Journey Amongst the Stars

[anat0l]

Sat 30 Oct (New York)

After the Staten Island Ferry docked at Lower Manhattan, I started on my way back up North. And I passed this along the way:

Wall Street's Charging Bull

It is said that rubbing the testicl_s of the bronze bull statue was to bring good luck. Frankly if that were true then during the Global Financial Crisis this bull must've been sexually molested real bad.

A little further on, I came to the site where the former World Trade Centre stood. Now it is a construction site and a small, contributions-run tribute centre nearby.

Looking for something...just give me a moment...

Another unique New York intersection (now say that fast another ten times...)

A bit more walking brought me closer to what I came to realise was Chinatown.

Another New York street, more classic buildings

"The true administration of justice is the firmest pillar of a good government". Much agreed, although I'd personally word it "The administration of true justice..."

Now entering Chinatown...

Chinatown felt a little bit like Hong Kong, in that it's a set of busy city streets with many shops, stalls and restaurants crammed next to each other.

 

[anat0l]

Sat 30 Oct (New York)

Darkness closed in quickly after I wandered around Chinatown. It was time to head back to the Candlewood, but before I did that, I hiked over to Katz's Delicatessen. It's said that you can't not have a meal at Katz's, which is still a popular eatery even to this day.

Katz's Deli, located on Houston (that's HOW-sen, not HOO-sen)

Definitely not arguing with that one... the place was packed, with barely a few free tables. The walls of the fine deli were covered in memorabilia, photos with celebrities and other bric-a-brac.

The menu at Katz's has a Jewish influence to it, where you can get some fare like matza ball soup, knishes and blintzes. However, the pride and joy of Katz's lies in their delicious meat sandwiches, in particular their salami and corned beef.

Inside Katz's Deli

When you enter Katz's, they give you a yellow ticket. Each time you order something, it's written on the ticket. You simply bring your ticket to the front desk when you're ready to leave, where they tally up your tab and you pay for it then.

Ordering was a bit like a long bar. You simply lined up as best you could until one of the chefs at the counter let you know when they were ready. Then you placed your order where it is made right in front of your eyes. (Alternatively, you could ask for table service and sit at the tables which are designated as such. Your meal is then delivered to your table.)

I lined up for a Reuben sandwich. As my chef sliced and diced up a storm, he offered a small plate of corned beef slices. He encouraged me to have a try, and was it delicious indeed. I couldn't wait for the sandwich! The monster of a sandwich was offered on a plate with a side of cucumbers, which I carried on a tray back to a free table.

These sandwiches don't come in cheap. But now you know why.

A monster sized Reuben sandwich

If you're going to eat a meal at Katz's, it just might be a good idea to know where the emergency information is, like this one.

The other thing to try whilst in New York, as it is said, is a New York Egg Cream. Katz's calls it "Heaven on Earth"; unfortunately I didn't see the blissful side of things. It tastes pretty much like its ingredients: a fizzy chocolate milk, essentially.

New York Egg Cream. Don't let the name fool you - there aren't any eggs in it.

It isn't a short distance from Katz's back to Times Square, which is good because that delicious Reuben needed to be worked off.

New York by night

Times Square by night, including the year ball which ceremoniously drops at the turn of a new year.

Tonight, everyone in New York was looking forward to tomorrow, as it was Halloween, which means the scaring and the costumes will come out in another evening's time.

For me, it was the start of Star Mega Do 2. Well, at least the prelude to the main event anyway.

 

[Hvr]

I am loving this TR, so many ideas for my next holiday.

 

[anat0l]

Sun 31 Oct (New York)

Sunday 31 October

Trip or Treat? Actually, I'll take both.

The festivities of Halloween were the feature of the day. At least, on most people's calendars. For me, the date claimer today was the start of Star Mega Do 2.

Although the pre-Do dinner doesn't start until the evening, there was still quite a bit to be done. I was staying at The Westin Times Square for the night before the TATL which qualified for a special SPG rate and bonus thanks to the organisers of Star Mega Do 2. So first order of business was packing up and preparing to move to new lodgings.

First of all, a load of laundry was in order. The laundry is much cheaper at Candlewood Suites than it is at The Westin, so it only made sense to make sure I had a full complement of clean clothes ready to go from here. I grabbed some soap powder from the Candlewood cupboard and headed down to the laundry where a full cycle of wash and dry took just under an hour.

Once I was packed up, check-out was quick and I was then off to The Westin. The Westin is much closer to Times Square compared to Candlewood Suites.

Frontage of The Westin Times Square

The reception of The Westin is splendid, with a modern, light feel to it.

Bell captain's desk and ground reception

Lobby / main reception

I didn't have to wait too long to be attended for check-in, even though I had to line up as a no-status customer. Check-in was completed nice and efficiently and I was offered a room in the Atrium Club. I guess this is the equivalent of the Hilton Executive Floor. I soon learnt that pretty much everybody who booked under the special SMD2 rate received this kind of room.

