3Bs, 1K/C and home again...
Apr 13, 2013 | 10:04 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: LHR- ish
Programs: MUCCI, BA Blue
Posts: 4,295
3Bs, 1K/C and home again...
3Bs, 1K/C and home again... Or a brief European tour involving 1 plane, 6 trains, 3 (or possibly 6) countries at least 10 languages and goodness knows how many buses/trams/metro type trains. And a trolleybus. A fairly standard report about BA but some less common stuff about German trains and Eurostar and I don't recall having seen a report on Czech sleeping cars before.
This is a Trip Report about a journey I took with my brother in April 2013. BrotherNCFC is not a FT member but with any luck he'll let me post his pictures and videos. It's been a while since we went travelling together so some months ago (probably whilst drunk) we decided a trip was overdue. There's a few reasons why we don't travel together, mostly luck/timing but there's also my fondness for spending time in places versus his interest in riding on trains to as many different places as possible and my fondness for travelling light versus his large rollerboard needed for his favourite souvenier - beer. The good news is that we have similar hobbies/interests and do get on very well.
Our main destination was going to be Budapest but with a journey home to the UK via Berlin, Cologne and Brussels. Armed with this knowledge the observant amongst you will have figured out the thread title which is also a reference to our home town of Reading, historically famous for producing the 3 Bs - biscuits, beer and (plant) bulbs. So if anyone was looking for information about United's frequent flyer scheme try elsewhere (or try flying lots on United, that normally works quite well as a way of getting United status). Although I could be really cruel and sprinkle references to 1K/United throughout the text thus bamboozling google and all who rely on it. For anyone puzzling over the K/C it depends on whether you want to call it Cologne or, as the Germans themselves call it, Kln. Being a lazy git I shall probably use both rather than making the effort to be consistent.
Planning responsibility for the trip was divided in the interests of spreading the blame when things went wrong (and to minimise the smell of burning credit card). BrotherNCFC researched and booked the trains (his area of expertise) and I booked our flight and hotels and acquired a guidebook and other information necessary to function in Budapest. Since BrotherNCFC has previous experience of both Cologne and Berlin he was in charge of planning for those cities. Since we'd both previously been to Brussels we didn't do any planning for that bit at all.
Our finalised Itinerary was:
7th April (Sunday) BA0868 LHR to BUD in Club Europe (bought Eurotraveller tickets in a cheap fare bucket and took advantage of BA's standard 69 upgrade offer. We don't fly very much so we're only BA blues (the entry tier); the upgrade meant lounge access as well as extra avios and tier points.
Check into IBIS Budapest Centrum (I got 3 nights for the price of 2 on expedia and also paid slightly below the standard rate)
8th-10th April in Budapest
Night of 10th April (Wednesday) night train to Berlin which BrotherNCFC booked at the lowest possible rate by jumping on DeutscheBahn's website the day it went on sale.
11th April (Thursday) Check into Ramada hotel Alexanderplatz in Berlin. I had a real problem finding us somewhere reasonably priced until we decided we'd share a twin room. Then I had problems finding us a twin room. But this one came at a pretty good price although we did have to phone to ensure we were allocated a twin room rather than a double. Sightseeing in Berlin.
12th April (Friday) ICE train from Berlin to Cologne. Two and a half hours in Cologne. ICE train from Cologne to Brussels. An hour and a half in Brussels followed by Eurostar to London. Or possibly 2 and a half hours if we could change our Eurostar booking to the later train once we got to Brussels. First class on both ICEs and premium standard on the Eurostar. Both booked at good rates by BrotherNCFC. Followed by tubing it across London and a train home from Paddington.
So yeah a slighly ambitious thread title, what with the time spent in Brussels and Cologne totalling about 6 hours if we were lucky. Of course if we were really unlucky and subject to some serious train delays who knew how long we'd be in Cologne or Brussels. Anyone keeping count will only have noticed 3 countries. So why the possibly 6? Well the Eurostar went through France and the night train through Slovakia and the Czech Republic. So whether we visited those countries is really down to your opinion. As for the 10 languages? Well 7 should be fairly obvious but you can start guessing the other 3.
A final note... I'm not one of FTs most skilled or patient photographers plus my camera is on the old side and the flash has a mind of its own. So a couple of the pictures are nice but none of them are great. On which note i'd better starting writing and uploading photos. Maybe I should unpack too?
