Iceland, Wembley and Helsinki: a tale of a northern winter

[Justinf]

Just returned from two weeks away.
Iceland for a week (amazing), London for three days to see Spurs vs Newcastle and do a few other things and then then a few days in Helsinki just because i wanted to go to Helsinki.
Scan your boarding pass and join the ride.

 

[kookaburra75]

All the right reasons for a trip - watch a footie game, go somewhere "just because", and Iceland. Strapped in for the ride and looking forward to it. I'll let the 'old' regulars scramble for the front seats

 

[VPS]

Ahh @Justinf definitely in 1A for this (I'm sure there will be beer consumed along the way as well)

 

[Justinf]

The plan of attack started fairly early. Probably nearly a year in advance. I'd wanted to see Tottenham in our new stadium and even though it was still being built at the time, I was confident it would be ready by the time I was there. (cue the Benny Hill music).
I had a few choices of flights, but stuck with QF to retain Gold status.
Decided on MEL-SIN with a 6 hour layover and then SIN-LHR with a another 6 hour layover and then up to Reykjavik.
I got a good discount business fare with Qantas with the added benefit of the MEL-SIN-LHR being on the A380 and the chance of upgrades on points to F.
I also got a pretty good Saga Class (business class) fare with Icelandair to Reykjavik and back to London.
Accommoation (like everything else in Iceland) in Reykjavik is expensive so a sourced a good price for six nights at City Center Hotel right in the heart of town.
Back to London and I almost always stay in Paddington as the Heathrow Express is so convenient. This time I stayed at the Cleveland Hotel about a 10-minute from Paddington Station for three nights.
Business class fares with Finnair to Helskini were obscene so I decided to slum it in Y. Oneworld Sapphire status still meant lounge access though.
Booked an Air B&B right in the heart of Helsinki for AUS$85 a night for three nights. It didn't look pretty, but it also didn't promote itself as pretty either. Location and price was the reason I booked.
I decided to fly back to the Uk on the Thursday as QF10 left on the Friday. I booked, wait for it, the Easyjet Hotel near Heathrow. It was AUS$50 a night and I imagined it would be very much like the Ibis Budget hotels back home. Also I was eligible for a chauffeur service from the 'hotel' to LHR the following morning.
Then the long trek back home on QF10. LHR-PER and the PER-MEL in J. Was looking forward to trying out the Dreamliner business class and was also desperately hoping points upgrades would come through for the trip over to Blighty as I don't think much of the QF A380 J hard product.

 

[Flatforlonghaul]

Looking forward to it!

 

[Jacques Vert]

On board

 

[Major]

Iceland is popular at the moment

 

[LadyC]

I love a just because location also! Look forward to reading more.

 

[Justinf]

My upgrade to F for the MEL-SIN leg came through at around T27.
This was the upgrade I was probably most wanting, which sounds strange. An 8 hour flight to Singapore or 13 hours to London. I figured I would be spending the entire time awake all the way to Singapore with a noon departure. Also it would mean I get to visit the F Lounge.
I saw Serena and Venus Williams and Eddie McGuire at the F Lounge.
I decided on breakfast which was absolutely sensational (corn frittataand then chugged my way through the Champagne list, which wasn't that difficult seeing as there were only three options.


Other than the Williams sisters, there was another special guest in the lounge.



After a very pleasant couple of hours in the lounge, it was time for boarding and I entered the dedicated first entrance.
Seat was 3K and I was looking forward to just relaxing and enjoying the service and also took the chance to watch Bohemian Rhapsody, which I thought was very good.

Oh why not?



And of course those familiar with my TRs there is the obligatory 'look at me' pic.
Thankfully for all of you, there won't be many of those on this TR.

 

[Justinf]

I've come a long way since my first TR when I did the Sydney to Dallas flight after my parents died.
I certainly knew what to expect in F.
But there's still that comfort factor and the good food and wine.
My upgrade from SIN-LHR hadn't come through by the time I left the F lounge so I wasn't hopeful, but I was determined to enjoy the next 7 or 8 hours in the air.



It seems first class doesn't necessarily mean first class to some. If you look at the TV screen, even the woman on it is horrified.






I decided to continue with the champers while settling in to watch Bohemian Rhapsody before the meal service. Happy days.

 

[Justinf]

The food service was excellent, as was the red wine that I switched to.
This is embarrassing, but for the life of me I cannot remember what I had for an entree and the photo doesn't jog my memory either. Can anyone help out?



For the main I chose the barramundi, which was superb.




I had no room for dessert and after the movie, I decided I'd try and sneak and hour or two of sleep, given that I had a six-hour layover in Singapore.
Here's a very cheesy shot of me in the bed.



