Posted by Seth on October 6, 2011 under Dining, Trip Reports | 
I’m a sucker for a good, old fashioned food market. Partly because I truly enjoy a picnic and partly because I hate massive groceries, but a good food market just about anywhere in the world will draw me in. Given the relative dearth of enjoyable things to do in Frankfurt (at least that I found interesting), my most recent trip was a bit heavy on the food market visits.
The main market in the old city is the Kleinemarkthalle. Originally built in the 1870s, the market was destroyed in World War 2 and rebuilt in the current location in 1954. It houses dozens of stalls with merchandise covering the full gamut of fresh and packaged goods. Meats, cheeses, seafood, produce, flowers and more.
Of course, to visit the Kleinmarkthalle we first had to find the Kleinmarkthalle. Easier said than done. Juggling Google Maps on my BlackBerry and a pretty awful paper map from the hotel I was pretty sure I knew where I was going. There were landmarks along the way and I was recognizing them. Or so I thought. Getting lost is just part of the adventure, however, and before I realized just how off-track we were an even better discovery came along.
I think we might have been at Konstablerwache, but that’s just a guess. What I know for certain is that we had stumbled into an open-air market that was bustling, and it was time to eat. And drink. Sure, it was only about 10:30am, but there were a number of vintners amongst the stalls and they had tastings running. Who was I to insult them by not partaking??
We found pastries and brats. Butchers selling uncooked meat outnumbered the grills running, but not by much. There were produce stalls and flowers and other stuff, too. Eventually we settled on a breakfast menu – pastries and wine (white for breakfast, naturally) – and relaxed at a table, letting the bustle of the market swirl around us.
The break for breakfast also gave us the opportunity to regroup on the navigational front. It didn’t take us long to figure out where we went wrong and adjust our plan for finding the market we meant to visit. And given the historical significance of the Kleinmarkthalle (plus the opportunity to find something else to do in Frankfurt) we set out on our way. Just a few minutes later we were where we meant to show up.
The Klein Markthalle is larger and a bit better organized than the outdoor market. It also had a broader variety of shops, but only by a bit. Stuffed peppers and pastas and more "interesting" cuts of meat on offer than I’ve seen in a while.
Eventually we settled on a menu for our picnic, collected the necessary bits from the vendors and headed out to enjoy a sunny afternoon along the river.
Both were thoroughly enjoyable, though I doubt that the outdoor version runs year round. I suppose it mostly depends on when you’re in town as to which you should plan a visit to.
Posted by Seth on June 9, 2011 under Trip Reports |
It would seem that, sadly, this is going to be a rather short post. Yes, I’m quite happy that I got to spend a couple days in Frankfurt, Germany as part of the Lufthansa A380 Inaugural flight from San Francisco, but there really isn’t a ton to do in town. We got by and managed to not go too crazy, but it was tough.
The Altstadt ("Old Town") is where we spent most of our time while in town. It is convenient to the river and where our hotel was so that definitely helped keep us there. And what few tourist-focused bits of town exist are rather concentrated in that area (though we did head across the river for dinner both nights).
The European Central Bank is in the area, and it looks just like a bank building but with a nifty Euro logo out front. The Frankfurt Bourse is also in the area. They went with the more traditional bull & bear theme for their statues.
And then there is the Dom. Like any good European town, the city of Frankfurt is more or less centered around a town square, with the local cathedral not too far away. In the case of Frankfurt Saint Bartholomeus’s Cathedral (Dom Sankt Bartholomäus) is located just a block off the central square and it is one of the main tourism spots in town.
The location has had a cathedral for several hundred years but, like much of the town, this iteration is relatively new construction from after the war. The Dom served as the election site for emperors of the Holy Roman Empire as well as providing a site for the anointing of German kings. Today it is just a cathedral, with no special powers (and not even a Bishop’s seat) but it still serves as a focal point in the community, for tourists and locals alike. Plus, at 95 meters tall it is a great navigational beacon in town.
Within the main square there is some interesting history to go along with the very tourist-focused shops and the Römer, formerly City Hall and now used by the local government for a number of functions, including wedding facilities in some of the halls. There is a lovely statue of Justitia, holding the scales for judging and a sword for carrying out guilty verdicts.
The square also happens to be where we got a snack our first day in town. There is a cute little würst shop selling sausages of various persuasion, along with the requisite sides, and beer. It was certainly not the best food we had during the trip but given that the options just north of the square included a Subway I’m pretty sure we made the right choice. Besides, standing out in the square eating and drinking was a great opportunity to people watch.
