aw
Jul 22, 04, 8:14 pm
After a restful and much deserved mini-vacation in GVA, I was ready to come back home and face reality once again. For those who have never been to GVA, I highly recommend this city. The physical setting bordered by the lake and the mountains is breathtakingly spectacular. Although this city is particularly known to cater to expensive accounts, I found great bargains for all budget types. The old town is considered one of the best kept secrets in Europe and it was charmingly dotted with interesting architecture, inviting restaurants and eccentric shops. The food is superb and I would put it in the league of Paris and Brussels. All good things come to an end soon and before I knew it, it was time to bid GVA good bye.
LH 5367 GVA-FRA
Jul 7 - Seat 5C
Dept 1105A - EQP 737
I woke up early by 6A and the skies were dark and cloudy. I headed to the train station for the 7 min ride to the airport. Once there, check-in was smooth and efficient. However, there was no invitation to the Business lounge and I had to inquire about it. The agent advised me to go to the SWISS
lounge. I've found the airport to be small and basically simple for such a worldly city. After passport control, I proceeded to the Business lounge which was operated by SWISSPORT. It also served other carriers besides LH. Now, there is a true LH Senator lounge further down but it is reserved for F and Senator members only. The SWISS lounge was very comfortable and featured a separate lounge for smokers. There were 2 terminals with internet access, an open bar with spirits, juices and soft drinks. Food wise, they provided a basket of croissants, some individually wrapped hazelnut cookies, flat breads, spice cakes and bread sticks. Not too bad, overall. Personally I like this type of lounge better than the LH Business one in FRA or MUC. The long way to the gate involved me going through a maze of corridors that seemed like an endless walk. At the gate, I waited for about 10 minutes before boarding was announced. As always, there was no announcements for Business Class psgrs so everybody zoomed to the gate at the same time. I decided to wait until the last minute instead of fighting with the crowd.
Once onboard, the male purser seemed a bit aloof and not very enthusiastic about greeting people. I proceeded to take my seat in row 5 and to my surprise there were no windows in that row. I then moved down to row 7 with only 2 seats. Once we reached cruising altitude, the snack service began. It consisted of an entree with 2 slices of cold roast beef atop lettuce leaves, a toast with some mayo and shrimps, 2 cubes of cheese with a cherry tomato in the middle, a berry yogurt and a small box of chocolate with 2 pralines. The male purser came with the drink cart afterwards and I was addressed by name!!! A refreshing surprise and extra bonus points for LH. Suddenly, the purser did not seemed so pathetic after all. One thing I have noticed about the selection of juices is that LH has somehow limited it. I don't know if this is because of the short route I was flying but about a couple of months ago I recall being offered pineapple juice onboard and not this time. My flight only had apple, OJ or tomatoe juices along with soft drinks and other spirits.
We finally arrived at FRA and it was a nice, somewhat cloudy day. I was relieved that it wasn't rainy but my joy was short lived. After I settled at the Excelsior hotel near the train station, I decided to revisit the ROM and take a stroll through the Zeil and Hauptwache. Right when I stepped off the tram, it started drizzling. So much for sunny weather, according to the Weather Channel website. :mad: Ok, plan B, I decided to do some indoor activities and went inside the DOM and afterwards, spent time at the Galeria Kauhoff, where I took advantage of some last minute shopping for loved ones and lost myself in the deli section buying different samples of marinated seafood and terrines for my dinner tonight. I then played around with buying a roasted pork knuckle but the size was too much for myself. I'll have to sample it on my next trip.
LH 462 FRA-MIA
Jul 8 - Seat 10J
Dept 0950A - EQP 747-400
It was raining heavily this morning so I decided to get an early start and head to the airport at around 0700A. The train ride from the station to the airport was about 12-15 min. There were quite a few commuters given the time of the day. I walked to the Business counter to check in and the agt was efficient but not overly friendly. She put those "Priority" inserts inside the luggage tag which I detest. Why doesn't *A have proper luggage tags instead of these inserts? With so much time in my hands I decided to browse through the terminal and I was surprised to find a sex/porno shop about two stores down from a kid's store. This is the first time I have come across this type of store in a major intl airport. Yes, FRA is a world unto itself.
