Europe in Summer 2022

[BNEFlyer]

Great report so far! I'm going to Milan in October and have booked the HI Garibaldi as my Paris-Milan train arrives and Milan-Vienna train departs from there, but I'm considering booking something more central.

Did you enjoy the Como day trip? That's something I want to do as well, but if it's not worth it I'm happy to skip it.

 

[VPS]

Great report so far! I'm going to Milan in October and have booked the HI Garibaldi as my Paris-Milan train arrives and Milan-Vienna train departs from there, but I'm considering booking something more central.

Did you enjoy the Como day trip? That's something I want to do as well, but if it's not worth it I'm happy to skip it.

Definitely do a Lake Como trip. In fact a couple of days there is even better

 

[NSun]

Great report so far! I'm going to Milan in October and have booked the HI Garibaldi as my Paris-Milan train arrives and Milan-Vienna train departs from there, but I'm considering booking something more central.

Did you enjoy the Como day trip? That's something I want to do as well, but if it's not worth it I'm happy to skip it.

Definitely do a Lake Como trip. In fact a couple of days there is even better

I concur with that and would even suggest look at renting a car if possible, and you wanted to see more of that region.

 

[NSun]

Anyway, by 8.30am I was on the train to Amsterdam via Brussels. I took a lot of pictures but few of them turned out well because the train went so fast. A couple of exemptions were one particular wind farm and the city of Brussels.





Then I got to Amsterdam. I had a 4pm flight back to London so had roughly 1.5 hours to walk around the city. If I had to sum up Amsterdam in 3 words: Cycles, Pot and Canals. All the cities I had been to were all avid cycling cities but this place was literally the next level. I think this pic sums it up.







I bought and tried one of these. Tasted like a cross between green tea and peppermint.

 

[NSun]

At 1pm I took the train to Schipol Airport and checked in for the start of my journey home. I started out of Amsterdam to avoid the UK Air Passenger Duty but opted to stop in Singapore for 24 hours. You can do this by doing a multi city search. Sydney-LHR flight one, then AMS-SIN as the next leg followed by SIN-SYD 24 hours after arrival in SIN. And I paid no more than had I gone all the way through. I was given my boarding pass for QF2 without being asked to show my proof of vaccination or arrival card for Singapore. It took 20 minutes to get through security despite the lines a lot longer than it would seem for 20 minutes. BA has a lounge in AMS but it was closed so got sent to a contract lounge. It had a decent view.



Today's aircraft, an A320 with the rego G-TTNO. While my flight to Dublin had a 20-year old plane, this one was barely over a year old.


Nothing special about BA intra-European economy (Euro Traveller). Curiously there was no table in the middle seat for Club World Passengers. I had an all male cabin crew which is something you don't often see.



Took off on time and it was a quick flight to Heathrow leaving me with 5 hours to catch QF2.



We passed our bird on the taxiway.



I caught a transfer bus from T5 to T3. Unfortunately the passage was mostly through tunnels, so this picture of a Virgin Atlantic A350 was as good as it got. Hopefully QF A350s will look just as good.



But transfer security took 2 hours. And this pic sums up why. Only one screener open, only three people there one of whom just stood around boasting about how the line was moving faster than an hour ago when he started his shift and he reminded people to take out liquids. I guess they don't think anyone transfers terminals.



That didn't stop every second bag being pulled over for a manual check, including mine. I nearly lost my temper when my bag paused and got the 'push' to the other side of the glass. I said out loud 'What's wrong?!'.
Screener: You forgot to take out your liquids
Me: They're here! [pointing up my transparent bag]
Screener: You left your deodorant inside
Me: It's not a spray on aerosol, it's a roll on [it really was]
Screener: It is
Me: It was fine a few days ago here at Heathrow
Screener: Here at Heathrow?
Me: Yes
Screener: Going out or coming in?
Me: Going out
Screener: Exactly
She then stormed off to the other end and everyone's bags just sat on the other side. The person from the other side came over about 5 minutes later but made sure to check almost everyone else's before mine. Eventually one other person came from somewhere else, I asked them and they checked my bag. Took 30 seconds and was finally on my way after 2 hours.

