Beer-Festing and getting the edges knocked off

[medhead]

Friday 1 April 2011 Bamberg

Again an early start on Friday for our trip to Bamberg a town that is 70km north of Nurnberg and about a 250 km drive from Munich. It is UNESCO listed as the town was not bombed during WW2 and hence is the only remaining example of Medieval German architecture (or something like that). I can't really do it justice due to my lack of memory, so if anyone is interest refer to the wikipedia link above. One other factoid is that an aircraft designer lived in Bamberg. Having just discovered this I am slightly disappointed that we didn't have lunch here:

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I had the impression that there was something like 70 breweries in Bamberg or the greater area, however Wikipedia says there are 8 breweries in the town. Still a decent number for a population of 70,000.

The trip to Bamberg require a blast along the Autobahn. Unfortunately, my brother owns a Seat people mover type of car and he still had his winter tyres on the vehicle. My thoughts on the winter tyres is a whole other thread so I'll leave that, other that to say he didn't accept my suggestion that we swap the tyres by hand. I should probably mention the Autobahn now. It was kinda scarey, the maximum we hit was about 150/160 km/h and that was ok. What was scarey was the cars going everywhere! 3 lanes and at least 4 times a car flew past us in the middle lane (with another car about 150m in front) cut across to the right hand lane and then immediately cut back into the left hand lane. WTF! all this while still doing about 150km/h+. I think I've already mentioned on here the long line of trucks in the right hand lane and I think they are limited to 100 km/h odd. Had a couple of them cut in front of us to pass another truck. There was a notable lack of horn usage and even the fast goers seemed ok with slow people in front of them who were overtaking. I guess that was the other thing people were very aware of getting out of the way. To finish a couple of the obligatory car photos.

Porsche and Audi both flying 180+km/h
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This guy also passed us in the left lane while we were at 130km/h. Gutsy move. This was taken when we caught up with him.
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[medhead]

Bamberg was overall a very nice town. We stayed in a place right next to the Kloster Brau. Parked the car in the public car park for a total on 20 euro for 24 hours. After checking in it was time to find some lunch. For a town with a lot of breweries we had trouble finding one. Be finally found 2 across the road from each other, settling on Fassla. Honestly can't remember my lunch here, xx_braten, I'd say, with sauerkraut.

View attachment 2117
Note the thing on the wall of the brewery - they all seem to have this type of thing.

We wandered around the old town for most of the rest of the day looking at a few churches/the cathedral and also the residence on the hill including the rose garden which was still a bit cold. Here are a couple of random pictures (bit hard to pick as the town is varied but gives an idea):

View attachment 2119 View attachment 2118​

 

[medhead]

After all the wandering around was done, along the river, up and down the hill, it was time for a break. We found a brewery :shock: In fact, we found a street corner that seemed to have about 6 breweries/pubs right there. I mention pubs because there are only 8 in the town and we'd already seen 2 at lunch; surely the other 6 breweries would be more spread out. :?:

Anyway, we first stopped at the Ambräusianum - in fact a brew pub according to Wikipedia. Here we had a very decent dark (dunkel) beer. Rather relaxing.

View attachment 2120

After we finished that one off we decided to cross the road and have another beer. Here we shared a table with a group of Australians who were on a cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest. They recommended the Rauchbeir. Turns out Bamberg is famous for this stuff, it is a smoked (bacon tasting) beer. We did get the famous Schlenkarla beer. But, here is the funny thing, this was the brewery. The schlenkerla brewery was actually across the road next to the Ambräusianum. :shock: :mrgreen: It was an interesting brew, definitely not bad and something to try if you get a chance.

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After all that walking, it was time for the nephew to have a siesta, so we stopped off for a coffee in the old town after some more exploring. That was a real quick coffee and the whole street was watching us. (Refer to the kids being banned from F thread)

 

[medhead]

We did get the famous Schlenkarla beer. But, here is the funny thing, this wasn't the brewery. The schlenkerla brewery was actually across the road next to the Ambräusianum. :shock: :mrgreen: It was an interesting brew, definitely not bad and something to try if you get a chance.

