To Europe via Manila

[rbjhan]

Ok so it turns out reporting on a trip while being on set trip is harder than I thought!

Ha I tried that last time and quickly gave up
You are doing much better than me!

 

[JoshuaL1997]

You guys are all very kind with your comments, absolutely reaffirms why I decided to post to begin with! So lets go with the third leg to europe!

Abu Dhabi (AUH) - Munich (MUC)
Etihad Airways EY125
Business Class seat 10A
B787-9 (A6-BLF)

Intro
No real intro needed here, this is a direct continuation of the last flight. Middle eastern airports all follow a similar pattern of having most arrivals and departures between midnight and 3am accordingly we arrived just prior to midnight from our last flight and were scheduled to depart at 2:35am to Munich on EY125.

Transfer and Lounge
As mentioned in the last segment we arrived at a gate which is not always a guarantee in the middle east but at Abu Dhabi's new Terminal A which has been open for about a year it seems most flights get to dock at a gate rather than having a remote stand which makes transiting easier but a shame for those plane nerds who like doing a bit of up and close plane spotting.

A quick walk down the well sign posted terminal arm and you were presented with the options to transfer or head for immigration to enter the UAE, I of course transfered. There is a dedicated lane for premium passengers and we were through in about 5 minutes and headed straight for the lounge which is a little challenging to find past all the glitz and glam of this new airport.



Terminal A is kind of like a starfish thats lost an arm, each arm is where gates are located and in the central portion are all the typical airport things like the entrance, security and immigration, shopping, eating and of course the lounges. But saying that its a little overwhelming at midnight so to describe how to find the Etihad lounge, I walked toward the Hermes store on the right after clearing security, went past it and at the end you will find the doors to the first class lounge, turn left past Gate C27 and you find the entrance to the business lounge. Best of luck with those instructions for those consulting the map the lounge is between Gates C27 and D43.



Inside the lounge is also not the most straight forward thing when it comes to directions. Set over three floors you have the first floor which is for dinning (I didnt spend any time there), the second is split in two, on the left side its seating and on the right its seating and the shower and nap rooms. In order to access the right side you have to head upstairs to the third level where there is more dining, a bar and more seating and head to the opposite side and take the elevators down a level. I think this seperation is due to Etihad having two in lounge gates for their A380 services.

To be honest I just wanted a shower at this point, once finding the elusive location an attendant pointed me to a vacant shower room which was nicely appointed with fresh towels and some amenities. No branded shower products seem to be in use here with the exception of a very small armani lipbalm, potentially another cost saving exercise. My shower was great and made me feel more alive and human, after this I honestly just grabbed a seat in the area just outside the showers as it was very quiet.



I had a bag of chips and a water and tried to charge my various tech things. One weird thing for this super new terminal is that they didn't have universal power plugs or USB type C plugs only USB-A and what i assume is the local UAE power plug, not very transit friendly. I sat here until I noticed the screen now listed my gate, odly enough I couldn't figure out what time boarding would start as they didn't make announcements nor was I told when I entered, so I just left about an hour before departure and slowly walked to my gate C31. I'll have more time in the lounge on my return flight so stay tuned for a more in depth review.

Boarding and cabin layout
At AUH you will find similar gate lounges/prisons like at Singapore Changi except we didn't need to go through security just have our passports and tickets checked. They didn't get checked after this until we were onboard. Most people seemed to already be in the prison so I found a spare seat towards the boarding end of the "gate lounge". The lounge/prison also featured two toilets which seemed to be popular.



After about 10-15 minutes boarding was called for Business passengers and the agent made a big song and dance about this not being the economy group and instructed several people to sit back down which was a little awkward considering we were all heading into the same plane.

This flight was on the backbone of the Etihad fleet, the B787-9 featuring 28 Business class seats between doors 1 and 2 in a 1-2-1 layout and a further 262 Economy seats in a 3-3-3 layout behind this. There is a newer layout with newer reverse herringbone seats which frequents Munich but not on this day which is a shame.



Seats alternate as you can see above with seats either facing forward or backwards. Backwards facing isle and centre seats are a little less private and exposed to the isle where forward facing seats are a bit better protected but you do get coffined in.



Our flight was full so i quickly took my seat at 10A a forward facing window seat and grabbed my Qantas PJ's (as Etihad doesn't supply them on short european flights) and headed to the toilet to get changed so I could head to sleep after take off.



Arrival drinks were offered, I picked lemon mint which is now my favourite drink ever! Hot towels were handed out along with slippers and amenity kits.

Service
The flight attendant serving my isle introduced her self while we were on the ground she advised me I could eat when ever I wanted, I chose to eat later in the flight after I've slept but she was happy to take my order now to ensure my preference was set aside for later.

At this point there was no menu at my seat so we did this awkward 3 second thing of just staring at one another, her anticipating I'd tell her what I wanted, me anticipating she would tell what was on offer. Once I mentioned I didn't have a menu she apologised and found me one, gave me a minute to look through it and came back to take my order before returning the menu to where ever it came from. In the haste of things I didn't grab a photo of the menu, did I mention it was 2am at this point...

Anyway, they served another round of drinks after take off with warm nuts but I had drifted half a sleep so didn't notice a crew member leaving this on the little surface next to my seat for me to enjoy later.

Once I woke up I headed to the loo where a crew member noticed I was awake and 5 minutes later came by my seat to ask if they could prepare my breakfast tray for me which I gladly accepted. At this point I also checked out the entertainment and watched a few episodes of Season 2 of Julia, a comedy based on Julia Childs first TV cooking show which was very entertaining.



So my tray included an espresso which I had ordered (theres an insane amount of coffee options), water, fruit, a croissant with butter and jam on the side as well as my main meal which I had ordered, the Scrambled Eggs Shakshouka with fetta and caramelised onions which honestly really hit the spot. It had a little spice and good amount of salt from the fetta and just lots of flavour which I devoured. 10/10 airplane breakfast.

I followed this up by a cup of peppermint tea about an hour prior to landing which was served promptly with a little Godiva chocolate.



Bed and Amenities

Ok there is a theme developing of me not taking photos of the seat in bed mode and that theme is continuing here but I have borrowed a photo from the Prince of Travel for reference.



As you can see the bed lies flat with most of the lower half of your body sliding under the tv section. I don't have an issue with this but it can feel a bit coffin like as both sides of the seat are restricted by walls meaning its very difficult for you to sleep on your side. I don't really see why Etihad had the seat designed with that ledge by the window as this steals about two inches of space and really traps you in the seat. For this reason I didn't sleep very well so I think this is a better day time relaxing type seat than for these european redeye flights.



In terms of amenities, we had the same pillow, blanket and mattress protector as on our flight from Manila. I was offered slippers but declined and we received the cube amenity kit which I think is less useful and attractive than the pouch version you get on flights to AUH. Our version was in a gold-ish finish which may be a limited edition version as it doesnt look like any of the photos Etihad released when announcing these new kits at the beginning of 2024, its contents however are the same as the last flight.