Unfortunately I was unable to visit the land of slumber.
Instead I opted for a couple of glasses of red.



Pretty soon Singapore was coming into sight.

 

[Daver6]

Interested in hearing about Helsinki when you get there

 

[drron]

I hope that entree wasn't a raw onion.You can get into trouble eating those.

 

[OATEK]

I saw Spurs in January, and love Helsinki, so looking forward to your report.

 

[ADLhighflyer]

Can't wait to read this report - brings back memories of Iceland from my trip 2 years ago!

 

[Justinf]

With around five hours to kill in Singapore, I'd unfortunately missed the free city tour by about an hour. I have never been to Singapore except for Changi and it is a place I would like to go to.
I decided that with three lounges to choose from, I'd do some lounge hopping.
I tested out the Emirates lounge first where I had a shower. It was quite good.
The British Airways lounge was fairly small and while it wasn't a dump, I didn't stay long.
The Qantas lounge is new and large and I actually found this to be the best of them.
I enjoyed a few cold ones and asked at the lounge about my upgrade, but alas it looked like business class for me for the journey to Heathrow.


TheQantas lounge staff were great. All local and all keen to tell me what to do and where to go when I finally do get to Singapore, which I think will be sooner rather than later.
The time flew by and before I knew it, it was time to board.
Through security and the zoo pen.
I scanned my boarding pass and it started beeping...well, the BP didn't beep but something did.
We all know what that means.
My upgrade had come through.
I was quite chuffed and after a very long day, I was looking forward to a nice meal and a very long sleep. The A380 F beds are sooooooo comfy.
Seat taken and the obligatory glass of bubbly.



The meal service on this flight was truly outstanding.
I started with a laksa and it was to die for.



Main was a beef dish. I don't do much red meat, but I decided on this anyway.



Embarrassingly I couldn't even eat half of it. I hate wasting good food.
I'd had enough and asked for my bed to made and settled in for some quality sleep.

 

[Justinf]

After a very comfortable sleep, I awoke hungry and ordered the cheese platter, which was quite underwhelming.



I actually managed to get back to sleep for a while and before too long it was time for breakfast. I chose the pancakes, which were just so so.



However the coffee was cold.
Anyway, London was coming into sight albeit in darkness.





Immigration and baggage collection was quite painless.
Out into the early morning air and the temperature was a mild 8 degrees.
I had to get to terminal 2 for my Icelandair flight which wasn't for another 5 hours.

 

[Justinf]

I enjoyed the walk to terminal 2. It was good to stretch the legs.
Unfortunately the Icelandair desks were not open until 8.50am and by now it was around 7.30am.
I had to find a cosy corner in the terminal and play Candy Crush for a while.
In the end the check in desks opened right on time and I was checked in and through security.
As a Saga Class passenger I had the use of the Aer Lingus lounge.
This lounge was, well, both good and bad.
Good:
a huge shower room, which I used gratefully with lovely hot water and amenities and a massive area to dry off and get changed.


The lounge was quite spacious and very empty.






Drinks selection was average but at least the bar was open. When I say bar, it was a small self-serve minifridge. I decided not to imbibe though.

The bad:
Food offering was almost nonexistent. The best I could do was break a bread roll in half and pop in a few plastic (minus the plastic of course) blocks of cheese.



The lounge started to fill up, but not uncomfortably so.



The TV screens said my flight was 'go to gate' despite it being more than a full hour until departure.
I would find out why soon enough.

 

[snabbu]

Great to see you back writing another TR Justin! Looking forward to the rest.

 

[Justinf]

I left it around 40 minutes until departure.
What I didn't realise was that gates D were quite a long way away. I walked very quickly and then discovered that I had to go through immigration and there was quite a line.
I was panicking and cursing myself at the same time.
Fortunately the line moved quite quickly and I got to the gate as it was in the last stages of boarding.
Icelandair Saga Class was like your normal stock, standard QF or VA domestic business.



No IFE on this flight, but I had nobody next to me so after take off and the seat belt sign went off, I moved from my aisle seat to the window seat.
First up we sere served our choice of drink and some boxed pretzels. I chose the local lager Gull, which is pronounced 'yule'.



Gull is a standard lager, but it was OK.





For my meal I chose the salmon and I have to say, it was one of the best inflight meals I have ever had. Truly amazing. The fish was so succulent and cooked to perfection.
I devoured every last bit of it although I was quite famished due to the meagre offerings in the Aer Lingus loounge.



With this flight being just shy of three hours, I listened to music and indulged a couple more Gulls.