Doh! forgot a negative and too late to edit.

 

[medhead]

After the coffee, we finally went back to the hotel, for siesta for my nephew. I took advantage of the free wifi in the hotel. A quick search shows that this was the Altstadthotel Molitor, Willkommen im Altstadthotel Molitor I can't seem to get the english version of the site to work, but you get the idea. I enjoyed the stay, even if only for one night. The hotel was clean and tidy, and also had character. The room was a decent size with TV. They also had an honesty system of drinks from the fridge in the corridor. The fridge was well stocked with a range of beers, 1 euro per drink and pay at reception in the morning.

View attachment 2185

Dinner that night was going to be a slight issue with the way we exhausted my nephew during the day. A brief discussion with the lovely lady on reception, we found out that the Kloster Brau just across the laneway would do a takeaway. So we were set. My brother an I wandered over, ordered a beer and discussed the takeaway meal arrangement. Thinking that everything was set, we enjoyed the beverage and the atmosphere. After a while the waitress asked us about ordering. This got us a bit concerned, as there was a mother and child waiting for us to return with a meal. Picking up on this we asked and then actually ordered the takeaway meals. Then the phone started ringing. Luckily the meal came quickly, and we did quick service back to the hotel.

When we returned about 30 minutes later, if anything the atmosphere was even better. Friendly local types sitting around having pleasant conversation. The waitress was happy to see us return with the plates and cutlery (I'm sure she thought we'd do a runner). We then settled in for some more German fare washed down with amber liquid. All up the dinner for the 2 of us was about 20 euro. The night was slightly spoilt because I couldn't bite my tongue any longer and I took my brother to task over his comments that Ozzies are unrefined, anti-social yobs. (hence kinda proving his point) After dinner it was a quick walk around the square and off to bed.

The Kloster Brau were we had dinner. The hotel is the building just to the left of the white Kloster Brau.
View attachment 2184

General picture of Bamberg town.
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[medhead]

Saturday 2 April 2011 Bamberg

Saturday was another relaxing day. The main task was to get back to Munich for a BBQ with my Brother's mates. We did take time after breakfast (included) to see a church and a castle. The Church was St Michael's up on the hill, picture in post #22. This was a relatively quick visit as we parked at someone's kinda illegally and told the residents that we were just picking up something from the shop and not being tourists. All this was in German, so I have no idea what they thought about the cameras I was carrying.

The Castle was Altenberg, pretty small by castle standards. But still nice for a look.
View towards Altenberg Castle from St Michael's
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The view from Altenberg towards St Michael's and the old town.
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Having had a good look around. It was time to return to Munich. Back on the Autobahn and reversing our journey of the day before. It was a clear day and on the way into Munich the Alps were clearly visible. Hard to photograph from inside the car so this is about the best picture I could get. I also got a great picture of the football stadium on the way into Munich.

View attachment 2203

While on the road we also got a call from the host of the BBQ to ask us to bring a BBQ. Seems the host left his BBQ out in the garden for winter and it was totally rusted out. Gee and it was rusted to nothing. So we supplied the BBQ and the host provided the gas, food and much beer - in fact a fridge full of 500ml stubbies. We also ended up cooking the BBQ, but that is something that we are rather good at doing.

 

[medhead]

Sunday 2 April 2011, Munich

This was very much a family day with my brother and his family. I'm rather jealous of the part of Munich life I experienced. It was a beer garden day. Lunch was prepared, paella, we then wandered down to the Nockerberg Beer Garden found a spot and enjoyed our lunch with a couple of beers. This wasn't apparently the best beer garden option within walking distance, but it was the main Stark Beer Fest venue. The day was so fine, sunny and warm, that the beer fest was moved out of the beer hall and into the beer garden. The band was playing and all that stuff. Wonderful. (I also managed to pick up a stein, a pretty good effort given the security in place)

As an aside, as mentioned this lifestyle is just great. Perfect family venue. I really wish that Australia could have a similar concept. The trouble is that the drunk, yobbo, bogans would get smashed and have fights and just wreck it for everyone.