Arrival and overall thoughts

Arriving in rainy Munich before 6am meant we were the first international arrival flight of the day, I know that because there were no Immigration officers at their post when we got there. A short 10 minute wait while someone from the airport franticly went to find them followed by a lengthy 40 minute wait for our luggage meant it was 7am by the time I left the terminal in search for the train station. This is a daily flight so I'm not sure if this was some sort of fluke or a regular issue at Munich.

Over all this flight again was very positive on the soft product side and Terminal A in AUH is a big step forward for Etihad making it very competitive for transferring customers. Hard product however I have to say this isn't my favourite seat to sleep in, for those who, like Dracula sleep on their back while counting sheep, it may not be an issue. I have a daytime flight on the return so my thoughts may differ on that occasion.

Now onto Christmas Markets in cold rainy Europe....

 

[OZDUCK]

Ha I tried that last time and quickly gave up
You are doing much better than me!

Same for me. Tried it several times but it just didn't work.

Thanks for the information about the terminal Joshual. We will be arriving there at roughly the same time in 5 months on the way to Frankfurt

 

[JoshuaL1997]

Two and a half days in Munich

Boutique Hotel Germania
Standard Single Room

After arriving in Munich at 7am I headed to the train station inside the airport which can be easily found following the signs with a a white S inside a green circle. Munich airport is in Zone 5 of the Munich metro area for ticketing purposes so I purchased a 5 zone day pass for 15 euros which gave me access across the city on munich's public transport system for a full 24 hour period.

I was headed to Munichs Main Train Station or Hauptbahnhof (HB) so both the S1 and S8 where open to me which take between 35-45 minutes to reach the city centre where my hotel was located.

During my travels there was much construction in and around Munich HB making navigating the neighbouring streets and crossings with two suitcases a bit of a challenge, add rain to that and your in for a treat. As you can see from below picture the hotel is just a block away but in reality its a fair walk thanks to crossing being closed etc.



When I arrived my room wasn't ready yet as it was just after 8:30am but my luggage was put into storage and I headed out to start exploring the city. When I returned at 1pm my room was available and I checked in, grabbed my keys and had a lie down to deal with the jetlag.

The room and what I paid

I booked a single room for 237 Euro for two nights or about $400 AUD, breakfast was an additional 18 euros per person per day.



The room on the top floor was compact but surprisingly spacious. Both my suitcases fit in the room with wiggle room to spare. The bed was the size of a double bed but felt longer with bedding for a single person, I note the doona was literally a meter wide not actually wide enough to cover the bed. There was also a nespresso machine and a glass bottle of sparkling water which gets refilled each day as well as a safe and an tablet were you could find hotel info and local attractions/restaurants.



The Bathroom, also compact had a full sized shower, toilet and large basin with soap and shower gel and shampoo in the shower. All very clean and fresh and in my humble opinion good value for money for a single traveler.

In my two days in Munich I explored Marien Platz which is home to the neo gothic town hall and a large christmas market, I also went to the Residenz Museum which is near the Marien Platz and is the former home of Bavarian Kings and Queens which now also hosts royal jewellery and a mostly restored part of the original building, entry was affordable at 15 euro for the combination ticket which included a multilingual audio guide, this took me about two hours to complete and was quit interesting but crowded in some places with school groups.



Separately the following day I purchased a 10 euro single zone transport ticket for the day and headed a little further out of the city on the tram to Schloss Nymphenburg, the former summer residence of Bavarian royals which is 10 kilometers away from their other home, the Residenz museum.



The property is on a very large park which is accessible for free and in summer would be a great place for a picnic. The palace entry ticket costs 12 euro plus a further 4 for the audio guide, this ticket got you access to the palace and the Marsthalle museum next to the palace where royal coaches, sleds and porcelain among other things are displayed. Accessible aspects of the palace are smaller than the residenz museum, if you only have time for one I'd do the residenz museum.



The palace is also the birthplace of King Ludwig II who was a very fascinating character, he had the iconic Neuschwanstein Castle built and racked up a huge amount of debt due to this. His's death remains mysterious after he was proclaimed as insane in part due to his debts. The museum also suggested there were rumours of his homosexuality as he never married, who doesn't love a scandal prone royal, especially one with such a fetching moustache.
You can watch a cool video about him and his death here:

For those that like history and markets theres plenty to do in Munich at this time of year, my favourite christmas markets were the markets in Marien Platz and the Medieval markets located at Wittlesbacher Platz where you can also find some of the best muled wine cups in the city and the below pizza with cheese and ham to keep you warm.




As you can see Munich has a lot to offer outside of October Fest and I highly recommend you spend a few days here or even see if you can tag on a day trip to somewhere like Neuschwanstein which I didn't have time for this time.

 

[SYD]

We stayed at the Mercure next door a few days later (stayed there previously about 10yrs ago).

The rate over 4 nights varied from €99 to €213 pn (€641 for 4x nights). But the room was big, with free mini bar and most importantly - they had a room available for our early checkin!

We caught the U Bahn in from the airport also but didn’t know about the local 24 hr add-on! I realised later….

 

[JoshuaL1997]

Detour to Salzburg on my way to Zurich

ÖBB Railjet train (RJX69) train from Munich to Salzburg
arteHotel Salzburg
Exploring Salzburg
ÖBB Railjet train (RJX364) Train from Salzburg to Zurich

As mentioned in one of my previous instalments as part of some seasonal schedule changes for my Etihad flights I got an extra day in europe, I could have just added an extra day in Munich but seeing as Salzburg is just around the corner and the annual Krampus run was scheduled for the week I was in the region I thought I'd make a little detour on my way to Switzerland.

The train journey between Munich and Salzburg is 1.5 hours and is operated predominantly by the Austrian Railway company ÖBB however the services can also be booked through the German railway (Deutsche Bahn or DB for short) which is what I did as it was cheaper for some reason.

What and how I paid (Munich to Salzburg)
I paid 17 euro for my second class ticket through the Deutsche Bahn website when I booked my tickets about 2 months out, for comparison ÖBB at the time were charging 54 euro for the same journey in second class and they still are. I don't know why there is such a difference in price but a three times up-charge for the same product feels like a rip off to me.

Now importantly this ticket only buys you the right to be on the train, if you want to be guaranteed a seat you have to separately book a seat for a further 3 euro (this you can only do through the ÖBB website for this service). I highly recommend booking a seat as my train which departed at 11:30am was completely full.


The ÖBB website also lets you be very specific with which seat you want aka forward facing window in the first car etc and the ticket will list the seat name and car number so you know where to board the train. Just make sure to tick the "Seat reservation only" box if you already purchased a seperate ticket.



The Austrian trains depart from platforms 1-7 at Munich Main Train Station which is on the ground floor. Our train arrived 30 minutes prior to departure and I'm glad I got on early so all my luggage was sorted in the dedicated areas which while not massive are far better than other trains I travelled on this trip.

The train is very uneventful and much like a normal commuter train, seats had EU power points and a tray table in the seat in front of them, the train was on time and the views were nice as we headed for Austria. The below picture from the ÖBB website gives you a good idea as to what seats look like.