There was some apprehension on the SMD2 thread about staying at this Westin property due to the discovery of bedbugs at the hotel some months earlier. However, we were assured that this Westin really wanted to put on its best for us. So I suppose no bedbugs would have to be a minimum to fulfill this promise.

The Westin had a nice elegant look and feel to it - it wasn't completely new age or in-your-face sleek-and-modern, but it felt very contemporary but still maintained a "decorum" of professional elegance. I found my room without much trouble and was pleasantly surprised by the room I had received.

The Atrium Club rooms are situated around this atrium-like part of the building looking down to this hall below. Looks like it was being set up for a banquet or dinner function.

My room at The Westin

L'Occitane accessories in the bathroom

A unique shaped soap supplied in the bathroom - leaf shaped. Great smelling soap, too.

The Westin two-headed "Heavenly" shower

The view from my room

A thorough check (or at least the most thorough check I could possibly do) of the lovely soft bed revealed no bedbugs, which is a relief. Looks like The Westin really dotted their is and crossed their ts this time - excellent. I loved the colour combinations for the room - it was very soothing and harmonious. The furniture was not old but didn't look like it came from the planet Mars branch of Ikea. For a room in New York it was very big. All this for a low, low price (!) of $249+++. Expensive in other parts of the world, but kosher for New York.

A computer is supplied in the room, which was an archetypically-stylish iMac. Whilst internet is not free of charge (at least for me as a non-status customer), it is free if you use the iMac. I logged on and had a quick check of Flyertalk and saw that the SMD2 contingent starting in NYC were gradually starting to make their way into the City That Never Sleeps in preparation for tonight's dinner.

 

[anat0l]

Sun 31 Oct (New York)

So I had some time to kill before most of the guests arrived and we would convene before going to dinner. So I decided to have a wander uptown towards Central Park.

These people all standing around just witnessed a car swerve violently at a fork in the road. Don't worry - it's just filming for a TV show or movie.

Some scenes from Central Park

Central Park is huge. You need a good set of walking shoes and a whole day to check out the entire park (if even then).

I always wanted to have a game of chess in the park - just like you see on some TV shows and movies - so I headed to the Chess and Checkers House to see if there was anyone willing to have a game. I hear that some of these park players can be real blitz demons.

The park tables near the Chess and Checkers House

Unfortunately there were a few combatants already having a game with each other with no more time afterwards for another game. So I missed out. Looks like I would have had better luck going to Washington Square Park. Ah well.

Some signs that winter is coming soon...

Ice rink in Central Park

A walk in the park here is far from boring. The scenery is a breath of fresh air from the urban jungle of Manhattan. Perhaps literally.

Lake scene in Central Park. That tall white building in the background is the Plaza Hotel. I'm sure I remember seeing a scene like this in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

The afternoon was well and truly underway. I always like a good view of the town or city I'm in, and there are a couple of options for that in New York. My choice was the top of the Rock (Rockefeller Building).

Yet another New York street scene. People rushing, cabs scurrying about, tall buildings providing the "trees" in this urban forest...

Radio City Music Hall

The Rockefeller Building features upmarket shopping as well as NBC Studios. There's a bit of a convoluted journey from entrance to the ticket desk for the Top of the Rock.

NBC Studios and Rockefeller Building

After purchasing a ticket, there's the mandatory security screening check (mainly for metallic objects), followed by the more annoying mandatory shot by the photographers who help peddle the attraction guest photos (you know, those cheesy ones where they get a backdrop relevant to the attraction then stick your image onto it, and they cost a fortune).

The next mandatory step was a video of how the Rockefeller Centre came to be in a 150 degree round standing-only theatre. On conclusion of the film, we were ushered to the main lifts where we were sent up to the observation deck approximately a sardine can's full at a time (about two dozen people).

Outside observation deck of The Top of the Rock

Once at the top, the view was a sight to behold. Buildings, buildings everywhere - concrete and more concrete...except for a large blotch of green that is Central Park.

 

[anat0l]

Sun 31 Oct (New York)

Views of New York (mostly Manhattan) from The Top of The Rock

Upon descending from the observation level, I went through the shopping area to get out, when I bumped into a Ben and Jerry's shop. Someone said that Ben and Jerry's ice cream is really good - blows Baskin & Robbins out of the water. So I had to try some of their ice cream.

Looks like Ben and Jerry's have garnered another fan! This definitely gives Movenpick and Haagen-Daaz a run for money.

Ben and Jerry's ice cream

In the main square below the Rockefeller was another ice skating rink.

Rockefeller Square, with ice skating rink and coloured fountain

By this time the sun had retired for the day, so it was time to head back to The Westin and meet up with everyone in preparation to go to dinner. I thought I had a bit of time to get to the UN, but failed miserably. Oh well, at least the walk gave me some much needed steps.

Chrysler Building lit up at night near Grand Central Station

Got back to The Westin (long walk!) and had a brief freshen up in my room. I say 'brief' only because I really thought I was running late for the Atrium Club Lounge evening service and the meet-up before dinner. Turns out I was on time all along (or actually, our departure to our dinner was voluntarily delayed - heh, you don't get those in commercial aviation).

