Trip to Germany on US
 

Yet another (3rd) US trip report this week?

Itinerary:
3 August US SEA-PIT in F
4 August US PIT-PHL-GSO in Y & F
7 August US GSO-CLT-PIT-FRA in Y, F & J
8 August DB Frankfurt Flughaven-Koln
9 August DB day trip to Aachen
10 August DB day trip to Trier, NachtZug to Berlin
11-13 August Berlin & Berlin Hilton
14 August DB to Weimar & Weimar Hilton
15 August DB to Nurnberg
17 August DB to Frankfurt (main)
18 August US FRA-PIT-GSO in J & F
19 August US GSO-PHL-SEA in F & F

Earned 15,490 Q miles + 16,490 elite/bonus miles for a per-mile cost of US$0.025

More to follow when i write it up!

[This message has been edited by terenz (edited 08-20-2000).]

Trip to Greensboro, NC

Bought 2 tickets, SEA-GSO-SEA and GSO-FRA-GSO as it gave me a chance to visit friends who had just moved there and it was cheaper than SEA-GSO-SEA (the e-saver was not offered from SEA). Upgraded the outbound flight on the night of 30 July. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

3 August US 118 757-200 N625VJ SEA 2320 PIT 0643+1 Seat 5A Gate A5

Late Quick Shuttle arrival from Vancouver at 2040 still gave me plenty of time to check in. Went to the US counter where the regular line had no one waiting and got checked in quickly. Agent seems to be more courteous to elite pax (am US Gold Preferred/mid tier) calling me by name repeatedly. Agent lifts the ticket and asks for my upgrade coupons which I had requested over 97 hours in advance due to quirks in the time calculation. Ask the agent about whether my PIT-IAD and IAD-GSO connecting flights are oversold. They are, by over 4 and 3 seats which is strange as they had 7 or more seats available that morning.

Have time so I go to a BBQ restaurant off the airport. Sea-Tac is nice in that non-airport facilities are within walking distance. After chicken caesar salad and a beer, amble back and go to the checkin area which is very crowded. Gate agents makes a further request for volunteers before starting boarding which is by the usual pre boarding, first & elites and then the back by rows. Go in through 2L and take my seat. Seat is clean with no pen marks. Headphones, blanket and pillow are place on seat or centre armrest.

FAs tale orders for pre-take off drinks. Ask for OJ which turns out to be the canned stuff. Am disappointed as US served not-from-concentrate OJ in F as late as mid-May. A lot of barking on this 757 which will seem unusual. It was as the source wasn't mechanical but all natural as there was a dog in the hold. Put in ear plugs and the barking quickly disappeared. Pilot announces a flight time of 3:51. Oversold condition causes a late push back and door close, at around 2323. Push back and engine startup takes another 5 mins so the a/c starts towards the runway at 2328. Wait at the runway as the west runway is closed for work and had a long wait for an approaching a/c. Takeoff roll begins at 2338 with the 10,000' level signalled about 8 minutes later (slow climb?).

FA come through cabin taking drink and snack orders from the front (vs. from the back which is supposed to be the way west bound). Snack is a choice of chicken and pasta or shrimp salad (no menu). Take the chicken which turns out to be a cold roasted breast and fettuccini with herbs. A sealed package of Hawaiian crackers is on the tray along with a plain cheesecake. Both the chicken and cheesecake are quite good. Have a glass of red wine which must be some merlot or zinfandel. FA takes the tray and fall asleep soon after.

Wake up some 20 mins out of PIT but before the announcement. F class seats aren't the best for sleeping but it's better than any in the back. A/c gets to the gate at 0640 but no agent comes and docks the a/c until 0644. A/c is at gate near the base of the B pier so I don't have too far a walk to the E concourse for my connection.

4 August
US 4052 PIT 0745 IAD 0852 D38 Gate E19
connecting on US 4518 IAD 0930-GSO 1045?

Go downstairs to the automated train and shuttle to the main terminal/E concourse. At this point, one should exit through the train entry doors to avoid the long walk to the E escalators. Get to the gate and ask the agent if the flight is oversold. She confirms it is and I ask to volunteer. The agent wants to book me on a direct flight to GSO at the same time but I decline as I don't have to get to GSO until quite late. Not enough (6 pax) take the bump so they add a breakfast coupon to the deal which seems to get enough. Apparently weather had cancelled flights the day before so deadheading crew to IAD had priority even over revenue pax. Bumping priority was announced and is based on elite status first and fare paid last with something else I forget in the middle.

My seat is needed and the agent then instructs the pax to go to the special services desk. Get my transportation voucher (anywhere in Canada and the continental U.S.) and breakfast coupon. Rebooked onto US4166 at 1359 to GSO so I call the Gold Preferred line which informs me a 0905 US1530 flight to CLT and connecting to GSO is open. Get to the gate in the A concourse and ask to be put on standby. Get a seat, 6A, and board. Boarding is slightly delayed at the crew had just arrived at a nearby gate. When pax have boarded, pilot informs pax that an ATC ground hold of 1 ½ hrs is in place due to bad weather at CLT. Almost all the pax deplaned except those going onto the final destination of Montego Bay. Get yet another boarding pass for the 1358 direct commuter to GSO.