Once arriving in Salzburg the train remains there for 5 or so minute before heading to Vienna and finally Budapest.

arte Hotel Salzburg
Medium level double room

As I was lugging my luggage around and only staying a night before catching a train again I was really keen to stay very close by the train station in Salzburg. Luckily there are a couple options and the best value for money and most attractive offer was the arte Hotel in Salzburg which is a 3 minute flat walk down the main road that follows the train station.



The hotel is very modern and a tall tower with which you can have nice views (if you pay for them), I was on the middle hight of the tower on the side with a less hot view but i didn't mind as the sun sets so early in winter that I didn't really have an opportunity to appreciate it if it were there.




Upon checking in I was advised that the hotel sold the Salzburg card which is essentially a tourist card which gives you free access to public transport in the city and a large number of attractions and museums including the funicular heading up to the castle in Salzburg. The card can be bought in 24, 48 and 72 hour periods and a 24 hour card cost me 24 euro's which you had to pay in cash.

Activities in Salzburg
Salzburg is home to many sites to see with loads of people checking out sound of music related sites, other highlights include Fortress Hohensalzburg which sits above the city and can be hiked to or accessed by a quick funicular ride as well as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozarts birthplace and museum. I of course was here for the Christmas Markets and the famous Krampus run which is a traditional Austrian procession that tells the story of a folklore tale about Krampus, an anthropomorphic creature (half-goat, half-demon) who punishes children who have misbehaved throughout the year.
Krampuses from all over come to Salzburg to show off their masks/costumes several times through out the christmas season which is a fun/slightly scary spectacle.



If you happen to be in Salzburg for a Krampus run I absolutely encourage you to hang out until you hear the sound of bells approach and witness the Krampus, however the old town is also a lovely place to be on all other nights in the season with the Christkindl market in the old town having a great mix of food, handy craft and region specific things to enjoy.



The following morning I was up early to catch my next train to Switzerland.

Salzburg to Zurich
ÖBB RJX368
First Class

This train runs once a day from Vienna via Salzburg to Zurich with many other stops in between. The train departs Salzburg just before 8am and is scheduled to reach Zurich just after 1pm.

This second train trip I did book through the ÖBB website and paid 36 euros plus 3 more euros for seat reservation for a first class ticket. This trip was about 5 hours long so I was keen to get a bit more legroom and a slightly wider seat for the journey.

The difference between second and first class is that second class is in a 2-2 payout and first is in a 1-2 layout with more legroom and seats that recline. There is also a more premium business first product which is more like a compartment type set up which makes sense to me if theres a few of you traveling and you want a more private space.


For first class passengers ÖBB operates lounges at a number of large train stations including in Salzburg. So I headed there in the hopes to grab a coffee and wait for my train in a warm spot. To my surprise I was all alone in the lounge which I'm going to put down to the train not originating in Salzburg and the fact that ÖBB did not advertise this as a privilege to me when buying the ticket, I just randomly found out about this when reading another trip report.



The Lounge which is unassuming and located in the underground walk through between the escalators of track 2&3 and 4&5. The lounge is large enough and features a small buffet with snacks and drinks and importantly a coffee machine. There were also restrooms and a large boardroom which I guess one can book ahead of time potentially.



About 10 minutes prior to my trains scheduled departure time I headed up to the platform. For this journey I picked a single seat next to the luggage compartment for my trip facing backwards for the first 2/3 of the trip before the train drives in the opposite direction for the remainder of the trip.



As you can see the seat is a large ish leather recliner with plenty of legroom and also features a foot rest. This train has a restaurant car and in first class an attendant roams the cars to take drink and food orders and deliver orders to your seat however it has to be said these amenities come at an additional cost. I purchased provisions at the station in the form of a sandwich so didn't end up ordering anything on the train but the menu listed several hot meals which rotate regularly if you didnt buy anything before hand.

The journey was very smooth and I was glued to the window as we slowly traversed mountains and headed into the snow. We were delayed at the swiss border due to a technical fault which meant we arrived about an hour late in Zurich. Its also worthwhile mentioning that on this train the Wifi didn't seem to work for me but I had a few shows downloaded so I managed to entertain my self that way.

All in all I can't say anything negative about this experience and recommend you try out this slightly longer route to Switzerland if time allows. Salzburg is a very pretty city and its compact size makes it great to explore in a day or two before heading onto the next part of the adventure.

 

[JoshuaL1997]

We stayed at the Mercure next door a few days later (stayed there previously about 10yrs ago).

The rate over 4 nights varied from €99 to €213 pn (€641 for 4x nights). But the room was big, with free mini bar and most importantly - they had a room available for our early checkin!

We caught the U Bahn in from the airport also but didn’t know about the local 24 hr add-on! I realised later….

Yeah in hindsight i should have booked an extra night so I could just walk into the room and have a shower. These super early arrivals from the middle east make it challenging on day one.

 

[VPS]

Detour to Salzburg on my way to Zurich

ÖBB Railjet train (RJX69) train from Munich to Salzburg
arteHotel Salzburg
Exploring Salzburg
ÖBB Railjet train (RJX364) Train from Salzburg to Zurich

As mentioned in one of my previous instalments as part of some seasonal schedule changes for my Etihad flights I got an extra day in europe, I could have just added an extra day in Munich but seeing as Salzburg is just around the corner and the annual Krampus run was scheduled for the week I was in the region I thought I'd make a little detour on my way to Switzerland.

The train journey between Munich and Salzburg is 1.5 hours and is operated predominantly by the Austrian Railway company ÖBB however the services can also be booked through the German railway (Deutsche Bahn or DB for short) which is what I did as it was cheaper for some reason.

What and how I paid (Munich to Salzburg)
I paid 17 euro for my second class ticket through the Deutsche Bahn website when I booked my tickets about 2 months out, for comparison ÖBB at the time were charging 54 euro for the same journey in second class and they still are. I don't know why there is such a difference in price but a three times up-charge for the same product feels like a rip off to me.

Now importantly this ticket only buys you the right to be on the train, if you want to be guaranteed a seat you have to separately book a seat for a further 3 euro (this you can only do through the ÖBB website for this service). I highly recommend booking a seat as my train which departed at 11:30am was completely full.

View attachment 419370
The ÖBB website also lets you be very specific with which seat you want aka forward facing window in the first car etc and the ticket will list the seat name and car number so you know where to board the train. Just make sure to tick the "Seat reservation only" box if you already purchased a seperate ticket.

View attachment 419371

The Austrian trains depart from platforms 1-7 at Munich Main Train Station which is on the ground floor. Our train arrived 30 minutes prior to departure and I'm glad I got on early so all my luggage was sorted in the dedicated areas which while not massive are far better than other trains I travelled on this trip.

The train is very uneventful and much like a normal commuter train, seats had EU power points and a tray table in the seat in front of them, the train was on time and the views were nice as we headed for Austria. The below picture from the ÖBB website gives you a good idea as to what seats look like.