This is a Trip Report about a journey I took with my brother in April 2013. BrotherNCFC is not a FT member but with any luck he'll let me post his pictures and videos. It's been a while since we went travelling together so some months ago (probably whilst drunk) we decided a trip was overdue. There's a few reasons why we don't travel together, mostly luck/timing but there's also my fondness for spending time in places versus his interest in riding on trains to as many different places as possible and my fondness for travelling light versus his large rollerboard needed for his favourite souvenier - beer. The good news is that we have similar hobbies/interests and do get on very well.
Our main destination was going to be Budapest but with a journey home to the UK via Berlin, Cologne and Brussels. Armed with this knowledge the observant amongst you will have figured out the thread title which is also a reference to our home town of Reading, historically famous for producing the 3 Bs - biscuits, beer and (plant) bulbs. So if anyone was looking for information about United's frequent flyer scheme try elsewhere (or try flying lots on United, that normally works quite well as a way of getting United status). Although I could be really cruel and sprinkle references to 1K/United throughout the text thus bamboozling google and all who rely on it. For anyone puzzling over the K/C it depends on whether you want to call it Cologne or, as the Germans themselves call it, Kln. Being a lazy git I shall probably use both rather than making the effort to be consistent.
Planning responsibility for the trip was divided in the interests of spreading the blame when things went wrong (and to minimise the smell of burning credit card). BrotherNCFC researched and booked the trains (his area of expertise) and I booked our flight and hotels and acquired a guidebook and other information necessary to function in Budapest. Since BrotherNCFC has previous experience of both Cologne and Berlin he was in charge of planning for those cities. Since we'd both previously been to Brussels we didn't do any planning for that bit at all.
Our finalised Itinerary was:
7th April (Sunday) BA0868 LHR to BUD in Club Europe (bought Eurotraveller tickets in a cheap fare bucket and took advantage of BA's standard 69 upgrade offer. We don't fly very much so we're only BA blues (the entry tier); the upgrade meant lounge access as well as extra avios and tier points.
Check into IBIS Budapest Centrum (I got 3 nights for the price of 2 on expedia and also paid slightly below the standard rate)
8th-10th April in Budapest
Night of 10th April (Wednesday) night train to Berlin which BrotherNCFC booked at the lowest possible rate by jumping on DeutscheBahn's website the day it went on sale.
11th April (Thursday) Check into Ramada hotel Alexanderplatz in Berlin. I had a real problem finding us somewhere reasonably priced until we decided we'd share a twin room. Then I had problems finding us a twin room. But this one came at a pretty good price although we did have to phone to ensure we were allocated a twin room rather than a double. Sightseeing in Berlin.
12th April (Friday) ICE train from Berlin to Cologne. Two and a half hours in Cologne. ICE train from Cologne to Brussels. An hour and a half in Brussels followed by Eurostar to London. Or possibly 2 and a half hours if we could change our Eurostar booking to the later train once we got to Brussels. First class on both ICEs and premium standard on the Eurostar. Both booked at good rates by BrotherNCFC. Followed by tubing it across London and a train home from Paddington.
So yeah a slighly ambitious thread title, what with the time spent in Brussels and Cologne totalling about 6 hours if we were lucky. Of course if we were really unlucky and subject to some serious train delays who knew how long we'd be in Cologne or Brussels. Anyone keeping count will only have noticed 3 countries. So why the possibly 6? Well the Eurostar went through France and the night train through Slovakia and the Czech Republic. So whether we visited those countries is really down to your opinion. As for the 10 languages? Well 7 should be fairly obvious but you can start guessing the other 3.
A final note... I'm not one of FTs most skilled or patient photographers plus my camera is on the old side and the flash has a mind of its own. So a couple of the pictures are nice but none of them are great. On which note i'd better starting writing and uploading photos. Maybe I should unpack too?
Last edited by exilencfc; Apr 13, 2013 at 4:32 pm Reason: Incompetence
Apr 13, 2013 | 4:41 pm
#2
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: LHR- ish
Programs: MUCCI, BA Blue
Posts: 4,295
BA 0868 LHR-BUD Club Europe
The problem with joining FT is that you get ambitious. Just flying isn't enough. Even flying cheaply isn't enough. It's got to be cheap travel in premium cabins. And so it was that BrotherNCFC and I came to experience our first trip in a premium aircraft cabin. Now Club Europe ain't Singapore F but it isn't Ryanair either. We were definitely looking forward to it.