I actually thought that the area at the "floor" of the atrium in the Atrium Club area was the "lounge". Turns out I was wrong - the lounge was in fact a smaller area with a modest ceiling height and view. With all the SMD2 participants tonight (and later tomorrow), we filled up the lounge pretty good, making it a fairly cosy lounge after all.

The Westin Times Square Atrium Club Lounge

 

[anat0l]

Sun 31 Oct (New York)

A few SMD2 participants had already marked our territory in the lounge and were settling down with some drinks and snacks. The evening snacks on offer was fairly rudimentary, with some basic cheese and crackers, bread and crudites on offer. Alcohol was charged in the lounge, however a number of people had brought along several bottles of red which all looked the same as each other! Turns out this was part of the welcoming gift for all of us. I hadn't received mine yet, but it turned up later when I came back from dinner.

Flyertalkers who have come lands from far and wide

There was much friendly banter as we all waited for our fearless leaders of SMD2 to show up, namely sbm12 and tommy777. The lounge was a hive of conversation, featuring everything from "how did you get here" to "did you get your domestic upgrade" and so on.

The evening started to turn a little late as we finally made progress to go to dinner. Dinner was at a nice Italian restaurant known as Le Zie. Selected by resident and food appreciando sbm12, there was some fine food on offer at decent prices (although I rate decent here as meaning less than both Australia and Italy in cost, although I don't find that awfully difficult to achieve in the USA).

We were seated at a cosy section near the rear of the warren-like restaurant. There wasn't a lot of room to swing a cat, but we were all seated and immediately the mileage-related conversations flourished whilst waiting and during the eating of some tasty and interesting Italian cuisine.

It was quite dark in our section and I managed to get a seat which boxed me into position, so unfortunately I have no photos at the restaurant. SkiAdcock, however, was more adamant than I was and the room was alight with camera flash as snaps were taken.

By the time we left the restaurant, it was well past 10pm. Some of us decided to cab it back to the hotel, whereas I went with some others and relied on the late evening subway services to make it back to 42nd.

Back at the hotel, the welcoming gift that everyone else had received had made its appearance at my bed side. I took the wine home to Australia with me and it still hasn't been consumed, so no idea how good it is. The cheese and fruits, however, were superb.

Welcome gift for those on the SMD rate, courtesy of The Westin Times Square.

A close up of the drop offered

Time to get some rest - it was going to be a very long day tomorrow. Besides, this bed was really soft and really plush - not getting a good night's sleep in it would be a crime.

 

[anat0l]

Mon 1 Nov (New York)

Monday 1 November

The next day I woke up a wee bit later than desirable, because once again there was going to be an attractive function being put on for us in the Atrium Club Lounge and I didn't leave myself an awful lot of time to shower, get dressed and pack up a little bit (so I won't be freaking out later to make the checkout time).

When I made it to the Atrium Club Lounge, the festivities were well under way, with a magnificent and novel breakfast spread, featuring what would be known as The Westin's "Super Foods". It's supposed to be a novel approach for a more nutritious diet which is varied and taps into key health characteristics by utilising key foods. Personally, the most "super" thing about it to me was the unique delicious food creations that were on offer.

Leading edge research shows that 10 out of 10 Flyertalkers and AFFers recommend that a free breakfast full of delicious food provides a great start to any day

Our address from The Westin Times Square, Starwood and the lead chef who cooked the "Super Foods"

Super spread of the breakfast kind

Super smoothies of the 100% fruit kind

Super fruits, including some notable exotic types

Now this is a super breakfast. Yes, the black stuff is caviar.

Once the party in the lounge started to die down, thoughts turned to what to do until we had to head to the airport for the TATL to the European part of SMD2. A lot of people were just going to chill around The Westin until it was time to go to the airport, but there was one more place I really wanted to see before I left my first visit of New York: the headquarters of the United Nations.

There were a few of us who decided to take a taxi together to JFK in the evening. Big mistake on my part for participating, but more on that later.

I got back to my room and resumed packing up. Check-out was a breeze and in my haste I quickly left my bags with the porters on the ground level and bolted out of the hotel towards the UN. I'd gone about half a block when I stopped and realised something was wrong...something didn't feel quite right. Should I go back and fix my mistake? Or is it too late or fruitless to save face? I think my conscience was shaking its head and giving me the tsk-tsk treatment.

So I rushed back to The Westin, approached the porters, offered them a tip that I should've in the first place and profusely apologised for forgetting to do so. To my surprise, the porters took it in good spirits and they admit that people who forget rarely come back to rectify their mistake like I did. I felt a little better after that.

Now back out the door and off to the UN, located at the very end of 42nd. Although the UN HQ is on American soil, the way it exists it almost constitutes a sovereignty in itself. Like The Vatican, it has its own postal service within the complex, however the UN does not exist as an autonomous state similar to The Vatican.