If you are going to the US out of FRA, be prepared to go through several security checks as I have found later. Good thing I had plenty of time. I then killed some time at the Business lounge and to my surprise the one I have entered in terminal B, I believe, had some plastic flowers on top of the tables. Colorful but a bit tasteless, IMHO. The usual assortment of sweet cookies were available which I did not bother to partake in indulging. At the gate, I inquire if the J is full and wanted to see if I could be an empty seat next to me. The gate agent was most accommodating and she promised to block my neighbor seat without hesitation. My perception about LH kept getting better by the minute. ^ There was about a 15 minutes delay due to weather and once boarding commenced, everybody rushed to the gate. Again, no special announcements for F or J passengers, although there was a separate jetway for it. Still, everybody had to pass through the same entrance using the same agent that collected the boarding pass. To the agent's credit, they did go around and advised families traveling with children to board first b4 the general boarding annoucement.
The crew on today's flight proved to be a joy. FA's were standing at the gate greeting people and assisting with seating assignment. There were about 4 FA's in the front cabin of J. They were also serving pre-departure drinks consisting of water or OJ. My neighbor seat was vacant as promised, but there were several kids surrounding me and since this cabin was not full, I inquired the purser if I could move back to seat 15A, away from the noise. She said that I was welcomed to take the seat but if there is someone assigned to it, I had to move. I decided to stand nearby and wait. At the last minute, a couple came onboard and asked if they could upgrade because they are using UA's tkts/upgrades and they said that the originating station could not process them. The purser asked them to wait while she confirms something and then sent one of the FA's to accompany the couple to the gate to get this resolved. As expected, the gate agts did not upgrade them and they had to take their seats in Y. Then the purser came to me and said that the seat was all mine and I could move if I wished. The video demo was on and we started to get in line for take off. Once we reached cruising altitude, the FA's were busy serving cocktails and beverages along with a bag of LH's smoked almonds. The purser then came by distributing the menus and asked each psg what language he/she speaks. She would then open the menu to the page corresponding to the language ( German, English or Spanish). The cover is in a brownish red with a fan depicting the Oriental BKK. Menu is by Chef Norbert A. Kostner, Executive Chef from the Oriental BKK. Here's the t ranscipt:
Hors dóeuvre
Smoked Salmon with Sour Cream and Chives
Rabbit Roulade served with Pesto Potato Salad and Pumpkin Compote
Salad
Frisée, Radicchio, Lollo Rosso and Hearts of Palm with Sun-dried Tomato Dressing
Entrees
Pan-seared Breast of Duck, Thai Curry Sauce, Asian Longan Fruit and Jasmine Rice
Grilled Medallion of Cod with Tamarind Jus and New Potatoes
Poppy Seed Ravioli with Ricotta Filling, accompanied by Shiitake Mushrooms, Carrots, Zucchini and a savory Tomato Salsa
Cheese and Dessert
Blue Cheese, Gouda and Cherry Pepper filled with Cream Cheese and Olive
Dark Chocolate Truffle with Vanilla Sabayon
Fresh Fruit
Snack
Entrees
Cold Gourmet Plate
Sliced Veal Roast, marinated Jumbo Shrimps, Chili and Pomelo Salad, Green Asparagus and Créme Fraiche
or
Hot Specialty
Crepes filled with Leaf Spinach and Tofu served on spicy Tomato Puree
From the Bread Basket
a selection of Rolls and Bread with Butter
Dessert
Creme Brulée with Tapioca and Ginger
WINE MENU
Champagne
Jacquart Brut Mosaique, Champagne, Frankreich
White Wine
2003 Estate Silvaner Dry, Hans Wirsching, Iphofen, Franken, Deustchland
2002 Central Valley Chardonnay, Santa Helena, Chile
Red Wine
2000 Chateau Reysson, Cru Bourgeois, Frankreich
2001 Sangiovese di Romagna Riserva, Italien
FA's passed hot towels and then the meal procession started. I chose the Rabbit appetizer which was good. The delicate roulade was perfectly balanced with the spiciness of the Pumpkin compote and the slightly pungent potato-pesto salad. The salad was adequate but I would have preferred a choice of dressings. I had the Duck for entree and although the overall quality of the dish was not too bad, it had room for improvement. It consisted of 3 slices of duck breast that we a bit dry and overcooked. The side vegetable looked like chopped bok choy that was a bit wilted and it was accompanied by cherry tomatoes. The sauce was spicy but not hot, which was perfect for me. The rice was good and fluffy. Serving a whole breast would have been nicer instead of cutting it into pieces. It could have prevented some of the dryness since cut pieces cook faster. I would not have used tomatoes to accompany the vegetable. The acidity does not go too well with Asian vegetables, IMHO.
