Christmas markets in Europe and Caribbean cruise (RTW)

[VPS]

At Vienna, I had booked an 'executive' room at the Novotel at the Hauptbanhof, and this turned out to be a good choice. Can get onto the metro from here and a direct service to the airport when I need to fly out. Executive rooms on the 18th floor (top one of accommodation) - nice views, quiet and a free minibar!! Very fast WIFI - 120Mbps. The hotel has a LOT of families staying - so the Exec floor was again, a good choice. Lifts weren't too busy.

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They didn't exactly go all-out with the Accor welcome gift!
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Another advantage of being at the main station is that there are lots of shops, including an Aldi. I was so short of fruit & veg that I bought a litre of fruit & veg vitamin/juice and damn near skulled it.

As usual, the room was hot, and this time the window only opened via a tilt. However an angel at reception found me a pedestal fan which made all the difference.

I know I'm a grumpy old woman but honestly if there is an energy crisis can they just not overheat everything so you don't have to have a fan when it's 5 degrees outside. I'm just jealous because it was 40 in Adelaide yesterday but only 38 today

 

[Flyfrequently]

They didn't exactly go all-out with the Accor welcome gift!
View attachment 418837

Not having much luck with your welcome gifts, beats the pasta though @RooFlyer eh?

 

[Flashback]

I know I'm a grumpy old woman but honestly if there is an energy crisis can they just not overheat everything so you don't have to have a fan when it's 5 degrees outside. I'm just jealous because it was 40 in Adelaide yesterday but only 38 today

If there are radiators in the room, set them down to 0 / off by twisting the TRV. If not... then could be underfloor heating in which case you're SOL and window opening is your only solution.

 

[VPS]

If there are radiators in the room, set them down to 0 / off by twisting the TRV. If not... then could be underfloor heating in which case you're SOL and window opening is your only solution.

Usually it’s just aircon controls that don’t go below 20

 

[RooFlyer]

If there are radiators in the room, set them down to 0 / off by twisting the TRV. If not... then could be underfloor heating in which case you're SOL and window opening is your only solution.

Sure, my mission on arriving in the room is to hunt down any possible sources of warmth. I found an innocent looking white vertical panel which looked like a piece of wall was actually the front of a heater. Towel racks.

But even with everything off and the window open, the room is basically surrounded by a heat brick.

I have one trick up my sleeve for this trip trip anticipating these hot rooms. I’ve actually packed a sheet with me in my checked bag so at least I have something over me rather than those doona things which is the only thing they have on most beds. Next time I would also seriously pack just one of those little usb fans.

It was the same in Canada when I lived there for a couple of years and also when I was visiting regularly, staying in apartments. I was in the one apartment in a big tower block and it was as hot as hades and I called the property manager and said what’s any solution. They said no that’s how it is. So I said I’ll open all the windows. It was -30° outside and they said - no you can’t do that itll freeze the pipes. Well, I did and the fell of the Frigid air coming for the windows just like a waterfall.

I moved out as soon as I could.

 

[SuePa]

I have one trick up my sleeve for this trip trip anticipating these hot rooms. I’ve actually packed a sheet with me in my checked bag so at least I have something over me rather than those doona things which is the only thing they have on most beds

I take the doona out of the cover and just use the cover. I hate not having a top sheet.

 

[RooFlyer]

A full day (well, as much of it as is light) to re-explore Vienna. I had a couple of must-sees and then would see what happened.

Free brekky at the Novotel, which was a zoo - so many family groups! I greedily heaped the raspberry coulis over my bircher muesli and grabbed a banana. Some real cough coffee.

I have resisted understanding the Hapsburgs during all my interest in history (just too complicated) and I only reluctantly took more in here. I am, however, currently watching 'Empress' on Netflix about Sisi/Elisabeth, the wife of the second last, and last substantive Emperor of Austria, Franz-Joseph (he died 1916 and the empire ended in 1918).

Metro into downtown and thankfully less crowded than yesterday. First stop the State Hall of the Austrian National Library. I love a good library (and I know @Drakecula does too) and this was a great one. Built in the 17th century, 80m long and 20m high; over 200,000 volumes with many from the 16th century. I've been reading The Library. A Fragile History

https://www.amazon.com/Library-Fragile-History-Andrew-Pettegree/dp/1541600770

... and its a depressing read, going though how libraries were accumulated, then destroyed or dispersed time and time again. This had a collection of one of the early German prices.

What I wasn't expecting was the crowd here. Long line to get a ticket



And the gallery itself was very busy. But spectacular

















What's on the shelves?



Of course there are always twits like these - the staircase is packed going up and down, but we can just sit there and play on our phones. Coz.

 

[RooFlyer]

Then the Imperial Crypt, which I only noticed on the City Card list of discounted places to visit.

The Imperial Crypt

Advice and information for visitors to the Kapuzinergruft or Kaisergruft that's the last resting place in Vienna of dozens of Habsburg monarchs

www.visitingvienna.com

From that website:

The last resting place of numerous Habsburg emperors and others associated with the dynasty is below a monastic church in Vienna’s centre: the Kapuzinergruft (Imperial Crypt).