The main building at United Nations headquarters

Flags, flags, flags...the national standards of the members of the UN on display at the walls of the headquarters

 

[anat0l]

Mon 1 Nov (New York)

To enter the UN, one must...yep, you guessed it...pass a mandatory security screening check! Once through and into the reception complex, I bought a ticket for the next tour of the UN. Unfortunately, the main building was under renovation work so we would not be able to go to that, however we could still see a couple of the key chambers of the UN.

The audio tour ended up being more a tour which was partly a description of UN HQ but also a lot about how the UN is made up, the goals of the UN and the work done by the UN (and so on). It was quite informative and interesting, although I suppose anyone with a strong political leaning or degree of cynicism might write off the whole thing as smoke and mirrors. Luckily for me I try to remain fairly apathetic to the whole political scene.

UN Security Council Chamber

UN School in a Box kit

A guitar fashioned from a Kalashnikov rifle, representing an effort to promote World Peace

An interesting quote describing the goal of the UN

A wall of framed illustrations, each one depicting one of the fundamental rights in the UN Charter of Human Rights

UN Emergency Shelter

UN Emergency Food

UN General Assembly Chamber

By the time I had finished the tour and had a brief walk through the souvenir shops (and sent a postcard from the UN so I have a UN postmark on it), it was getting quite late already. No chance that I would make my pre-arranged rendezvous. Whilst I know that my fellow FTers would be smart enough to leave without me, it's still not a good thing to stand up people like that. I wish I had taken mobile contacts so I could tell them to just go and not wait for me - it would at least be the courteous thing to do.

But more importantly now, I would need to find out how to get to JFK by myself. No problem, I thought. I got here easily by train and subway, so I can do it again. So a long-ish trek back to The Westin to retrieve my bags (and remembering to tip the porter this time!), then down to the subway at 42nd/PABT to catch the E to Sutphin Blvd.

I can tell you that carrying close to 33kg of luggage and trying to get to the airport on a very crowded subway is no easy feat. It seems that I wasn't the only person who decided that flying out at around this time and this day was a good idea! Although I knew that the total time to get from Manhattan to JFK via subway and train would take just over an hour, time seemed to tick away so slowly. Probably wasn't helped by my stress level, plus we were experiencing some delays due to earlier delays rolling on. At one stop, the driver tried to close the doors to no avail.

"Would the gentlemen in the last car please stand clear of the doors. This train ain't goin' no where until the doors can close!" he said with deserved indignation. Geez, I'm trying to get to the airport and the last thing I need is a few jokers that want to hold up the schedule.

Except it wasn't really their fault - turns out there was really a fault with the doors in that carriage. It took close to 30 minutes for the problem to be fixed and for us to be on our way again. More delays, more stress, less time left to make it to the airport = heart rate increasing.

By some miracle, we managed to beat Old Man Timer and fate and made it to Sutphin Blvd with a decent amount of time to then take the Airtrain to JFK.

Airtrain platform at Jamaica Avenue / Sutphin Blvd

The Airtrains are fairly regular and soon I was on my way to JFK T1. Surely everyone had already made it to the lounge, but at least I would make it in time for the festivities, but more importantly in time for check-in cutoff!

JFK is an interesting airport. There are so many terminals (7 active terminals in all!), which all seem to be small satellite terminals handling a handful of airlines at a time, yet there are over 150 gates in total at JFK. LH operates from T1.

 

[anat0l]

Mon 1 Nov (JFK-FRA)

Entering JFK T1

There were signs indicating that as a *G member I could use the First Class check-in at the LH counter area. The only problem was that there was no one at the said check-in! Instead, I lined up with the regular Economy line, thankful that there were only a couple of people in front of me, ensuring only a short wait before I could approach a counter.

Check-in was nice and easy, with a e-ticket receipt being spat out of the machine along with my BP. The lady who was assisting me with check-in noticed my yellow Flyertalk tag on my backpack and noted that there were quite a few people she had checked in for this flight who had a similar tag. I wonder why...

LH Check-in Area at JFK T1

Security didn't take long to clear, despite being what looks like a very, very compact security operation for admittedly only one terminal of one of the busiest airports in the world. There's no outbound immigration in the US, so once I was past the screen machines, I repacked my bag, put my shoes back on and a mere left later I was at the LH Lounge at JFK.

LH Lounge at JFK T1, complete with friendly greeting from a cardboard FA

There were plenty of people already in the lounge but I wasn't late for the formal proceedings just yet. The front desk staff had been well informed of our group and were diverting all other pax to the part of the lounge upstairs. After having to be squished on a subway for well over an hour and feeling more relieved to finally be at the airport lounge, I requested if there were any showers in the lounge. I was finally glad to hear that in a lounge located in the USA, yes, there are showers in this lounge! They were located upstairs, which was away from where everyone else was. No matter, I proceeded upstairs and waited as one of the lounge attendants prepared a shower room for me.

With the exception of our rowdy SMD2 group, there was practically no one else in the lounge. Upstairs was very quiet and fashioned in a mostly polished timber and bright lights. The size of the lounge is appreciable although I'm not familiar with the daily LH or *A operations out of T1. Food selection is quite decent and decidedly better than some of the other lounges in the USA I had come across where the only things you can get are either 90% sugar or 90% salt. The pick of the upper floor, though, was the extensive bar stocked with a very impressive array of drink.

