ironmanjt

So having arrived at LYR, we waited for 75% of the flight to pile onto the same bus into town. There are really only 4 or 5 options for places to stay, so the bus can easily make a loop to all of them. Nearly 45 minutes later, we were the last stop on the loop, and were pulling up to our hotel - the Spitsbergen Hotel aka the Funken Hotel.

The view from the front drive of our hotel - the area is pretty barren:



First stop after checking in was to try and book some activities when we were there. The disappointing thing we learned, is that in the "busy summer season" (even though it was 0C most of the time, it still was summer) most activities book up months in advance. Seems most people plan their holidays in Svalbard well in advance. Oh well! We did get booked on a three hour Zodiac-esque fjord tour the next day, which promised to give a really interesting look at what this group of islands was like outside the "city."

Basically spent the remainder of the afternoon taking it pretty easy since we didn't want to wear ourselves out before the marathon. Noting above that it was still a public holiday in Norway many if not all things were closed, so a small walk around the town area was nice just to get a feel of the lay of the land.

That evening, we had booked dinner at the SAS Radisson hotels Brasseri Nansen restaurant which promised a polar tasting menu. However, on the mile or so walk to dinner we had a pretty cool encounter:



The picture isn't the best since I had to shoot it with the iPhone from a distance, but this is a Svalbard reindeer that had just wandered into the town and was munching away on whatever it could find. This would end up being our only reindeer siting of the trip (well, except for the following paragraphs) so we were really lucky to see it!

When we got to the dinner, the polar tasting menu actually didn't look all that thrilling, so we opted to order a la carte, which had the possibility of trying several other dishes which looked quite unique and interesting.

First up was the polar appetizer trio, which was a piece of whale, a terrine of grouse, and a seal carpaccio. Have to say that all three were an interesting taste but nothing that I am going to go out of my way to make part of my regular diet!



For a main course I went with the filet of Svalbard Reindeer, which was quite interesting and actually had a texture rather like liver:



All in all, it was quite an interesting meal and a rather unique experience. Definitely not Michelin-quality dining, but hey, it is Svalbard after all!

Next morning we were up bright and early and after attacking the expected wonderful hotel restaurant breakfast buffet we were picked up by the folks from Spitsbergen Travel who were going to take us on our Fjord Tour. Stop one after they collected folks from all the various hotels was there office where we were all kitted up in flotation suits and warm furry hats for the journey. They assured us the rubber boats were "sink-proof" and the worst we could expect was lots of spray off the water if it got choppy and windy.

With that, we were off. Our guide was fantastic, giving us the history of modern habitation of Svalbard, along with a really long commentary on the coal mining industry, and various wildlife, etc. I would highly recommend this company based on the one short trip we took. We were on the water for about 2 in total which got quite chilly with the windchill and bumping over the water. A few pics from the boat:





Birds swimming off the side of one of the cliffs, avoiding an arctic fox who was looming above:



Abandoned Soviet mining village:



After two hours, we pulled over across the fjord from Longyearbyen town for a bit of a walkaround, picture taking, coffee and biscuits. Was cool to see things from the other side. Our boat as it was pulling up:



After getting back to town, we grabbed lunch at the Svalbar (yes, creative name, hah) which consisted of the saltiest and most sauce-laden burger I've ever had. Tasty still, but the side salad was so salty it was in edible. One thing we noticed on Svalbard is that all the food seemed to be very heavily salted, not sure why this was.

We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering the small town, checking the sporting goods stores (the one thing this place has plenty of) looking for some last-minute pre-marathon needs. 6pm we headed to the town recreation centre to check in for the race, where we realised there were only 37 people registered for the marathon, and maybe another 30 total split between the half marathon and the 10K. There were clearly going to be long stretches of the race where there were no other people in site. As befits a low key event even the race t-shirt was "if you want it, you buy it" so of course I picked up two...how often am I going to be here! Of course that meant finishing was not going to be optional....

