't bothering me at all. Instead of the slightly cheaper train connection I opted for the bus which would allow me to directly connect to the train (MTA subway) at Port Authority Bus Terminal on 42nd street. When I got to the subway/train station I had to discover that this weekend some trains would not run at all due to constructions and others took different stops. So my carefully laid out plan went AWOL and I had to connect.
Less than 90 minutes after landing I left my hotel - sans baggage - bound to Penn Station to meet with a Flyertalker. The time to kill before the Flyertalk DO (a meeting where people DO stuff) was spent at Times Square. A quick stop at the huge Macy's at 34th and I could confirm that they had indeed the cloths I wanted to buy the next day.
typical Times Square view
The Long Island Rail Road and JFK Airtrain via Jamaica station took about an hour to get me to the meeting point at JFK - I was more than glad I fueled up on drinks and a Taco Bell taco. Note: The Penn Station food court has a brilliant selection of those greasy fast food joints you would otherwise not find in Manhattan.
At JFK I met lots of Flyertalkers while checking in for our fake flight to Butte, Montana. American Airlines was a brilliant host for the gathering and created a flight just for us. We all received real boarding passes which we used to pass security. An American Airlines official met us and a short elevator ride later we were inside the control tower where live operations are happening. It was amazingly calm before we got there and there was a total of six people working the entire JFK American Airlines operations. Everything from baggage scanning, flight and ramp operations to mis-connecting passengers were taken care of up there.
JFK control tower
After a short snack stop outside the lounge we all boarded trains back to Manhattan heading to The Palm Tribeca where the organizer reserved a private room earlier including free flowing drinks. The meeting had a strong American Airlines background and most of the attendees hold status on American Airlines but they all know a few interesting things here and there beyond their own frequent traveler program. The feast of amazing food started with a Caesar's salad. The 9oz medium-rare filet mignon that followed was spot on but small enough to let some room for the Key Lime pie. The pie was less sweet than the one I had in Key West three weeks earlier which was well appreciated. I did not win anything during the AA trivia that followed. I did not try hard, though.
After dinner we were chatting away and I got to know a few interesting personalities which I would love to meet again. Shortly before midnight I called it a day and hailed a cab back to the hotel - after all I was up for 24+ hours.
I had the offer to see Ground Zero from the 29th floor of an adjacent office building but due to limited time I will probably take up the offer during my next visit. Instead I left my hotel at around 9AM, had some breakfast in the Upper Westside (lots of good joints there on Columbus Ave) and went to the Marriott on Times Square. Why the Marriott? I went to the bell desk and asked them to hold on to my luggage for a few hours until I check in. Of course I never checked in but it was a safe and cheap ($2 in tips) way to store a piece of luggage.
The day was spent walking through SOHO. Shortly after a cheap chinese lunch I went to Macy's for my cloths and the Marriott for my luggage. My 29 hours on the ground in the US were about to end thus I boarded the bus back to Newark where I spent about an hour before boarding my flight home. I picked up a $35 bottle of 15 year old Ron Zacapa which appeared to be a steal. I again declined the cash upgrade offer. Continental was asking $5200 (that is US Dollars and not Argentine Pesos) to upgrade to BusinessFirst on a 7 hour flight.
SOHO cobblestone street
the infamous United flight that landed with the right main landing gear inoperable
Monday morning I landed in Hamburg with a bit of delay but was at work before 10AM. I would do this again if I had the chance. The direct flight is much more convenient than the connecting options on Lufthansa. I hope United will keep the route open once the Continental merger goes through.
Chinese New Year in Hong Kong
Since my Transilvania weekend trip was cancelled I ended up with a weekend to spare in February. While on the road in New York I saw an amazing deal popping up on my iPhone. From Istanbul to pretty much everywhere for roughly 500 Euro return in Turkish Airlines Business Class. The best bang for the buck would have been Jakarta; surely a destination I wouldn't fly into directly from Europe otherwise. The few seats available to Jakarta were booked by the time I came back home - I was traveling without my laptop - and the waitlist did not clear. I now hold a return ticket to Hong Kong on a Boeing 777 wetleased from Jet Airways with amazing seats, comparable to the Air Newzealand Business Premier. I went to book a ticket to get me to Istanbul and ended up booking a ticket on Expedia combining Lufthansa and Swiss using a random bug which shaved 50 Euro off the flight and still allowes me to fly Swiss Business intra-European.
Thanks to New Year celebrations in Hong Kong that weekend there will be lots of stuff to see but flights to nearby cities (i.e. Taipei) are rather expensive. I'll revisit Macao during my stay for sure.
Btw: The new Great Circlemapper tool was recently released with lots of fun options to play around with.