View attachment 419372

Once arriving in Salzburg the train remains there for 5 or so minute before heading to Vienna and finally Budapest.

arte Hotel Salzburg
Medium level double room

As I was lugging my luggage around and only staying a night before catching a train again I was really keen to stay very close by the train station in Salzburg. Luckily there are a couple options and the best value for money and most attractive offer was the arte Hotel in Salzburg which is a 3 minute flat walk down the main road that follows the train station.

View attachment 419353

The hotel is very modern and a tall tower with which you can have nice views (if you pay for them), I was on the middle hight of the tower on the side with a less hot view but i didn't mind as the sun sets so early in winter that I didn't really have an opportunity to appreciate it if it were there.

View attachment 419354
View attachment 419355

Upon checking in I was advised that the hotel sold the Salzburg card which is essentially a tourist card which gives you free access to public transport in the city and a large number of attractions and museums including the funicular heading up to the castle in Salzburg. The card can be bought in 24, 48 and 72 hour periods and a 24 hour card cost me 24 euro's which you had to pay in cash.

Activities in Salzburg
Salzburg is home to many sites to see with loads of people checking out sound of music related sites, other highlights include Fortress Hohensalzburg which sits above the city and can be hiked to or accessed by a quick funicular ride as well as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozarts birthplace and museum. I of course was here for the Christmas Markets and the famous Krampus run which is a traditional Austrian procession that tells the story of a folklore tale about Krampus, an anthropomorphic creature (half-goat, half-demon) who punishes children who have misbehaved throughout the year.
Krampuses from all over come to Salzburg to show off their masks/costumes several times through out the christmas season which is a fun/slightly scary spectacle.

View attachment 419359

If you happen to be in Salzburg for a Krampus run I absolutely encourage you to hang out until you hear the sound of bells approach and witness the Krampus, however the old town is also a lovely place to be on all other nights in the season with the Christkindl market in the old town having a great mix of food, handy craft and region specific things to enjoy.

View attachment 419366

The following morning I was up early to catch my next train to Switzerland.

Salzburg to Zurich
ÖBB RJX368
First Class

This train runs once a day from Vienna via Salzburg to Zurich with many other stops in between. The train departs Salzburg just before 8am and is scheduled to reach Zurich just after 1pm.

This second train trip I did book through the ÖBB website and paid 36 euros plus 3 more euros for seat reservation for a first class ticket. This trip was about 5 hours long so I was keen to get a bit more legroom and a slightly wider seat for the journey.

The difference between second and first class is that second class is in a 2-2 payout and first is in a 1-2 layout with more legroom and seats that recline. There is also a more premium business first product which is more like a compartment type set up which makes sense to me if theres a few of you traveling and you want a more private space.

View attachment 419374
For first class passengers ÖBB operates lounges at a number of large train stations including in Salzburg. So I headed there in the hopes to grab a coffee and wait for my train in a warm spot. To my surprise I was all alone in the lounge which I'm going to put down to the train not originating in Salzburg and the fact that ÖBB did not advertise this as a privilege to me when buying the ticket, I just randomly found out about this when reading another trip report.

View attachment 419376

The Lounge which is unassuming and located in the underground walk through between the escalators of track 2&3 and 4&5. The lounge is large enough and features a small buffet with snacks and drinks and importantly a coffee machine. There were also restrooms and a large boardroom which I guess one can book ahead of time potentially.

View attachment 419377

About 10 minutes prior to my trains scheduled departure time I headed up to the platform. For this journey I picked a single seat next to the luggage compartment for my trip facing backwards for the first 2/3 of the trip before the train drives in the opposite direction for the remainder of the trip.

View attachment 419375

As you can see the seat is a large ish leather recliner with plenty of legroom and also features a foot rest. This train has a restaurant car and in first class an attendant roams the cars to take drink and food orders and deliver orders to your seat however it has to be said these amenities come at an additional cost. I purchased provisions at the station in the form of a sandwich so didn't end up ordering anything on the train but the menu listed several hot meals which rotate regularly if you didnt buy anything before hand.

The journey was very smooth and I was glued to the window as we slowly traversed mountains and headed into the snow. We were delayed at the swiss border due to a technical fault which meant we arrived about an hour late in Zurich. Its also worthwhile mentioning that on this train the Wifi didn't seem to work for me but I had a few shows downloaded so I managed to entertain my self that way.

All in all I can't say anything negative about this experience and recommend you try out this slightly longer route to Switzerland if time allows. Salzburg is a very pretty city and its compact size makes it great to explore in a day or two before heading onto the next part of the adventure.

Well I should log that into travel mistakes - I had no idea there were lounges and I had a first class ticket for three weeks earlier this year

 

[JoshuaL1997]

Well I should log that into travel mistakes - I had no idea there were lounges and I had a first class ticket for three weeks earlier this year

I'd label that as travel missed opportunity not a mistake. I think the mistake is on ÖBB for not communicating to its passengers that these amenities exists.

 

[JoshuaL1997]

A week in Switzerland on public transport

Intro
As mentioned in my initial post I planned to spend a week with family in Switzerland, as I grew up there, am a citizen and speak the language I don't consider my self a traditional tourist so I didn't get up to typical touristy things and didn't stay in any hotels but still wanted to write a segment on train tickets and some of the day trips I did prior to concluding my travels in Montreux and Geneva ahead of my flight home from Geneva.

For reference I was staying in the city of Winterthur in the german speaking Canton of Zurich, Winterthur is Switzerlands sixth largest city and about a 12 minute train ride away from Zurich's Kloten Airport. While I was going to spend a week there, I was also following this up with a further 3 days in the French speaking part of Switzerland which is relevant for picking your train ticket.

Swiss Tourist train ticket options
Theres no nice way of saying this but as famous as Switzerland is for its amazing public transport system, it's ticketing system is simply confusing and unnecessarily complicated and in some cases extremely expensive especially for tourists.



For context, in Switzerland public transport is heavily relied upon by the public and regular users usually buy annual regional passes or a GA ticket for unlimited travel across the country, so its not very common for people to purchase daily individual tickets like we do in Australia and for people who do regularly purchase one off tickets they also often purchase annual discount cards to get cheaper travel (more on this later).

The SBB which also goes by CFF or FFS in the French and Italian speaking Cantons is Switzerlands Nation wide public transport system. With this system you can search routes and purchase tickets for travel across the country including on Cantonal railway companies and many tourist gondola/funicular travel options.



SBB advertises its Swiss Travel Pass as the prime tourist public transport card for travel across rail, bus, ferry and gondola. This ticket comes in a variety of forms and lengths and classes for both youth (under 25) and adults (25 and over). The ticket can be purchases for 3, 4, 6, 8 and 15 days either continues or flexibly within a month at either second or first class ranging from 172 CHF at its cheapest for a youth in second class to 755 CHF at its most expensive for an adult in first class.

Alternatively you can also purchase simple saver day passes for unlimited travel in a single day, these range from 52 CHF per day in second class without discounts and can be purchased 6 months in advance.



Or you can just buy single tickets for journeys through the SBB website or app.

So which option is right for you?

I think if you are planning on traveling long distances or utilise tourist favourites like scenic railways, gondolas and funicular's then the Swiss Travel Pass can be value for money especially if you are in Switzerland for more than a day or two and expect to be exclusively traveling on public transport every day.