The complex houses the Imperial Crypt, known locally as the Kaisergruft or Kapuzinergruft: the last resting place of dozens of Habsburg emperors, empresses, archdukes, archduchesses, their spouses and their offspring; an accumulation of corpses from one of the most famous ruling dynasties in world history.

Inside the crypt, you stand within touching distance of Maximilian I, Emperor of Mexico.

Or Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Franz Stephan, the Holy Roman Emperor.

Or Emperor Francis II/I, founder of the Austrian Empire.

Or Empress Elisabeth, the iconic Sisi.

…and many (many) more.

Yes, many more; room after room. The most recent occupent was interred there about 2010. Interesting, one of the descendants of the last Emperor (1918) refused to accept the end of the monarchy and so is refused an Austrian passport. He lives in Switzerland. Another descendant (his ?brother) does accept the end of the monarchy and works as a member of the European parliament.

The early ones (16th/17th/18th centuries) are incredibly ornate.







Tomb of Charles VI died 1740
Holy Roman Emperor
Archduke of Austria
King of Hungary
King of Bohemia
King of Spain

Kaiser Karl VI.: Kapuzinergruft - Wien

Durch die Pragmatische Sanktion ermöglichte Karl VI. seiner Tochter Maria Theresia, den Thron des Habsburgerreiches zu erben. *01.10.1685 Wien - †20.10.1740 Wien

www.kapuzinergruft.com

d 1740

 

[RooFlyer]

Then one of the biggies. Maria Theresa (she of the Plaza and statue at the markets) and hubby Franz I

Kapuzinergruft (may need Google Translate)

You can read about her here. Formidable!

Kaiserin Maria Theresia: Kapuzinergruft - Wien

Maria Theresia war die einzige Frau, die je Österreich regierte. Sie führte die Schulpflicht ein und schaffte die Folter ab. *13.05.1717 Wien - †29.11.1780 Wien

www.kapuzinergruft.com

 

[RooFlyer]

Many rooms, many tombs



Another one I had my eye out for was Franz Joseph I and his wife Elisabeth 'Sisi', the subject of the Netflix serial Empress.

Sisi to the left and one of their sons on the right.



The crypt:

Kapuzinergruft

www.kapuzinergruft.com

Sisi's life was rather controversial and she was murdered by an anarchist in 1898.

Kaiserin Elisabeth: Kapuzinergruft - Wien

Elisabeth, genannt "Sisi", galt als die schönste Monarchin ihrer Zeit. Sie hasste den strengen Wiener Hof und flüchtete sich auf lange Reisen. *24.12.1837 München - †10.09.1898 Genf

www.kapuzinergruft.com

Toward the end of the complex are the more recent incumbents - descendants of the Hapsburgs who reconciled with the abolition of the monarchy.

 

[RooFlyer]

Been an interesting few days. The day before I arrived in Vienna my heart irregularity started increasing; it sort of comes and goes but was noticeable all day that day. My cardiologist assures me on several occasions that there isn't really anything that could happen that would require me to rush home. For tachycardia (sustained rapid heartrate >100bps) I have some effective pills and if I were to go into flutter (sustained arrhythmia) , that's OK for a few weeks its just a matter of putting up with some discomfort.

That night, I may well have been in a bit of flutter and when I went to bed my heart was pounding, irregularly. No way I could get to sleep as is, so I took a Stilnox. That worked for sleep and also calmed things down but from then on I was very sensitive to any increase. And increase it did, for hours at a time but it calmed again. And so it went for the next day or so until yesterday when I think I could call it back to normal (ie irreg low levels of irregularity). Anyway, it really put a dampener of doing things, so Vienna was a quiet day. Oh, I also developed what I think is cellulitis in one lower leg, which I'm treating with an antibiotic Cefalexin.

Shame, but I did see more of Vienna than before. Last on the list was the Neue Hofburg. Its worth reading about here

The Neue Burg wing of the Hofburg

A look at this home to various museums, the Austrian national library, and other historical collections.

www.visitingvienna.com

TL;dr is that the huge arc building that looks like the main building is in fact one of the youngest and was begun in the late 19th century as a new palace for the imperial family and completed in the early 20th Century. Unfortunately by that time the imperial family were no more. Amazingly, a mirror building was planned to face it, but never got off the ground.









There are no State Apartments to view, just the Armory and a music museum via a self guided audio tour which was far too long winded for my interest. The entrance hall is pretty nifty.









... and so on. At last one of more interest



Amazing staircase - you can't see it all from any vantage point

 

[OATEK]

Sorry to hear your struggles, but glad you got a good look around in the Hofburg. We really enjoyed our visit there a few years ago.

 

[RooFlyer]

Next morning, an easy train tip on OBB to Vienna airport. Quite a long walk from the station to the check-in area which unfortunately didn't open until T-2 hrd rather than the 3 I was counting on, arriving at T-150mins.



Check in OK and though security where my carry-one was taken aside for secondary screening, as it had been every security point so far, and has been as far as Barbados. I have quite a dense collection of electronics and in one case they said it was my SLR camera.

