The Viking
Aug 20, 00, 9:35 am
It might be a short itineary compared to most other trip reports, but it's between destinations not often covered, and I think I can throw in some lunch tips as well..
13th Aug: OSL-CPH SK 0463. Seat 19F (Y).
Was dropped off at the railway station by my lovely wife and the new Airport train was right on time. Like at Arlanda these trains provide by far the most efficient mode of transportation, they leave every 10min. from downtown Oslo and use either 19 or 22 minutes to the airport where you're only two escalators down from the check-in area.
Check in was chaotic for Economy passengers with long lines at the counters as well as security. Went to Business Class check in and within 1 minute had my boarding card in hand; the nice lady was even able to find me an emergency exit window seat (I prefer window, much easier to lean over if the need for sleep arises).
Security was mayhem, especially as a lot of Eastern Europeans/Russians were cutting in front for no apparent reason. After a while the patience amongst fellow passengers dropped to zilch and they were brusquely escorted to the tail end of the line, but not without shouting..
Bought a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Vintage -95 and some Provence Chardonnay (Good wine selection and value at OSL) as well as a dessert wine from 1969 for my wife (Her year of birth) and proceeded to the gate. The flight was full, boarding is called only once, and in Norway rarely by seat/class/statue.
MD 80 in standard 2-3 configuration, and since SAS does not have fixed dividers between business and coach, you can usually count on fairly good legroom and footrests all the way back through row 24.
Pushed back at 12.37; 7 minutes late, but no planes in front of us on the tarmac and we were airborne within 5 minutes.
Service on this 50 minute flight consisted of Ham&Cheese sandwich together with complimentary coffee/beverage/wine/cognac, not bad, really.
Smooth ride at flight level 310, descended through some bumpy clouds, but landed on time in CPH where we were parked at A6. This means a loong walk to the new baggage area in T3, but within 15 minutes I had my small suitcase and headed into town.
Was booked at the First Hotel Vesterbro, which is centrally located in terms of Tivoli and shopping access. Built only last year it has typical Scandinavian style furniture, parquet, a little too minimalistic for my liking. I had phoned ahead requesting upgrade and king bed, and was assigned a "Deluxe" rooom on the top floor. "Deluxe" means 10 extra sq.feet and one chair, not worth the extra USD100 if you're paying for it.
Having been recommended the Restaurant Le St. Jaques through Foedor, a group of us went there by cab for dinner later that evening. I do not plan to come back!
The freshest thing that can be said about our scallops is that the time from the freezer to the plate must have been very short.. Stale tasting, weak dressing, rubber consistency. Wines were too hot and poured in glasses far too small. The veal and cheese board was ok, but nothing more. Usually Foedor are quite on the spot, but not this time!
But my dissapontment was mellowed out later on that night aas I pulled inn DKK 2,500.- at the black jack table of Copenhagen's Casino! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
Nex day was congress/lecture time up until lunch when a colleague and I headed for lunch at KOMMANDANTEN, french style restaurant with two Michelin *. Their three course set lunch is truly a bargagin at approx. USD40 incl. tax and svc.
First course: Steamed turbot with lobster tail in fennel sauce. Tender and moist. Went perfectly with the Pouilly Fuissè.
Main course: Rack of veal with a perfet reduction sauce, potato galette layered with fresh peas. Mmm. The Gevrey Chambertin 1'er Crù 1993 from Roty had a kind of moldy aroma to it, and didn't improve in the glass, but we drank about half before the sommelier and I pronounced it deficient and he subsequently removed it from the bill.
Dessert: Chocolate Fondant (Valrhona, my favourite!) with vanilla icecream and blueberry sauce. Great liquid center of the fondant, went grat with a Banyuls Blanc.
Petit fours and coffee followed, exemplary service all the way made it easy to give an extra tip.
Having had such success at lunch, no wonder that I almost lost all of my winnings later that night at the Casino..
The next day a group of four of us decided to try a similar venue for lunch: PIERRE ANDRÈ which is located in Ny Østergade. ("Only" 1*). Set lunch price 3 courses: USD35.
Once again, we were almost alone in the whole restaurant during our meal and service was very attentive and friendly. Five kinds of bread were offered as well as three different amuse bouches.
First course: Seared scallops with a delicious estragon bouillon, and believe me these scallops were really fresh! Chablis 1er Cru Forest 1996 from Dauvissat.
Main course: Turbot with fresh cabbage, crisp pancetta and a veal reduction. Rich enough for the Chassagne Montrachet.