And that’s pretty much it. We did spend some time in a couple different food markets (one on purpose and one by accident); that will be another post as there are too many cool photos in that one. We also took a quick trip out to Mainz for 30 minutes and that was more fun than the several hours we spent in Frankfurt.
Don’t get me wrong, Frankfurt isn’t bad, per se, but there are much better cities to visit in Germany if you’re looking for more traditional touristy things to do.
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Posted by Seth on May 24, 2011 under Flying, News |
The answer to this question is probably a resounding "yes" but generally there is some need to qualify it. Crazy smart in many cases as they seem to be still making money, despite the complaints, gripes and crazy policies. And the boss certainly has a way of making noise and getting himself out in front of the cameras. Generally speaking I have no problems with their business model or approach to the game. They’re pretty up-front about all the extra fees and such and they continue to book huge volumes of passengers. But this latest move might just be a bit too much.
Thanks to the eruption of another volcano in Iceland there’s an ash cloud that threatens air traffic over Scotland. The impact last time around was enormous, with some carriers pushed out of business in part due to the costs of the flight cancelations. This time around at least one airline is fighting back. Ryanair has flown at least one aircraft through a forecast ash zone and reported no visible impact. And they’re pushing up against regulators and air traffic controllers with their intentions to fly more, even in supposedly dangerous areas.
Thus the question: Is Ryanair crazy?
Certainly the costs of not flying are huge. Particularly with the EU’s Right to Care requirements, the costs of a canceled flight are not just lost revenue or upset customers; there are significant hard costs that must be shouldered. But what are the costs of flying into such potential harm? Can they even be calculated?
The air travel industry is incredibly safe. Odds of even an injury, much less a fatality, are miniscule compared with nearly every other mode of transportation. This is almost entirely attributable to the sometimes painfully conservative approach taken to safety. Redundancies and backups are the norm, not the exception and the rules err on the side of not flying unless there is tested evidence that things are safe. The German air traffic controllers are holding to that line, refusing passage of aircraft through predicted ash zones. They are suggesting that any airline looking to make such flights provide proof that it is safe, not just that it is likely to not be dangerous. Ryanair is taking the opposite tack, suggesting that the ash issues are a "myth" and that flying is probably safe enough.
Is this simply a case of profits over safety? Or is the air travel industry too conservative to begin with? In other words, is Ryanair crazy?
And, not just to pick on Ryanair, but most other airlines are operating nearly all their flights today, too; only about 500 cancelations are expected. Still, some flights to Northern England, Scotland and Ireland are being scrapped. Unless you’re on Ryanair.
UPDATE: Despite the previous statements that they’d fly, Ryanair has succumbed to the rule of law and canceled their flights.
Following a direction from the Irish Aviation Authority Ryanair regrets that we have been forced to cancel all flights to/from Scottish Airports for the remainder of the day (24 May).
Despite Glasgow Prestwick and Edinburgh Airports being outside the ‘red zone’ on the most recent UK Met Office charts click here for details the UK Civil Authority (CAA) have decided that these charts are wrong and have closed the airspace.
Earlier today Ryanair confirmed that it operated a one hour verification flight up to 41,000 feet in Scottish airspace this morning (24th May). The aircraft took off from Glasgow Prestwick, flew to Inverness, on to Aberdeen and down to Edinburgh – all of which according to the UK Met Office charts were in the “red zone” of “high ash concentration”.
During the flight there was no visible volcanic ash cloud or any other presence of volcanic ash and the post flight inspection revealed no evidence of volcanic ash on the airframe, wings or engines. The absence of any volcanic ash in the atmosphere supports Ryanair’s stated view that there is no safety threat to aircraft in this mythical “red zone” which is another misguided invention by the UK Met. Office and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
Ryanair has also received written confirmation from both its airframe and engine manufacturers that it is safe to operate in these so called “red zones” and, in any event, Ryanair’s verification flight this morning confirms that the “red zone” over Scotland is non-existent.
Posted by Seth on January 13, 2011 under frequent flyer, News, points |
The past week has been a busy one for carriers in the Middle East and Central Asia. In addition to the move by Saudi Arabian Airlines to join the SkyTeam alliance (covered here and here), Turkey, Pakistan and Iraq have gotten in on the action.