Our first mission was getting to Heathrow which is pretty easy for us as we only live an hour or so away. Our chosen transport method was the Railair coach from Reading. It's far easier than driving, cheaper than a taxi and generally convenient. At least to T5 which is the first drop off point. T3 is the last dropoff point and thus we got an extra 20 minutes on the bus and a tour of most of Heathrow. Oh well, it's always fun watching planes landing on a sunny day.
Once we actually got inside Terminal 3 our premium travel experience began with the separate check in desk. Am I a really bad person for feeling slightly disappointed that there wasn't a huge queue of people at the regular desk that we could swan past? This was followed by fast track security which was only slightly quicker than the normal line but did seem to involve less shouting by the staff and fewer idiot passengers who'd apparently never considered the possibility that there might be some kind of security at an airport. After security we went for a quick wander round the shops before proceeding to BA's Galleries lounge. As this lounge has been well documented on FT I didn't bother taking pictures except of our lunch. Suffice to say it's a well appointed lounge with plenty of food, booze and soft drinks and some comfy furniture. As it was a Sunday afternoon the lounge was fairly quiet.
'
We knew that the food on the plane would be BA's 'legendary' afternoon tea, of which more later, so clearly we were going to have to eat lunch in the lounge. An idea which became even more pressing after we decided we'd try to drink our way through all three of the white wines BA was offering. Being seasoned in the art of fine dining we decided to open with a bag of kettle chips each. We followed this with tomato soup (lots of bits of tomato in it but I didn't like the flavour much). We skipped the salad/deli buffet and headed for the hot mains. There was pasta with tomato and basil sauce but today's main theme was Morocco. Moroccan style lamb meatballs (and i'm pretty confident they were lamb rather than horse), sweat potato tagine, couscous and rice. And very tasty it was too. Excuse the rather messy and overloaded plate but I was really hungry.
There was a distinct lack of any pudding on offer, so I got a bit creative and raided the breakfast buffet for yoghurt and fresh fruit.
After three glasses of wine, including a rather fine Austrian example (I accused brotherNCFC of being too drunk to read 'Australia' but I checked and it turned out he was right) we were in serious need of some coffee. Fortunately BA's customer service extends to providing some seriously strong espresso. All the time the staff were very proactive about clearing away used plates but strangely reluctant to remove the empty crisp packets.
Deciding not to sample wine no 4 we headed off down to the gate to wait for the bus to the aeroplane. I suppose I should do some serious DYWIA moaning about lost lounge time, having to share a bus with Eurotraveller passengers and the lack of priority boarding but as I've slagged off a fair few DYWIAs on FT that would be a tad hypocritical.
Our ride to Budapest was A320 G-EUYN. Among the many aspects of BA's operations regularly slated on FT is aircraft cleanliness but this one was spotless. It also has an updated mobile map system which, for some bizarre reason, includes shipwrecks. Looking after us were a lovely CSD called Kris and his colleague Anna, they did a great job with the service and were very friendly and welcoming. Now I realise it is considered normal to include a leg room photo of one's own knees but as i'm 5ft 3 that would be about as much use as tits on a fish. So I snuck a picture of BrotherNCFC instead.
Our flight left at 1420 and thus fell 20 minutes outside BA's window for serving lunch. So afternoon tea then? A product repeatedly slated on FT for the simple reason that people expect food which actually constitutes a meal. Having sampled it I would have to say that, whilst totally inadequate as a main meal, it would be a generous mid afternoon snack. In fact we didn't actually have room for the lemon cake which went into our bags for later. Certainly a better effort than the 'dinner' Eurostar provided on our way home, of which more later. All the items tasted quite decent although the sandwiches were starting to go a bit stale.
A couple of pictures, please note the correct application of jam and cream to scones. Also the two drinks, I originally asked for the white wine and then changed my mind. Kris suggested I keep the white wine anyway. As I said, a top bloke.
Having left more or less on time we arrived at BUD a couple of minutes early, it was time for us to take our first steps onto Hungarian soil.