I find it noteworthy that every time the FA came to the last row, there was still a choice available of either appetizers or entrees. The cheese service is pre-plated and it was fine, although I prefer to have FA's cut the cheese from a board instead. All this was accompanied by a choice of about 4-5 different rolls and breads, which was outstanding. A second pass with the cart followed offering the dessert, which was exquisite. The vanilla sabayon provided a good contrast to the intense chocolate truffle.... However, I wish that there would be a choice of at least 2 desserts, besides the fruit. After the meal, lights were turned off and shades lowered. The cabin was pitch black. During this time, I decided to do some walking and set if there is a snack cart. Alas, all I found were drinks. Specifically, there was a bottle of water and OJ glasses set at the little table in the front cabin by row 5. In the galley, all I saw were more trays with glasses of water and juice. No chocolates, nuts, or other snacks. :(
The second meal was very basic. I opted for the hot meal, which was 2 rolled crepes with spinach and tofu. The salsa was the redeeming factor that provided some flavor to this rather bland meal. The créme brulee was nice and creamy and lacked the intensity that I was expecting from the ginger.
My seats were the old Business Class ones. I found the recline to be fine but if the person in front of you reclines and you are at the window, you must disturb your neighbor in order to get out. I did not bother with the movies since I seldom watch anything onboard and prefer to read instead.
Service was wonderful and FA's were always smiling and willing to please. The attitude was outstanding. There was even some cruising at the galley. When I walked behind the curtains on my way to the WC, there was this male FA sitting down who upon seeing me proceeded to check me from head to toe. I know he was from another cabin because I never saw him with the initial crew who served J class. He then made some walking through the J cabin when everybody was sleeping.
The amenity kits were the flimsy gray bags with the yellow Lufthansa letters. It contained the usual socks, mask, toothbrush, headphones with cushions and a sample of a cream. Not the best kit in the industry, for sure. Even LOT was more generous than LH in that area.
Pretty soon we landed into hot and humid MIA. Upon disembarking, the purser would stop the Y psg from exiting to allow the J pax to go through. Outstanding! I would not hesitate to fly LH J again.
more to come with UA........
LH 5367 GVA-FRA
Jul 7 - Seat 5C
Dept 1105A - EQP 737
I woke up early by 6A and the skies were dark and cloudy. I headed to the train station for the 7 min ride to the airport. Once there, check-in was smooth and efficient. However, there was no invitation to the Business lounge and I had to inquire about it. The agent advised me to go to the SWISS
lounge. I've found the airport to be small and basically simple for such a worldly city. After passport control, I proceeded to the Business lounge which was operated by SWISSPORT. It also served other carriers besides LH. Now, there is a true LH Senator lounge further down but it is reserved for F and Senator members only. The SWISS lounge was very comfortable and featured a separate lounge for smokers. There were 2 terminals with internet access, an open bar with spirits, juices and soft drinks. Food wise, they provided a basket of croissants, some individually wrapped hazelnut cookies, flat breads, spice cakes and bread sticks. Not too bad, overall. Personally I like this type of lounge better than the LH Business one in FRA or MUC. The long way to the gate involved me going through a maze of corridors that seemed like an endless walk. At the gate, I waited for about 10 minutes before boarding was announced. As always, there was no announcements for Business Class psgrs so everybody zoomed to the gate at the same time. I decided to wait until the last minute instead of fighting with the crowd.
Once onboard, the male purser seemed a bit aloof and not very enthusiastic about greeting people. I proceeded to take my seat in row 5 and to my surprise there were no windows in that row. I then moved down to row 7 with only 2 seats. Once we reached cruising altitude, the snack service began. It consisted of an entree with 2 slices of cold roast beef atop lettuce leaves, a toast with some mayo and shrimps, 2 cubes of cheese with a cherry tomato in the middle, a berry yogurt and a small box of chocolate with 2 pralines. The male purser came with the drink cart afterwards and I was addressed by name!!! A refreshing surprise and extra bonus points for LH. Suddenly, the purser did not seemed so pathetic after all. One thing I have noticed about the selection of juices is that LH has somehow limited it. I don't know if this is because of the short route I was flying but about a couple of months ago I recall being offered pineapple juice onboard and not this time. My flight only had apple, OJ or tomatoe juices along with soft drinks and other spirits.