In Iraq a consortium of investors will be working with Greek charter carrier Viking Hellas to establish frequencies and destinations between Iraq and Europe. Most of the service will be focused on moving passengers between Western Europe and northern Iraqi cities located in the Kurdish Regional Government Area. This is notable mostly because it shows a continued growth and recovery of that market. Air service to Iraq has been quite limited for a long time now and seeing that move back a bit towards normal is quite a positive sign.
The other significant announcement this week involves the major shift in traffic between THY Turkish Airlines and Pakistan International Airline. PIA will be cutting service to New York City, Chicago, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands. Customers looking to reach those destinations will now be routed on Turkish Airways-operated flights via Istanbul under a new joint venture that the two carriers recently signed.
PIA will be keeping one long-haul destination in the West with 3x weekly service to be operated from Istanbul to Houston. It is also expected that PIA will add seven weekly service frequencies to European destinations from Istanbul, either in addition to or in place of Turkish service.
Other notes from the announcement include:
- Both airlines will exclusively use catering facilities of the partner airline, when applicable, on flights between Pakistan and Turkey.
- The operating carrier will arrange special food, reading material to the taste of marketing carrier’s passengers.
- The two airlines will cooperate in maximum utilisation of each other’s engineering, maintenance and training facilities.
- The two airlines will immediately test/integrate interline e-ticketing.
- Both airlines will provide all assistance/transit/business class lounge facilities to passengers at their home stations.
So there are obvious back-office benefits to an agreement such as this one. In some ways this is just another code-sharing agreement and some minor shuffling of flight hardware to better serve passengers at both ends of the trip. But the announcement also includes this little tidbit
The two airlines will also integrate their frequent flyer programs for mutual benefit of the airlines and passengers travelling on two airlines.
Certainly it is too soon to claim that the frequent flyer programs are merging or that anything major is happening here on that front, but it does open up a number of quite interesting possibilities. Most significant, perhaps, is that aligning the loyalty programs and integrating interline e-ticketing brings about the very real possibility that PIA could make a move to join a global alliance, with Star Alliance being the most obvious target given Turkish’s membership there. The Central Asia region doesn’t have a lot of coverage from the alliances and this sort of move would be a major change on that front.
Also of note is that, while Chicago is largest global gateway in the United States for Star Alliance, Turkish does not currently offer service there. With the PIA service being cut in favor of Turkish this seems like a route that just significantly improved its odds of being announced.
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Posted by Seth on January 6, 2011 under frequent flyer, points, Trip Reports |
When I first booked the award trip to Africa we were booked in business class the whole way. After all, if you’ve got the points might as well use them. And then the refinements of the itinerary came along and the option opened up for a non-stop home from Munich rather than the connection. And that non-stop option also happened to be in first class. Yeah, I think we deserved it. A quick call to change the itinerary (no charge, one of my favorite elite benefits) and we were confirmed in Lufthansa’s first class cabin on the Airbus A340 from Munich to New York City. This is not the first time I’ve managed to book a proper first class award; last year’s New Year trip had a similar booking on THY Turkish but we had some problems on that trip so we had to abort. This time we were going to keep the first class seats and get the experience.
The experience started on Tuesday morning with the train ride out to the airport from downtown. We made our way into the private first class check-in area to be greeted with a bit of a line and a bit of disappointment. The line was no big deal and the coffee maker in the check-in area was a nice touch during the wait. The loss of our previously assigned seats, however, was not so nice a touch. I’ll be the first to remind people that assigned seats are not a guarantee, but when I was holding boarding passes for adjacent seats only to be told that we were now going to be sitting on opposite sides of the cabin it was definitely a bit disappointing.
Again a bit of a line going through security – the non-F/HON line actually moved faster – but that happens sometimes. We made our way through and up to the First Class Lounge to pass the couple hours prior to the flight. No, it isn’t the famed First Class Terminal at Frankfurt but the FCL is still supposed to be one of the better lounge options out there. I guess it is, but I still am not all that amazed by it.
We asked for shower rooms and, after a bit of a wait, managed to get in. The bath room was occupied so my wife settled for a shower instead, but no rubber duckies available. Sure, it is a silly little gift, but not being able to pick up that souvenir was another in a quick succession of little disappointments that seemed to sour the whole experience a bit more than it probably should have. The shower was pretty nice and the shower rooms are some of the better I’ve seen in lounges so it had that going for it.