LH Lounge at JFK T1 - Upper Floor

Food selection at LH Lounge JFK T1 Upper Floor

The impressive bar on the upper floor of the LH Lounge at JFK T1

I grabbed a couple of finger foods from the buffet, but I hardly had time to scarf it down when I was informed that a shower room was ready for me to use. Showers are something that one does not normally get impressed by and this was no exception, but it was good to have something clean and decently fitted out (nice navy tiling and a nicely finished wooden bench). Accessories such as shampoo, conditioner and body soap were supplied in the shower through pump dispensers mounted on the wall. Unclassy perhaps, but not a big deal. At least the soap was some sort of decently smelling type rather than simple hospital grade disinfectant.

Refreshed once again, I proceeded downstairs back to the gathering crowd. The lower level of the lounge felt less open and bright compared to upstairs, and the food selection was smaller compared to upstairs. However, it was enough for all of us to be content and merry (well, the latter part was assisted by the ample supply of alcohol and other beverages).

SMD2 crowd take over the lower floor of the LH Lounge at JFK T1

 

[anat0l]

Mon 1 Nov (JFK-FRA)

During the course of the night, we were treated to an audience with the North America section of the LH team...

LH team in the JFK T1 Lounge with some of their finest customers

...as well as our fearless SMD2 leader...

tommy777 entertains the masses with a little dance :mrgreen: Alright, alright I made that up...

Our bird to FRA arrived at a gate. Some of us took interest in watching the ground crew scurry around on the tarmac preparing our bird for the hop across the pond. We had some reservations as to whether our bird would be able to fly let alone on time when we saw one of the engines being inspected more thoroughly than a TSA cavity search. Luckily, we had nothing to fear, and with the final blessings of the LH team we eventually set out of the lounge to board our TATL flight.

It would not be a very far walk from the lounge, except none of us had the superpowers to phase through solid objects and walk on air.


Flight: Lufthansa LH405 New York John F. Kennedy (JFK T1) - Frankfurt am Main (FRA T1)
Depart: 2240h Sched; 2230h Actual
Aircraft: D-ABVM "Hessen" Boeing 747-400
Distance: 3,855 mi (6,205 km)
Class: Economy
Seat: 43C

Onwards to the gate over heaving ocean, my friends...

On this flight where there are an appreciable number of FTers, one always had the dilemma of deciding whether to board in the priority lane or the regular lane.

FTers in the Economy cabin

When I requested seats for this flight, I thought it might be a good idea to get a bulkhead seat. I wonder what's German for, "Do'h!"

Legroom in my bulkhead seat

Although I'm fairly short, sitting in the bulkhead was cramped, at least for my left leg. The bulkhead was a solid wall from top to bottom; no cut out for feet. Well, I certainly screwed up (no pun intended). During the entire flight I was forced to wriggle the left leg out to the right of the end of the bulkhead wall and exercise my feet regularly.

Anyway, back to the story. Boarding was fairly routine, as was our taxi and takeoff.

The LH 747-400 looked a bit old but it was solid. Some people are not happy with the IFE onboard, which is the old style of a few screens mounted on the ceiling of the cabin running common, loopback IFE. As someone who doesn't watch a lot of TV anyway, I was fairly indifferent.

The meal service soon started as the seat belt sign was extinguished. LH began with a drinks and snacks run throughout the cabin.

Pre-meal drinks and bar snacks

Main meals were served after an appreciable amount of time after the pre-meal servings. Looks like I picked the worst row to sit for a couple of reasons: one of them was the short bulkhead, but the other one was that meals were served to us last. The reason is that I was at the bulkhead near the start of the second Y cabin. LH start service from the front row of the first Y cabin and move backwards, with another service starting from the rear of the second Y cabin and move forwards. So being right in the middle necessarily meant being served last.

Tonight's choices were pasta or teriyaki beef. The pasta didn't sound any more appealing than some random microwave meal, so I chanced myself on the teriyaki beef. The beef was presented with traditional Western accompaniments, completed on the tray with a side salad consisting of a few vegetables, and a cake with fake cream.

Dinner of teriyaki beef

Despite the unappealing appearance, the beef had good taste, and actually had some texture about it (so it didn't just taste like slopped chipped beef). The salad surprisingly tasted somewhat fresh rather than nothing, and the cake was a nice end to the meal.

One thing I noticed is that when the trays and other dining paraphernalia was being collected, the LH crew made careful sure to sort out the plastic cups from everything else, as well as doing a partial sort of some other items. I suppose this was part of their recycling efforts.

With dinner taken care of, it was time to try and get some sleep. Not an easy feat considering I had unwisely selected the bulkhead, so in order to avoid having a dead-on-arrival leg after the flight (and possibly a fatal case of DVT), I tried to angle my legs out into the aisle as much as possible without creating a huge trip hazard.

