Nordic Skies and Skis

[Captain Halliday]

Oslo lounges

Departing Oslo the following day we headed to the Oslo Lounge.

It’s available to Oneworld sapphire and emerald members.

There’s a single entrance where you turn left for the standard lounge and right for the business lounge.

The difference between the two is minimal.

The standard lounge had a modest, but adequate, cold buffet.



There was also a heat lamp with pastries, but I wouldn’t call it hot food by Australian lounge standards.

This lounge also has the better view - of the apron.



Over in the J lounge, the view is of the Emirates check-in counters.

The furnishings are slightly better and it’s less busy.

There’s a slightly wider selection of drinks including two tap beers, self serve spirits and wine.








The J lounge cold food selection is more generous and better presented than the standard lounge.



But once again there’s no hot food, unless you count porridge or the barely warm waffles under the heat lamp.



J lounge passengers are free to move between both lounges.

 

[Captain Halliday]

Copenhagen Day 1

On our first day in Copenhagen we set off for a walk... but unusually for us we had a specific destination.

We had decided to take the city sights ferry tour to see the main landmarks in the city.

With the temperature in the low single digits we opted to sit in one of the three outside front rows.

Forward facing of course.



Miss H lasted about 20 minutes before retreating inside the barely heated cabin.

The first stop was Nyhavn Harbour where we snapped pictures of the coloured houses.





Our guide allowed time for a short walk.



Still in Nyhavn Harbour we passed Copenhagen’s narrowest house.

I wondered if it was also Copenhagen’s most in need of paint.



We continued on past the Opera House with its disproportionately large roof.



Military enthusiasts can visit the Danish frigate HDMS Peder Skram.



It’s most famous for the 1982 incident in which a missile was fired into suburban Denmark.

The frigate was performing maneuvres in the gulf between Denmark and Sweden when the missile was accidentally fired.

It travelled 34 kilometres at low level, severing power lines before striking trees and exploding.

It caused a fire ball and shock wave that badly damaged 130 houses.

Amazingly, no one was injured.

Then came the most underwhelming part of the tour, but perhaps the funniest story.


The boat crossed to the other side of the harbour to show us The Little Mermaid statue.

Can you see it?

It’s that dot on top of the rock.



It certainly is Little.

But our guide told us we’re should consider ourselves lucky to see it.

For Expo 2010 in Shanghai it was removed and taken to China to be part of the Denmark exhibit.

But so tourists didn’t miss out, they set up a webcam in a Shanghai and a big screen where the statue normally is in Copenhagen.

But the brains trust who came up with this idea didn’t allow for the time difference.

So when tourists turned up in Copenhagen during the day to see the statue... in Shanghai, security staff were locking up and turning out the lights.

So for the six months of the expo, visitors to Copenhagen saw only a blank screen.

 

[Captain Halliday]

Copenhagen Day 1 continued

As our Copenhagen cruise continued we passed the Royal Palace.



The cruise then headed down a narrow canal through Christianshaven.

This was once reclaimed land, but is now the glitzy part of town where you need a salary well above average to afford property.

But the really big money is in marina berths.



There were several bridges and our guide had warned that after the second bridge we would have just a split second if we wanted a photo of the Vor Frelsers Kirke or the Church of our Saviour.

This is because soon after the bridge there is a large tree that quickly blocks your view.

I managed three photos of the church...



Apparently I was lucky.

Most people miss the church and end up with a photo of the tree just to the right.

Our guide says this is the more common photo:



This tree is photographed so frequently it has its own Facebook page.

After another day of not very child friendly activities we headed to the Children’s Museum.

Or so we thought.

After a three kilometre walk that included a tense 15 minutes with no toilet in sight, Google Maps said we had arrived.

Readers of my previous trip reports will know that Google Maps hates me.

So I was very suspicious to find myself in a narrow suburban street, three blocks from the nearest main road.

There was nothing that looked like a museum.

I checked the tourist brochure for Bornemuseet or Children’s Museum and discovered that the narrow two storey brick building in front of us, was indeed our destination.



We went inside and discovered it was a case of “lost in translation”.

Rather than being a Museum as we know them in Australia, it was more of an arts and crafts workshop.

Miss H had been very patient so I handed over the credit card.

Over two hours, she made soap to give to the grandparents, painted two porcelain pineapple money boxes and finally iced and decorated a cupcake.

Mrs H and I enjoyed the rest and caught up on emails.

If Bornemuseet had a bar and sport on the TV I would happily have stayed much longer.

 

[Captain Halliday]

Copenhagen day 2

While having breakfast in our Copenhagen hotel, I told the family I was looking forward to another “short walk”.

With that, Miss H set off to collect flyers from the hotel foyer to make a plan.

Striding back into the restaurant waving a flyer above her head, she declared “We should go to the amber museum!”

This sounded to me like a terrific idea, until I saw the flyer and realised it had nothing to do with beer.

But Miss H taught me something that day - that amber is actually fossilised tree resin.

Found mostly in the Baltic regions it’s used in jewellery and other decorative objects.