A couple of pictures - apologies for desecrating the flag.
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[medhead]

Sunday finished off with a enjoyable dinner at the local Greek place. Nothing special, just nice basic Greek food. moussaka and salad, followed by bakalava, ouzo and Greek coffee.

Monday 3 April 2011 Munich

A week from departing from Adelaide, and with only 2 days before returning, this day turned out to be the main game of the trip. First thing on the agenda was shopping. Presents for the kids and SWMBO. Early wake up call, but a lazy breakfast and leaving the apartment mid morning.

[aisde]I should mention that many of the lazy breakfasts and late starts happened because I was connecting into work due to a bit of an issue (if I understate massively the problem). The issue actually started the day I left and I realised there might be a problem when I got 3 missed calls on my mobile in Singapore and 2 voice mails. Anyway, still working through those issues, but there is some light.[/aisde]

Once we got out we took the U-bahn to Oberpollinger, a bit of a shopping area. I picked up a few toys for the kids, nothing that can't be had in Australia just these were original Schleich from Germany (made in china). One minor stuff up with the "cow" for my youngest daughter. I picked the one with the good looking pattern and thought no more about it. It was only when I got home that I realised, with help from the wife, that it wasn't actually a cow. Bit of a problem since my daughter wanted a cow for milking. :shock: Despite our dearest hopes my daughter notice the absence of an udder quickly, requiring a bit of explanation.

Then it was off to a retailer from Paris, to pick up a nice handbag for the missus. :shock: She's pretty happy with it, but I really shouldn't have mentioned that I didn't get it from Maximilian Strasse. Looks like I have more purchasing in the future.

After shopping we wander down towards the Hofbrauhaus and went straight past to what is supposed to be the best pizza place in Munich. It was called the Riva Bar, Tal. Good reviews in TripAdvisor. They were bloody good pizzas, there was also a selection of Italian meals on the menu. The atmosphere was also raher good, we sat in the back section out past the kitchen. I went with a basic pepperoni pizza, looking for something slightly more than a margherita. The pizza was around 10 euro. After a coffee it was time to get home. All up for 2 pizzas, coffees and cake, the meal came to about 30 to 40 euro. If you are in Munich and the bratens and wursts get to much you could do worse than this place.

 

[Alanslegal]

nice nice nice nice TR

 

[Fantic125]

<snip> I should probably mention the Autobahn now. It was kinda scarey, the maximum we hit was about 150/160 km/h and that was ok. What was scarey was the cars going everywhere! 3 lanes and at least 4 times a car flew past us in the middle lane (with another car about 150m in front) cut across to the right hand lane and then immediately cut back into the left hand lane. WTF! all this while still doing about 150km/h+.

Or in my case, 189km/h was the max I could wring out of the Citroen C3 Picasso diesel on the A7 between Wurzburg and Munich in February....



Sorry the photo's a bit blurry but it was a bit difficult to drive and focus the camera at the same time!

Great trip report Medhead! There's some areas I'll certainly need to visit now next time I'm there.

 

[medhead]

Guess I better finish this thing off. Reading back I left it on the Monday afternoon. Monday, night turned out to be when we, my brother and I, got back to the Paulaner beer hall for a night at the Stark Beer Fest. We thought this was going to be a bit tricky, as the couple of reconnaissance trips had revelled that there was a cover charge of a couple of euro during the day and 10Euro (including first beer) after 5pm. It had also shown that there were lots of reserved tables from 4 pm onwards. This combination meant long lines to get in between 4 and 5 pm, normally that would mean getting there before 4pm, but balanced against that was that these were strong beers, 7.5% alcohol, and it would be a shame to blow the evening too early.