Go to the US Club (using a voucher) and also call the Gold line. Agent tells me the 1125 flight to PHL still has 4 seats available and the 1320 connection to GSO is wide open

4 August US 1178 737-300 N390US PIT 1125 PHL 1236 Seat 17C Gate A6

Go to gate A6 where I am waitlisted. Figure I have enough time to get to the E concourse to try standing by for the 1158 direct commuter to GSO if this doesn't work. Agent calls me and I get a seat. 17C is the best they can put me on this full flight which has lots of crew. Gates closes and a/c pushes back a few minutes behind schedule. A/c gets to gate area where a 10-15 min ATC hold is announced. Due to turbulence and the 40 min flight, drinks service is limited to coke or sprite. A/c docks at 1240 and I get out at around 1248.

4 August US 205 737-400 N420US PHL 1325 GSO 1442 Seat 2C Gate B8

Get to gate B8 to hear an announcement that the flight is delayed to 1355 due to a late incoming a/c. Ask the gate agent, who again courteously addresses me by name, to standby on this flight. Ask about First and he seats me in 2C. Am rather surprised as the Republican convention had ended that day and I had expected all flights out of PHL to be full. A/c was 7/12 in F and about 2/3 full in Y. Boarding started with the usual priorities. Found seat back in front of me to be marked by pens and my seat to be a sagging a bit. Flight pushes back some 35 mins behind schedule. A/c gets to the departing runway, waits, does a loop, where the flight deck announces that the air lanes to the south are closed due to weather and then shuts down the engines (but the APU is left running for ventilation). The consolation is we're lined up to be No. 1 when the lanes are reopened and some 12 a/c are lined up behind us. FA makes several drinks rounds. Making fresh coffee for me. Pax behind me has some issue because he as CP can't bring a friend (or friends) to sit in the empty F seats.

Eventually after 1 ½ hrs on the ground, the flight deck tells us ATC has rerouted the flights and the line starts up. We're off 5 minutes later towards the north and headed to GSO on a rather light bumpy flight. FA offers a snack which is a roast beef roll with some vegetables on the side (mine was missing a few) and a packaged chocolate brownie. Have a red wine with the meal which must be the same merlot as the SEA-PIT flight. Flight is too bumpy for the FAs to provide a full beverage service in the back.

Flight arrives into GSO some 2 hrs late.


[This message has been edited by terenz (edited 08-20-2000).]

GSO-FRA in US Envoy class

Bought my tickets to FRA in June on a e-saver promo for a total cost of US$434.10. I called to book/buy (no holding allowed) and had 24 hrs to cancel. Found out that you cannot upgrade through the normal channels but I called the Gold Preferred line and was upgraded immediately.

7 August was: US 3307 is: US 487 GSO 0750 CLT 0831 Fokker 100 N898US

Get to GSO early Monday with my friend as its his weekly commute up to NYC. Without status and check-ins, he checks in at the US Club while I check in at the priority line. They're savvy and ask for my upgrade coupon. Didn't have the gall to try offering the N. American upgrades first. Asked the agent if I could standby on an earlier flight and he/she puts me on the next flight to CLT which goes on to FAY. Get seat 5F which is rather far forward given the last minute trip. Flight is short (83 miles) and uneventful. Don't recall if there was a beverage service. This wasn't bad as my original flight was on a commuter (DH-8) with a 31 minute connecting window at CLT.

7 August US 1431 CLT 1206 PIT 1325 737-300 N532AU

Have time to kill so I visit various US lounges (as I am flying Envoy to FRA). Usual boarding procedures and I think the flight was on time. A snack was served up front (croissant sandwich of some sort IIRC). Docks near the bottom of the A concourse which is conveniently close to a book shop where I pick up a Frommer's guide to Germany so I would have some idea of what to do when I got there.

Highlight: Envoy Class on the A-330

7 August US 782 PIT 1650 FRA 0640+1 A330-300 Think it was N784UW

There is no Envoy lounge in PIT so I used the US Club above the central part of the satellite. Go to the gate in the C concourse where there is a document check (had one at GSO) by the gate agent. Not sure if there was one at the gate when boarding.
An amateur sports team was on its way to Germany for a series of basketball matches. Some former NBA great was onboard and the sports team had its picture taken with him. He was seated (along with his petite Asian companion/partner) a row behind me by the window and I never found out who he was.

The flight was't full. Just 2 pax in the F cabin and some 3 empty seats in the forward cabin.

Pre takeoff

Boarding began on time (1/3 hr before) through 2L but there was some last-minute cargo which resulted in a late pushback and takeoff, which was around 1730. Flight deck makes an announcement as to the flight time but that's it until just before landing and Frankfurt.

Drinks were offered followed by menu/wine list and newspaper distribution. No magazines were offered though there were stashed somewhere. Pillows and a rather stick stiff blanket were on the seat or in the top seatback pocket. A pair of NoiseBuster headphones (see below) with an ad offering them for sale for $49 were in the seatback pocket.