The most prized examples are those with fossilised creatures inside them.


*my iPhone wasn’t good enough so credit to the amber museum for this pic.

The Amber museum turned out to be a private collection owned by a wealthy Danish family.

It’s housed in a small building in the centre of town.

It only has two small rooms, but the collection is impressive.





The museum is also home to the World’s largest known piece of amber.



Like most museums, the retail store on the ground floor is the only way in and out.

While our visit to the amber museum cost me nothing, the same can’t be said for the hour we spent in the retail store.

 

[Captain Halliday]

Copenhagen day 2 cont.

Around Copenhagen there are a couple of places where you can go up some of the taller buildings for a wider view of the city.

We first went up The Round Tower.


It was both round, and a tower.


From the top you can see why Denmark claims to be flattest country in the world.

We took in views of the power station which has some interesting features to overcome the country being flat.

On the vertical side is a rock climbing wall.

While the sloping roof side includes a down hill ski run.



We could also see assorted palace spires, churches and clock towers around the city, along with the occasional contrail.



Next we headed to Christiansbog Palace.

Despite the grand name, it just the Danish parliament building and its viewing deck is free... and in a good spot to see key parts of the city.









At the rear of the palace you can walk through the De Kongelige Stalde, or Royal Stables.





For dinner we headed to a small place nearby called Restaurant Karla.

The staff were friendly and the food was delicious.

After three weeks away, I was ready for some comfort food and opted for a burger.



Mrs H went for the schnitzel.

 

[Captain Halliday]

Heading home

After sleeping in, we spent the morning wandering in the areas close to the hotel.

From there we headed to the airport and took our AY flight from CPH to HEL.

It was an A320 and consistent with most other European carries this meant an all Y aircraft with a blocked middle seat.

From there it was off to the AY F Lounge which was being renovated.

It has since reopened, so I’ll spare you the details of tarpaulin dividers and the limited menu.

Then, just before out 2350 departure time it was off to the aircraft I had hoped to try three weeks earlier, the A350 with AY’s new J product.


I settled into my seat keen to get a solid sleep between HEL and SIN.



But I quickly realised sleep would be difficult to achieve.

I realise J seat preferences are very subjective.

For instance, I never had an issue with QF’s infamous drooping J seats, but can understand why others did.

I can sleep on beds that are hard or soft, but as someone who tends to roll over during the night... I really dislike feeling constrained.



So while the AY A330 earlier in the trip was older, noisier and had slightly narrower seats, the room for my feet made that my preferred J cabin by a big margin.

Our midnight departure gave us one final view of CHP before a sweeping right turn for SIN.



But the AY A350 IFE did have one interesting feature.

I have no idea if it’s genuine data or a gimmick, but you can overlay the forward looking map with a head up display.

It seemed reasonably consistent, so I’m guessing the data is genuine, just not as precise as on the flight deck.



The 350 was quieter, and some of the seat features better designed.

But for me the AY 330 J wins hands down for any flight on which you hope to get some sleep.

The SIN layover and final sector home were as expected.

But it was this view, as always, that jolted me back into the reality that another 280k J Award was over.



Little was I to know at the time, it would be my final one thanks to one of QF’s now infamous enhancements.

~~~The End~~~

 

[VPS]

Great TR - do we get an update on any points scoring and the knee situation

 

[Captain Halliday]

Great TR - do we get an update on any points scoring and the knee situation

Haha.
I won the “go to gate” game convincingly.

With my AFF knowledge she didn’t stand a chance.

As for the knee, it’s been good lately... but the same can’t be said for her hip.

 

[VPS]

Haha.
I won the “go to gate” game convincingly.

With my AFF knowledge she didn’t stand a chance.

As for the knee, it’s been good lately... but the same can’t be said for her hip.

I need the like and dislike button for this comment.

 

[OZDUCK]

Thanks for putting this TR together and letting me see Oslo & Helsinki quite unlike how we saw them. I hope the knee and the hip both improve.

 

[rginoz]

Thanks for a great Trip Report, Captain Halliday. Great stories and fabulous photographs.

You made an ominous sounding statement about a 'final' trip, thanks to 'QF's now infamous enhancements'. Any more to add?

 

[Captain Halliday]

Thanks for a great Trip Report, Captain Halliday. Great stories and fabulous photographs.

You made an ominous sounding statement about a 'final' trip, thanks to 'QF's now infamous enhancements'. Any more to add?

You're welcome. Glad you enjoyed it.

The reference to "final" trip may have sounded more sinister than intended.

I was referring specifically to the 280k J award.

I'm sure when I come up with a suitable itinerary I'll go again... it just won't be for 280k!

 

[rginoz]

I'm greatly relieved! Good luck collecting those points and status credits. I find they take longer to gather than to spend.

 

[drron]

I did enjoy this TR.Well done.
However I must admit I was about to post last week-"Are we there yet."

 

[craven morehead]

Fantastic TR many thanks for the months of reading job well done.

 

[Jacques Vert]

I enjoyed your TR immensely; can't wait for the next one.