After the shower we headed to the restaurant area for breakfast before boarding. The food service in the lounge is one of the highlights of the lounge. Cooked to order meals and wait staff always around to see if there’s anything more you need. That was definitely nice. We just had a regular breakfast – bacon, eggs and toast – but it was pretty good.
Before we knew it our time in the lounge was done and it was off to the flight.
Read more – Part 2: On board in Lufthansa First
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Tags: Africa, Airbus, fees, frequent flyer, Germany, Lufthansa, Munich, New York City, NYE2010, points, Trip Report
Posted by Seth on January 6, 2011 under frequent flyer, points, Trip Reports |
Check out part one of the report here.
Following our visit to the lounge we made our way over to the gate for boarding of the Airbus A340-600. The lounge doesn’t announce departures but they told us when we got there that we should leave the lounge at our posted boarding time. We did, and we made it to the gate before boarding and at the back of a rather scrum-like scene. Fortunately there was a second boarding area in use for premium cabin passengers and we made it on board reasonably easily.
First order of business once on board was to secure a proper beverage to start the flight.
With a glass of Piper-Heidsieck Rare Cuvée secured it was time to settle in and make myself comfortable for the flight. The seat is pretty nice, particularly compared to the business or coach products that Lufthansa offers on their long-haul fleet. Still, it is hard to see how it can be considered one of the best products in the market. It is fully flat, just like many business seats these days, and a bit narrow for sleeping. It is certainly comfortable but I’d say it ranks behind the new Continental BusinessFirst and Swiss Business products among others I’ve tried recently.
About 30 minutes after take-off the beverage service began again. I had my first of what would be several glasses of the 2006 Dão Reserve from Casa de Santar in Portugal and then the amuse bouche. Served in an egg shell resting on a bed of kosher salt crystals it was definitely cool in addition to being rather tasty.
Following the amuse bouche was the caviar course. I’m not a tremendous caviar fan though I certainly do appreciate the effort. And the vodka shot that came with it. Still, I’d probably pick something else fun and fancy if I was making my own menu.
Next up was the tower of appetizers. A duck foie gras and chicken in aspic, salmon tartare and tomato mouse appeared. All three were quite enjoyable.
Next up was the soup and salad course. Naturally, I had both. The salad was nothing special but the white onion cream soup was. Delicious, indeed.
For the main course none of the options particularly called to me so I went the safe route, settling for the spring chicken on rosemary sauce served with Brussels sprouts and rösti (potatoes). The chicken was actually rather bland and dry but the sauce and sprouts were pretty good.
After the lunch I dozed for a couple hours. I awoke to find that my in-flight entertainment was still not working. After yet another reset (the third, I believe) the system finally was functional though not particularly impressive. The selection was pretty solid but the screen – perhaps 6” at most – was not. The OS behind it is pretty ancient, too, leading to a notable lag in selecting options and usability. It is not what I would consider a proper first class product these days; it would barely qualify for coach on some carriers.
The second meal was a collection of cold canapés and a “casserole” that actually turned out to be a soup. Not sure if that was on purpose or a catering mistake but it was pretty decent tasting.
Arrival into JFK was pretty normal. The bags tagged HON/First were the first off the plane; it was nice to see that benefit actually work well.
Overall the food was the highlight of the experience and I’m not so sure that it really rates more than an A-. The seat gets a C and the IFE an D for a first class product. They’d fare better if it were business class but that comes for rather fewer miles (or dollars if you’re inclined to actually buy premium tickets). I believe the flight over in Swiss business class was a MUCH better value (I’m still working on that review).
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Posted by Seth on May 5, 2010 under Trip Reports |
I’ve been through Frankfurt a few times in the past 10+ years. I’ve had connections, stopovers and even originates a return from Europe there once and yet I’d never really had a chance to explore the city. With a meeting scheduled for Monday morning and not much desire to arrive in an hour beforehand I decided to fly over on Saturday night instead and actually check out the city a bit. Sure, it was only a few hours on a quiet Sunday afternoon, but I did get to actually see a few things.
So shortly after arrival I checked into my hotel, took a shower and then headed to the train station and into town to see what I could see. Turns out I managed to cover quite a bit in those few hours. The train into town from the airport is a quick 15-20 minutes and only €3,80, not bad at all. Plus it has the advantage of arriving in the rather reasonable Hauptbahnhof relatively centrally located in town. I do love exploring European train stations for some reason. Alas, not a ton of time so only a cursory walk-through of the train station as I headed out the doors and into the adventure.
