JVPhoto

So I have knocked out a bit of the recent few weeks that I've been spending in Europe as I usually do during the summer.

1) United BusinessFirst 767 EWR-TXL
2) Berlin
3) Hamburg & 25 Hours Hotel HafenCity
4) SAS GoPlus A319 TXL-CPH w/ LH Senator Lounge
5) Copenhagen & Hotel SP34
6) SAS GoPlus CRJ200 CPH-TXL w/ SK Lounge
7) Berlin & Casa Camper
8) Brussels Economy TXL-BRU w/ LH Senator Lounge
9) United BusinessFirst 777 BRU-EWR w/ SN Lounge

The gist being 2 weeks in Berlin (w/ a flat via AirBnB), 3 days in Copenhagen and then returning to Berlin for another week up in my usual hotel.

**Berlin has less "touristy" photos as I have been there enough (and I'm doing my professional work for the most part) so while I have some photos it will be a few recommendations of what I've fine tried and tested.

United BusinessFirst EWR-TXL

I have taken this leg many, many times and it's always been on the 2 class 757s which for me have been fine. I was interested to see how this did for the summer months then they put on the 3 class 767-300.
Since my dates were flexible and I booked a while out I used a GPU for this flight to book Y and upgrade instantly at booking to J.
However, being a 3 class plane on an interesting route I was curious to see how GlobalFirst went out and hoped that I would get a 24 hour offer as I did for LHR-EWR. I got one at check in...

Uhhh...NO WAY JOSE. For $1000 I was considering it given it's the night flight, but screw that. The front cabin ended up being what I think was all non-revs save 1 pax (and the pilot rest seat).

I'm going to skip talking about the United Club because I don't think you care how many pieces of Tillamook cheese I ate while I watched people take their shoes off and prop them on the seats eating baby carrots.



Boarding was on time and fine everything looked good to go...there was a little bit of rain. Sat down, had a drink....got welcomed with menus and such by the "SENIOR" crew. (I actually felt bad that one was serving me and having to carry out something as heavy as a dish).

Doors closed and we pushed back on time. Then the all traffic at the airport stopped and we sat on the plane for 3 hours because of a thunder storm rolling through. They served drinks and let everyone get up. Tried to keep us updated while we could. When we got to the point to where we may end up having to go back as they legally had to let us off EWR re-opened and we were 5th in line which meant we would take off. I had my fingers crossed the whole time and once I felt the wheels lift from the ground I breathed a sigh of relief.



The bleu cheese dressing that UA has been serving is a welcome change and pretty good. With the salmon I prefer the wasabi mayo that you'll get sometimes over the mustard. This fish dish I have had before however this time it was a little bit lackluster.
I ended up sleeping until 10 min before they closed the gallery at breakfast as we were not far out from Berlin so I scarfed bits and pieces of the cold deli plate (mediocre but I prefer it to crummy eggs).



So lo-fi it's cool.


The FAs did a horrible job corralling people into the appropriate lavs. Much of Y was using the J lavs so when we were starting to land and everyone wanted to use the lav and freshen up it became a clusterF. Eventually I saw two people from BF use the GF one so I went up and someone was in it. I have the FA an "I know we are like almost below 10k feet I just am going to whiz and rinse my mouth out." She said "You know we should charge you to use the First Class bathroom."
I nearly wanted to respond..."Why? Everyone up front is a non-rev and didn't pay for the seat?" BOOM ROASTED!



So a few hours late it was touch down in Berlin...just about an hour after the Fanhansa arrived from Brazil with the team. I made my way to Mitte where I was able to meet the apartment renter with the keys.

JVPhoto

I always stay at the same hotel (or rent an apartment) in Mitte, my best friend lives in Mitte and I know a lot of people who work in Mitte...so needless to stay I spent a lot of time in Mitte.
However, in about the past 5 years and over a dozen trips of varying length I've been out and about so please don't hesitate to ask any questions or recommendations as it pertains to your own trip to Berlin.


For a while now in Rosenthaler Platz there has been Co Co Bahn Mi which aside from sandwhiches has a few salad and other type dishes, but it's a place I come to at least 1-2x each trip.

New for me was Mango on Mulackstraße which is also a Vietnamese restaurant and compared to other pho and things I've had in Berlin this one stacked up nicely.


Near Mango is another place I loved called Mamecha which is a Japanese green tea/matcha shop that also sells some small bites of Japanese food. It's simple, welcoming and a nice place to sit.


Near Alexanderplatz is another place I go way to much called Spreegold which is a pasta/sandwhich/coffee/juice restaurant. I've also recently found out that I'm fond of this drinks.