 

[anat0l]

Tue 2 Nov (JFK-FRA, Frankfurt am Main)

Tuesday 2 November

I think I woke up a couple of times, but some how managed to push out some sleep, which was shortened compared to usual due to excellent tail winds giving us a great boost across the Atlantic. I don't know whether to say this was a relief for my legs or it was Hell on my sleep - either way....

Breakfast in LH Y consists of their "breakfast tray", which is an almost takeaway cardboard tray filled with a croissant, butter, a piece of cheese, a small container of fruit and, IIRC, a muesli bar.

LH breakfast tray

Well, there are basic breakfasts (like the small continental breakfasts some people know well), then there are breakfast trays. Bah, who am I to comment - it was food, and we are sitting in Y for a reason...

Some people started to slowly stir as breakfast was being served, which staggered the actual serving of breakfast trays and probably stretched out the FAs quite a bit.

Not a lot long after everyone had finished breakfast and the post-meal bathroom rush had finished, we were descending into FRA, approximately one hour ahead of scheduled time. Thank goodness - any longer and my gimpy leg might've been sold off to a man with a wooden leg named Smith (ten points if you can spot the film reference).

A slew of FTers poured off the aircraft and made their way as fast as possible to FRA immigration. After all, most of us were familiar with the rush and the lines at immigration and wanted to get through as soon as possible. Probably a good thing, since when we arrived at immigration there cannot have been more than 3 or so lines open (2 open for EU residents, from memory), with further lines only opening later and slowly. Perhaps the wait was for the best interests of time efficiency, for when I finally got processed and made my way to baggage claim, the belt had hardly started putting out bags. At least priority baggage worked this time, but perhaps not too surprisingly there was a flood of fluoro-orange tags on the belt. Aaah, the downsides of travelling with a lot of FTers

Customs was...well, a non-affair really (hey, Australian citizen writing here!). Once we were out, some of the privileged amongst us decided to wander over to the FRA Welcome Lounge for a decent breakfast, a shower and some alcohol (of course). Others of us and the not-so-privileged - including yours truly - decided to head straight to our accommodation for the night - the Sheraton FRA Airport. Even though we arrived rather early, there was still only a matter of hours before the afternoon session with LH started. For me, that meant enough time to have a shower, relax and get ready for the rest of the day. Unlike the previous SMD where too many people were too tired after the flight to do anything in the afternoon (probably because they partied too hard on LH405), everyone was a bit more wiser and psyched up this time (after all, unlike last year, there would be no repeats of any of the events this time).


Hotel: Sheraton Frankfurt Airport
Booked: Standard Room
Received: (sorry, can't remember, but at least what we booked)


The Sheraton FRA Airport looks a little dated in decor but was otherwise clean. We had discounted rates thanks to our fearless SMD team, which yielded a slightly more sane rate than otherwise (although this is an airport hotel). I shared this room with another FTer, who was a SPG Platinum and was extended free internet as a benefit.

Inside our room at the Sheraton Frankfurt Airport

Once we got to our rooms, we unpacked a bit and, like any person who is mad about keeping in touch with the world, immediately set about connecting to the internet. And of course once one does so, check email, FT...you know the deal. It's amazing how even relaxing can sap up time fairly quickly, and after I thought I had showered and got most of the wolves from my email away from the proverbial door, it was time to go downstairs to meet with the others for our afternoon with LH and the Star Alliance.

Wenn ich fliegen will, dann fliege ich so wie's mir gefällt
(with apologies to any readers who know German - I used a translator to make the above up)

A decent crowd of FTers of various degrees of alertness and drunkenness :mrgreen: gathered in the lobby of the Sheraton FRA and were then directed on a long walk towards our tour buses where we met our tour guides from LH for the afternoon. The first stop on our grand schedule of events was a tour of LH's second A380, D-AIMB, bestowed with the name "München". Lufthansa Technik, where the A380 was parked, was quite some drive from the main terminal, and involved us having to take a long trip around the FRA airport complex. Upon approaching our area, we had to get off our tour bus and go through mandatory security screening. If you weren't good at security screening before this Do, you had ample opportunity to get good at it now!

Hangar security screening lobby, showing some old LH aircraft seats fashioned as a waiting seating area

Some people beeped, but nobody swore. Back we piled onto our bus (which also got a bit of a screening itself) and a short drive later we pulled up to the magnificent aircraft beaming in a new coat of Eurowhite and a proud blue and yellow crane logo proudly painted on its tail like a battle standard.

Lufthansa's second A380-800, D-AIMB "München"

First stop on our A380 tour was the coughpit.

anat0l, you'll be just fine as long as you don't press any of the buttons...

LH pilot explaining the coughpit

Next, we visited LH's new A380 F class, which was expected to be replicated across the rest of it's fleet in due time (if not the design then the "feature" of only sporting 8 F seats as opposed to 16 on the 747-400s).

Stairway to F, which is situated on the upper deck

 

[anat0l]

Tue 2 Nov (Frankfurt am Main)

There were LH staff stationed at each "stop" to explain the features of the cabin and answer questions from our not-too-surprisingly inquisitive FT group. The F cabin of an A380 always attracts some degree of attention since everyone is always holding out to hear what the airline did to take advantage of such a new aircraft.