Having no particular destination in mind and a very loose sense of what was available in town I really had no particular path to follow. A couple turns on random streets later I found myself on the bank of the Main River which cuts through the center of town. There are a number of bridges that cross the river, a few of which are pedestrian only and quite nice.
On a Sunday afternoon the river was also a prime destination for folks just out enjoying the day. Whether couples strolling along the banks or families out for a picnic, there were plenty of people out and about, taking advantage of what the river offers.
Okay…enough of this wandering, I need some food. So I headed just off the river towards what appeared to be a reasonably large crowd of people. A couple minutes later I was smack in the middle of a square bustling with activity. There was one vendor selling pretzels and other breads off a cart and several restaurtants surrounding the square, all of them busy with what I guessed were mostly tourists, but, well I was one of those, too. Not quite willing to commit to a sit-down lunch I picked the stall that had large barrels set up out front as standing-only tables and placed an order. Well, really I just pointed at the plate of the guy who was being served as I walked up and nodded, suggesting that I wanted the same. And a bier. Definitely a bier.
Rindwurst and beer for brunch? You betcha.
After I was sated with wurst and bier it was on to the Dom, the Cathedral just around the corner from the square. It still has the classic look that most Cathedrals seem to have. The interior, however, is a much different experience. It is beautiful inside and certainly is of the same classic style, but the construction quality screams of modern recreation. I’m guessing that has to do with the fact that it was damaged during the wars but it was a bit strange to see it that way.
A tour through the main cathedral in town? It wouldn’t be a visit to a European city without that.
At this point it was back out to the airport for a meeting. Yeah, I let work get in the way of the fun, but given that it was actually a work trip and that’s what paid for the ticket, it wasn’t so bad. And then back downtown, this time with a friend along, for dinner. Yeah, the place was relatively touristy, but the schnitzel was pretty good and the bier was served in 1L mugs. Really nothing at all wrong with that.
Schnitzel for dinner. More or less a trifecta for a German city visit.
Hopping on a train back out of town.
Frankfurt was certainly quiet on this particular Sunday but overall a pleasant place to spend a few hours. Really rather pleasant.
Posted by Seth on December 25, 2009 under Trip Reports |
Perhaps the only true advantage of the 4+ hour layover we have in Frankfurt was that I got to go lounge hopping around the various facilities that Lufthansa has here. I’m continuing to compile data and photos for my lounge guide and this trip is a prime opportunity for gathering a ton of information. I’ve hit five lounges already and can think of about five more still on the itinerary.
So after settling in to the Senator Lounge in the B gates, taking a shower and having a beer I ventured off in search of the Tower Lounge, one of the newer and nicer lounges at the airport. I was in the transit area and so is the Tower Lounge. It really shouldn’t have been a problem at all. But the pseudo-security guard working at the entrance to the SkyLine train connecting the terminals decided it should be. Apparently only flights destined to the USA are departing out of the high A gates in the morning hours. And apparently only passengers destined for such flights are permitted in that area. At least that’s what the guard kept saying. I tried reasoning with him but was thoroughly unsuccessful in such efforts. His answer did not change: Is Not Possible.
So I was left with two choices. I could give up and head back to the B lounge or I could enter Germany, walk over to those gates and try again directly. I chose option B.
The border guard didn’t seem to understand my explanation of just wanting to “walk around on my long layover” but stamped the passport anyways. There wasn’t much he could do to deny me. And then, 15 minutes later, I was explaining to the guy checking boarding passes that I just wanted to visit the lounge. Through security and through passport control again. Two stamps in under 20 minutes. Another boarding pass check and another explanation that I was headed towards the lounge and another pair of eyes rolled.
But I didn’t mind all that much, as I was past all the gatekeepers and finally able to make my way to the lounge. And it is just as nice as I remember it from the party back in November. Hard to believe that was only six weeks ago.
Other than truly free borders like Italy/Holy See I’m not sure that I’ll ever best this for a shortest trip ever. I suppose I’ll have to keep trying though.
Posted by Seth on December 24, 2009 under Dining, Trip Reports |
It took me far too long in life to make a trip to Munich. I don’t know particularly why it was so delayed, but the planning just never worked out right. I had a layover in the train station there about 10 years ago but I never really went outside – big mistake – and so when the opportunity came up recently to add a weekend in Munich on to a scheduled trip to Germany I jumped at the opportunity.