In retrospect, as angry as I was, I was lucky I didn't get into further trouble, so I don't need anyone else to tell me that. But I stand by the view that the airport planners are wrong to think that virtually no one transits Heathrow. Next time I have to transfer, I'll just enter the country and connect landside as it seemed there was no queue at immigration based on my brief glance at the T5 immigration on the way to the transfer bus.

 

[NSun]

Then it was on my way to the Cathay First lounge that I could enter as a QF WP. I had it almost all to myself. After a meal and a hot shower I calmed down pretty quickly. But it felt a bit sad as this made me desperately miss the CX lounges in Hong Kong which I'll probably never get to visit again.





Here's the menu for the dining room. I went with a Cathay delight coughtail for a drink, then had the dim sum basket, the biryani and the 'Strawberry picnic'.









Then, I just sat and enjoyed the natural light and tarmac views, knowing once home I'd have to go another 2 months with pre-6pm sunsets.



I did make a brief stop at the QF lounge and got a drink from the gin bar - the Beefeater London dry with Indian tonic and grapefruit.



I got no other pics because the lounge was packed. And for good reason, there were a number of Commonwealth Games athletes heading home. I'd forgotten the games were actually on.

Our gate was number 42 which was literally the longest one from the rest of the terminal.

 

[BNEFlyer]

I concur with that and would even suggest look at renting a car if possible, and you wanted to see more of that region.

I've only got 2 nights in Milan, so Como will be a day (or a few hours) trip. I have looked at getting a car but from what I've seen it's not worth trying to drive around Como or Bellagio. Might just stick with the train.

Did you take Thalys to Amsterdam?

 

[VPS]

I've only got 2 nights in Milan, so Como will be a day (or a few hours) trip. I have looked at getting a car but from what I've seen it's not worth trying to drive around Como or Bellagio. Might just stick with the train.

Did you take Thalys to Amsterdam?

Have a look at boat tours if you can for Lake Como

 

[JW]

I've only got 2 nights in Milan, so Como will be a day (or a few hours) trip. I have looked at getting a car but from what I've seen it's not worth trying to drive around Como or Bellagio. Might just stick with the train.

Did you take Thalys to Amsterdam?

Como/bellagio is best done on the train/water. Remember to check when the last ferry is too.

 

[TheRealTMA]

I've only got 2 nights in Milan, so Como will be a day (or a few hours) trip. I have looked at getting a car but from what I've seen it's not worth trying to drive around Como or Bellagio. Might just stick with the train.

Did you take Thalys to Amsterdam?

The roads around lake Como are quite narrow and not to be taken lightly. And when you arrive at Bellagio finding a park is difficult. If you do drive, one trick we use is to book lunch at Ristorante Mistral at the Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni and then park at the hotel and wander around the town up the hill after lunch. Also it’s often better to drive on the left hand side of the lake then get the car ferry across to Bellagio from Menaggio.

Otherwise get train to Como and the ferry from Como to Bellagio. The ferry takes just over an hour from memory and stops at a few nice villages on the way.

ps: if you have time go to Peck in Milan for lunch if it’s open. Fabulous.

 

[TheRealTMA]

Just a comment to @BNEFlyer , if you have two days in Milan then why waste time sitting on transport and going to Como etc. Just to tick the box? Milan is a fabulous city with enough to entertain and amaze you for many days. Fabulous museums, art galleries, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, excellent restaurants, very interesting Starbucks cafe and restaurant in old historic building,.. and much more. Ask if you want a suggested itinerary.

 

[BNEFlyer]

Just a comment to @BNEFlyer , if you have two days in Milan then why waste time sitting on transport and going to Como etc. Just to tick the box? Milan is a fabulous city with enough to entertain and amaze you for many days. Fabulous museums, art galleries, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, excellent restaurants, very interesting Starbucks cafe and restaurant in old historic building,.. and much more. Ask if you want a suggested itinerary.

Thanks I figured that because it’s so close I could go check it out for the day. Though I’ve never been to Milan before so I’m sure I’d find things to keep me occupied!