The Crabtree & Evelyn amenities kit was also distributed. This contained a good-sized toothbrush and toothpaste in a container, hand lotion/moisturiser, lip balm, sockettes and eye shade. Razor/creams were available upon request.

There were no hand creams or anything special in the washrooms.

Seats

As has been noted, the seats are very similar, if not identical, to QF's Dreamtime seats except for the covering and a lot more recline (was on a QF 747-400 in February which was outfitted with Dreamtime seats).. I find these seats not that comfortable because the seat is curved too far forward at the head (the head rest tilt is adjustable but doesn't move back far enough). The seat width seemed to be a bit tight (not that I am big by any means) despite the cabin width, possibly because of the entertainment system and wide aisles. The fairly wide centre section was a good place to put cups and plates, with each seat having 2 sculptured cup/glass holders, one if which retracted.

Controls were for:
Seat back recline and upright(2 buttons)
Head rest tilt (2 buttons)
Upper and lower lumbar (4 buttons). Some difference but not much as adjustment seems limited.
Leg rest extension/retraction (2 buttons)
Foot rest extension/retraction (2 buttons)
Express seat recline/up right (2 buttons).

The seats also had the AV channel switch and volume selector, FA call buttons and light switch. The seats also had the goose neck light with low and high volume. These lamps seem to use many small individual bulbs and are the pulsing lights (rather "cold" and bluish) that one finds used in the headlights of newer German cars.

There was also an overhead air nozzle (typical plastic one found in Airbus a/c that have them). The seat indicators were also the same Airbus ones.

The overhead bins were more than ample for the centre pair pax. The bins didn't come down so one had to step up to look (there was a foothold under the arm rest).

Did have a quick look at the F seats and cabin and much comment has been made. The overhead lockers for the F cabin and not full length and only start from the pax's head and go back so it isn't overly generous. I think those of us in the Envoy cabin had more baggage storage. Where the baggage lockers should have been was empty space to give an appearance of spaciousness?

Sony entertainment system

US is the launch customer for this system which is featured in all cabins. It seems there are teething troubles but the system was working on both flights. In the Envoy cabin, the screens were installed on fairly massive metal legs. The entertainment system had a brightness switches and an on-off switch below the screen. Channel and selection controls were through the satellite phone handset. The main feature with this system is that you can start the movie/music at any time, stop, rewind, fast forward, pause. The channels included several movies, canned TV shows, the regular audio music channels and various albums (listened to Pink Floyd's The Wall).

Was disappointed that Playstation games weren't offered. It would be nice if it had airshow so one could see the route and flight stats.

Headphones

The Noisebuster headphones are rather nice. They don't cup your ears though but rest on them which can be uncomfortable after too long. They are specific to the system and have 3 prongs to stop people taking them away. There is an on-off switch on one side and I tried it with and without. There is a big difference in reducing the ventilation system noise. Too bad that you couldn't use them passively to stop noise as the AV system couldn't handle 0 volume.

Dinner Menu

My comments in italics. Menu may have been partly designed by Georges Perrier of Le Bec-Fin in Philadelphia. An entrée and the dessert were the only items attributed to him.

To Start
An assortment of mixed nuts to accompany your preferred cocktail or beverage

Nuts including sunflower seeds in a small porcelain dish served with the pre-ordered drinks. I had the Louis Guntrum Royal Blue Riesling 1998 which was one of the listed regional wines. FAs didn't just pour the wine but let the passenger taste/smell the wine first. Tray linen was placed after this.

There were 2 standard red wines and 2 standard white wines in the $15-20 range IIRC. I didn't see the sparkling wines offered though they are listed. There was also an Italian and a Spanish red but I am not sure if these are only offered on the FCO and MAD routes respectively.

Hors d'oeuvre
Smoked chicken with apple cilantro relish,
Crab salad in cucumber,
Artichoke bottom with Goat cheese and julienned sun-dired tomatoes

Genuine hors d'oeuvre. Small almost bite-sized and quickly inhaled. They seemed a little bit stale too. This was brought out on the tray with the bread plate, steel-capped glass salt & pepper shaker and cutlery. US uses the same ABCO cutlery to be found in domestic F class and international Y class. The stuff is nice and heavy but a bit crude. Can't they use Oneida or something nicer?

Salad Cart
Seasonal greens offered with your choice of cucumber and tomato slices or marinated grilled portabello mushrooms.

Tomato basil vinaigrette or pestp ranch dressing, Extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette, shredded Parmesan cheese or fresh lemon.

This is one of the best features. The salads were prebowled in fairly large bowls on a cart and the FAs added your choice of the extra vegetables (offering any or all) and then the dressing (had the tomato basil). The olive oil/balsamic vinegar dressing came in a single individual serving bottle. The wines were also offered.

Bread Basket
An assortment of warmed breads served with butter.

3 types or bread rolls/slices. I guess you could have one, 2 or all 3. Either the FAs are lazy but this is offered exactly once. I found the rolls, as typical of all airlines, too hard.