As it turned out we got there before the lines got too big, found a nice table and paced ourselves nicely. On of my brother's friends decided to pop in for the night as well. By the time he got there we'd had 2 beers (2 litres) and a half a chicken. Overall it was a bloody good night, pleasant atmosphere and everyone was very friendly. (well except for a couple of Italian guys, but I might have said the wrong thing :shock: ). Overall, I know I had at least 4 beers, my brother says 5, and I basically remember the night up until the place shut. But besides asking the bouncer to let me back into use the toilet, I don't remember getting home. In fact, the next thing I remember after talking to the bouncer is waking up naked in bed at about 3am, because I was a bit cold. (really hope the sister in law didn't pop her head into the room during the night). The photos probably give a good idea:

Pacing going well at this stage View attachment 2943

The Band View attachment 2944

The crowd later in the night. Great fun standing up on the benches. View attachment 2945
Those might have been my Italian mates, but things were a bit blurry. View attachment 2942


Overall a great night. I think I might have hassled some locals on the way out, but that's the good thing about memory loss. I did discover multiple pictures of what I know is the first Mcdonalds in Germany on my camera and phone the next day.

 

[medhead]

Tuesday 4 April 2011 Munich

After the night before, I didn't do anything on Tuesday. :shock: After 4 or 5 litres of 7.5% dark beer this is hardly surprising. What was surprising was that I honestly had no headache at all, even if I felt lethargic and in need of much water. A great advantage of the Germany purity laws, I assume.

 

[medhead]

Wednesday 5 April Munich

This was to be my last day in Munich, before heading back to Adelaide. There were no real plans. Mum had got back to Munich the night before (Tuesday night) on the train from Rome. She wanted to buy a couple of presents for the grandkids. Once we got up and out, we started off on my brother's tram tour as we had an hour or two to kill before lunch time. This got us to Maximillian Strasse where we got off and wandered down towards Marienplatz, there was a bit of excitement with a Merc 4wd in an accident with a tram. We got to Marienplatz in perfect time to see the glockenspiel clock on the Rathaus do it's thing at midday.

View attachment 2965 Munich Rathaus clock tower

After that was complete we wandered over towards Karlsplatz for lunch at the Oberpollinger shopping centre. According to my brother this is one of the bettering shopping centres in Munich because it has many luxury brand shops on the ground floor, which makes people thing it is expensive and hence avoid it, reducing the crowds. However, there are normal shops on the other floors. Anyway, we went straight up to the "food court" on the top floor, got our lunch and then went out onto the terrace to enjoy lunch in the sun. Now I say food court, but don't think Westfield food court, think the type of food court you have in a shopping centre that lists Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada, and Dior on it's directory. No tracky daks to be seen. Lunch was good, schwienerbraten again, from memory, and a beer.

After lunch we did the present shopping before wandering out towards Karlsplatz proper to have a bit of a look around. But that was short lived as mum had hurt her toe in Rome and was having trouble with the walking. So we went to Cafe Maelu in TheatinerStrasse, for a cake and hot drink, on the tram. It was great to sit out in the mall basking in the mild but warm sun while enjoying our cakes (tortes even). The website isn't much but the tortes are special.

View attachment 2962 Feldherrnhalle

We walked off the cake with a stroll towards Odeonsplatz, with a look at the bike Munich display and a photo in front of the Feldherrnhalle before deciding to pop into the Hofgarten for a beer. After the beer it was time to take the U-bahn back to my brother's place, pick up my stuff and then go catch the train to FRA. (Close but I didn't make it into the English Garden proper )

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[medhead]

Wednesday 5 April ICE 512 Munich - FRA 2nd Class dep. 17:23 arr. 2106

I got to the train station with a little while to spare, the whole family in tow. That was go to say goodbye and such. I had a quick bratwurst at the station, weisswurst actually, as I hadn't had any wurst during the trip until then. I got into the train found my seat and stowed the luggage. Then it was back outside for photos and goodbyes. The train seemed to get away on time, but there was a funny announcement. Turns out that announcement was to say that they had cancelled half of the train. :shock: Normally, it should have been a train with 2 section consisting of 7 wagons in each section. Instead it was cut down to one section with 7 wagons. Things soon become rather crowded and I was thankful for the seat reservation. I have no idea what I would have done if I was reserved in the other section.