We gave up on trying to find somewhere that would make an adequate carbo-loading meal and ended up on settling on the hotel bar, which made a pretty decent Pasta Carbonara.

As was the theme for the trip, it was really hard to go to bed at 11pm with the bright sun overhead, but we managed to in order to rest up for the big day the next day!

Next up, Part VI-b. The Spitsbergen Marathon

ironmanjt

So I'm not sure this is entirely FlyerTalk appropriate, but since it was the big reason for this trip and gives a bit of a flavour for the destination, I'm going to post it There are no tales of champagne or caviar, just some sports drink, polar bears, and 42,2 kilometres of some of the most beautiful nature on this planet!

When I looked at the Travelers Century Club country list many years ago, there were several "countries" on it that I had no idea where they were. I was more interested in visiting "real" countries, but figured this was an interesting list from a geography geek point of view as well I was trying to figure out where in the world Spitsbergen was...and around the same time realised that there was also a marathon here....the northernmost on Earth. Perfect coincidence, and I knew I wanted to do it one day!

Fast forward a couple of years, and the June race date coincided perfectly with my work and other travelers, so one afternoon in Hawaii with the other Mr Ironmanjt and family we decided we'd all head up there in June to see what it was all about.

Unfortunately, the week after the trip in Hawaii, I woke up one morning with a horrid shooting/stabbing pain in the arch of my right foot. After struggling with it for a week I headed in only to learn it was plantar fasciitis - basically a nasty inflammation of the tendon/fascia under the arch of the foot. Probably the result of spending way too much time wearing flip-flops lately, walking on the beach barefoot, etc.

My plans for finally running a sub-4 hour marathon quickly went out the window, and I was only concerned with getting well enough I could walk/finish this race. I went through two doctors and a variety of failed treatments, before seeing a doctor who was a legend in the local running community. A marathoner himself, he knew I wouldn't take no for an answer, and would do anything he could to get me to the start line.

After a month in a removable cast/boot, limited working out, etc I was gradually able to get back to stuff. The arch was still quite sore and a bit painful, but definitely much improved. I headed to Norway in this state, only hoping I could hold things off for 10-15 miles, and stagger in the last 10 painful miles to finish. I'd already decided I would set the healing back months just to finish, and was ok with that.

I never really thought about it, but the week before the race we did lots of walking around Norway - probably 5-8 miles of walking a day on average. Funny thing is, it never really hurt, and maybe just ached a bit. Thanks to lots of Aleve and stretching, I think I made it to the start line in the best shape I'd been in in months, despite zero running in six months and the most walking I'd done in the last week.

Fast forward to race morning.



With a 10am start and 24 hours of daylight, it was certainly a new marathon experience for me. Most races you get up well before sunrise, cram some food and caffeine down, and struggle to the start. In this case, there was plenty of time to wake up slowly, have a good breakfast, and prepare for the race.

For the last 20+ races I've done, I've had an identical breakfast every time. Iced latte with three shots of espresso, and cinnamon raisin bagel with chive cream cheese and turkey. Needless to say, at 78 degrees north latitude that wasn't happening - so I hit the hotel buffet to at least try and replicate it in spirit. Coffee? Easy. The bagel was replaced with rye crisps with cream cheese and salmon - a pretty decent approximation!

The best part was, the start line was maybe 500m from the front door of our hotel...all downhill! We got there about 15 minutes before the "race" started, and were ready to go. The strangest part was there were only 30 starters in the marathon....I don't think I've ever done a race with less than 3000, so this was 1% of the size of the smallest prior - quite exciting!

The gun (yes, a real gun) went off - and we were off on a casual jog. The first mile or so headed north out of "town" and almost straight uphill. I planned to follow a strategy of running four minutes and walking one for as long as I could - no point in running all out if I expected to be in major pain later. First mile clicked by around 10 minutes, with absolutely no signs of pain. A fantastic start for my first run in six months!