Entrees

Signature Chef Selection
Macaroni and Lobster Gratinée
Served with sherry cream sauce and accompanied by Asparagus tips

Tarragon Chicken
Roasted breast of chicken enhanced by a tarragon sauce, accompanied by risotto cakes, Swiss chard and artichokes.

Beef Teriyaki
Filet of beef presented with a teriyaki glaze and sprinkled with sesame seeds, offered with jasmine rice and a julienne of onion, red and yellow bell peppers.
Express meal

Grilled Tuna Salad Niçoise
Pesto grilled filet of tune served chilled with Niçoise salad, accompanied by marinated grilled shrimp, sliced Roma tomatoes and red-skinned potatoes.

[i]Orders for the entrees were taken quite soon after the menus were given out, pre-take off IIRC. I had the lobster gratinée. It was nice but pasta doesn't reheat well. The lobster was mainly claw bits and not a generous quantity. Since beef is often hard and dry when reheated, I should have had the chicken. The entrees were served on apparently pre-dished plates.[/]

Cheese and Fruit

Camembert, Manchego and Saga Blue cheese, served with crackers

Fresh seasonal fruit

Dessert

Chocolate Gâteau

After the trays were cleared away, the FAs brought a trolley out with the above mentioned, .liquors and coffee/tea (on menu but I am not listing it here). The choice seems to be either-or but the FAs did accommodate my cheese and dessert request. The cheese portions were generous. The chocolate gâteau was nice but I managed to breathe too hard on the plate and spray chocolate powder all over my shirt. Good thing it was dry and brushed off. The coffee was served in a cup and saucer while pax could self pour cream from a small bottle.

Watched 'Romeo Must Die' which was filmed in Vancouver over dinner and then put on ear plugs and went to sleep until breakfast.

Light Breakfast

Orange Juice

Seasonal Fresh Fruit

Warmed croissants Bagels Cream Cheese Preserves Butter Marmalade

Cereal and Milk

Yogurt Bananas

Breakfast Cheese Quesadillas
Served with tomato salsa

Quite a good breakfast. The fruit was served on a plate with the tray and OJ offered in a tall glass. I think the OJ was either premium stuff or possibly even "fresh squeezed". The pastries were served from a trolley along with the hot beverages. A choice of all or any. The cereal was available but put in the bottom trolley tray and the crew didn't seem to offer them. Too bad as there was some nice muesli.


Comments on service

The business class service on the A-330 seems to be too much according to a formula and no individual spirit. I second another Envoy traveller's observance that not all the crew are proud and all that interested. Service on the outbound flight was better than the inbound one (more on this later). The crew (4 for Envoy class who seemed to stay in their aisle) served their respective side pair seats and alternated for the centre pair seats. e.g. the left side crew were serve centre pair row 2 and 4 and the right aisle FAs would serve row 3 & 5. Service seemed a bit slow. I am not sure if the crew had a lot of preparation to do or if they were timing the service to give more time for passenger enjoyment. The FAs also didn't lean over to serve plates/trays or pick them up. I am not sure if this is standard in U.S. airlines.


After breakfast cleanup, the flight deck announces the weather in FRA (cool and lots of rain). Not much could be seen as a result not that I was near a window. The flight landed and docked pretty much on schedule at the E section of terminal 2 (US uses 2 or 3 gates here and a flight to/from PIT, PHL and FRA daily).

Go to the Envoy Lounge which is the CX Marco Polo Lounge. US contracts with CX to use the First class section for F and J pax. There are showers here with shampoo, toothbrushes and razors available here. All very nice and refreshing. Various drinks are available with the coffee from a machine. Salty/savoury snacks and chocolate biscuits are available too.

Eventually go through immigration where I run into arriving NW pax. 5 minute line at most and I get to the luggage conveyor where my bag is out already. Just breezed through customs.


[This message has been edited by terenz (edited 08-20-2000).]

Thanks for the detailed trip report. I don't know how you do it -- but it's much appreciated as my wife and I plan for our trip across the Atlantic in Envoy.

Germany higlights

I won't say much about the food other than I concentrated on regional German cuisine and drank lots of bier and ate lots of wurst.

After getting out of FRA customs, I took the shuttle bus to the main rail station. Just in time to buy a ticket and take the 8 am train to Köln arriving at 10am with stops in Mainz, Koblenz and Bonn. Quite a nice trip along the banks of the Rhein.

Went to the tourist office at Köln and they booked me a room at the Mercure for DM 99/nt. The room is quite big a good for the rate but no in-room beverage facilites other than a mini bar. Rate included a breakfast buffet which included hot food.

Went to see the cathedral, and spent too much time at the P. Josef Früh brauhaus in the shadows of the cathedral which has a very nice beer (Kolsch being a Köln beer).

On the second day, went to Aachen for the day to look at the Rathaus and it's Holy Roman Empire exhibit (Charlemagne/Karl der Grösse crowned himself here as did 31 other Holy Roman Emperors), the Cathedral with his throne and the cathedral treasury with even more relics (including his bones).