One tip for anyone doing serious time on DB trains - Look out for Ihr Reiseplan, your travel guide. An amazing thing that list all of the stations, with arrival and departure times, arrival platform and also the major connections, in fact probably all connections, with the connection's departure platform. Extremely useful, for example if I was connecting to Zurich in Stuttgart, it is great to know beforehand that I'll arrival at 19:47 on platform 9 and the train to Zurich leaves from platform 7 at 19:55.

It was an enjoyable train journey. I started writing more of this report on the train but quickly realised I was missing out on scenery during daylight hours. I did pop down to the bistro for a quick beer, but they had a few problems pouring the beer so it was only a single beer for me. I was also a bit uncomfortable having my stuff out of sight.

The train arrived in FRA on time. I wandered over towards the Qantas check in desk with only one also mishap when taken the baggage cart onto the escalator. The cart in FRA are designed to go onto the escalators, but you need to be careful about how you stack the luggage as anything resting on top will try to escape when you get onto the down escalator. I had already experienced this on my last visit to FRA where a bag escaped and I missed the perfect opportunity to yell "achtung" to the people already on the escalator.

View attachment 2998​

 

[medhead]

After the inter terminal train, I was soon at the Business check in desk. Rather nice feeling in FRA wandering up past the Y line to check in. The upcoming flights were FRA-SIN-SYD-ADL. I had arranged for special power on the FRA-SIN leg, as I was in J on that leg, it was the long leg and I would need the sleep thanks to my CPAP machine. I think that I knew my upgrade from Y to Y+ had come through for SIN-SYD by this stage. The check in agent did the usual things. But did ask me if I needed the power for SIN-SYD. Since I had scored 38G in Y+ and remembering that special power in Y had be sent down to about 58A, I said "I'll stay awake". Turned out later that this might have been a mistake, or not.

I wandered through the passport control, intent on looking for a camera cover for the kids and a scavenger hunt item - aircraft of "Air Tblisi", followed by a quick entry to the lounge. Turns out things were rather different from the last time I was in FRA. I wandered around looking for the good shop that I'd seen last time I was there and could find nothing. So I decided to head to the lounge and the gates for "Air Tblisi", remembering that I still had to go through security. I wander it the right direction, round a corner and entered the first security line I found. MASSIVE MISTAKE.

Loaded up the x-ray scanner no problems, walked through the metal detector no problems and then waited at least 5 minutes for my luggage. I could see my bag going back and forward through the detector. The guy looking closely, he called over one guy and had a chat. Then my bag had another couple of x-rays, before the supervisor was called, the bag removed and I was asked to open it. Problem - the CPAP machine, which I explained in detail and the supervisor even knew all about it. I was then informed "We make special test" get your stuff and come to this other room. I got a little bit concerned at this stage. We go to the little room and it turns out that the special test is just and explosives sniffer. They only checked the machine and not me or my other luggage. All clear given and off I go. I was amazed by this whole event. What was wrong with the x-ray and what is so special about an explosives test. I was also a bit .

But I turned around and then looked for my gate and the nearby lounge. Umm, gate numbers only go up to my gate-1. Then the penny dropped they now have multiple security checks for sub-sets of the gates, unlike the last time I was in FRA where they had one security screening point. Now I was angry. Out the exit and another 50 m to find the JAL F Lounge outside of the correct security screening point. We at least it was an F lounge and not the old CX lounge. I when inside, got myself a shower and settled in for snacks and a couple of drinks. German bubbly - not so good.

