Posted by Seth on April 16, 2010 under Trip Reports | 
I love lists, travel lists particularly. The fact that I just crossed Idaho off my US states visited list is exciting for me. But there are bigger and better lists out there, including one at www.MostTraveledPeople.com that covers states, provinces and countries to the tune of 872 possible places to cross off the list. Sure, the list is arbitrary in many ways. Why is Sudan split into three regions while Malta doesn’t have three entries for each of its islands, for example? But any list is going to have such issues. As best as I can tell the list at MTP is the most detailed of its type on the internet. The level to which it identifies states, provinces, districts, prefectures and regions is on the edge of alarming – and annoying – in its specificity.
On a recent flight from Phoenix to Chicago I happened to sit next to a guy who is nearing 600 of the destinations on the list. He’s in the top 10 overall on the site and has some great stories. He countered my tale of a day-trip to Hamburg with a similar story except that his involved driving to a resort 20km north of town, over-nighting and then taking a helicopter from the nearby heliport to Helgoland just off the coast (there is a ferry for folks on a budget) just to pick up another check-mark on the map. All in all some great conversation to pass the time on the flight.
It did bring up the discussion of what it means to actually have traveled somewhere. Does sitting in the airport count? What if you go outside the airport and come right back in? Or do you have to do something more? I’m of the camp that says you have to actually do something, not just be passing through, but that is certainly up for debate. And with some places having only once weekly service from a cargo ship that also rents out berths for folks traveling through, being able to call a place done without having to stay too long probably makes some sense. Still, I don’t consider myself having visited Colorado nor Utah yet as my only time on the ground was passing through airports in those states on connections.
I’ve played with the maps on PassportStamp.com and TravBuddy.com I’ve filled out profiles on FlightMemory.com (I haven’t updated that one for a while) and OpenFlights.org. Each has its pros and cons. And now I’ve got a different version of a world map to fill in. I figure I should have something near 100 of the destinations covered based on states and provinces visited (I’ve listed 85 so far and have a bunch more to enter once I figure out exactly where I was). And I’d have one more if I can convince them to separate out Gozo from the main island of Malta.
P.S. – The title of the post sounds better if spoken in the style of an XX commercial; the stories from that night are probably better in that context, too.
Posted by Seth on October 30, 2009 under News |
Air France took delivery of their first Airbus A380 this morning with an inaugural flight from Hamburg to Paris. The carrier is the first European operator of the type and the fourth globally. The promo photos certainly make it look pretty, but there are some scary realities that come with it. The plane is expected to begin transatlantic operations at the end of November on the New York – Paris route.
The Air France configuration is, by about 15%, the most densely packed of the seating layouts seen to date. Sure, it could be worse – Emirates has suggested an all-coach configuration for some regional flights – but this is the most packed the plane has shown up thus far. And despite claims that Premium Economy is the best money maker for airlines Air France has chosen to not add that cabin of service to the plane. It is hard to tell if that is a comment on the value of that cabin on flights or something else, but it is an interesting development, especially considering that they already have a similar product, Alize, on several of their aircraft.
Either way it is always nice to see new planes entering service. One of these days I’ll manage to fly on one of the A380s. And next week I get to visit the assembly line and see where they’re made!
(Photo from FlightGlobal/TwitPic)
Posted by Seth on April 14, 2009 under Trip Reports |
After our great visit to most of the sights of Hamburg during the day, we caught a quick nap to get ready for a night out on the town. Hamburg is a late night party city – dinner at 10pm and out to the bars around midnight seemed the norm. And drinking and partying continued on until well after sunrise the following morning. Of course, finding the party at the various points in time meant knowing a bit of where to be and when, and we had some great advice from a local to help us out on that front. We hit three main areas through the night – Schanzenviertel, Reeperbahn and the Fischmarkt – and couldn’t have been happier with the outcome.
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A cheese shop in the Schanzenviertel neighborhood
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First up was dinner in Schanzenviertel. We noticed during the day that this neighborhood was way more casual and easy-going than the Reeperbahn. There were dozens of restaurants and pubs to choose from in the couple blocks surrounding the train station. Good looking food and reasonable prices abounded. We found a nice Greek place and settled in for dinner and drinks.
After dinner we wandered about Schanzenviertel a bit more. The dessert places we were looking at were closed by midnight but pretty much all the bars were still open and hopping. We visited a couple of those and slowly made out way down the main street connecting Schanzenviertel to the Reeperbahn, where the fun continued.
The Reeperbahn is best known as the red-light district in Hamburg, and that is certainly a very visible part of the nightlife in the neighborhood. They have strip clubs, a street with the women in the windows and a secondary crew of prostitutes that work right around that street. Having just heard this afternoon of another friend in Amsterdam being confused by which women were prostitutes and which were not, I felt that it might be useful to share some observations from our time in the Reeperbahn. From what we could see the prostitutes who were not in the windows all had fanny packs. And generally they weren’t dressed particularly provocatively, but the fanny packs were a dead giveaway. Once I noticed that I couldn’t stop laughing at it every time I saw one of them walking by.