Third day, I checked out and took a train to Trier to look at the Roman ruins there. The train went down an old and obscure rail line which has some back country stations and switch houses that had gothic scripted-signs unlike sans serif scripts used elsewhere. First chilling reminder of the Third Reich.. Stashed my bags in a locker and walked into the town to see the Porta Negra which is an old gate that was converted into a church (it's that big) before Napoleon restored it. Also saw the remains of 2 huge baths and a 3rd one under the marketplace, as well as an impressive amphitheatre which is probably close to the size of the Coliseum in Rome but built from natural earth. Seems that there are weekend gladiatorial combat demonstrations put on there on summer weekends. There is also the banqueting hall of a Roman palace which is the sole surivor (the rest had been demolished). It's now used as the city cathedral and is huge which gives you an indication of the palace's size. Trier itself is also known for the birthplace of Karl Marx and I passed by his place of birth.

German trains are not always ontime

Went back to the train station and waited for my train. One pulled into the platform just before the scheduled departure of my train back to Köln so I got on. When I saw that everyone else was waiting, I looked at the ontime timetable and realised it was the wrong train, but too late. It started moving. This train was an hour late getting into Trier from Saarbrück but the upside was that it'd end up in Köln. Trip was uneventful and it was nice going down the Moselle valley. Train stopped at Koblenz and after much delay, an announcement was made in German only. Went to another compartment and found someone who spoke english who told me the train was delayed and we had been advised to take another train from another platform. This train was running late too but got me into Köln only a few minutes after my original train. Had enough time to go get yet another beer at Früh brauhaus.

Get to Köln platform 1 after a final Früh Kolsch to take the night train to Berlin. Train arrives at around 2200 and I board. My carriage is a double decker sleeper with double bunks on both the lower and upper levels (accessed from a single side corridor). Room is small and cosy. No room for anything bigger than a carryon. Comes equipped with a hideable sink and 2 lockers. Attendant puts my backpack in a locker and gives me a ticket for breakfast in the breakfast car. Check out the car and see that it has a rather big shower room with hair/body shampoo and soap supplied. Toilets are also aircraft-style and uses a vacuum (instead of dumping it on the track). When I got into my cabin, the attendant told me that I would have a roomie for that night. So I tried not to sleep so I didn't get woken up. He lied. No one else showed up as the train stopped at other northen Rhein cities and made its way across Germany via Hanover and Madgeburg.

Wake up shortly before 0600 and go to the breakfast car which is arranged for 5 4-seat booths and 5 2-seat tables. Breakfast is coffee, butter, jam and a croissant. Light but it will do. Passed by a sleeping seat car where a normal 6 pax compartment has 4 bunk beds. Seems this night train's sleeper wagon is mainly there for the German federal civil service as there were few users.

Berlin and the Hilton

Travelweb had a weekend special but I think I booked online for a rate of DM 173 a night. Was thinking of the Westin Grand but decided to save DM 96 a night as I would be here for 3 nights. Get to the hotel on Mohrenstraß (Moor Street) just after 8 and leave my bags. The hotel was built after the wall came down and was one of the first new hotels in the former East (or it's location, centre city) location. Walked over to the Brandenburg Gate, saw the Reichstag from the outside before walking outside the space that used to be occupied by Hitler's Chancellery (soon to be the home of a a memorial/museum to Jewish victims), the Potsdamer Platz and visited the fancy construction cabin that shows what is being built (lots of construction). Walked by the lot that has the remains of the Gestapo's building basement and the new home of the Ministry of Finance which was built as Hermann Göring's Air Ministry building and survived the bombing.

Went pass where Checkpoint Charlie used to be and you'd be hardpressed to know it was there except for the private museums.

Went back to the hotel and got a room on the 4th floor. No amenities (thought I was a Silver VIP member courtesy of US élite membership but came back to find a Gold membership package and card) but did see robes and slippers. Room also had tea/coffee/hot chocolate and a kettle. No ironing board. The bathroom did have soap, shampoo and moisturiser and came with a hair dryer too. I have to say the concept of air conditioning in Germany doesn't work well here and at the Weimar Hilton (more later). What made it a bit more difficult is that the only blankets are quilts/comforters (nice if it was cool).

Visited the Ethographic museum, an exhibit on print and media, the Pergammon museum, the Antiquities museum, the Berlin Cathedral (the crypt containing the coffins and sarcophagii of many of the Hohenzollern clan is particularly spooky), the Picture gallery, the Egyptian museum and the otherside of the Charlottenburg palace. Didn't have time to take in the Berlin Guggenheim or the various Prussian things in Potsdam or the Luftwaffe museum next to one of the airports (not Tegel or Templehof). None of the major symphonies were playing so I settled for a concert by the RAIS orchestra (a series of youth orchestras were playing) at the Philharmonic hall (the Hilton is at one end of the platz which has the hall sited between two small cathedrals).

Left early Monday for Weimar taking a train from the Zoo station (it's the main station for Berlin despite having only 4 platforms for trains other than the S-bahn as a result of the old Altbahnhof being bombed). Train goes through Brandenburg and Thuringen before getting into Weimar just after 1pm. Got a 24-hr transit pass for DM 6 and went to the town first. Had the local beer and a lunch of local Thuringen bratwurst with sauerkraut (a lot nicer than in the U.S.) before heading to the Hilton in the southern outskirts.