After a relax and some internet time, the flight was called. I left the lounge, over to the security screening area. Guess what - "We make special test" :shock:

 

[medhead]

5 April 2011 QF6 Business 13A FRA-SIN VH-OJA


This was a great seat on the upper deck, with an empty seat next to me. The under window storage compartments are great. Once I got upstairs, I was greeted and settled in for the flight. I could see the special power and the cabin crew didn't mention it, unlike on the flight to FRA. It was a bit strange, but I did't worry. It was only later that it turns out the cabin crew knew nothing about my need for power and the engineers hadn't bother to set it up. I could have still used the power except it required a US power adapter and I had packed my US adapter in my checked luggage. I had a US adapter because I knew that was required for the in flight special power and I didn't trust special handling when they said they would provide the adapter. Then when the adapter was provided on QF5, I decided to check it in for the return. Doh! A comedy of errors*, that would make for a long flight. Big learning point is to always have an adapter in future and also to get the lower rated power pack for my machine. I won't go into details on the power pack, but if I had it I might have been able to use the in seat power.

With a late night flight, I was quickly into PJs, feed, watered and settled in. Due to the snoring situation and health impacts I was set on a trying to stay awake, but eventually tried to sleep. I think I got a couple of hours of shut eye, but eventually woke up. I then decided to try the bubbly. The rest of the flight was spent with an ever full glass, there was one other person enjoying the bubbly all night, Tattinger IIRC, and we must have downed a couple of bottles each.

Meal wise I had Braised Beef and Polenta, Cheese selection and possibly a hot breakfast. I didn't try any of the refreshments, but the lamb, mint and pea pot pie looked tempting. The service was great on this leg and feedback was submitted about the cabin crew, especially how helpful they were over the power thing despite that they knew nothing about it. Photos below.

View attachment 2999 My Feet and the Storage bins View attachment 3000

View attachment 3001
A couple of ships at Singapore


​

* I was initially cursing myself over saying no about the power SIN-SYD to the check in person, thinking that they might have then told engineering not to bother. Turns out, when I provided the feedback, that the request was all good and engineering in FRA hadn't got around to setting up the power. No exact reason was given, besides a vague they had to fix something else. BTW I'm not complaining about them fixing something else, just good to know I didn't stuff up.

 

[drron]

as I hadn't had any wurst during the trip until then

I dont know-certainly sounded like you were a little wurst for wear on occasions

Mrsdrron also had to undergo the special test at FRA-because of her Sony Nex 5 camera.

 

[medhead]

Well highly embarrassing, I've stuffed up the dates, if you get this far please add a +1 to the date from Sunday onwards. So Sunday was actually the 4th not the 3rd and I left FRA on the 6th of April, but still a Wednesday. Must have wanted an extra day.

Once we got to SIN, I jumped out and wandered off to the duty free and picked up a bottle of Bundy. Slightly annoying that they only had 700 ml bottles, but then I also had 2 litres of beer in my checked luggage.

After taking care of the booze I went to find the Skyview lounge, as recommended by Markis10. It took me a little while to correctly follow the signs. But got there eventually. It was relatively simple to get in, but the nice person on the desk did double check that I wanted to be in that lounge and reminded me that they don't do boarding calls. Fair enough. I had a look around and a quick drink and snack. I stand inside for a bit and rearranged my stuff, considered trying the shower but decided against it finally sitting in the outside bit looking at the [sky]view. I can see why people would like the lounge.

However, given all the champagne on the flight I decided to go to the QF F lounge for some more of the same, and to get a look at a newspaper. The QF F lounge was a bit crowded, but I found a seat, got a drink and enjoyed a bowl of noodles that the staff were bringing around. Not long afterwards boarding was called.

Thursday 7 April 2011 19:50 QF6 Premium Economy 29K SIN-SYD 747 VH-OJA

Luckily an upgrade to Y+ came through of this leg. The upgrade status did seem to show a J upgrade at about T-20, but that had changed to Y+ by T-10. My first international upgrade so it was a new experience for me. Boarding was painless, with only a minor bit of pushing to assert my WP status to get on the aircraft. Entirely my fault as I didn't listen to the announcements closely. I also realised that I had duty free to pick up at the gate, which caused a slight deviation at the last minute when priority boarding was called. Once on board I settled into 29K and I must say this is a great seat. There was plenty of room to get out past 29J without disturbing the person in that seat. A pre-takeoff drink was served and the FA told me it was real champagne. This surprised me a bit, but who was I to argue.