I visited in mid-November so it was most definitely the off-peak season in town. Still, there was plenty going on, both during the day and at night. It was more than enough to keep me busy and entertained. Wandering the quiet pedestrian mall area of town was quite enjoyable, even in a light drizzle. Plus I managed to stumble into some phenomenal dining and drinking opportunities along the way.
After a rather unfortunate episode at the bar of the otherwise lovely Sofitel in the heart of the city a group of us made our way to a new bar/club in town, Eight Seasons. The night manager of the hotel was kind enough to make a call and get six of us on the list to enter which was a good thing as the place had the velvet rope and clipboard crew similar to many clubs in New York City. The scene inside was pretty much what I expected from a club with such an entrance policy but we still had a great time. I’m not entirely sure what we paid for the bottle of Bombay Sapphire that was consumed but it was delicious so I wasn’t all that worried about it. And we finished the night with a very late-night and very intoxicated amble/stumble to a street food vendor outside the train station and also to Burger King. Not the most authentic cuisine, but the strawberry shake was pretty good and the photos are pretty incriminating.
At the Bräuhaus
The following night was a dinner with the group at the Augustiner Bräuhaus, just a couple blocks from the train station. The restaurant is associated with the brewery and it isn’t completely clear which part they take more pride in, though I’m pretty sure it is the beer. Still, the food is delicious. With a group as large as ours – about 30 folks – the only reasonable option is to go with the sampler platters that they offer up. The appetizer course has various meats, cheese and spreads along with some breads and crackers. The main course was four or five different meats and some ridiculously delicious potato dumplings. Plus, the beer comes in liter-large glass mugs and it is phenomenal. After four mugs of beer I didn’t even really think it was that bad an idea to do jager shots. I know that I was wrong in that analysis and I did protest the concept a bit at the time, but ultimately the beer, exhaustion and a bit of peer pressure did me in. Jager shots for everyone. MANY of them!
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| Appetizer platter at Augustiner |
I probably shouldn’t have done the Jager shots! |
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| Large quantities of delicious beer |
We learned later that night that one of the group picked up the wrong jacket when leaving the restaurant. This was discovered when he reached into the pocket of the jacket he was wearing and pulled out someone else’s passport. Whoopsie. The hotel concierge was quite helpful in resolving that situation (which is to say that I dumped it on him and assume it was eventually resolved) but it also meant that we needed to go back to the restaurant the following day to find the correct jacket. I’m very, very glad we did.
It was a Sunday afternoon and they set up a TV in the main dining room for the locals to come in and watch the local Bundesliga team play, and also to enjoy a few beers. I discovered the German version of the morning after drink – a lighter beer cut with lemonade, quite tasty and refreshing – and I got to explore the rest of the menu. Oliver was there to translate for me which helped out immensely as the English version of their menu has only a small portion of the full selection. In discussion with the waiter and after much internal debate I settled on the Braumeister Schnitzel. It is the heartiest version of schnitzel on the menu, meant for the hard working, blue-collar brew master. And it was awesome.
Piled high with bacon and potatoes, it was just the right thing to cut through the alcohol still in my system and aid the hangover recovery. We also had a dessert of some sort that was pretty much fried dough topped with powdered sugar and some fruit preserves. The fried dough thing is a dessert in pretty much every culture around the world and the German version did not disappoint. Sugary sweet doughy goodness. Yum.
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| Braumeister Schnitzel and a morning-after beer |
Fried doughy goodness |
Seafood in Munich
My trip to Germany started with about 225 other folks chartering a 757 and flying around Europe on tours, so there were a decent number of folks I knew in Germany that weekend. Still, I didn’t really expect to randomly run in to two of them as I was touring about on the streets of Munich. Boy am I glad I did. They had made reservations for dinner that night and invited me to join them at Austernkeller. Austernkeller is a seafood restaurant in the French style which isn’t really what I would think of when choosing a dinner option in Munich. Fortunately these guys were making the decisions for that night, however, and it was a wonderful meal.
As is often the case the appetizers were better than the main course dishes but it was all pretty delicious. The oysters – wild Aussies – were the highlight of the meal for me, followed by the scallops and the fish. I thought the seared tuna was overcooked, but i like my tuna raw so maybe I’m not the best judge there. Still, the place has been around for over 30 years and there’s a reason for that. The food is top notch.