[b[Weimar Hilton[/b]

The Weimar Hilton has a summer rate of DM 174 a night. The hotel is quite nice and was built by the DDR government just before reunification. A tray of chocolates were in the room but I am not sure if this was a special amenity. The room was similarly finished as the Berlin Hilton. Where I left ripped off was when I went back to the railway station to check out how to get to my next stop. Went pass the tourism office where I saw the rates hotels were offering that night and the Hilton was offering DM 169 including breakfast! They wouldn't give me this rate when I got back and asked them.

Walked around the town which, while bombed (it had a big hall built by the Nazis), is mostly untouched and is very pleasant to hang out in. There's a lot of cultural history and culture here if you choose to find it. A local duke of Saxe+ 2 other towns invited Goethe to be his counsel. Goethe also had Schiller move here. Liszt spent the last years of his life here and back spent more than a decade here. One of the dowager duchesses built a palace and it is not a rather nice art gallery. The chilling reminder of the Third Reich in this town is the Elephant hotel which had Hitler as one of its guests as well as the Buchenwald concentration camp (vs. extermination camp) just outside the town..

Moved on to Nürnberg via Naumburg. Should have visited this intermediary town as I had a 1 ½ hr waitr inbetween trains. Arrived at Nürnberg where the local tourism office booked (for free instead of DM5 as in Köln and Frankfurt) me into the Hotel Fackelmann which is just outside the city walls on the south side. Walked there and then stopped to see a sign right outside the hotel telling me that a synagogue destroyed on crystalnacht once stood on the site.

Went inside where this nice chatty frau checked me in. The room was a roof one with a gable window. Small and plain but nice and adequate for DM80 + breakfast and my own bathroom. Walked into the city to sample the local beer (leading brewery is Tucher) and had a nice dinner of Nürnberger bratwurst and brezln. Walked through the old town that night seeing the many nice streets and old houses (the 8% that survived allied bombing).

The next morning, I bought a 2 day culture pass which included admission to almost all the museums and transport and took a train out to the Stadion stop which has the Zeppelin feld arena. This is the place where the Nazi rallies were held and seen in the movLeni Reifenstahl filmed in the Triumph of Will. The thing still stands and there is a museum in the hall. The stadium is not that big but looks huge (field is about 3 football fields long wide and 4 long). It was modelled after the Pergammon altar in Berlin but it's been partially demolished in 1967. There is even a larger but incomplete arena that was very partially built that was to be almost 1 km long. Other things include a huge stadium like the hippodrome in Rome, and huge congress hall that looked likes the Coliseum but used as a storage facility by the city today, and a
Other highlights in the city included the German Nationl museum, the castle, 3 cathedrals (one with a glockenspiel), the altstadt, the rathaus's torture dungeon and the Tucher family mansion. Also of interest is the Deutsche Bundesbahn museum which outlines the development of rail in Germany and has several locomotives and carriages. The coolest job in the world must be in there - running the huge model railway layout for the entertainment of children.

This is the end of my visit so I go to the station to wait for the ICE train, named Gerhard Mercator (after the geographer and cartologist?) to Frankfurt. Disappointment prevails when the train pulls up, and instead of being a new air-con ICE, turns out to be a "ersatz zug" which has old non-a/c DB carriages. Travel time is the same but where is the comfort?

Get to Frankfurt where the tourism office books me into the Pension Backer some 15 mins from the station. Made the mistake of walking through the district full of sex shops and drug-addicted hookers. Good thing it was daylight. The pension is nice and clean but they wanted DM 60 a night inc. a very simple breakfast (the one at the Fackelmann was much better) and you had to pay DM 3 for a shower!


[This message has been edited by terenz (edited 08-21-2000).]

Trip back in Envoy - more of the same but service shows holes

18 August US 781 FRA 1130 PIT 1420 A333-300 N784/2UW?

Arrived into FRA terminal 1 @ 08:22on the local train. Followed signs to the people mover to terminal 2. After a bit of walking and some 5 escalators, get to the platform. The train (uses rubberised wheels?) is interesting in that it goes in a loop like at DFW instead of along a single track such as in NRT 2, LGW, PIT and ATL. One car is sterile/airside and the other is landside. Short putt over to T2 and 3 escalators down (the escalators to from the platforms are dual which indicates space constraint) puts me at the US check in counters at 08:40. Get the usual security questioning thing which turns out o be lame as usual. Check in and it seems the agents know to ask for my systemwide upgrade (still have 4 so I shouldn't complain). Tell the agent that I need to get my VAT refund so have to take my bags to German customs (FRA works backwards from the other airports). Need an escort so a security person takes me there. Get the paper work done but the adjacent baggage checkin person is gone when I finish. Take my bags back to the US counter to check in. Big security hole here if they don't x-ray luggage.

Go through Im-/emigration and security and then get my VAT refund. Off to the Cathay Pacific Lounge where I take a shower ater my morning hike to the airport. It appears not many US pax make use of the facilities despite some 40 premium pax.