But nothing beats...CLUB MATE (with vodka)!!! I've found a source that actually shows some specialty shops in NYC that are stocking it so I'm really excited.


Coming home at 6am and the currywurst shops are closed and you don't feel like a döner? The McDonald's in Alexanderplatz won't let ya down!

Not to say there isn't the time and place for a dürüm döner.


Maybe you'll even find 10E to help pay for your snacks from the hostel kids?


Thank you Google Translate, I didn't destroy my boxers.


Other places I enjoy around Mitte/Prenzlauer Berg: Alpenstueck, Bar St. Jean, New Odessa, KaffeeMitte, Dolores Burritos, Rosenburger & Mein Haus Am See.

JVPhoto

I've never been to Hamburg so I was excited when my friend told me that we'd be going for a night because he was booked to DJ at a club called Golden Cut. I thought we were taking the train, but then found out it would be a nice little road trip.


That was until the person driving us missed the keep the left instruction and decided to keep heading north which eventually by the time they realized that meant we were basically going to Rostock and then would go over through Luebeck and eventually get to Hamburg....4 hours after we left Berlin.



As we arrived in HafenCity the Queen Mary 2 was docked and eventually left with some fireworks and fanfare as it was celebrating it's 10th anniversary there.


We had booked rooms at the super nautical themed (but enjoyable) 25 Hours Hotel. I mean, it was VERY nautical, but it was all comfortable and well laid out. For one night there couldn't think of much a problem.





Before going out they decided to show me the Repperbahn...which I was not really impressed with. It just made me think of Patong Beach or Bourbon Street where while there are topless bars and "crazy & wild" things it is just a bunch of tourists walking and gawking at all the fluff---I've spent enough time at Kit Kat Klub and Lab so this isn't impressing me a whole lot.







And just like that she was gone...


While I was waiting for my friends to get up and check out I did have lunch in the lobby at Heimat which was pretty good...this was a creme/foam of spinach and ricotta soup with rock shrimp.


Luckily all four of us were very careful with the directions so that we could make sure we would make it back to Berlin in under 2.5 hours.

JVPhoto

From what I gathered there are two direct TXL-CPH flights with SAS in the morning and afternoon. After a long night at GMF I got a little sleep and packed up my stuff to make it to Tegel at about 8am for the 9:40am flight.



SAS flies out of the side D terminal where you don't have everything nice and spread out or a separate security line for each gate.
I arrived to find two lines at the counter with only one sign saying Economy. SAS GoPlus is supposed to give you priority access (not to mention being *G). So seeing that it looked like this giant mess was all we could do ended up taking about 40 min to get through the line to drop the bag and print the BP...about 4 people away from the front the other screen turned on and said "Business".



Thinking I would have over an hour in the lounge I didn't eat before TXL so with about 20-25 min I could spend in the lounge I hoofed it over and made use of a little breakfast...this spread seems standard across the LH board except for when I was in FRA and they had hot eggs.

I was supposed to get in the Priority security lane but got ushered to the normal one which in viewing all seemed to take about the same amount of time so it wasn't a big deal or concern.



We would be bussing to the gate & at least both sides of the plane were open. SK Plus doesn't get you a middle blocked out seat like on LH or AF and other similar carriers who do short intra-EU business class in the front of a Y cabin. The perk is the miles, extra baggage, lounge access and free food/drink choice from the cart. Being the short flight of 40 min I just opted for some tea...however, when I flew OSL-ARN it was just the perfect amount of time to enjoy a small bottle of wine if you get served early enough.



Finding the tickets for the train and info to the main station wasn't a problem...since it took about 35 min for any of the bags to start coming out. Even then the *A Priority tags were hit and miss, about 5 min later mine came out and was on my way to the city to Hotel SP34.



After just looking on Expedia I found the hotel and then looked at the site and just decided it seemed pretty cool and would give it a try. Felt better when I saw a friend from the states who visited stayed here and liked it. I arrived just a little after noon and was able to check in immediately.

The staff is great, the location seems pretty central the rooms are for the most part very nicely designed and it has a bar and 2 restaurants. However, my room was HOT. I assumed at $250/night even for Europe there would be a fan or AC. You can see the huge windows and even with the curtains drawn it was hard to sit in during the day if I needed to do any work. At night it was a bit easier but woke up at least once each night drenched in sweat.
Also, the the little latch on the doors when you leave don't like to give way to close...so it is a lot of people slamming their doors several times if they don't realize they can use the card to unlock the door and then pull it closed.
Partially my own goof because I thought breakfast was included in the rate as the check in clerk mentioned the times and also there are several signs everywhere showing you where breakfast is. The first morning I popped in to just get a few bites and ended up spending almost $30 because of that. I'll just stop by 7/11 on my way to the station now.



