However if you think you only want to make one or two big day trips or are only in Switzerland for two to three days then the day pass is better value for money especially if you buy it far in advance. If you are in the country for three days for instance you could save almost 100 CHF by purchasing three day passes at 156 CHF rather than the swiss pass for 244 CHF.

But if you are in switzerland for a short time and/or only think you will make short trips or use public transport fairly seldom then purchasing single tickets is probably the simplest and cheapest option.

Traps/things to note

Swiss Travel Pass limitations
The Swiss Travel Pass does have a major flaw and thats that it doesn't actually include all travel fully. SBB has a good tool to see if a route is included in the pass or if the pass simply gives a discount. Many tourist activities do attract an extra fee as the pass may only cover 50% of the cost. Additionally the pass doesn't include seat reservation fees which in some cases can be upwards of 30 plus CHF per person for trips like the scenic Bernina Express. https://www.sbb.ch/en/tickets-offer...p.html?layers=ch.sbb.geltungsbereiche.mvp-sts

Ticket engine assumes discounts
Additionally the swiss public transit system considers a variety of people as eligible for "Halb Tax" aka half fare prices including retirees, people under 16 and those with eligible passes. Yes in Switzerland you can buy a monthly or annual pass that gives you a 50% discount on all travel. For tourists this isn't worthwhile but its important to know that the SBB ticket engine assumes the traveler has this discount and produces prices with that assumption. So you either need to change the filter when making searches or create an account and list your self as not having any discounts in order to see the true cost of a trip.



Alternatives to buying a ticket
There is an obvious alternative to purchasing a ticket which is renting a car. If there are several of you it may just be cheaper to rent a car and explore the country that way.

You may also want to check out if the city you are staying in includes free public transport as part of the tourism taxes you have to pay in your hotel fees. Montreux and Lausanne for example charge roughly 13 CHF a night in tourism taxes which in turn produce free local public transport and discounted entry to major attractions.


In the next segment I'll go over some of my day trips, the prices and maybe give some of you some inspiration of where to go while your in Switzerland.

 

[JoshuaL1997]

Day trip ideas in Switzerland via Rail, Bus, Tram and Gondola

For context I purchased the 15 consecutive day Swiss Travel Pass in second class for 459 CHF and below are some of the trips I did and how much they would have been if you had purchased them as a single ticket or a day pass.

Säntis mountain gondola and Appenzell

The first day trip I undertook was to the eastern rural mountain region of Appenzell most famous for its cheese and looking like its straight out of an episode of Heidi. There I rode a gondola to the peak of the Santis Mountain followed by a trip to the pictures town of Appenzell.



This trip included taking four trains, a gondola (return) and a bus (return) and would have cost 129 CHF if you paid for the point to point ticket on the day. As I had the swiss travel pass all I had to pay was 50% of the return gondola ride as the pass didn't fully cover this, so that cost me 29 CHF. Alternatively the day pass would have cost 52 franks plus the 29 franks for the gondola ride.

The Journey each way takes about 2 hours and you take in some of the most scenic parts of the country at a very leisurely pace with many coffee breaks in between.



On a good day the views from the Säntis are stunning, we sadly didn't have a good day (aka all we saw was a white wall of nothing) but the restaurant at the peak was enjoyable never the less and the town of Appenzell is a lovely view into what life was like in a rural part of Switzerland. Here you can also do some local shopping including regional cheese, local "Biber" which is a type of gingerbread and a variety of cured meats.

Schloss Laufen, Rhine Fall and Schaffhausen

A another great day trip from Zurich is to the Renaissance era city of Schaffhausen and the most powerful waterfalls in Europe, the Rhine Falls both are easily accessible by train in a single day trip.



By hopping onto the S12 or S24 to Schaffhausen (important as there is also an S12 heading to a different city) from Zurich or the S33 to Schaffhausen from Winterthur you will travel north through Zurich's wine country before reaching Schloss Laufen am Rhine. This castle which is almost 1200 years old, over looks the Rhine falls and is a great place to grab lunch with a view. Here you can also head to a viewing platform to get a closer view of the waterfall but I'd only recommend this in summer as the water is very cold in winter. I'd also say this is where you will find one of the best elevator views in Switzerland.



After lunch I'd highly recommend continuing on with the same trains to Schaffhausen. Schloss Laufen is the last stop in the Canton of Zurich and from here trains continue to the canton and city of Schaffhausen crossing the River Rhine where you once again get a great view of the river.



Schaffhausen is unique in Switzerland as one of the few swiss towns or cities located on the northern side of the river Rhine which constitutes as the border between Germany and Switzerland for most of the northern length of Switzerland. The old city is famous for its quality renaissance buildings and frescos as well as the Munot fortress from the 16th century.

A return journey from the city of Winterthur where I was staying would have cost 35 CHF or 48 CHF from Zurich main train station as you can see this would have been cheaper than a day pass of 52 CHF.

Basel Stadt

Basel is famous for its Christmas Markets and is also a very beautiful city all year round and of course home to three countries borders between Switzerland, France and Germany.

Basel is another rare city that spills into the northern side of the Rhine, its home to 40 museums making it the cultural epicentre of Switzerland. I'd really recommend you check out the Tinguely museum, home of kinetic art and sculptures of swiss artist Jean Tinguely. His sculptures can also be found all over Switzerland especially in Basel.



Other notable sights include the 1000 year old Basel Cathedral which also hosts a Christmas market and stunning views over the river Rhine and the Townhall building painted a bright red adorned with great detailed art and sculptures.

The city is fairly compact and well connected by trams so its easy to get to its variety of markets. In Switzerland, markets focus more on food as well as local swiss businesses you do however still find the same stalls as you find all over europe.



From Zurich, Basel is a quick hour train ride away, from Basel you can also catch a train to Strasbourg and Colmar in France's Alsace region which is also famous for its Christmas markets.

From the city I was staying in a same day return ticket would have cost 90 CHF, as you can see this would have been a day a day pass would have been more economical.

In conclusion
These are just three trip ideas, of course theres much more to see and I'll cover Montreux and Geneva off in a seperate post as well as my day trip to Strasbourg and Colmar. I hope you can see how much ticket prices vary and how depending on what you want to do/see different ticket options present better or worse value.

 

[I love to travel]

Day trip ideas in Switzerland via Rail, Bus, Tram and Gondola

For context I purchased the 15 consecutive day Swiss Travel Pass in second class for 459 CHF and below are some of the trips I did and how much they would have been if you had purchased them as a single ticket or a day pass.

Säntis mountain gondola and Appenzell

The first day trip I undertook was to the eastern rural mountain region of Appenzell most famous for its cheese and looking like its straight out of an episode of Heidi. There I rode a gondola to the peak of the Santis Mountain followed by a trip to the pictures town of Appenzell.

View attachment 420656

This trip included taking four trains, a gondola (return) and a bus (return) and would have cost 129 CHF if you paid for the point to point ticket on the day. As I had the swiss travel pass all I had to pay was 50% of the return gondola ride as the pass didn't fully cover this, so that cost me 29 CHF. Alternatively the day pass would have cost 52 franks plus the 29 franks for the gondola ride.