There is a check of documents just before boarding but I think the agents seem to make slips and there are holes in it. Even though the plane is docked with 2 jetways, they are funnelling all pax through 2L. The procedures are the same as the outbound flight so I'll highlight the exceptions. U.S. and German papers are offered but there is a shortage. They run out of all the day's english-language papers by row 3.

The Envoy cabin is apparently full and a party of 4 take up the F cabin. There may have been a 5th solo traveller.

The a/c pushed back at 1133 and took off at 1145. This flight deck was very silent on this flight, with one announcement to the cabin crew that the a/c had been cleared for takeoff onto the active runway and a second one announcing 30 miles out of PIT and on the final approach. The flight deck crew was introduced by the FA. Not even the flight time was announced.

The gaping hole in service came in this flight. When it first started, the service was as on the outbound flight. For some reason, the galley FAs served and the serving FAs went to the galley. The former galley FAs took to catering to their 2 side pair pax and only the pax on their side in the centre row. As a result, my seatmate was rightly peeved and complained when he wasn't offered any bread and his hors d'oeuvre plate wasn' taken away. There needs to be a feeling of ownership. The division of the cabin into left and right doesn't work.

Lunch Menu

The meal service started with mixed nuts as usual with the drinks ordered before takeoff. The featured chef is Patrick Bittner of the Français Restaurant at the Steinberger Hotel Frankfurt Hof.

Hors d'oeuvre

Smoked trout canapé
Sliced chicken breast served with tomato and
miniature tartlet with cranberries and a lemon twist

Devoured quickly though I see most of my fellow pax (all American) left the cranberry tartlet alone. Had the Louis Guntrum Royal Blue Riesling which seems to be more fragrant on this trip than on the outbound. Maybe there was a bad bottle?

Seasonal Salad
Red chicory, iceberg and lamb's lettuce offered with your choice of oyster mushrooms or tomato

Mustard Vinaigrette or roasted garlic and blue cheese dressing, extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette, shredded Parmesan cheese or fresh lemon

Had the garlic and blue cheese dressing which was rather nice. FAs offered the oyster mushroom and cherry tomatoes as well as cucumber which was not on the menu. The parmesan cheese was shaved rather than shredded and came in slices. Usual selection of breads but garlic bread was offered this time.

Entrees
Signature Chef Selection
Filet of Beef
Tenderloin of beef enhanced by a red wine sauce, served with potatoes au gratin, carrots, beans and mushrooms.

Chicken Tagliatelle
Thinly sliced chicken accented by a tomato sauce and served with sunburst squash on a bed of tagliatelle noodles.

Cheese-baked Salmon
Baked filet of salmon complemented by a creamy velouté sauce, served with basmati rice, spinach and peppers

Express Meal
Chicken Breast and Scampi
Marinated chicken breast with herb crust, accompanied by tiger prawns, served with penne pasta salad.

Had the beef which was o.k. but a but tough due to reheating. I guess you can't win with airline food no matter what. Drank the Château Calon Montagne-Saint Émilion 1996 with the steak.

Finished the meal with cheese (Boursin, Cambozola and smoked Cheddar with crackers) and the Riesling tart dessert, and coffee. FAs brought a box of Godiva (the Campbell Soup version, I am sure) chocolates after everything was cleared away.

Can't sleep so I nap and listen to the music. Continously through the flight, the FAs came around seeing if anyone wanted a drink and midway through the flight, came with a tray of orange juice and water, and distributed small cups of Haagen-Daz cookies and cream ice cream with a oversized US spoon. I used the plastic scoop packaged inside instead.

Went to the bathroom just after lights are turned for the afternoon tea service. An electronic bell starts chiming loudly when I am in there so I return to my seat and see cabin crew and a pilot go towards the back of the a/c. After a few minutes, the chime goes off and a FA announces that the sound was from a lavatory smoke detector and a cigarette had been found. More on this later.

Afternoon Refreshment

Fresh Seasonal Fruit

An assortment of Sandwiches featuring Smoked salmon and Cheddar cheese on a baguette

Chicken Mushroom Pithiviers
Puff pastry filled with chicken and mushrooms

Assorted Pastries

The tray came with a plate of fruit and the sandwiches which I seem to remember as flat bread rather than a baguette. The pithivier was a half. 3 different pastries were offered but most pax were too stuffed.

Flight starts descent for PIT sometime after the meal service is cleared away. Landing into a cool foggy PIT is very smooth on this thing. I wonder how much s pilot skill, good weather, the software and the a/c. Landing is around 1416 with docking at around 1422. There is a bit of a hold up as it seems that the smoker will be arrested and the crew is waiting to identify the offender to the authorities.

Am the first to reach U.S. Immigration and had to wait for the INS officer to come out to man the booth. The procedure was quick and painless (I'm a non-U.S. national/resident). Had to wait 10 mins or so for my luggage to come out. Call to upgrade my flight from YVR-SYD while waiting. Breeze through U.S. customs and head for B48 for my flight to GSO.