There is also a very vibrant “normal” bar scene in the Reeperbahn. That’s where we spent the next few hours of the night (really the early morning) following dinner. Most of the bars have music and dancing – a significant change from the NYC scene – and we were out partying until after 4am. Drinks weren’t horrendously expensive, but I think that comes from my familiarity with the NYC bar scene where drinks are ridiculously expensive to begin with. Still, at €2-4 for a beer or glass of wine, things weren’t too terrible.
The key to a Saturday night in Hamburg, however, is not limited to dinner in Schanzenviertel or to the nightlife in the Reeperbahn. The key is a visit to the Fischmarkt at the end of the night.
The Fischmarkt has been operating on the banks of the Elbe and the Hamburg port for over 300 years and it is a landmark in many regards. The party starts up at around 4:30am in the summer (7am in the winter) with merchants, meals and – if necessary – more alcohol available. The “official” Fischmarkt building is no longer used as a market or a warehouse; it is now used as a banquet hall. They have live music, a dance area and many tables set up inside. There are balconies around the outside of the room providing space for a couple full-service restaurants, in addition to a couple coffee-shop places on the ground floor.
Outside the market building there are more good times to be found around. Dozens of merchants set up shop on the waterfront, selling everything from food to tchotckes to drinks to a few merchants that are actually selling fish in the fish market.
In addition to the shopping and the flow of crowds from the bars to the Fischmarkt, there is also the fact that you get to watch the sunrise over the harbor at 5:30am. It is truly phenomenal.
Finally, the clock was ticking onwards and it was time to head back to the hotel, collect my bags and travel buddy (he skipped the Fischmarkt and sunrise) and head out to the airport for the flight home (and bedtime).
Sure, the commute is a bit longer than I’d normally otherwise endure for a night on the town, but the overall experience and getting to see the beauty of Hamburg, both during the day and at night, made the Trip completely worthwhile.
And all the miles I collected didn’t hurt either.
Posted by Seth on April 13, 2009 under Trip Reports |
With only 26 hours on the ground on my recent trip to Hamburg I was rather concerned that I would miss something I should have seen. If I did, I certainly made up for it as the rest of the trip was truly amazing. After a quick shower on arrival thanks to Continental and the free BusinessFirst upgrade we hopped on the S-Bahn for at 20 minute ride into town, dropped our bags at the hotel and hit the city to see as much as we could see.
First stop was the Rathaus area. The Rathaus is city hall. It is the seat of the local and the regional government and it just so happens to sit right on the water (as much of Hamburg does), near Alster lake (really a river but it is big enough to seem to be a lake where it passes through town). The lake is a beautiful place for a walk, a breakfast or even to head out on the water, taking a sailboat out from one of the rental groups on the shores. With the weather as nice as we had it the sailing option was tempting, but there was too much to see for such diversions. We dropped in to the Rathaus and admired the architecture and the sculpture in the courtyard and then made our way on to the next stop – the harbor area.
As I noted in the quick post I made on Saturday, water is truly the heart of the Hamburg life. Everything centers on the water, from the harbor that was the basis for the economy there to the nightlife that eventually tumbles out into the Fischmarkt in the wee hours of Sunday morning for the party to just keep rolling on.
We wandered among the warehouses of the Speicherstadt district. Many of the buildings are 100+ years old and they are still in operation, providing warehouse and distribution facilities for importers of everything from Persian rugs to silks to spices to computers. There is also a lot of modern development going on in the area, much of which is also modern in its design. That detracts from the classic beauty of the area, but time marches on.
Also on the waterfront we wandered along the Baumwall area and over to the Landungsbrücken area. This waterfront area is incredibly accessible and open for the public. It is the base of operations for just about all of the water tour options in town as well as public ferry services operating across the water. In the Landungsbrücken there is a 98 year old tunnel that passes under the Elbe river and the harbor, providing access for cars and pedestrians to reach an island in the center of the harbor. If you’ve got a bicycle the island is a great place for a relaxing ride; even without one walking the 426 meters of the tunnel is a great way to spend a bit of time. Among other things, it is the best place to get a view back onto the city of Hamburg. Access to the tunnel is via elevators rather than a ramp; it is the only time I’ve ever seen such a thing. And as a pedestrian you can walk the stairs, too, if you desire. Absolutely worth seeing!
Next up we grabbed a quick lunch near the Reepersbahn area – home of many bars and the Hamburg red light district. It was mid-afternoon so things were pretty slow at that point, but they’d pick up quite a bit later than night! Still, there were many folks out relaxing in the sun and enjoying a beer in the afternoon:
The Schanzenviertel district has been the Bohemian center of town for many, many years. It is slowly gentrifying, with the rich moving in so as to “hang out with the cool kids” which means that the cool kids are less able than ever to afford the rents in the area. Still, there are many shops, restaurants and markets in the area that cater to the hipster crowd and it is hopping, both during the afternoon and the evening. We had a great dinner at one of the many restaurants that line the streets, spilling out onto benches and tables on the sidewalks.