The Journey each way takes about 2 hours and you take in some of the most scenic parts of the country at a very leisurely pace with many coffee breaks in between.

View attachment 420657

On a good day the views from the Säntis are stunning, we sadly didn't have a good day (aka all we saw was a white wall of nothing) but the restaurant at the peak was enjoyable never the less and the town of Appenzell is a lovely view into what life was like in a rural part of Switzerland. Here you can also do some local shopping including regional cheese, local "Biber" which is a type of gingerbread and a variety of cured meats.

Schloss Laufen, Rhine Fall and Schaffhausen

A another great day trip from Zurich is to the Renaissance era city of Schaffhausen and the most powerful waterfalls in Europe, the Rhine Falls both are easily accessible by train in a single day trip.

View attachment 420658

By hopping onto the S12 or S24 to Schaffhausen (important as there is also an S12 heading to a different city) from Zurich or the S33 to Schaffhausen from Winterthur you will travel north through Zurich's wine country before reaching Schloss Laufen am Rhine. This castle which is almost 1200 years old, over looks the Rhine falls and is a great place to grab lunch with a view. Here you can also head to a viewing platform to get a closer view of the waterfall but I'd only recommend this in summer as the water is very cold in winter. I'd also say this is where you will find one of the best elevator views in Switzerland.

View attachment 420659

After lunch I'd highly recommend continuing on with the same trains to Schaffhausen. Schloss Laufen is the last stop in the Canton of Zurich and from here trains continue to the canton and city of Schaffhausen crossing the River Rhine where you once again get a great view of the river.

View attachment 420660

Schaffhausen is unique in Switzerland as one of the few swiss towns or cities located on the northern side of the river Rhine which constitutes as the border between Germany and Switzerland for most of the northern length of Switzerland. The old city is famous for its quality renaissance buildings and frescos as well as the Munot fortress from the 16th century.

A return journey from the city of Winterthur where I was staying would have cost 35 CHF or 48 CHF from Zurich main train station as you can see this would have been cheaper than a day pass of 52 CHF.

Basel Stadt

Basel is famous for its Christmas Markets and is also a very beautiful city all year round and of course home to three countries borders between Switzerland, France and Germany.

Basel is another rare city that spills into the northern side of the Rhine, its home to 40 museums making it the cultural epicentre of Switzerland. I'd really recommend you check out the Tinguely museum, home of kinetic art and sculptures of swiss artist Jean Tinguely. His sculptures can also be found all over Switzerland especially in Basel.

View attachment 420661

Other notable sights include the 1000 year old Basel Cathedral which also hosts a Christmas market and stunning views over the river Rhine and the Townhall building painted a bright red adorned with great detailed art and sculptures.

The city is fairly compact and well connected by trams so its easy to get to its variety of markets. In Switzerland, markets focus more on food as well as local swiss businesses you do however still find the same stalls as you find all over europe.

View attachment 420662

From Zurich, Basel is a quick hour train ride away, from Basel you can also catch a train to Strasbourg and Colmar in France's Alsace region which is also famous for its Christmas markets.

From the city I was staying in a same day return ticket would have cost 90 CHF, as you can see this would have been a day a day pass would have been more economical.

In conclusion
These are just three trip ideas, of course theres much more to see and I'll cover Montreux and Geneva off in a seperate post as well as my day trip to Strasbourg and Colmar. I hope you can see how much ticket prices vary and how depending on what you want to do/see different ticket options present better or worse value.

This is a great and interesting TR , thanks for making the effort to do this.

 

[JoshuaL1997]

A day in Strasbourg and Colmar, France (ooh la la)

Intro
One of the great aspects of Switzerland is that it borders 5 countries which means you get a very interesting mix of language, culture and food inside Switzerland plus you are never far away from so many european cities and regions making it a great place to do a few day trips from. This trip I decided to add the Alsace region's Strasbourg and Colmar to the list, famous for their Christmas markets I thought it was apt to dedicate a day for this.

How to get to Strasbourg & Colmar from Basel
Now in my last post I mentioned I took a trip to Basel to explore the city that borders two other countries France and Germany. Basel is a great place to explore but its location also makes it a bit of a transport hub, home to an international airport shared by three countries, two international train stations and of course a major river cruise port, Basel is a great place to base your self and explore the surrounding region including France.

Frances main rail company SNCF, operates several services from Basel SBB (not to be confused by Basel Bad Bf) including a euro star service to Paris and a regional express train to Strasbourg via Mulhouse and Colmar.



The journey from Basel to Strasbourg takes 1 hour and 17 minutes and is operated every 30 minutes, this is a busy route during this part of the year so be sure to get to the platform early to snag a seat. French trains operate from platforms 30-35 at Basel SBB, follow the signage on the right hand side of the main entrance (circled on the map).

Price
You can buy tickets through the SBB app note that the swiss travel pass does not cover this international journey but it will cover travel to Basel from other points in Switzerland. A return journey through the SBB app costs 56 CHF however I purchased my tickets through the SNCF website for 37 euro's return when there was a promotion a few months prior to my trip.

Exploring Strasbourg
Strasbourg was first off on my trip, the station is a 10-15 minute walk or a short tram ride away from the old town. To enter the old town which is an island you had to go through security zones and have luggage inspected, they mainly focused on suitcases so I was never stopped but this might be a sign not to stay in the city centre.



Once in the old city you will find there are several markets across 13 squares with the main centre of attention being on the markets at Place de la Cathedrale and Place Kleber. Each market had a tourist stand with maps and info booklets to help you find your bearings and hunt out market stalls.



My first stop was at the Advent Village near Quartier de la Petite France, here you find that quint essential Strasbourg view of the german houses on the river as well as stalls focusing on french produce such as jams, meats, cheese and of course Foie Gras. At this point in the christmas markets series I was over mulled wine so I was very pleased to see someone offer hot Carrot and Pumpkin soup instead.



Next I walked up towards Place de la Cathedrale, the more people you see the closer you are. The place is stunning with maybe 40-50 stalls on three sides of the cathedral, it is however very crowded with many stalls that I would label typical tourist stalls. I did however find someone selling hand made and carved ceramics and a nice stall selling tree ornaments based on Alsace regional art.



I kept walking and exploring other squares but I'll be honest with you, it was all a bit repetitive. Its clear the city organises all markets which seemed to me to have the effect that all squares offered the same stalls especially when it came to food. There were four options, Baguettes de tarte flambee (essentially open baguettes with cream creese, bacon and onion grilled), mushrooms in some creamy herby sauce, cheese spätzle and sausages. These four options were all you could eat at almost all 13 squares.



Additionally all markets kinda lacked distinction and a mood/vibe. I couldn't really understand what the city of Strasbourg was hoping to achieve as all the markets felt the same and none of them had any music playing which meant there wasn't really any Christmas spirit, potentially this was different in the evening.

All in all I spent about 3 and a half hours in Strasbourg before I decided to call it quits and see if Colmar had anything else to offer (I hadn't originally planned on going to Colmar).