We finally arrived at FRA and it was a nice, somewhat cloudy day. I was relieved that it wasn't rainy but my joy was short lived. After I settled at the Excelsior hotel near the train station, I decided to revisit the ROM and take a stroll through the Zeil and Hauptwache. Right when I stepped off the tram, it started drizzling. So much for sunny weather, according to the Weather Channel website. :mad: Ok, plan B, I decided to do some indoor activities and went inside the DOM and afterwards, spent time at the Galeria Kauhoff, where I took advantage of some last minute shopping for loved ones and lost myself in the deli section buying different samples of marinated seafood and terrines for my dinner tonight. I then played around with buying a roasted pork knuckle but the size was too much for myself. I'll have to sample it on my next trip.
LH 462 FRA-MIA
Jul 8 - Seat 10J
Dept 0950A - EQP 747-400
It was raining heavily this morning so I decided to get an early start and head to the airport at around 0700A. The train ride from the station to the airport was about 12-15 min. There were quite a few commuters given the time of the day. I walked to the Business counter to check in and the agt was efficient but not overly friendly. She put those "Priority" inserts inside the luggage tag which I detest. Why doesn't *A have proper luggage tags instead of these inserts? With so much time in my hands I decided to browse through the terminal and I was surprised to find a sex/porno shop about two stores down from a kid's store. This is the first time I have come across this type of store in a major intl airport. Yes, FRA is a world unto itself.
If you are going to the US out of FRA, be prepared to go through several security checks as I have found later. Good thing I had plenty of time. I then killed some time at the Business lounge and to my surprise the one I have entered in terminal B, I believe, had some plastic flowers on top of the tables. Colorful but a bit tasteless, IMHO. The usual assortment of sweet cookies were available which I did not bother to partake in indulging. At the gate, I inquire if the J is full and wanted to see if I could be an empty seat next to me. The gate agent was most accommodating and she promised to block my neighbor seat without hesitation. My perception about LH kept getting better by the minute. ^ There was about a 15 minutes delay due to weather and once boarding commenced, everybody rushed to the gate. Again, no special announcements for F or J passengers, although there was a separate jetway for it. Still, everybody had to pass through the same entrance using the same agent that collected the boarding pass. To the agent's credit, they did go around and advised families traveling with children to board first b4 the general boarding annoucement.
The crew on today's flight proved to be a joy. FA's were standing at the gate greeting people and assisting with seating assignment. There were about 4 FA's in the front cabin of J. They were also serving pre-departure drinks consisting of water or OJ. My neighbor seat was vacant as promised, but there were several kids surrounding me and since this cabin was not full, I inquired the purser if I could move back to seat 15A, away from the noise. She said that I was welcomed to take the seat but if there is someone assigned to it, I had to move. I decided to stand nearby and wait. At the last minute, a couple came onboard and asked if they could upgrade because they are using UA's tkts/upgrades and they said that the originating station could not process them. The purser asked them to wait while she confirms something and then sent one of the FA's to accompany the couple to the gate to get this resolved. As expected, the gate agts did not upgrade them and they had to take their seats in Y. Then the purser came to me and said that the seat was all mine and I could move if I wished. The video demo was on and we started to get in line for take off. Once we reached cruising altitude, the FA's were busy serving cocktails and beverages along with a bag of LH's smoked almonds. The purser then came by distributing the menus and asked each psg what language he/she speaks. She would then open the menu to the page corresponding to the language ( German, English or Spanish). The cover is in a brownish red with a fan depicting the Oriental BKK. Menu is by Chef Norbert A. Kostner, Executive Chef from the Oriental BKK. Here's the t ranscipt:
Hors dóeuvre
Smoked Salmon with Sour Cream and Chives
Rabbit Roulade served with Pesto Potato Salad and Pumpkin Compote
Salad
Frisée, Radicchio, Lollo Rosso and Hearts of Palm with Sun-dried Tomato Dressing