Miles two and three were flat and then downhill back towards the starting area, where we headed south out of town again. I found I was able to run slowly and comfortably down hill and was still holding 10 minute miles through 3 miles with absolutely zero pain. The race had already exceeded what I thought I might manage.

The course was a double loop of 13.1 miles each in a rough T-shape. The first part to the north was maybe 3 miles, the loop west was another 4 or so, and the final east part of the T was around 5 miles or so with a replica of the part back to the start rounding out the rest of the thirteen.

Heading out onto part two of the T, it was a part of town we hadn't seen before, basically running west along the fjord on a thin strip of land between the fjord and a small lake/pond full of birds. Amazing scenery. At the end of this section was the Polar Bear Patrol, armed with rifles, just in case any stray bears decided to run onto the course and nom upon the runners. Fortunately, they were never needed.

Part 2 complete, it was time for the east part of the T out to the airport. This ran along the fjord as well, turning around right next to the airport runway, and heading back uphill along a dirt mining road that was a mix of slate, slush, mud, and gravel. Not great conditions, but it was really fun climbing slowly up the side of the mountain and seeing the fjord below. Absolutely amazing scenery!

I have probably forgotten to mention - there was absolutely NO pain in the foot through this point around 10 to 11 miles. I figured by this point I would be walking/hobbling in a bit of pain at best, so to still be clicking off 10 to 11 minute miles was great. I decided here that I was going to have a blast, injury free, and finish the race for sure. No bailing after the first loop as I thought I might have to!

Mile 11 to 12 was a long downhill into town, and I think I clicked off my first sub-10 minute mile of the race doing great. This was also the first marathon I've ever run that was two loops of the same course. How would it feel to go through the starting area only to know you had to do the same thing all over again?

The 10k was starting exactly as I went through, so it was fun - it was like the start of a new race running with them as I passed 13.1. I'd decided that the second loop would obviously be much slower (hey, I hadn't run a step in 6 months before this) so loop 2 was tourist and photography time...and take pictures I did.

Again, the first 3 miles of the T from miles 13 to 16 roughly were pretty uneventful, but during this section I completely ran out of fuel as expected and was reduced to mostly speedwalking. No worries, I'm an expert at this due to previously undertrained races, so I was going to take all kinds of pics and have a great time! There were a couple small downhills in this section which I ran, but my miles rapidly deteriorated to 12 and 13 minute miles. That's fine....as long as I stay under 14-15 I will finish with 30 min to spare.

Heading out on the westbound part of the T around mile 16 I was struck again by just how amazing this thin strip of land between the fjord and the small lake was:



Continuing down this strip of land I came upon a small house that appeared to be some sort of place were dogs/huskies were kept. I'm guessing these were dogs that worked in the winter pulling sleds over the rough terrain, but as we ran by it was just a bunch of very excited pups!



Just shortly after this I was nearly to mile 17, and the turnaround point of this part of the T - a good shot of just how desolate and isolated - and how much awesome natural beauty there was in this place:



Shortly before turning around I came across a group of probably 100 ducks just hanging out on the side of the road. Most of them were probably 100 feet away - just far enough I couldn't get a good pic, but these two seemed very anxious to pose so I had to snap a pic.



Looking up at the mountains at this point, I had a bit of a reflective moment. This was without a doubt the most amazing natural beauty I'd ever experienced...I was running through it...pain-free, and everything had come together for an amazing experience. I'm not sure I can place a finger on it, but it was definitely a bit of a spiritual moment. I felt really fortunate to be able to be there, take all of this in, and suck the most out of the moment.

At the turnaround was the polar bear patrol, once again looking out for us and making sure we were safe:



Finished up the west part of the T, and it was time to finish up the last 7-8 miles. Heading back towards the airport, we ran right by the power plant for the entire island:



Passed the airport around mile 21, and started to head back into town, where there was a speed limit sign of 80kph posted. The irony wasn't lost on me because, well, there are almost no vehicles at all here. A tourist bus here and there, but that's literally about it!