Dessert: Choice of homemade peach melba or cheese board. All of us opted for the cheeses with a very good unpasteurized selection. Chateau Montus Cuvè Prestige 1992 with its rich spicy flavours complementede them perfectly.
Home made Petit Fours followed with a selection of different dessert wines.
In summary: Lunch of high quality can be a bargain in CPH, both these restaurants have much higher menu prices for dinner.. Personally I think Pierre Andrè came out one notch ahead.
Aug. 15th SK 0472 CPH-OSL Seat 12A
Rather lightheaded and with no intention of attending that day's final lecture I headed back to the hotel, packed and hailed a cab for the 20 minute ride to CPH T3, the new SAS terminal. Lots of Self Service check in counters, no line at business class check in, but unfortunately no EMG seat left, got 12A instead. Priority tag was put on my suitcase even though I was travelling in coach, nice.
No line through security, and I was able to roam quite a bit through the different tax free areas in both the new and the older parts of the terminal. (Buying some wine, perfume, chocolates and gifts for the kids).
Got a bit carried away, so I didn't present myself at gate C10 until 15' before take off, at that time they had begun to call stand by passengers, and the Danish Gate Manager only scowled at me when I presented my boardingpass.
As usual the flight CPH-OSL is filled with people having shopped an obscene amount of sausages/meat products/chocolates/foodstuffs at the airport, and overhead stowage is really a problem that has delayed many a flight. All my recentl acquired goodies were at this time in my rollaway, but since I was one of the last to board I knew I'd never get it into an overhead bin. Casually I stowed it in the C-class cloak compartment without being challenged by the Danish FA.
Pushed back approx. 10 minutes behind schedule at 18.35 and had only one plane ahead of us before we were airborne.
Snack service consisted of Hamburger like bun with some kind of chicken salad as well as the usual beverage cart/coffee. I skipped all of it as the aftertastes of lunch were still lingering on my palate and dozed off halfway through the flight.
Landed on time, but had to taxi around half the airport to get to our assigned gate # 41, but that again gave me a short walk to get through passport control.
Passport control in Norway can at some times be considered a laugh. For most people with "Norwegian looks" it is sufficient to walk up to the officer and say "Jeg er Norsk" ("I'm Norwegian"), and they'll wave you through!
The Priority tag on my suitcase worked nicely; mine was # 2 on the belt, made a perfect connection to the airport train and was home in under 1 hour after touch down!
[This message has been edited by The Viking (edited 08-20-2000).]
13th Aug: OSL-CPH SK 0463. Seat 19F (Y).
Was dropped off at the railway station by my lovely wife and the new Airport train was right on time. Like at Arlanda these trains provide by far the most efficient mode of transportation, they leave every 10min. from downtown Oslo and use either 19 or 22 minutes to the airport where you're only two escalators down from the check-in area.
Check in was chaotic for Economy passengers with long lines at the counters as well as security. Went to Business Class check in and within 1 minute had my boarding card in hand; the nice lady was even able to find me an emergency exit window seat (I prefer window, much easier to lean over if the need for sleep arises).
Security was mayhem, especially as a lot of Eastern Europeans/Russians were cutting in front for no apparent reason. After a while the patience amongst fellow passengers dropped to zilch and they were brusquely escorted to the tail end of the line, but not without shouting..
Bought a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Vintage -95 and some Provence Chardonnay (Good wine selection and value at OSL) as well as a dessert wine from 1969 for my wife (Her year of birth) and proceeded to the gate. The flight was full, boarding is called only once, and in Norway rarely by seat/class/statue.
MD 80 in standard 2-3 configuration, and since SAS does not have fixed dividers between business and coach, you can usually count on fairly good legroom and footrests all the way back through row 24.
Pushed back at 12.37; 7 minutes late, but no planes in front of us on the tarmac and we were airborne within 5 minutes.
Service on this 50 minute flight consisted of Ham&Cheese sandwich together with complimentary coffee/beverage/wine/cognac, not bad, really.
Smooth ride at flight level 310, descended through some bumpy clouds, but landed on time in CPH where we were parked at A6. This means a loong walk to the new baggage area in T3, but within 15 minutes I had my small suitcase and headed into town.
Was booked at the First Hotel Vesterbro, which is centrally located in terms of Tivoli and shopping access. Built only last year it has typical Scandinavian style furniture, parquet, a little too minimalistic for my liking. I had phoned ahead requesting upgrade and king bed, and was assigned a "Deluxe" rooom on the top floor. "Deluxe" means 10 extra sq.feet and one chair, not worth the extra USD100 if you're paying for it.
Having been recommended the Restaurant Le St. Jaques through Foedor, a group of us went there by cab for dinner later that evening. I do not plan to come back!