 

[NSun]

Today's aircraft was VH-OQB which I last travelled on in January in its first flight back to service. It first re-entered service un-refurbished but had been refurbished recently, this was just its second round trip since then. Managed to get a bulkhead seat. Again it was full and sat next to a UK expat returning back to Australia after seeing family back home. It was good to have a bulkhead seat but it's not as good as the old configuration - there was more space and a proper rest for your calves. I still have no idea how you're supposed to use that thing at the front.





Took off on time and dinner was served quickly - braised beef it was for me.





Lights were turned off fast and it was darkness for the next 10 hours. Managed about 3.5 hours sleep. We were all forced to shut the windows but opened now and again while it was still dark. Saw a good view of the full moon over Romania & the Black Sea - sadly the photos didn't come out that well.





For breakfast it's typically a hot breakfast and continental (fruit plate). But they actually had yogurt so went with that.



Landed on time in Singapore but were forced to stay on the aircraft for a whole hour due to a medical emergency at the back of our cabin. It was frustrating as all the other cabins were allowed to get off. And then it took about half an hour to get through immigration. It wasn't particularly busy but I seemed to be in a line where the officer was taking longer than most others to clear people. But eventually, here I was back in the Lion City for 24 hours.

 

[NSun]

I caught the metro to Clark Quay. I had a Singapore metro card but oddly I couldn't top it up with a foreign card - I had 3 and tried all of them. So just tapped on and off with my bank cards.

It's easy to find your hotel when it's lit up.





I think this one was the best hotel of my trip. A proper shower, a comfy bed, a decent TV station selection and a decent pool with city views (sadly forgot to take a pic of it).





Went to bed about 10.30pm and got up at 6.30am. Not completely back into Australian time yet but made significant progress. First thing I did was a morning walk to the Merlion statue.





Spent a few hours catching up on emails then I checked out of the hotel at 11am. I should note that it was a pretty significant culture shock after over a week of not seeing masks at all. Everyone wore them indoors and compliance was 100%. Outdoors, it was more like 30%.

For lunch I went to the mall by the Swissotel and had some fried chicken.



For my thirst I went to the Long Bar. I don't do it every time in Singapore but why not as I hadn't been there in 2 and a half years? Seems that since I was last there a service charge has been added added which took the bill to roughly S$45.





Then I went around Marina Bay Sands for some shopping.

 

[NSun]

At 3pm I caught the train back to Changi. Although I saw the inbound flight was running 2 hours late, I wanted to check out the Jewel properly. There's a lot of shops, but obviously the main attraction is the water vortex.







It's rare to see a rainbow so close to the ground.

 

[NSun]

I spent over an hour there and before I knew it, the time was 4.45pm. So off to the QF First lounge. A plate of olives and a wet towel to start.



Buffalo mozarella with marinated eggplant.



Crispy roasted pork belly.



And that same chocolate mousse dessert I had just over a week earlier.



Hit the showers and tried it with the night setting.

 

[NSun]

Eventually it was time for boarding. Our aircraft VH-OQJ, the one and only A380 of the 12 Qantas operated I had not been on. In a twist of fate, I just snuck on OQE and OQF in March 2020 before they were retired.



Secured the bulkhead again but this time on the right hand side.



We ended up leaving 2 and a half hours late and made up barely any time in the air arriving after 7am. Forgot to take pics after this as I managed only about 2 hours sleep thanks to a crying baby at the back.

Well that's it. Hope you all enjoyed it. The plan was to return to Europe next northern summer but having secured J seats on the inaugural points plane from Auckland to JFK (and another J award ex LAX just over a week later), maybe I might wait until 2024. Next big overseas trip is to New York for Thanksgiving to catch up with an old school friend who moved over there for work earlier this year, with stops in Chicago, Philadelphia and Los Angeles along the way.

 

[rginoz]

Thanks for the trip report @NSun. I've enjoyed it very much. Looking forward to your upcoming US trip too.

 

[VPS]

Thanks for the TR - I'm hoping to be in New York for Thanksgiving and looking forward to it

 

[AIRwin]

I had a Singapore metro card

It's valid for 5 years and I discovered recently that mine had expired in July 2020 with $1.50 credit left, but no refund as there is a fee of $1 per month for cards that have expired for 2 or more years...