Coming back into town, there was a warning to be on the lookout for polar bears!



After heading back up the dirt/slate/gravel/mud road around mile 21-22 I realised this thing was in the bag, and I really needed to make the most of the last 45-60 minutes of this race. Hitting the top of the hill, there was one last look down on the town around mile 24-25 before the last fastish mile into town:



In 15 more short minutes, it was all over. I finished in around 5:27 - a good 30 minutes faster than I even thought I had a chance at, and had an absolutely awesome time! Marathon #51 was in the history books.



Unfortunately, my "stellar" (hey, it's all relative) performance led to one small disappointment. I'd heard rumour that the final finisher got escorted in by the Polar Bear Patrol on ATVs....however, much like my goal of finishing Ironman Canada as the last finisher carrying a bucket of KFC across the finish line, it was not meant to be.

The race had a 6 hour cutoff, and at 5:59:02 the final finisher, a lady from Germany, came across the the patrol:



Just a couple more thoughts in finishing. First, I'm so glad I didn't give up on the race due to injury, and took it for whatever it would give me on the day. The experience was everything I'd hoped for and much more. I got to spend over five hours hiking/running/trotting/walking through some of the most awe-inspiring natural beauty I'd ever seen and got a great workout in the process. I thought about all the folks who would never get a chance to do something like this, and honestly felt amazingly fortunate to have the chance.

I'd worried what it would be like to very slowly run a marathon in temps of 0 to 2 degrees, but in the end it turned out to be a giant non-event. There were some light winds on part, but nothing awful and in the end it was a great day to spend outdoors.

Oh, and yeah, I'm already scheming to return and break 4 hours...

Next Up: Part VII. Longyearbyen (LYR) to Oslo (OSL) and the Radisson SAS Blue Scandanavia Hotel

Paint Horse

Great report. Very interesting.

SFO777

ironmanjt, what a great and fascinating report. But OMG, you dump LH and the FCL/FCT for three extra hours and UA.

ironmanjt

Three hours, a cool plane for sleeping....I don't see what I missed. If anything, I think I came out way ahead!

ironmanjt

Unfortunately for the day after a marathon our flight out was at oh-dark-thirty, otherwise known as 8am. There was another one-stop flight via Tromsř that departed around 2pm, but was sold out in lower classes and was over $200 more. For a party of four we value sleep, but not to the tune of $800+. Plus, this would offer a bit of time to relax in Oslo before the long trek home.

Hotel breakfast buffet didn't open until 7am, but in recognition of all the people with early flights they had a nice light breakfast set out. Breads, cheeses, some meat and fish, etc. Rare that a hotel would go the extra mile like this!

Unfortunately, the SAS bus ran on a set schedule, with a pickup time of 6am for an 8am flight...at an airport with only one departure. We decided sleep was more important and had ordered a taxi. The bus was NOK 50 per person, and the taxi turned out to be about NOK 250...so about a $9 premium for four people to get an extra hour of sleep - well worth it!

Outside the departures area was a fun sign:



Check in took all of 5 minutes, through security (another 2 minutes tops) and we were in the departure hall a good 45 minutes before the flight. Well worth waiting for a taxi. After procuring a couple more $5 diet cokes in the departure hall, it was time to board.

Now, SAS only opens on-line check-in 22 hours before the flight, which in this case meant 10am the day before. Anyone who read the marathon section knows the race started at 10m. I will admit I spent the first 2 minutes of the race walking and checking in with my iPhone, so we had secured 1A, 1C, 1D, and 1F...and fortunately, nobody took the middles! Made for a very nice 3 hour flight down to Oslo.

The flight...what's there to say. It was before 9am which entitles you to a free "breakfast snack" on SAS, but the sandwich was so caked in butter with a thin slice of ham that I gave it a miss and shelled out NOK 25 for a diet coke instead. The free coffee just wasn't providing enough of a post-marathon boost for me!