The problem with joining FT is that you get ambitious. Just flying isn't enough. Even flying cheaply isn't enough. It's got to be cheap travel in premium cabins. And so it was that BrotherNCFC and I came to experience our first trip in a premium aircraft cabin. Now Club Europe ain't Singapore F but it isn't Ryanair either. We were definitely looking forward to it.
Our first mission was getting to Heathrow which is pretty easy for us as we only live an hour or so away. Our chosen transport method was the Railair coach from Reading. It's far easier than driving, cheaper than a taxi and generally convenient. At least to T5 which is the first drop off point. T3 is the last dropoff point and thus we got an extra 20 minutes on the bus and a tour of most of Heathrow. Oh well, it's always fun watching planes landing on a sunny day.
Once we actually got inside Terminal 3 our premium travel experience began with the separate check in desk. Am I a really bad person for feeling slightly disappointed that there wasn't a huge queue of people at the regular desk that we could swan past? This was followed by fast track security which was only slightly quicker than the normal line but did seem to involve less shouting by the staff and fewer idiot passengers who'd apparently never considered the possibility that there might be some kind of security at an airport. After security we went for a quick wander round the shops before proceeding to BA's Galleries lounge. As this lounge has been well documented on FT I didn't bother taking pictures except of our lunch. Suffice to say it's a well appointed lounge with plenty of food, booze and soft drinks and some comfy furniture. As it was a Sunday afternoon the lounge was fairly quiet.
'
We knew that the food on the plane would be BA's 'legendary' afternoon tea, of which more later, so clearly we were going to have to eat lunch in the lounge. An idea which became even more pressing after we decided we'd try to drink our way through all three of the white wines BA was offering. Being seasoned in the art of fine dining we decided to open with a bag of kettle chips each. We followed this with tomato soup (lots of bits of tomato in it but I didn't like the flavour much). We skipped the salad/deli buffet and headed for the hot mains. There was pasta with tomato and basil sauce but today's main theme was Morocco. Moroccan style lamb meatballs (and i'm pretty confident they were lamb rather than horse), sweat potato tagine, couscous and rice. And very tasty it was too. Excuse the rather messy and overloaded plate but I was really hungry.
There was a distinct lack of any pudding on offer, so I got a bit creative and raided the breakfast buffet for yoghurt and fresh fruit.
After three glasses of wine, including a rather fine Austrian example (I accused brotherNCFC of being too drunk to read 'Australia' but I checked and it turned out he was right) we were in serious need of some coffee. Fortunately BA's customer service extends to providing some seriously strong espresso. All the time the staff were very proactive about clearing away used plates but strangely reluctant to remove the empty crisp packets.
Deciding not to sample wine no 4 we headed off down to the gate to wait for the bus to the aeroplane. I suppose I should do some serious DYWIA moaning about lost lounge time, having to share a bus with Eurotraveller passengers and the lack of priority boarding but as I've slagged off a fair few DYWIAs on FT that would be a tad hypocritical.
Our ride to Budapest was A320 G-EUYN. Among the many aspects of BA's operations regularly slated on FT is aircraft cleanliness but this one was spotless. It also has an updated mobile map system which, for some bizarre reason, includes shipwrecks. Looking after us were a lovely CSD called Kris and his colleague Anna, they did a great job with the service and were very friendly and welcoming. Now I realise it is considered normal to include a leg room photo of one's own knees but as i'm 5ft 3 that would be about as much use as tits on a fish. So I snuck a picture of BrotherNCFC instead.
Our flight left at 1420 and thus fell 20 minutes outside BA's window for serving lunch. So afternoon tea then? A product repeatedly slated on FT for the simple reason that people expect food which actually constitutes a meal. Having sampled it I would have to say that, whilst totally inadequate as a main meal, it would be a generous mid afternoon snack. In fact we didn't actually have room for the lemon cake which went into our bags for later. Certainly a better effort than the 'dinner' Eurostar provided on our way home, of which more later. All the items tasted quite decent although the sandwiches were starting to go a bit stale.
A couple of pictures, please note the correct application of jam and cream to scones. Also the two drinks, I originally asked for the white wine and then changed my mind. Kris suggested I keep the white wine anyway. As I said, a top bloke.
Having left more or less on time we arrived at BUD a couple of minutes early, it was time for us to take our first steps onto Hungarian soil.