Without any luck, I may never be in an area like this again

For most, the new LH A380 F looked a lot like the F cabins on LX in terms of the same shape and geometric placement of the seats and features. The furnishing was a different colour, and LX don't put roses everywhere, either. In addition, the LH F cabin is humidified in the air, meaning that it won't dry you out as much as other cabins in other airlines. Better for your health, food tastes better, sleep is easier... you get the idea, all for the cost of carrying extra water to keep up to 8 passengers from getting too parched too quickly. Individual lockers are available for each of the 8 pax in F, and 2 very large bathrooms.

The cabin had been dressed up for our arrival, but there was still rubber matting on the floors (think going to the furniture store and buying a new couch but not removing the protective sheeting). Although we had been directed not to sit down in any of the seats or beds (yeah yeah - same thing!), some people didn't listen - ah well.

Looking down the aisle, inside the LH A380 F cabin

More LH A380 F cabin

A LH A380 F seat in fully flat position, complete with bedding supplies and the usual red rose

EK has suites, showers and a bar. QF has semi-private suites, a self-serve bar and couch (upstairs, which J pax can also use). AF has an electronic art gallery. SQ has fully enclosed suites...and not much else than that.

LH rolled out two big bathrooms, with no showers. Essentially the same as a normal bathroom, except a little more posh and with a long bench. LH say that their market research with their F customers revealed that none of them really wanted a lot of fancy-schmancy features like EK's showers or a big bar etc. But they wanted a bigger bathroom? Oh well, whatever.

The big F bathroom on the LH A380

Another unique feature: a urinal. For the typical F demographic (read a little further) who only need to make a quick break. Let's hope the typical F demographic know how to aim.

Later I asked who was the main demographic of LH F, and the staff said usually it was German business people who traveled on business and usually alone, mainly male. That explains a lot, including why you can't use the ottomans as a buddy seat / for co-dining.

 

[anat0l]

Tue 2 Nov (Frankfurt am Main)

Next up was J class, which is also located on the upper deck. Nothing too exciting for the majority of us, especially those who have flown on LH J for a while. There are 98 J seats laid out in 3 pairs per row. It was the same lie-flat (not fully flat) J seat that is also sported on all other long haul aircraft in the LH fleet. So the speculation of when LH will get new J seats (which may be fully flat) continues (perhaps on the 747-8).

LH J class on the A380

A much smaller bathroom, located in the rear of the upper deck on the LH A380 for J class

The entire main deck of LH's A380s is occupied by Y class, capable of seating 420 unwashed flying bumpkins (or German equivalents) (just kidding :mrgreen in a 3-4-3 layout.

Die Economy-Klasse. Doesn't matter how you butter it up - it's still whY...

...but at least unlike most LH 747-400s, everyone has a personal IFE screen...

...and new "slimline" style seats which are becoming increasingly popular.

Once our internal tour of the aircraft had concluded, we disembarked via the forward left hand door to let the other groups have a tour, and for us to walk around D-AIMB to see the aircraft in all its glory.

 

[anat0l]

Tue 2 Nov (Frankfurt am Main)

Next tour group, waiting for its turn to see whats on the inside

As we disembarked, the other LH A380 - D-AIMA "Frankfurt am Main" - is making its way to the hangar

Being so close to an A380 makes you marvel at the sheer size of the "bloat-bus"

Huge front wheel

Fortunately for him, the engine was not turned on, otherwise the English slang phrase, "sucked in", would've taken on a subtly different meaning. Anyone dealt with human strike before (as opposed to bird strike)?

Camera shot looking at the rear of the upper deck. The LH staff giving the tour information in the J cabin give me a wave. (Note: photo has been modified due to poor lighting of original shot)

I photograph you, you photograph me.

A380 tail sporting the LH crane logo

D-AIMA "Frankfurt am Main" is pushed into the hangar

 

[anat0l]

Tue 2 Nov (Frankfurt am Main)

FRA is the home for Lufthansa (or at least one of them), but it's also the home of Star Alliance HQ.

Jaan Albrecht, the CEO of *A and quoted as describing FTers as "the people who fly like Hell", had us bussed to *A HQ after the A380 tour for an afternoon of focus group discussions.

The lobby of *A HQ showing a world map of *A partners and a picture frame chronology of *A and its developments

*A CEO Jaan Albrecht greets the people who fly like Hell :mrgreen:

After a welcome and briefing by Jaan, we were ushered into a spill-out area which was linked to a number of board rooms. Jaan and his team obviously knew that to have a good meeting you need to have good refreshments, and came more than amply prepared.

A delicious array of savouries

The small discussion tables had handfuls of crudites

Sweets table of small cakes and baskets of delicious macarons

Now we are prepared for a meeting...

Once everyone had some time to gather some food and drink, we broke out into small groups. Everyone had six "flash cards" with a topic on it, and we could choose to go to each of the six in any order we wanted (so as long as there was not too many people in a room). We spent about 10-20 minutes per room as the *A staff picked our brains for our opinions on what works, what doesn't, what's good, what's lousy, and so on. In some cases we seemed to labour on one point and not much else, which may or may not have been useful, but it's what us FTers (and these forums) do best.

