Eurotrip 2022

[boomy]

Day 23

Time to fly back home, after breakfast we took taxi from Conrad to IST airport and checked in for our flight to SIN.

Turkish Airlines Business Class lounge Istanbul

My favourite J lounge.

 

[boomy]

Some more photos of the lounge.

Kids playground.





Flight simulator.



Golf simulator.



Media zone.

 

[boomy]

SQ391 IST-SIN A359 Business Class









For Lunch I chose Islim Kebab - Turkish style eggplant wrapped with beef cheek. One of the best I had on SQ.



For breakfast I chose Oriental Egg Noodles with Braised Beef. A bit more interesting than the standard (boring) western breakfast.



SQ245 SIN-BNE A359 Business Class

We lucked out again with the long haul config, that’s 4/4 flights on this trip and all in bulkhead seats.



We were served satay on all previous flights but this is the first time they brought out the satay cart.



My usual BTC Ex SIN.



That’s it for this TR, thanks for taking part in our journey.

 

[VPS]

Thanks for the TR - going to have to reread the Alsace bit because I'll be in Strasbourg on Wednesday this week - I've booked for four nights but may stay longer.

 

[boomy]

Thanks for the TR - going to have to reread the Alsace bit because I'll be in Strasbourg on Wednesday this week - I've booked for four nights but may stay longer.

Four nights is ok, focus on the villages and try to stay there if possible. Book wine tastings as most premium producers (apart from Hugel) are by appointment only.

 

[craven morehead]

Absolute cracking TR many thanks for sharing.

 

[drron]

Great TR. Loved the Alsace days so much so that will have to incorporate it in future travel.

 

[OZDUCK]

Thanks very much for the TR. I also especially enjoyed the Alsace portion. Your breakfast choice on your SQ flight from Istanbul was certainly the way to go..

 

[GarrettM]

There was not much to do up there apart from a nice restaurant where we had traditional German lunch which is basically beer and sausages.

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If there's a better lunch idea than beer and sausages I am yet to here.

Hi boomy just dropping in to say I've started going through your TR, and it looks fantastic. One of my biggest travel dreams to do a deep dive of random German towns up and down the Rhine. Hopefully one day.

 

[GarrettM]

Some more photos of Kaysersberg.

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Wow these places look amazing. As does the food.

You can keep the wine. It's largely lost on me.

 

[GarrettM]

Day 20

Basilica Cistern

Basilica Cistern is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns beneath the city that provided a water filtration system for the buildings nearby. This underground chamber measures approximately 138 meters by 64.6 meters. It was built in the 6th century during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I in 532.

The entrance was just 5 minutes walk from our hotel room.

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Giant Medusa heads support two pillars at the back of the cistern, and why they are there remains a mystery. One of the Medusa heads is sideways and the other is upside down. Some believe that the stones scavenged from the Roman ruins may have just been the right size and shape to prop up the pillars. Other historians theorize that the early Christians who built the cistern may have purposely placed the pagan statues upside down in a bold statement of faith.

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Oh I think I saw this on an episode of Go Jetters on ABC Kids. That's where most of my geographical education has come from in recent years.

 

[boomy]

Oh I think I saw this on an episode of Go Jetters on ABC Kids. That's where most of my geographical education has come from in recent years.

It also featured in James Bond and Inferno movies.

 

[ellen10]

Great trip report, wonderful photos. I really enjoyed all aspects of your trip. Thanks for sharing!

 

[OATEK]

Thanks @boomy, a great report with I expect something for just about everyone.

 

[Nukie]

Great trip report, thanks.
We must've been in Switzerland the same time as you but we had great weather, were near Lake Geneva.

 

[RooFlyer]

what was the booze like in the Istanbul lounge? How was there before Covid the wine was placed on just a few very discreetly parked carts around the place.

 

[bertflyer]

Thanks Boomy, what an awesome TR. We get some great ones on this platform and yours is one of my recent favourites! I was late to read this one but what a truly enjoyable 45min it was

 

[stm1sydney]

Great TR, when was this trip, specifically the IST leg? Looks very busy with tourists, just trying to gauge the best time of year to visit. Thanks.

 

[boomy]

Great TR, when was this trip, specifically the IST leg? Looks very busy with tourists, just trying to gauge the best time of year to visit. Thanks.

We were in IST early October. According to some locals this is not considered busy and indeed the queues at major touristic spots weren’t too bad. Many of the tourists we saw were speaking Russian, makes sense considering Turkey is one of the few countries still operating direct flights.