View attachment 3008 My feet, notice the miles of leg room

After we take off I got into my J PJ bottoms and settled in for some AVOD, after one reset. By this stage I had pretty much got everything I wanted out of the AVOD, but I watched anyway as this was a stay awake flight. Especially important as I had a nice lady next to me in 29J and I really didn't want to upset her.

The meal was Wok fried beef with black pepper sauce, fried rice and bok choy. Rather nice and the salad was also decent, with good leaves and such. The alternative was fish but it was all beef for me. The thing that struck me was the meal service was pretty similar to J service, a great touch, but with lessor wines (still decent for me) and no more champagne.

View attachment 3009
​

After the meal and the ice cream. I settled in for some TV. I had to get up once for a bundy and coke, again served in decent glassware. The disappointment was that the crew didn't bother to offer refills once that one was finished, despite going past a few times. As 29J was asleep I didn't bother with the call button (I hate using that anyway) and I didn't bother getting up and going for a walk, even if getting out was really easy.

After a while, I tried for some shut eye and pretty much ended up sitting there half awake watching the flight tracker. After a couple of hours it was time for a continental breakfast that was average to good. Then back into clothes and repack my stuff. I had to ask for an express pass for arrival into SYD. It was provided without hassle or argument.

Overall a good flight for one at the end of 9 days away. The PE seat was good and I could use the footrest thing ok, but did put it away after a couple of hours. With no one in 30K I could recline without guilt and the leg room at the bulkhead is amazing.

I got through immigration and customs in SYD very quickly. There was one little kerfuffle at the [-]auto passport scanner thing[/-] Smartgate. I'd appreciate the other opinions on if I did the wrong thing. There were about 4 Smartgates [-]passport e-scanners[/-] three of them were occupied and the last one was free. There was about a 5m long lane before each Smartgate with an obvious stop point at the end of the lane, so it looked like you had to wait a fair way back for the person at the Smartgater to do their thing. As I was walking to the unoccupied Smartgate, this guy rushes past me, he then stops at the wait point, turns around and motions to a lady who was well behind me. By the time I got there, about 10 seconds later, he had stopped motioning and was just standing there waiting. So I went around him to use the Smartgate. He made some comment about me pushing in, but really what did he want for me to stand there while he did nothing? Maybe I'm rude but seriously the guy was waiting for someone else, why should I have to wait as well?

Anyway, I got past customs with comments about have a few beers and steins in my bags. Plus explaining that the other bag just had presents for the kids and wife :shock:. Fortunately, there were toys and the expensive handbag was let past without question.

No hassles with dropping off my bag for transfer to my domestic flight. There was about a 20 minute wait for the bus to T3, something about being the first bus of the day. It probably would have been quicker to get the train for $5, but I wasn't in that much of a rush.

Once in T3 it was time for a shower, and some breakfast in the J lounge before getting the next flight.

Friday 8 April 2011 7:10 QF735 Business 2D SYD-ADL 737-400 VH-TJY

The upgrade was well worth it after the flight from FRA. Otherwise, this was a standard domestic J flight - I'll leave that to your imagination.

FIN​

 

[serfty]

Methinks you did the right thing with Smartgate - I guess the 'beckonee' was still trying to to the PP thingy.

As for 29J/K on these 3 class 744 (ex 2 class); they are great seats - as a contrast 29A/B have a coat locker in front and about 30cm less leg room.

 

[medhead]

As for 29J/K on these 3 class 744 (ex 2 class); they are great seats - as a contrast 29A/B have a coat locker in front and about 30cm less leg room.

I probably have you to thank for selecting 29K, as I picked it based on advice from AFF. Most likely yourself or NM