At Vienna, Finnair uses the Vienna Lounge, which was very good.













There is an outside terrace! I love the smell of Jet A-1 in the morning ...





AY1432 dep VIE 11:40 arr HEL 3:05 local, A320, seat 1A bumped to 2A. Departed 20m late, arrived 25min late.

Euro biz, with wifi



White wine was the Spanish "Finnair 100 years" plonk I had down to Dusseldorf, so I passed and had a beer. Love the Littalia glasses.



Lunch (no options) was some cannelloni with smoked turkey side, and a sweet bun to finish.





For a 2.5hr flight, pretty good.

 

[RooFlyer]

Heading north, into the ice again. This time I had my jumper and padded vest with me!!



Brrrrr...





And this was just as well, as my hotel for the night - the Hilton at the airport entailed an approx 600m walk from the baggage carousel, outside along a 'breezeway and not all under cover to get to the entrance.



Thats the hotel in the distance to the left.





Check-in was good; my last stay as a Hilton Diamond (courtesy of VA Plat status) and was upgraded from King to an exec room and again, my request for quietness was met, after some hunting around by the agent. Top floor (5th) with decent car park view.









Non-included minibar (except the water)



Exec lounge for drinks and very extensive canapes 6pm-8pm.





The salmon terrine was excellent.

 

[Pushka]

And snow!

 

[markis10]

Usually it’s just aircon controls that don’t go below 20

Where there is a will there is often a way:

Hotel room too hot or too cold? Hack the air conditioning controller!

TRAVEL TIP | Ever tried to make your hotel room warmer or cooler, only to find that the air conditioner will scroll up or down by only a few degrees – or, worse, is locked in place? Blame the hotel, not the aircon. Many hotels, especially larger chains, deliberately restrict the range of the...

www.executivetraveller.com

 

[SYD]

Where there is a will there is often a way:

Hotel room too hot or too cold? Hack the air conditioning controller!

TRAVEL TIP | Ever tried to make your hotel room warmer or cooler, only to find that the air conditioner will scroll up or down by only a few degrees – or, worse, is locked in place? Blame the hotel, not the aircon. Many hotels, especially larger chains, deliberately restrict the range of the...

www.executivetraveller.com

Staying totally OT!

Setting the temp to °F (where possible) is actually a good hack. Apart from being an archaic system, it does actually work better for AC settings and comfort level.

I was told that 1°F is the increment of temperature that the body can “feel”. Where as 0.5°C will always be somewhere in between AND a lot of hotel thermostats don’t even bother doing a decimal point °C. So the room (or office meeting room!), is always going to feel too hot or too cold…

In America, I sometimes set the AC to °C for educational purposes.

 

[RooFlyer]

Where there is a will there is often a way:

Hotel room too hot or too cold? Hack the air conditioning controller!

TRAVEL TIP | Ever tried to make your hotel room warmer or cooler, only to find that the air conditioner will scroll up or down by only a few degrees – or, worse, is locked in place? Blame the hotel, not the aircon. Many hotels, especially larger chains, deliberately restrict the range of the...

www.executivetraveller.com

Tried that a couple of times, ( also the OMaaT hack) but the particular aircon units weren’t amenable to it.

Oh, and the Hilton at the Helsinki Airport you couldn’t open the windows because of “air quality“

 

[RooFlyer]

Checked in at Helsinki where an issue that had been in the background fully emerged.

Thread 'Finnair Plus app took over my FF number from Qantas'

Tuesday at 7:40 PM

I’m currently on a Finnair around the world ticket with my travel agent putting my Qantas frequent flyer number in for the Qantas, Finnair and American Airlines sectors.

My first sector Sydney to Bangkok credited to Qantas and interestingly it also credited to Finnair Plus giving me a nice dollop of Avios. I figured they would cancel out in due course but they’ve both managed to stick so far.

After my next sector, Bangkok to Düsseldorf via Helsinki, I was surprised to get an email from Finnair saying congratulations, I’ve reached silver level. On checking my Finnair account. I found that...

• RooFlyer
• Replies: 4
• Forum: Other Airlines & Frequent Flyer Programs

• 

So off I went to the Business lounge. They say HEL is a very efficient airport, and it is, but it is also quite big these days. Another walk of easily >500m, check in-passport control-security-lounge. At he lounge desk, I asked if they could change the FF number from Finnair (where I'm silver) to Qantas (where I'm Plat and would get access to the F/Platinum lounge. Nope, need customer service. So I went into the Biz lounge and hit the chat on my phone.

Business lounge was pretty good, but not many people there. In fact, the whole airport was pretty quiet at 11am.

 

[RooFlyer]

The chat human changed my FF number over so I went back to the desk. Different person; all they needed to see was my Qantas FF Plat card and I was good to go to the F/Plat lounge. A very nice place



There was a small a la carte menu



I didn't, just got a few tid-bits from the extensive self-serve area, as I was looking forward to lunch on board my flight to Miami





Otherwise





Staffed bar, who makes coffee too





I went to check out the sauna, purely for research purposes (ie just have a look), but you have to go through shower room first etc, so didn't bother.