Entrees
Pan-seared Breast of Duck, Thai Curry Sauce, Asian Longan Fruit and Jasmine Rice
Grilled Medallion of Cod with Tamarind Jus and New Potatoes
Poppy Seed Ravioli with Ricotta Filling, accompanied by Shiitake Mushrooms, Carrots, Zucchini and a savory Tomato Salsa
Cheese and Dessert
Blue Cheese, Gouda and Cherry Pepper filled with Cream Cheese and Olive
Dark Chocolate Truffle with Vanilla Sabayon
Fresh Fruit
Snack
Entrees
Cold Gourmet Plate
Sliced Veal Roast, marinated Jumbo Shrimps, Chili and Pomelo Salad, Green Asparagus and Créme Fraiche
or
Hot Specialty
Crepes filled with Leaf Spinach and Tofu served on spicy Tomato Puree
From the Bread Basket
a selection of Rolls and Bread with Butter
Dessert
Creme Brulée with Tapioca and Ginger
WINE MENU
Champagne
Jacquart Brut Mosaique, Champagne, Frankreich
White Wine
2003 Estate Silvaner Dry, Hans Wirsching, Iphofen, Franken, Deustchland
2002 Central Valley Chardonnay, Santa Helena, Chile
Red Wine
2000 Chateau Reysson, Cru Bourgeois, Frankreich
2001 Sangiovese di Romagna Riserva, Italien
FA's passed hot towels and then the meal procession started. I chose the Rabbit appetizer which was good. The delicate roulade was perfectly balanced with the spiciness of the Pumpkin compote and the slightly pungent potato-pesto salad. The salad was adequate but I would have preferred a choice of dressings. I had the Duck for entree and although the overall quality of the dish was not too bad, it had room for improvement. It consisted of 3 slices of duck breast that we a bit dry and overcooked. The side vegetable looked like chopped bok choy that was a bit wilted and it was accompanied by cherry tomatoes. The sauce was spicy but not hot, which was perfect for me. The rice was good and fluffy. Serving a whole breast would have been nicer instead of cutting it into pieces. It could have prevented some of the dryness since cut pieces cook faster. I would not have used tomatoes to accompany the vegetable. The acidity does not go too well with Asian vegetables, IMHO.
I find it noteworthy that every time the FA came to the last row, there was still a choice available of either appetizers or entrees. The cheese service is pre-plated and it was fine, although I prefer to have FA's cut the cheese from a board instead. All this was accompanied by a choice of about 4-5 different rolls and breads, which was outstanding. A second pass with the cart followed offering the dessert, which was exquisite. The vanilla sabayon provided a good contrast to the intense chocolate truffle.... However, I wish that there would be a choice of at least 2 desserts, besides the fruit. After the meal, lights were turned off and shades lowered. The cabin was pitch black. During this time, I decided to do some walking and set if there is a snack cart. Alas, all I found were drinks. Specifically, there was a bottle of water and OJ glasses set at the little table in the front cabin by row 5. In the galley, all I saw were more trays with glasses of water and juice. No chocolates, nuts, or other snacks. :(
The second meal was very basic. I opted for the hot meal, which was 2 rolled crepes with spinach and tofu. The salsa was the redeeming factor that provided some flavor to this rather bland meal. The créme brulee was nice and creamy and lacked the intensity that I was expecting from the ginger.
My seats were the old Business Class ones. I found the recline to be fine but if the person in front of you reclines and you are at the window, you must disturb your neighbor in order to get out. I did not bother with the movies since I seldom watch anything onboard and prefer to read instead.
Service was wonderful and FA's were always smiling and willing to please. The attitude was outstanding. There was even some cruising at the galley. When I walked behind the curtains on my way to the WC, there was this male FA sitting down who upon seeing me proceeded to check me from head to toe. I know he was from another cabin because I never saw him with the initial crew who served J class. He then made some walking through the J cabin when everybody was sleeping.
The amenity kits were the flimsy gray bags with the yellow Lufthansa letters. It contained the usual socks, mask, toothbrush, headphones with cushions and a sample of a cream. Not the best kit in the industry, for sure. Even LOT was more generous than LH in that area.
Pretty soon we landed into hot and humid MIA. Upon disembarking, the purser would stop the Y psg from exiting to allow the J pax to go through. Outstanding! I would not hesitate to fly LH J again.
more to come with UA........