The freshest thing that can be said about our scallops is that the time from the freezer to the plate must have been very short.. Stale tasting, weak dressing, rubber consistency. Wines were too hot and poured in glasses far too small. The veal and cheese board was ok, but nothing more. Usually Foedor are quite on the spot, but not this time!
But my dissapontment was mellowed out later on that night aas I pulled inn DKK 2,500.- at the black jack table of Copenhagen's Casino! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
Nex day was congress/lecture time up until lunch when a colleague and I headed for lunch at KOMMANDANTEN, french style restaurant with two Michelin *. Their three course set lunch is truly a bargagin at approx. USD40 incl. tax and svc.
First course: Steamed turbot with lobster tail in fennel sauce. Tender and moist. Went perfectly with the Pouilly Fuissè.
Main course: Rack of veal with a perfet reduction sauce, potato galette layered with fresh peas. Mmm. The Gevrey Chambertin 1'er Crù 1993 from Roty had a kind of moldy aroma to it, and didn't improve in the glass, but we drank about half before the sommelier and I pronounced it deficient and he subsequently removed it from the bill.
Dessert: Chocolate Fondant (Valrhona, my favourite!) with vanilla icecream and blueberry sauce. Great liquid center of the fondant, went grat with a Banyuls Blanc.
Petit fours and coffee followed, exemplary service all the way made it easy to give an extra tip.
Having had such success at lunch, no wonder that I almost lost all of my winnings later that night at the Casino..
The next day a group of four of us decided to try a similar venue for lunch: PIERRE ANDRÈ which is located in Ny Østergade. ("Only" 1*). Set lunch price 3 courses: USD35.
Once again, we were almost alone in the whole restaurant during our meal and service was very attentive and friendly. Five kinds of bread were offered as well as three different amuse bouches.
First course: Seared scallops with a delicious estragon bouillon, and believe me these scallops were really fresh! Chablis 1er Cru Forest 1996 from Dauvissat.
Main course: Turbot with fresh cabbage, crisp pancetta and a veal reduction. Rich enough for the Chassagne Montrachet.
Dessert: Choice of homemade peach melba or cheese board. All of us opted for the cheeses with a very good unpasteurized selection. Chateau Montus Cuvè Prestige 1992 with its rich spicy flavours complementede them perfectly.
Home made Petit Fours followed with a selection of different dessert wines.
In summary: Lunch of high quality can be a bargain in CPH, both these restaurants have much higher menu prices for dinner.. Personally I think Pierre Andrè came out one notch ahead.
Aug. 15th SK 0472 CPH-OSL Seat 12A
Rather lightheaded and with no intention of attending that day's final lecture I headed back to the hotel, packed and hailed a cab for the 20 minute ride to CPH T3, the new SAS terminal. Lots of Self Service check in counters, no line at business class check in, but unfortunately no EMG seat left, got 12A instead. Priority tag was put on my suitcase even though I was travelling in coach, nice.
No line through security, and I was able to roam quite a bit through the different tax free areas in both the new and the older parts of the terminal. (Buying some wine, perfume, chocolates and gifts for the kids).
Got a bit carried away, so I didn't present myself at gate C10 until 15' before take off, at that time they had begun to call stand by passengers, and the Danish Gate Manager only scowled at me when I presented my boardingpass.
As usual the flight CPH-OSL is filled with people having shopped an obscene amount of sausages/meat products/chocolates/foodstuffs at the airport, and overhead stowage is really a problem that has delayed many a flight. All my recentl acquired goodies were at this time in my rollaway, but since I was one of the last to board I knew I'd never get it into an overhead bin. Casually I stowed it in the C-class cloak compartment without being challenged by the Danish FA.
Pushed back approx. 10 minutes behind schedule at 18.35 and had only one plane ahead of us before we were airborne.
Snack service consisted of Hamburger like bun with some kind of chicken salad as well as the usual beverage cart/coffee. I skipped all of it as the aftertastes of lunch were still lingering on my palate and dozed off halfway through the flight.
Landed on time, but had to taxi around half the airport to get to our assigned gate # 41, but that again gave me a short walk to get through passport control.
Passport control in Norway can at some times be considered a laugh. For most people with "Norwegian looks" it is sufficient to walk up to the officer and say "Jeg er Norsk" ("I'm Norwegian"), and they'll wave you through!
The Priority tag on my suitcase worked nicely; mine was # 2 on the belt, made a perfect connection to the airport train and was home in under 1 hour after touch down!
[This message has been edited by The Viking (edited 08-20-2000).]