Hong Kong flights (Great Circlemapper link)
Thanks to New Year celebrations in Hong Kong that weekend there will be lots of stuff to see but flights to nearby cities (i.e. Taipei) are rather expensive. I'll revisit Macao during my stay for sure.
Btw: The new Great Circlemapper tool was recently released with lots of fun options to play around with.
2010 travel plans
2009 has gone by and it's time to renew my Lufthansa status. Well, I could wait another year but with all the offers thanks to the economic downturn I figured it would be cheaper (and lots of fun) this year.
New York
The first January weekend already passed and I am still sitting at zero miles/flights this year. Fortunately this will change this saturday. I'll fly over to Newark/New York for the weekend. A Flyertalk event happens the same weekend so there goes most of the time. I'll visit the American Airlines Club at JFK airport including a backlot tour followed by dinner at The Palm Tribeca.
Prague
The following weekend I'll spend in Prague. I won't gain Miles&More miles but at 55 Euro for the trip I won't complain and instead meet up with a few Prague-based VoIP folks. Last year a Hardrock Cafe opened so that's one place to stop by.
Atlanta
Still in January ... another trip to the US. The only thing on my TODO list (besides lots of flying) is to eat at Hong Kong Harbour in Cheshire Bridge Rd - my favourite chinese place in the area. Walnut Shrimp, General Tso's chicken here I come!
Cologne
A domestic trip ... I couldn't resist booking a cheap two-for-one flight with a voucher. Cologne will be another Hardrock Cafe for my list as well.
Ryanair weekend trip
Some time last year I ended up booking a quick trip around Europe for less than 3 Euro. Bremen, Oslo and London on Ryanair. It's going to be my first experience on Ryanair. Just to be safe I booked this trip twice so if weather sucks or I just don't want to get out ot bed early I won't loose too much.
Tirgu Mures
Tirgu Mures is a small town in Transilvania. I found a 75 Euro roundtrip in February on Malev. For whatever reason Malev decided to cancel the sunday flight ruining my trip. I could cancel the hotel (30E for the best place in town) for free so no real loss on my side.
Barcelona
I've never been to Barcelona before and combined a deal at the Hilton with a Lufthansa sale and 40 Euro off voucher.
Minneapolis, Spokane, San Francisco
Thanks to a very generous First Class fare on United airlines I'll have 17 - yes seventeen - First Class flights for a total of 210 Euro. That's a lot of flying over just a few days but will get me around 40,000 miles closer to renewing my status. I still have to book the flight to get me to Minneapolis, though.
This concludes my travel plans for January, February and a bit of April (the Minneapolis stuff). For the rest of the year I have to get to Tokyo before June in order to use my free night at the Park Hyatt Tokyo. A reenactment of Lost in Translation would be in order but I still need to audition somebody for the part of Charlotte.
Not knowing what exactly will happen workwise after March I am reluctant to book lots of travel although I would fancy another South East Asia trip. I'd hop on any Star Alliance carrier to Bangkok since it's the cheapest destination in the area and then do short roundtrips to Ho Chi Minh City, Kuala Lumpur (Satay!) and perhaps Brunei (just because). The Lufthansa Business-Class fares ex-Bangkok to Saigon and Kuala Lumpur are quite cheap right now. Other than that there's the 77th IETF in Anaheim, CA and Cansecwest in Vancouver on my radar. Perhaps I'll combine the Kuala Lumpur trip with Hack In The Box.
New York
The first January weekend already passed and I am still sitting at zero miles/flights this year. Fortunately this will change this saturday. I'll fly over to Newark/New York for the weekend. A Flyertalk event happens the same weekend so there goes most of the time. I'll visit the American Airlines Club at JFK airport including a backlot tour followed by dinner at The Palm Tribeca.
Prague
The following weekend I'll spend in Prague. I won't gain Miles&More miles but at 55 Euro for the trip I won't complain and instead meet up with a few Prague-based VoIP folks. Last year a Hardrock Cafe opened so that's one place to stop by.
Atlanta
Still in January ... another trip to the US. The only thing on my TODO list (besides lots of flying) is to eat at Hong Kong Harbour in Cheshire Bridge Rd - my favourite chinese place in the area. Walnut Shrimp, General Tso's chicken here I come!
Cologne
A domestic trip ... I couldn't resist booking a cheap two-for-one flight with a voucher. Cologne will be another Hardrock Cafe for my list as well.
Ryanair weekend trip
Some time last year I ended up booking a quick trip around Europe for less than 3 Euro. Bremen, Oslo and London on Ryanair. It's going to be my first experience on Ryanair. Just to be safe I booked this trip twice so if weather sucks or I just don't want to get out ot bed early I won't loose too much.