The flight went by quite quickly, thanks to some amazing scenery after takeoff:



The rest of the flight, however, had lots of clouds, and we never saw the ground again until we were almost in Oslo. All in all, it was a very average flight. There is, perhaps, one other small factoid worth mentioning since we didn't discover it until we'd been home for a week. It appears that because of Norwegian Law you cannot earn miles on domestic flights in Norway. Now, I was extra confused why they sell C / business fares on this route. Same seats, no middles blocked, no free snacks, no extra miles...seriously, what's the point?

Landed, got bags quite quickly, and we were off on the SAS Flybussen to our hotel for the overnight - the SAS Blue Scandinavia. When we arrived there was a huge queue at the desks, and then we realised it was exactly noon - check-out time. Still, it only took 10 minutes or so to get to the front, and we were easily given an early check-in.

We'd chosen this hotel over the Hotel Continental we'd stayed at a week prior mainly on price. It seems that high tourist season in Norway begins on June 1, and prices had skyrocketed. Even four months before, the Continental was $200 more per night than it had been the week before! Also, the Continental about two weeks before had completely sold out - there must have been plenty of folks willing to pay $400+ per night. Yikes!

All in all, the Radisson was decent, though the cleanliness of the bathroom was pretty poor. Both rooms had mildew all over the place, and these were supposedly "renovated" rooms:



Only other thing to say on the hotel is that like all the others this trip, it really delivered the next morning with the free breakfast. It was a massive and varied spread and more than enough to keep you full for many hours.

Next Up: VIII. Oslo (OSL) to Newark (EWR) to Washington National (DCA) in Continental Business and Economy

ironmanjt

I suppose it's time I wrap this thing up, mainly because the next adventure is about to start in a few days! Many years ago before I started flying United, I used to have a (somewhat irrational) loyalty to Northwest. Back in those days, Northwest and Continental were shacking up pretty close and there was really no comparing the two.

Looking back, my universe for comparison had been pretty small. Concepts such as international first class didn't exist yet, so flying Business First on Continental was about as good as it got in my book! Now, almost ten years later with dozens of flights in Singapore First, Lufthansa First, etc, I was looking forward to seeing how business first on Continental stacked up. This would be my first Continental trip in nearly seven years...and it was on the 757 that IAD is sure to see much much more of unfortunately.

Showed up at Oslo about two hours before the flight to a very empty check-in area. Before I could even get to the counter, a very animated Business First concierge made his way up to me, enquired if I was flying business first, and offered to do anything and everything to make it a pleasant experience. It was all a little bit over the top, but at the same time - compared to the usual blank stares one gets at United check-in counters, it was quite nice.

Check in was quick, seat was confirmed, and it was off through security into the "international" area. Oslo has a bit of an unusual setup because the great majority of flights are inner-Schengen yet are still ex-EU. This means those flying to places in Europe are not subject to immigration checks but are subject to customs checks. This is why Oslo has a "domestic" part of the airport as well as a schengen part. It all made sense!

Not too much to say on the SAS lounge. Wi-fi was free, reasonably fast, and there was a pretty decent sized buffet and liquor offering out. However, being 9am in the morning, I resisted since I was still full from the giant hotel buffet and figured that Continental wouldn't be skimping on the catering from what I remember.

I made the mistake of leaving the lounge just 45 minutes before the flight, forgetting I still had to exit immigration, and there was quite a queue since the SAS flight to EWR was leaving at the same time as the Continental one. Still, no real problem, and when I boarded 20 minutes before departure I was still the only one in BusinessFirst!

First impressions...wow, the seatpitch on these things is TERRIBLE. Yes, it was a lie flat seat, but compared to the product on the United 767s it seemed very very cramped. Plenty of room as long as your seat was upright, but it looked near impossible for the person in the window seat to get out if the aisle was reclined. I was later to learn this was the case.

The cabin slowly filled up, bubbly was offered (one glass, no refills, and when asked was told it was "one per customer") newspapers, etc. It was beginning to look like I was going to have the only empty seat in the cabin next to me...but just before the door closed it started to go downhill fast.