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| Some of the many delicious dishes at Austernkeller |
One other thing that I love eating is kebabs from the shops near train stations. No, there is no good reason for this, but I generally find that the food is pretty good and pretty cheap. That’s not so bad. On the way out to the airport for my flight to Los Angeles I stopped in at one of the many shops available and had my donner kebab gyro. Yum!
Posted by Seth on December 21, 2009 under Trip Reports |
I’m rather proud of my ability to understand a VERY limited number of words and phrases in various (mostly Western European) languages. Being able to order a beer and find the bathroom, airport and train station are useful life skills, especially when you can do it in many places around the world. Like the weekend I spent in Belgium constantly trying to speak French when everyone there spoke perfect English, but what the heck. I was having fun.
After the crazy week in Germany last month for the Star MegaDo and other meetings I found myself in the business class cabin of Lufthansa’s Munich – Los Angeles non-stop flight. Damn, that is a long flight. But with the big comfy seat and plenty of booze available I figured to be quite fine. The flight attendants came through offering up beverages and I put my limited German to use. A glass of sekt to start would be lovely. Danke. And then, after takeoff, the drink cart. The weißwein, bitte. It really is delicious. And, if you wouldn’t mind, also some wasser mit gas. After all, I have to stay hydrated and the little bubbles are nice. So I’m 90 minutes or so into the flight and I’ve managed to only speak German with the crew. Not too shabby.
And then my little dream came crashing down around me in a hurry. They came out to offer dinner and the flight attendant addressed me in a flurry of German. Perhaps if she spoke slowly I had a chance but she assumed I actually spoke the language. I very much don’t. I actually found myself sitting there laughing quite a bit. I wasn’t really sure how else to respond. I explained that I actually don’t really speak German and she admitted that she thought I did. We switched to English and the rest of the flight was quite fine, though uneventful. And not nearly as entertaining as that first 90 minutes where I appeared to be quite accomplished in my knowledge of German.
As for the rest of the details about the flight, as I said, it was uneventful. The food was OK but nothing special. There are two sunsets, at least during the early winter months, so that is fun. And Lufthansa’s version of the A340-600 have the economy lavs downstairs in the back which is pretty cool. And the business class lav on the starboard side has a window in it. That’s rather awesome.
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| Headed down to the coach lavs |
Looking out the window in the biz lav |
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| The glow of the second sunset we experienced during the flight shining on the engines |
But I wasn’t all that wowed by their business class service. It was very professional and very proper but not a ton of emotion in the service. It comes across as stiff and a bit standoffish, but lots of Germany appears that way. I’ll get over it. I enjoyed it much more than my recent United Airlines business class service but that is mostly because the seats are way better (no, I wasn’t in the new UA seats) and, more importantly, because the flight attendants didn’t yell at me because she spilled orange juice on another guy’s laptop. But I’m drifting off topic now.
Overall, the experience was probably around 3.5-4 stars out of 5. Quite proper and efficient but lacking the little personal touches that make me think “great” service.
Posted by Seth on December 10, 2009 under All You Can Jet, AYCJ, points |
I’m really wondering just how much fun I could have over a few days in Europe come mid-January. Why? Because Condor, a low cost carrier based in Germany, is offering up an All You Can Fly deal (web page is in German only), rather similar to the one jetBlue had earlier this year. Maybe it is because of the relationship both carriers have with Lufthansa but it isn’t hard to see the similarities in the schemes. The best part about it for folks in Europe is that the price is truly all-inclusive – no extra taxes or fees – and it is only €299. Even at today’s exchange rates that is about 25% less than the jetBlue AYCJ deal was.
There is, of course, the usual fine print. The pass must be reserved by 18 December and all bookings (except for the first and the last) must be round-trip. Also, the pass only applies to the carrier’s short and medium haul routes, so no crossing the Atlantic. Still, access to the carrier’s route network throughout most of Europe, the Canary Islands and maybe Eastern Africa seems like a pretty good deal to me. There is a 72-hour advance booking requirement, just like the jetBlue deal. And these flights are actually eligible to earn frequent flyer points in the Miles+More program. Not too shabby.
I would truly love to take advantage of this deal. It is incredibly tempting. Alas, I think it is not meant to be. But that’s not going to stop me from looking at their route map and schedules to see what king of fun I could have. Wishful thinking never hurt anyone, right?