There were various topics talked about, including what are our experiences with *A, benefits, new kinds of kiosks and services, upgrades (of course!)... ah the last one was interesting. It seems that I said something about upgrades that was only matched by exactly one other participant, and that participant was also from Australia. I wonder why...

All in all, they were good sessions to get some engagement with *A staff. Perhaps it would've been better if we had more time for each meeting, but then some of us were looking quite tired, however even after burning a few thinking cells there was no time to be tired when we had merely a brief moment of rest before our dinner with the LH group in the same venue as last year's similar dinner - the LH Flight Training Centre.

 

[anat0l]

Tue 2 Nov (Frankfurt am Main)

Inside the big hall in the Lufthansa Flight Training Centre. All the Lufthansa Group airlines were represented here...

...LH of course had their place...

...offering some free massages...

...while OS offered an impressive stand...

...offering Austrian wine, coffee...

...and triangle-plates of delectable sweets.

LX had a small stand.

SN took a simple approach, accessorising only with a pair of drums to promote their African network

Even BD jumped across the Channel to join the party, reassuring many people about Diamond Club (to an extent), and providing free pours of London Pride beer (a just-acceptable drop if I do say so myself)

 

[anat0l]

Tue 2 Nov (Frankfurt am Main)

The organising team for our dinner did an excellent job preparing the tables as well as the buffet.

We had brief speeches from Lufthansa, Star Alliance and our fearless SMD leader tommy777, which left plenty of time for us to visit each of the stands, grab some freebies and enjoy the delicious food and the buzzing atmosphere that only a large group of FTers on a Do can create.

One of the keys to a woman's heart: exquisite chocolate. Or, in this case, these truffles which are handmade and freshly coated with melting chocolate. They had trays and trays of these.

Tables set up for dinner

Extensive buffets. Well, not extensive like some hotel buffets, but given that a lot of us had eaten at the focus groups, there was more than enough to keep everyone satisfied.

Revenge may be a dish best served cold, but dinner is best served delicious

Viennese coffee, sweets, truffles...oh so decadent - I think my body just booked a place in Hell...

There were so many truffles left over it seemed such a damn fine shame that it was all going to go to waste. Some of us tried to mitigate that shame by innovative means of "stockpiling" them......we used everything: disposable cups, napkins, people emptied out souvenir boxes. We all know it's a bit of a low act to bring a Tuppaware or similar container to a buffet, but in this case I wonder who would've minded....

This savvy FTer had a great idea to store some truffles

 

[FuzzyAUS]

Im loving this, some nice pictures of the inside of the LH A380...

Still think i prefer the inside of the QF A380 actually.

 

[anat0l]

Tue 2 Nov (Frankfurt am Main)

Now most of you are thinking, "Alright, you've all just come off a TATL with little sleep, toured an A380, exercised the brain at a focus group session and then had a big dinner. You're off the bed now, right?" Wrong! Like the Demtel ads used to say, "But wait! There's more! In a timely fashion after dinner, we were all instructed to proceed downstairs and board buses which would take us to a "secret location". Wild speculation and rumours with ranges of accuracies as wide as our FFP mileage balances abounded as the buses drove off. Ultimately, the long-standing rumour was correct...

The "secret" location and final SMD2 feature in FRA

Although a decent contingent had been through the FRA First Class Terminal before, there were a significant number of us - yours truly included - who have never had, and may never have, the opportunity to look inside in person. Now, we did.

We were dropped off in front of the terminal but had to wait a while whilst someone sorted out the security and what not, as well as finding the keys to get inside (I think they left a spare under the mat ) - alright I'm joking about the "get inside" part.

All of the remaining LH flights had left for the night, leaving us to roam free in the terminal (and not having to pass through security).

Lobby area of the LH FRA FCT

Once past the security screening area into the lounge proper, we were allowed to freely roam around the lounge. LH had packed up the buffet, the bar, the showers and all the rubber duckies, but they did make sure to leave us a large amount of digestifs and nightcaps out.

For those that want an video tour of the FRA FCT, :arrow: click here [VIDEO: Youtube - 6 min 1 sec] for a video that I made.

Now for those of you who like your eye candy in drip feed form rather than gorging piles, here you go:

Tonight, Lufthansa, All Your First Class Terminal Are Belong To Flyertalkers

Once we got into the lounge, we were all pretty free to do whatever we wanted. We couldn't do the regular lounge things like pig out from the buffet, have a shower, finagle a rubber duckie or be driven around the FRA tarmac in a luxury car, but there were digestifs to imbibe, plenty of leftover truffles to be indulged and great companionship all around.

Oh, well we all did check-in from the lounge for tomorrow's flight to IAH. One lone lounge attendant served all of us by sorting out seats and printing BPs. Madhouse indeed - my hat goes off to her.

A lone lounge agent at the service desk computer - about to become ever more popular