I really enjoyed Copenhagen. The Danes are gorgeous and friendly...I found the city and experience much more to my liking than Oslo or Stockholm. Of course everything is expensive (even for a NY'er) but the quality of life and time here seemed great. I fully expect to come back next summer/spring with a bike for at least 5-6 days and dig in deeper.

Stopping by Pusher Street in Christiania also helped a bit.


This brunch at Kafe Bjorgs made me want to cry tears of joy.

Little scare early in the morning.


Seems safe.


Is THAT what they do inside those cathedrals?


Literally, the little Mermaid.

js200

Great TR so far. As a Dane and Copenhagener, I'm glad you enjoyed the city. Let me know if you need suggestions for your return.

(And hey, you made a multi-year lurker post for first time...)

JVPhoto

Takk!! I certainly did enjoy the city for just 2 days that absolutely next warm season I will do 4-5 nights there again.

JVPhoto

Geeked out a little heading from the hotel to the station and seeing the Thai Airways office building.



Guess you can say there are some perks flying out of a carriers "home" airport. Such was the experience flying SAS Copenhagen to Berlin.



As I experienced in OSL it seems Scandinavians are pretty good at tagging and dropping off their own bags. It wasn't crowded but at least it seems there is a Business/Plus/Gold section if things get backed up. For those curious the tag prints with PRIORITY however there is not the readily visible orange STAR ALLIANCE PRIORITY extra tag that is added to them.

Plus, Business, *G & *A Premium get to use the Fast Track section which is its own dedicated security section which proved to be quick and painless. It dumps out into a duty free shop or there are sliding doors which open and take you to the lounges.



Having been to the lounges now at OSL, ARN and CPH I still haven't exactly figured out the main differences or if there is much policing between Scandinavian & Business. As you walk into CPH there is an upstairs section which had a printed paper sign that said Star Alliance Gold Access. It was much quieter and spacious than downstairs...and the spread seemed similar to what I've had in Stockholm and Oslo.



Compared to what we get in the United Clubs I am not going to complain one bit.



Much to the amusement of the lounge dragons and the buzz I had going I decided I would pose with the SAS A340.



One little benefit of this was that chance would have it that a good friend from Berlin was arriving from SFO on SAS that day and we were on the same flight into Berlin. What I mentioned about the policing of lounge access to the different sections was that he was originally booked in SAS Economy+ which was enough to get him access. He got an op up leaving SFO into SAS Business, so as he entered the lounge I was on the stairs and waved to him and said "up here!" (in the *G section) and the dragons didn't seemed to bat an eye.



The earlier flight between CPH/TXL in the day is a mainline craft and in the afternoon it becomes a CRJ200 operated by Cimber. This meant we would get a nice little bus out to the middle of the tarmacs and then board. The nice thing was they closed boarding when we all got on the bus so once we were there...we were there and ready to go. Leaving TXL it took 3 buses to fill up the A319.



2-2 across, empty seat next to me in Plus (which isn't guaranteed) and what seems to be a smelly man behind me we were ready to go with our 40 min flight to TXL. I know on the UA boards lots of people gripe about the 2 hour regional jet flights that we have...but, a route like this I think it is just fine and honestly compared to the bigger plane flying over this seemed easier and more efficient of a process.



In Plus you can pick a beverage and snack for free...not wanting any chips or candy I decided I would just drink my caloric intake and indulge in just a bit more wine.



Quick touch down in Berlin and then waiting 6 min on the tarmac or a KLM plane to leave our spot we got to a bus gate...that was close enough to where they would drop us off I think my grandmother could lob a baseball and hit the entrance door to baggage claim.



Finishing off my week in Berlin at my old stomping grounds of Casa Camper.

flybranchen

Excellent report!

Just one minor detail... SAS has two classes on their European flights: "SAS Plus" (Premium Economy with lounge access and fast track) and "SAS Go" (Economy Class with BOB concept). No such thing as "GoPlus" :-)

You are not to blame, because these names are indeed stupid.

The geniuses of SAS had this idea that they came up with a product that would revolutionize the airline industry, so the standard terms well know to the international airline community - Economy and Premium Economy - just wasn't good enough for them.

And this is the result. That even enthuasiastic flyers can't figure out the names....

JVPhoto

Ah yah sorry...I was having a little wine when I was making the posts I should have known better about the terminology.