My seatmate wobbled/staggered/arrived and the three-word description is necessary because honestly, I'm not sure which of the three he was doing. The gentleman was well into his 80s and immediately upon sitting popped a bottle of Diazepam on the drink table and started speaking on his mobile in Norweigan. After repeated attempts to get him to turn it off, he gave in...and instead reclined his seat fully.

At this point, the flight attendants appear to have decided the elderly gentleman was not a security risk, just a bit old, confused, and harmless, and very professionally asked him over and over to do this / don't do that, etc. Takeoff was quick and uneventful, and maybe 20 minutes into flight service began. The in-flight entertainment (aka seatmate) had been reading a booked called "Passing the New Jersey Drivers Exam" which was frightening enough, but...so far harmless.

Drink orders were taken, I went with a Bordeaux (half a glass only before returning it in favour of something less noxious) and then the comedy next door began:

Him: "I'd like red wine."
FA: "We have x, y, and z"
Him: "Yes"
FA: "which would you like"
Him: "All three."

Now, here's where the FA made mistake number one...actually bringing him three glasses of wine at once. In retrospect, I probably should have pointed out the Diazepam to them, but really didn't feel it was my place to police the cabin. Plus, if he got out if hand I was pretty sure I could take him down!

Shortly the nuts came around (the semi-warm kind, not the one I was sitting next to) along with a refill of the wine. This is where I returned the half-full glass (first time I can ever remember doing this on a plane...and my standards are pretty low, so you know this stuff was bad) and asking for another. As soon as they brought the new glass, the seatmate asked for a glass of....white wine!

Quite what the FAs were thinking I won't know...because they brought him a glass. Fortunately, they didn't offer him a choice of white as well or things could have gotten really ugly. He was contently sipping back and forth between all four glasses and reading the rules of the road as the meal service began. I'd been flipping through the wide selection (definitely quantity over quality) of movies, but nothing was nearly as entertaining as the show out of the corner of my eye.

So, food. Let's talk about food...

The meal started with what was described as "A demitasse of potato mushroom soup with chicken accompanied by a vegetable spring roll and herbed shrimp with Chinese dipping sauce." Overall, it was tasty enough, but nothing very memorable. It was worthy of full consumption, so that said something at least. Compared to the average United starter it was slightly more substantial, but I'd rate it about on par.

Next up was the "Mesclun salad mix with melon, cucumber, kalamata olive
and almonds. Your choice of balsamic vinaigrette or tropical fruit dressing." Now, really, I have no idea what troptical fruit dressing is, and how it belonged with kalamata olives, but I guess with melon maybe it made sense? That said, I broke my "no vinaigrette on a plane - EVER" rule. Seriously, that stuff splashes everywhere and the number of shirts I've lost to inflight vinaigrette is scary. Oh, and I forgot...the garlic bread! Whatever happens with the merger, please keep the garlic bread! This course blew away United's salad course - no competition.

There were four choices for the main:

"The Chef’s Selection - Filet of beef topped with crispy onions and Port wine sauce and pan-fried pasta pocket filled with asparagus, accompanied by sautéed spring cabbage, carrots and homemade spaetzle noodles"

"Roasted Breast of Chicken - With creamy morel mushroom sauce, potato noodles, broccoli florets and carrots with crushed black pepper"

"halibut with Shrimp - Thai seasoned halibut and shrimp served over creamy mashed potatoes, fresh green buttered asparagus, crispy potato straws and spicy chile coconut sauce"

"Pasta Bowl - Lasagne filled with pumpkin and creamy cheeses - accompanied by tomato basil sauce offered with grated Parmesan Reggiano cheese"

I thought the halibut sounded interesting, but decided to go with the beef and was very glad I did. I'd say it was cooked a perfect medium rare and was quite easily the best steak I've ever had on a plane - I was pretty impressed actually. No way United's hunks of mystery cow ever stack up to this.