Colmar
Colmar is about 30 minutes back toward Basel on the same train, I purchased a 10 euro ticket to get there as I didn't originally have this factored into my trip.



The old town of Colmar is a 15 minute walk from the station, there did seem to be a few buses going part of the route but I thought a few steps would do me good. Along the way I found my first market at Place Rapp and one of 8 markets in the city, in stark difference to Strasbourg THEY HAD MUSIC PLAYING!



I ordered an actual Tarte Flambee which is like a very thin pizza not a baguette as they had in Strasbourg. The region is famous for this dish and I highly recommend you order one. After this yummy pitstop I walked further to the old town to Place de l'Accienne Duanne where I found light, music and more people.



At these markets you had a stand every now and then playing music through a speaker that along with the pretty lights set the mood. Colmars markets are a little disorientating as the old town streets don't follow a neat grid (yes I heard americans complain about this, yes I rolled my eyes) but that allowed me to see a few more things and maybe miss something else.

Colmar also has a gourmet market and a market which looks like a mini traditional Alsace village but my feet were killing me by this point and knowing I had to walk back to the station I decided to give them a miss this time.

Final thoughts
It could have something to do with the fact that by this time in the trip I had been to 10 plus markets but my expectations were very high from all the hype both cities get at this time of year and I don't really think my expectations were met, but then again I'm not sure how much else they could have offered to do so other than maybe music and more food variety.

Personally I'm glad I went to see it but I'm also glad I only dedicated a day to these cities and didn't build a whole trip around them. Colmar was my favourite out of the two but I found many nice stalls in Strasbourg and liked the fact that those markets were a little more spread out and not everything was super crowded like in Colmar.

Would I recommend you visit, yes if this is your one Christmas dose of the trip. If you are looking at visiting a couple cities and only have limited time then I think this one could probably fall off the list and no one would notice.

 

[JoshuaL1997]

Montreux and Geneva

Intro
The final part of my Europe trip prior to flying home from Geneva was a weekend in the Swiss Riviera, specifically Montreux. Montreux lies on the north eastern side of Lake Geneva or Lac Leman, in the french speaking portion of Switzerland and is famous for being the place were Freddie Mercury would holiday and write/record his music.

Due to the distance between Montreux and Geneva which lies on the other end of the lake and my flight departing at 9:55am I spent the final night of my weekend in Geneva near the airport.

Getting to Montreux
From where I was staying I took the Inter City (IC) 1 train to Lausanne and then connected to a local inter regional train to Montreux. The whole journey took 3 hours and with just one change it was simple enough. What wasn't simple however was the luggage situation, up until now all trains I had used across Europe especially inter city trains and those servicing airports had luggage compartments. The IC1 passes both Zurich and Geneva Airports so I thought this would be the same and as I was catching the 11am service I had hoped there would be space, alas none of these things were the case.

Ordinarily the IC1 route is served by a double story train with a disability friendly entry way that has dedicated spaces for suitcases. However my service used an older single story train which required you lift bags up 3-4 narrow steps and then only smaller suitcases would fit between the backs of seats, mine were too large and so I had to take up a 4 seat compartment by my self. The train wasn't completely full but full enough for this to be a bit uncomfortable for at least part of the journey.

The cost of this one way journey would have been 80 CHF but as I had the swiss travel pass it was included.

Staying in Montreux
Montreux is a steep town therefore I chose the closest hotel to Montreux station: Hotel Freddie Mercury which is located between track 1 of the station and the neighbouring street. To access the hotel just walk down track one to the eastern end and you will see the entrance to the hotel.



The hotel and lobby are very much themed after Freddie but the rooms are standard and rather plain rooms. Check in was simple, I had pre-paid $500 for my room for two nights and all I had to pay for upon check in was my city tax (13 CHF a day) which gave me access to free local transport and discounted entry to major attractions. I had booked a standard double room which was located on the 4th floor and was rather plain but very clean, it also featured a nespresso machine.




As I said Montreux is on a steep hill and just like in Monaco you have to give your quads a bit of a workout to get to things. The main attraction is the boardwalk along Lake Geneva which at this time of year features a very long christmas market as well as the ferry terminal and several bus stops.



The christmas market is very nice with the eastern end featuring a ferris wheel and a dining tent where you can purchase food vouchers to then exchange for food with vendors inside the tent and along the board walk you have loads of stalls selling a variety of things from souvenirs, food, clothing etc and on the western end there is another smaller food/drink hut. I stopped at a raclette stall for a little portion of raclette cheese that was served with the traditional potato and pickles for 7 CHF, which was very yummy.



Montreux is also home to the stunning medieval Chateau de Chillon one of Switzerlands and europes most visited medieval castles, which I highly recommend you check out while you are there. During the advent season the castle had events on every weekend which were fun and very medieval themed, they also had vendors selling things like traditional candles, knives and pottery.



Montreux is also the beginning of a variety of scenic railways through the alps such as the goldenpass express and Rockers-de-Naye however as the weather was unpredictable during my stay I decided to give that a miss as both would have been an additional costs.

What I did do though was catch the bus to the Vevey funicular station and catch the funicular up the mountain past the Unesco world heritage listed wineries, from here you have a great view of the region and you can have fondue and some drinks from the winery.

Montreux to Geneva

From Montreux there is a direct train to Geneva and Geneva's airport which takes an hour and 15 minutes and would cost 37 CHF but again this was covered by my swiss pass, I recommend you sit on the left hand side in the direction of travel as you get stunning views of the lake and mountains as the train follows the length of Lake Geneva.



As my flight was in the morning I booked a hotel by the airport called Nash Pratik Hotel. This hotel along with two others, Nash Hotel and Nash Suites make up one complex with three buildings that share a reception and restaurant.




I booked a single room for just under 150 dollars for the night which was clean but not very pretty (and had a squeaky bed on wheels). Geneva is full of pricey hotels but otherwise is a rather boring city in my opinion and its noteworthy that on a Sunday's in Switzerland most things are closed and in Geneva it felt like the whole city was dead with exception to the main train station where I grabbed a takeaway pizza ready made from the super market.



Final thoughts

Montreux is a great place to visit especially if you plan on starting/ending your journey in Geneva. I'd say its most likely more of a summer destination but I had fun regardless of the weather. The free public transport that comes with your city taxes is a great idea in my opinion and makes exploring more fun. Again I highly recommend Chateau de Chillon and the Vevey funicular and for those with more time taking a scenic train into the mountains surely can't disappoint but I'd be a bit flexible in case the weather on the day isn't ideal.

Geneva on the other hand I don't think anyone needs to spend too much time in, but it has to be said its a convenient place to fly in and out of if you are going skying especially in france.

Now back to the airline reviews!

 

[StayGoldPonyboy]

Enjoying the pics... Raclette

 

[JoshuaL1997]

Geneva (GVA) - Abu Dhabi (AUH)
Etihad Airways EY146
Business Class seat 06A
B787-9 (A6-BLE)

Intro
My first flight home today is again with Etihad on the day flight to Abu Dhabi. EY operates a daily flight to Geneva with its rare three class 787 which depart GVA at 9:55am and lands in AUH at 7pm local time.