And I'm a UA flier so we have Economy, EconomyPlus, Business, First, BusinessFirst & GlobalFirst.

christianj

Cool trip report and I really liked your pics. Also learned something new from your post...what is a dürüm döner? Have been calling those things a doner kebab for years.

As someone who has spent a lot of time in Germany (my dad is German and lives there) I think it is definitely time for a trip back to Berlin. I haven't been there in years!

Mrtrash757

awesoome TR! It was cool to see Berlin and Copenhagen in depth more, def two places on my list.

DanielW

You must almost be eligible for an EU passport with all these trips to Europe!

Berlin must be a cool place to hang out, relax as well as work, quite a different vibe to other German cities.

JVPhoto

From what I have gathered döner is like the umbrella term, kebap I think is more the one that is in a opened bread pocket and dürüm is when it's rolled up like a burrito on thinner bread.

FWIW this time to Hamburg was the only time I've been outside of Berlin these past years coming to Germany (save the FRA airport).



Somehow I'm still alive after a 33 euro bar tab (on 2 for 1 night!) at a nefarious gentlemen's only club adjacent to Berghain.

I've reviewed Casa Camper before but when I have my lay over in Brussels I'll go over it a bit more for people just reading this TR.

Andriyko

Excellent report! Wonderful pictures. Thanks for sharing^

JVPhoto

Casa Camper





As its name would suggest it is owned by the Camper shoe brand which operates this hotel in Berlin as well as one in Barcelona. I absolutely love it. I'm coming up on my dozen stay punch card.
You can see in the photo the rooms have giant windows that face out over Weinmeisterstraße and into Berlin. Don't worry about that if you want to sleep in as they have mechanical shutters that you can totally black out the room.
After all these times the staff has always been friendly, everyone greets you, the main breakfast cafe lady remembers me from each trip and while some may think the maid service is slow the nice thing is there are no carts or things in the hallway they basically have a hand held cleaning supply bucket that they make their rounds in.


(photo from Winter)

There is no bathtub (my only gripe) but the rainfall shower with a door that shuts to create a sauna is amazing...as is the floor to ceiling window (frosted in the right spots) that's in the shower.





One of the best features is the 7th floor cafe that is available 24 hours a day...FREE OF CHARGE. Breakfast you can also have them make you eggs or pancakes if you'd like which is available until about 11 on weekdays and 2pm on weekends. After that they change it out and typically always have 3 types of sandwhiches, 3 types of sides/salads, some sweets, some smoothies, espresso machine, beautiful teas, fresh juices...and then from about 4pm-10pm they unlock the honor bar off to the side. Not really a full meal, but great to snack, get a lite bite or in the case of winter not having to go out in the cold when you're hungry or thirsty.
The big windows also look out where you can see planes making their approach into Tegel. Far enough that you can't really make out the make/livery, but at least close enough that in the dusk and evening you can see the lights and things on.









There's also a small fitness center (a few cardio machines and a resistance band weight contraption) which attached to it has a sauna (just have front desk turn it on takes about 20 min to heat up) and a nice spa like lounge with tea and iced mint water.

They also have a great sense of humor regarding signs and other things in the hotel.


For 20E a day you can also rent bikes from the hotel to get around on.




I decided I would get up early and visit the Flohrmarkt am Mauerpark (flea market) today because I like to check out 2-3 of the stalls that have old photos (for some of my art work) and vintage cameras. Luckily those two are towards the front. I did go today at 10:30 thinking I would beat the crowds as I wanted to walk the full extent of it. But even then it was packed, so it is a test in patience. Also, not a complaint but just a comment, that I've noticed in the past few years it has become more and more "new" (printed tees, random items, bags, iphone covers, etc) for sale and less old/vintage/thrift.



Bit of shopping never hurt anyone...


In Mitte I am torn between Curry 61 (Orianenbergerstraße) and Curry 36 (Rosenthaler Platz)...so I try to mix it up. I like the sauce more at 61 but the meat at 36. I have been a few times but my East Berlin friend says that the currywurst place at Merringdam is the best.


Every trip I go with a friend to Brauhaus Lemke just off Hackescher Markt for some hearty food. I typically take a tomatoe creme soup, a glass of slightly sweet house red wine and then the "Zurich" pork which comes with spaetzle and a mushroom sauce and he always takes the Zunfteller which is a pork fillet with cheese spinach and roasted potatoes.


I had to wait for a client I was meeting today in Alexanerplatz and they have a bit of an outdoor street fair set up with food, drinks and a few crafts and things for sale. My favorite thing I see at these in Berlin are the kids hamster ball things they run around in on the water.

Or if you are more daring you can repel off off the side of the Park Inn.