Unusual seatmate was at this point still preoccupied with his salad, and had moved on to a few more glasses of wine. Nothing strange, but the old guy was definitely pretty happy at this point. At this point, I was used to the United cheese or desert, with a dirty look if you dared to ask for both. Nope, Continental delivered a full cheese course which was much higher quality than United even, and that was before the desert. Which is where it fell apart.

It seems catering had "forgotten" to load dry ice, so the desert option was "ice cream soup." Why the flight attendants bothered I will never know, but they actually brought out the bowls of melted ice cream. Had they been 50% melted I might have vaguely understood - but we're talking 100% melted here. 100% cream and 0% ice. PASS!

Rest of the flight - well about an hour after the meal things got interesting when the seatmate woke up and decided he had to get out his cell phone and start making a phone call. He dialed, started jabbering in Norweigan (with which imaginary friend/colleague I have no idea, since his phone clearly wasn't working at 40,000 feet) and despite repeated flight attendant requests he acted like he didn't speak english. Funny, he spoke it just fine when he wanted wine...or to order food...fortunately, he finally turned it off, and passed out again.

I should have known better and gotten out of my corner when he was awake, but I waited another 30 to try and make my way to the lavs....potentially big mistake. I'm 6'3 and have long legs, but there's just no way to climb over the fully-reclined aisle seat. It was awful. I inadvertantly bumped him, waking him up with a start and chewing me out pretty loudly in Norweigan. It was kinda sad actually.

Rest of the flight was pretty uneventful. I caught up on bad tv on my laptop, read a bit, and passed on the pre-landing sandwich so I can't really report on that. I was secretly semi-hoping for a Iceland detour for either 757-fuel-issues (hey, Iceland's not checked off my list yet!) or to drop off crazy guy, but this was a banner day for the transatlantic 757, and we showed up in Newark about 20 minutes early. As much as I remember hating the airport I have to say, it's pretty awesome on a clear day approaching New York and seeing the skyline.

Parked at the very last gate, hobbled my way through immigration (there is seriously nothing more awesome than Global Entry) and made it to Starbucks (yay caffeine) in record time. Less than 15 minutes from door opening, through immigration and customs, TSA-nonsense, and to Starbucks. Can't say anything bad about Newark in that regards!

Next flight was about 90 minutes away on a Dash-8 to DCA. Not too much to say on this flight. Load was maybe 50-60% and everyone who wanted a whole row had one. The crew was friendly, arrival was early, and it was the best kind of regional flight - short, efficient, and no-drama. I was very glad I'd changed my OSL-FRA and FRA-IAD on LH F for this.

End thoughts: Business First still blows away United business from a catering point of view. I would actually say Business First catering is equal to United First catering. Hard product...the new United Business clearly beats the 757, hands down. Crews were about equal, but on a sample of one you really can't generalize. However, from a convenience point of view, living a mile from DCA, EWR is going to open up a lot of options which will be quite nice. Dulles, well, major pain.

Next trip report to come soon....off to Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia on UA, LH, and LO!

BryanIAH

Very impressive finish! Norwegian guy sounds interesting to say the least - did CO run out of wine? You made a good choice with the beef. After 6 flights in CO BF this year I've selected the beef each time and I would rate each serving at least 7/10. I don't really care for the soups but salad quality is consistently good even when the dressing choices are, let's say, creative.

Coincidentally your next report also includes destinations on my future travel list - you certainly know how to plan excellent travel!

hauteboy

Great report on Svalbard and impressive running the marathon there. I can't even run a mile yet. I was up in Svalbard 3 years ago in late May.. there was still a lot more snow on the ground at the time.

GRALISTAIR

Just absolutely, totally amazing.

ironmanjt

It was stunning - and I would highly recommend it...so much that I'm going back!

jv66

Awesome trip report. Really glad you shared your whole experience with us. Thanks!

Crampedin13A

So true