Check in, upgrade request & security/immigration
Etihad uses Terminal 1 at Geneva Airport as do most airlines, Terminal 2 is only operated during specific weeks in winter to accommodate additional charter flights relating to the skying season.

Terminal 1 is essentially one long terminal with a couple satellite buildings, Etihad uses check in counters 62-68 right next to Qatar and Swiss. Upon arriving 2 hours and 30 minutes early there was no line in Business and I was checked in immediately.

As Etihad has a first cabin on this route and I was asked to bid for an upgrade about 5 or 6 times in the weeks ahead of my flight I asked wether a check in upgrade was available and how much that would cost. I was advised an upgrade was 1800 CHF as only two seats were vacant, this was more than my whole flight cost so I politely declined. As an FYI the bidding started at 1100 USD or 114000 miles, I believe the 16th is the first day of their block out christmas period so upgrades are far more expensive than at other times of the year.

The agent finished up the check in steps and handed me my boarding pass and advised me I had access to the Marhaba lounge in concourse C.

I headed up the escalators and went through the priority security line where they were real sticklers with the liquids in plastic bag rule. Now GVA has a funny layout, all passengers have to proceed through security (duh) after you are in the Schengen/domestic area of the terminal this is also where you will find all the duty free shopping. Theres 5 piers including a french dedicated pier which allows french traveler's to not have to go through swiss customs checks. Those of us who are headed to a non Schengen and non European destination have to head through duty free and look for an alley way that leads you to the C gates where you will eventually find immigration which you have to clear. So its set up a bit like the Gold Coast airport but a fair bit bigger.

There was a flight to Doha as well as Newark departing just prior to mine so there was a bit of a queue at immigration but we got through it in about 10 minutes.

The Lounge
After Immigration the long terminal continues and you find a few more duty free shops (no where near as much choice as earlier) and about midway there is an elevator on the right that leads you to the lounges including the Marhaba lounge above the concourse.



There are number of lounges at GVA but only two in the C gate area, the Marhaba lounge and the Aspire lounge. United seem to send their people to the Aspire lounge and Qatar & Etihad send their people to Marhaba, both are also priority pass lounges.



The Marhaba lounge is a long rectangular space that features three sections, first lounge style seating, secondly a buffet area with restaurant seating and then finally more lounge style seating. At this time of day the lounge was maybe a little less than half full and when the Qatar flight started boarding the lounge felt very empty which I didn't mind.



The buffet included hot food options, all of which were halal. As well as cold food's such as yoghurt, cheese, some cold cuts and fruit. There was also a coffee and tea machine as well as a soft drink dispenser which you operated your self. Over all the offering was plenty for this time of day and there were probably 4 or 5 people working cleaning tables and replenishing food.



Staff advise passengers when their flight is about to board but I headed out 10 or 15 minutes prior to get a nice shot of our plane and hopefully beat the rush.



Boarding, cabin layout and seat
Boarding was called right on time about 45 minutes prior to departure and I managed to be the first person on the plane. As said this 787-9 is in the three cabin layout, that means you have 8 first class seats in a 1-2-1 layout as well as two rows of business in a 1-2-1 layout between doors 1 and 2 and a further 5 rows of business along after door 2 along with 199 economy seats in a 3-3-3 layout behind that.



I allocated my self seat 6A in the mini forward cabin where only 4 of the 8 seats were taken making it a fairly private experience, 5A is usually blocked out as a crew rest seat but no one used it on my flight. There is also a toilet behind seats 6A and 6K but in my 6 hours I never heard a noise or noticed really anything going on behind me.



The seat is exactly the same as on my other 787 flight but the staggering is a little different so seats in the centre face the same direction as the isle and from my seat I could technically see 5 seats if I really tried.

Service
I was offered a pre departure drink along with slippers and advised that menu orders would be taken after takeoff. Once in the air flight attendants handed out the traditional warm nuts plus your selected drink and came round to take lunch orders. The Menu can be seen below but on this flight I was clearly last to have my order taken as they seemed to take orders back to front on this flight and for the first time on any of my flights one of my choices had run out, specifically the Biryani.



No big drama though as theres several great options. I started off with the Arabic Mezze which included a different pastry this time, again though it wasn't listed on the menu so I'm guessing it had spinach or mushrooms inside. The little side salad was a little more robust on this flight with radishes and mini tomatoes all in all 8/10.



I chose the vegetarian main, the Ricotta and Spinach Ravioli that came with Zucchini and Tomatoes and required a good amount of salt and pepper. They tasted fine but reminded me very much of the $5 pack of Ravioli from Coles in the fridge section, would have preferred a more middle eastern veggie option like a curry but alas we were departing from Geneva I guess. 6/10



And finally I had the Hazelnut cake which was very nice and completed the meal nicely. 8/10



Trough the meal service the crew dimmed our windows but not before we got to enjoy the breath taking views over the swiss alps in the first 20 minutes of the flight before we headed south east to Turkey.



Entertainment

As we had lunch I also enjoyed a movie, Etihad had a limited selection of new films on offer and a big catalogue of not so new films which I found a bit tricky to search through but ultimately found the newest Johnny English movie which I knew would be entertaining.



Seat and lounging, amenities and pre-arrival snack

Despite this being a day flight the cabin remained dark for most of the flight, I had a little nap after lunch and have to say the seat is much better suited for lounging and a short rest than a genuine sleep.

The seat still featured full bedding including the mattress pad, pillow and blanket as well as pouch amenity kit.

The crew left us alone for the rest of the flight, when I ventured to the bathroom I was politely asked if they could do anything for me and I ordered an ice cream and a cup of tea which they happily organised for me. There is no official pre-arrival snack but you were asked if you wanted anything from the snack menu prior to landing but I simply couldn't eat much more.




As we started our decent we were advised that we were scheduled to land on time at 7pm and that we wouldn't need to clear security if we were transiting in Abu Dhabi. This perked my ears up a bit because of course we did have to clear security on my flight from Manila.

Lo and behold as we deplaned a gentleman stood in the gangway and checked all out tickets (what a job) and pointed those of us with transits to the door that opened right into the terminal. All others had to head upstairs to walk to immigration.

This is where I got a little bamboozled and didn't react quick enough because initially I thought I could leave the airport during my 7 hour layover and head to the grand mosque to take in the marvellous sight at night. But alas I wasn't quick enough and found my self walking to the Etihad lounge instead right past the christmas market at AUH where a group of singers were live singing christmas carols.... in the middle east.

Final thoughts
Again Etihad performed really well here and I thoroughly enjoyed my flight, I'd happily fly out of Geneva again if the deal was good and can't fault the airport or flight experience bar the vego option being a bit cheap I guess.

The one flaw with this flight and several others like it is that there are no onwards connections to Asia or Australia prior to midnight in the middle east (I think Mumbai and Delhi were the only ones I saw) so the way home will have a slightly longer layover (7 hours in my case) which for some would be a deal breaker but for me meant lots of fun time in the lounge, more on that later.