Tirgu Mures
Tirgu Mures is a small town in Transilvania. I found a 75 Euro roundtrip in February on Malev. For whatever reason Malev decided to cancel the sunday flight ruining my trip. I could cancel the hotel (30E for the best place in town) for free so no real loss on my side.
Barcelona
I've never been to Barcelona before and combined a deal at the Hilton with a Lufthansa sale and 40 Euro off voucher.
Minneapolis, Spokane, San Francisco
Thanks to a very generous First Class fare on United airlines I'll have 17 - yes seventeen - First Class flights for a total of 210 Euro. That's a lot of flying over just a few days but will get me around 40,000 miles closer to renewing my status. I still have to book the flight to get me to Minneapolis, though.
This concludes my travel plans for January, February and a bit of April (the Minneapolis stuff). For the rest of the year I have to get to Tokyo before June in order to use my free night at the Park Hyatt Tokyo. A reenactment of Lost in Translation would be in order but I still need to audition somebody for the part of Charlotte.
Not knowing what exactly will happen workwise after March I am reluctant to book lots of travel although I would fancy another South East Asia trip. I'd hop on any Star Alliance carrier to Bangkok since it's the cheapest destination in the area and then do short roundtrips to Ho Chi Minh City, Kuala Lumpur (Satay!) and perhaps Brunei (just because). The Lufthansa Business-Class fares ex-Bangkok to Saigon and Kuala Lumpur are quite cheap right now. Other than that there's the 77th IETF in Anaheim, CA and Cansecwest in Vancouver on my radar. Perhaps I'll combine the Kuala Lumpur trip with Hack In The Box.
Florida photos
I finished uploading the photos, so here they are:
Florida food
Just before Christmas I've been on a short Florida trip with a friend. We basically only zipped around the Miami area with side trips to Key West and the Everglades (Shark Valley). Here's a collection of the food that we enjoyed.
Before evening arriving in Florida we had some breakfast and a snack in the Hamburg and Düsseldorf lounges followed by in-flight lunch and dinner.
From a few years back I knew that there were two shopping malls close to Miami International Airport. One of them had a Fuddruckers. After some shopping and before the imperative grocery run (Walmart) we stopped by there. It's all fresh and the meat patty was never frozen! You can/have to get your own toppings for the burger.
The next morning we stopped at one of my favorite breakfast spots: Crackerbarrel. The first time we went there I opted for French Toast instead of the more common egg based stuff.
Finally: Five Guys. In my opinion one of the best burger places on the East Coast.
The next morning a certain friend wanted to try something different: the cheap Denny's chain. It turned out to be barely OK food esp. with the alternatives around. But hey, if that's part of the US experience I'm willing to do it again.
Next up was a hibachi/teppanyaki place. It's a japanese steakhouse. In this case an independent place has been just taken over by the Benihana chain. I had to convince my friend to give it a try but it was well worth it.
I did not take pictures of the shrimp appetizers.
Before evening arriving in Florida we had some breakfast and a snack in the Hamburg and Düsseldorf lounges followed by in-flight lunch and dinner.
Lufthansa DUS to MIA: lunch
Lufthansa DUS to MIA: dinner
From a few years back I knew that there were two shopping malls close to Miami International Airport. One of them had a Fuddruckers. After some shopping and before the imperative grocery run (Walmart) we stopped by there. It's all fresh and the meat patty was never frozen! You can/have to get your own toppings for the burger.
Fuddruckers burger
The next morning we stopped at one of my favorite breakfast spots: Crackerbarrel. The first time we went there I opted for French Toast instead of the more common egg based stuff.
Crackerbarrel French toast
Crackerbarrel side for the French toast
Finally: Five Guys. In my opinion one of the best burger places on the East Coast.
Five Guys burger all the way (the usual toppings)
The next morning a certain friend wanted to try something different: the cheap Denny's chain. It turned out to be barely OK food esp. with the alternatives around. But hey, if that's part of the US experience I'm willing to do it again.
Denny's breakfast omelette
Next up was a hibachi/teppanyaki place. It's a japanese steakhouse. In this case an independent place has been just taken over by the Benihana chain. I had to convince my friend to give it a try but it was well worth it.
Benihana teppanyaki: soup
Benihana teppanyaki: salad with ginger sauce
I did not take pictures of the shrimp appetizers.
Benihana teppanyaki: chef preparing the fried rice
Benihana teppanyaki: raw meats
Benihana teppanyaki: teriyaki steak
Benihana teppanyaki: medium-rare filet mignon
side dishes of our breakfast omelettes at the Airport Diner just north of the Miami airport
sign at yet another Five Guys place