After a quick nap (6-9pm) we were back up and on the streets, first headed back to Schanzenviertel for dinner and a couple rounds of drinks (better and more affordable food and decent drink prices, particularly relative to the Reeperbahn). After filling up there we wandered down to the Reeperbahn, where the bars and clubs were packed and the music was pumping. More on the nightlife in my next post, but suffice it to say that at 6am when it was time to head back to the hotel and the airport, I was still running strong and I wasn’t the only one out still reveling in the evening.
Posted by Seth on April 11, 2009 under Uncategorized |
One thing that is impossible to miss in Hamburg is the very close relationship the city has with water. It hosts the second largest port in Europe and two major rivers flow through its streets. To say that there is water everywhere may well be an understatement. The city has done a phenomenal job working with the rivers and the port to truly integrate the waterways into the everyday ebb and flow of life. There are canals cutting through town to provide access for cargo vessels to warehouses. There are two beautiful lakes right in the middle of downtown. And, of course, there is the majestic harbor. As we wandered about town today we were never more than a couple hundred yards from the water in one direction or another.
The Rathaus (city hall) has a beautiful courtyard inside with a fountain/statue that pays homage to the water that runs throughout the city:
And couples wandering the streets and bridges paused to soak up the beautiful views and otherwise enjoy their time together:
There is water everywhere in Hamburg, and it ties the city together quite nicely.
Posted by Seth on April 10, 2009 under Uncategorized |
Seat poaching is one of those things that is known to happen from time to time, and I’ve yet to truly hear a reasonable explanation from the poacher as to why they think it is a reasonable action. Yes, I understand that you want to sit in this seat that is assigned to me. I don’t blame you. It is a very good seat, perhaps one of the best on the plane. Which is why I arranged to have it assigned to myself. No, I am not willing to trade for your middle seat that doesn’t recline; thank you for asking.
Last night’s flight presented an interesting mix of circumstances that started out resembling seat poaching and finished with me in quite a happy mood.
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My original seat, awaiting the replacement cushion.
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The flight was very, very fully booked. It actually appears that we are at 100% – every seat occupied in both the coach and BusinessFirst cabins. But when I asked at the gate if they were looking for volunteers for a possible bump the guy said no and so I boarded the plane. I was the second on board and settled in to my lovely reclining exit row window seat – 16A – one of the best on Continental’s 757-200s for sleeping. Well, I started to settle in, anyways. On arriving at my seat I noticed a rather disturbing stain on the seat cushion. Knowing that we had about 45 minutes before departure I grabbed the cushion, brought it to the flight attendant and asked if it could be swapped out for a clean one. “No problem at all.” So I hung out back in the galley as the rest of the plane boarded and took their seats. And my seat!
Sure enough, about 25 minutes later I poked my head around the corner of the rear galley to find that the plane was mostly full and there was a woman settling into 16A – my seat – and the flight attendant was carrying the stuff that I’d left there looking for its owner – me. I actually got rather defensive and moved up to the row, asking what happened. That woman was told to move to the seat by one of the crew. We continued to move forward on the plane, searching out the crewmember who had made such a switch.
And then I was given probably the best news of the evening, “Herr Miller, welcome aboard. We have assigned you a new seat, 1B.” My very first Operational Upgrade to business class. A big, comfy seat; a long, drawn out meal service and a crew that was just top notch at every turn. They didn’t even seem to mind when I offered to help them out with some of the little things, like refilling my wine glass from the bottle that was on the cart rolling by.
It actually cut in to my planned sleeping time as I decided to enjoy the meal and service rather than just fall immediately asleep, but I am certainly not complaining. After all, the half bottle of wine (maybe more) and the big, reclining seat did make the few hours of sleep that I got quite restful.
Plus, it should mean access to the arrivals lounge, where a shower and some clean clothes should go a long way towards making the 26 hours I have in Hamburg truly enjoyable.
Posted by Seth on April 10, 2009 under Trip Reports |
I’m not particularly a huge fan of the various ham options. Honey glazed, spiral cut, boneless or bone-in, none of them are really quite my thing. But a trip to HAM seemed like just the way to celebrate Easter in my strange and travel-addled mind. And so it is that I find myself sitting in the Newark Presidents Club, enjoying a glass of wine and preparing to spend 26 hours in Hamburg, Germany.
I’ve managed to book a reasonably cheap room that doesn’t involve sleeping in a plywood box, and I have also found a couple decent online resources for planning a short trip to Hamburg. The best I’ve seen so far is a two-day trip and I think that I can squeeze a lot of that into a single day and then just sleep the whole flight home.
I’m most excited about visiting the Fischmarkt, the weekly Sunday morning fish market that has been operating since 1703. The market kicks into gear between somewhere around 4-5am, and after a long night of partying that seems to be where folks head to grab a nice brunch and one last drink before collapsing in a heap of sleep. In my case that heap will be seat 16A of the flight home, so I just might manage to make it out through the night for the party.
Oh, and the other reason I’m making the trip (as if I really need one) is for the miles. Lots and lots of miles. The double EQM promotion is still running and I’m going to pass a half million lifetime miles on Continental with this trip. Just a few more years of this fun and I get status for life. Good times!