18 August US PIT 1600 GSO 1707 737-300 N521 AU Seat 2C

Go to the US lounge at the end of the B concourse to make calls (showing my flight from FRA). Board 25 mins prior to takeoff. Flight is full in F. Some empty seats in the back. Plane pushes back on time and goes airborne at 1611. Drinks and assorted snacks of cashews, pretzels (not the German stuff), Pepperidge Farm (a.k.a. Campbell Soup) Milanos and Quaker Oat breakfast bars are offered.

Just after descent starts, the flight deck announces that a sudden thunder storm had appeared over GSO with a resulting ATC hold so the a/c goes into orbit above Roanoke. The hold is only 5 mins as the storm quickly dissipates. Some 15-20 mins to GSO from here but that F class F/A finds time to supply refreshments some other pax and myself. Flight lands at 1713 and docks at 1716. The storm had cooled temps from 90F to 72F. Go rent a car from Thrifty (4th day in operation at GSO) and go back to wait for my friend on his flight in from LGA.

19 August US 409 GSO 0655 PHL 0815 737-300 N367US Seat 2A

Since I am running on Central European daylight savings time, my body clock tells me it's 03:20 when I wake up. Get into the rental car at 0525and head to GSO, parking outside the checkin (it's still small enough to do that). Check-in agent does the upgrade for this flight and am still on standby for the PHL-SEA leg. Park the car (Thrifty is new to this airport and drop the keys behind the counter as it doesn't open until 0700) in a Budget spot.

Get to gate at 6:15 to find no a/c there. Gate agent(s) keeps us informed that the flight is being ferried from CLT A/c arrives at gate at 0652 and boarding commences immediately. Only 3 of 12 F seats assigned. 2 deadheading FAs and one pax are brought forward. Doors close at 0707 and pushback is at 0710 with the flight taking off soon after.

Flight lands pretty much on time at 0817 but congestion at PHL delays docking until 0854. Trouble is too many a/c pushing back from the alley between concourses B & C. We were supposed to go into B6 inbetween A&B but there was a switch. See 2 other 737s follow the plane in and dock. One of the 2 FAs deadheading rushes off as she has 7 minutes to get on her flight.

19 August US107 PHL 1000 SEA 1252 757-200 was 8C, is 4C

Knowing the flight is oversold by 12 seats, I go to the gate and volunteer and also have the gate agent protect me on a connecting flight via PIT. Either poor connections or something else result in everyone getting onboard. Lots of disappointed volunteers. I get called for the only F upgrade as the F cabin is full. 2 large families on the flight and I find an old boss and his wife in 6A&C. Due to unknown reasons (was on the phone), boarding is delayed and pushback is further delayed by freight loading. Pushback isn't until 1033 and takeoff at around 1044.

Didn't notice I had a blanket (it was on the floor) and a pillow. Headphones were in the seatback pocket and audio actually worked on this flight.

Once airborne, service is routine with drinks and nuts served. The menus are distributed and the FA, taking orders starting from the front, took mine away after ordering. I guess US recycles them.

Appetizer

Smoked Salmon

This came with capers and tomatoes. Most people passed on the salmon including the many teenagers. Good food is wasted on American youth. I have the Villa Mt. Eden chardonnay 1997 to go with the salmon. Have the Louis M. Martinin California Merlot 1997 inbetween.

Salad

Seasonal salad garnished with tomato and carrots offered with your choice of Sesame Oriental or Grilled Caesar

Choose the sesame dressing which is rather sweet. Salad is good.

Sourdough rolls, Kalamata Olive rolls and sliced Ciabatta. Served with butter.

Bread was offered just once

Entrée Selection

Filet of Beef
Herb pepper crusted filet served with Bordelaise sauce accompanied by grilled tomato and vegetable medley and red wine shallot mashed potatoes

Chicken Roma
Chicken breast filet served with a tomato basil and red pepper sauce enhanced by potatoes o'brien and ****ake mushroom and roasted pepper medley.

Shrimp and Fettucini Cold Plate
Jumbo shrimp and marinated fettucini

Something possessed me to have the last. Got 5 shrimp with a plate of rather tasteless pasta garnished with some veg buts and tomato slices. Should have gone for a hot course.

The plates are cleared and coffee/tea served.

Although a dessert of ice cream sundae is offered on the menu, this isn't offered until some 3 hrs into the 5 ½ hr flight. The ice cream is served rather frozen solid. 2 scoops of vanilla with a choice of strawberry, chocolate, fudge and peanut toppings and cream.

Flight lands in SEA from the north getting to A4 at around 1320. Get my bags (didn't see it come off the conveyor so waited a few minutes needlessly) but am too late to get the 1330 Quick Shuttle to Vancouver but there was one at 1430 so no great inconvenience.

Great report terenz.

I agree about the division of the Envoy cabin for serving. Simple division down the left and right sides makes no sense. What if there is a couple sitting in the middle section??? Do they get served by two separate attendants??? I would hope they would look at the manifest and see who is and is not travelling together and then divide the cabin accordingly.

BTW, nice to see the 1997 Villa Mt. Eden Chardonnay is actually out there. It is much better than the 1998 Louis Martini Chard. that US serves in domestic FC.

terenz: great report, thank you for sharing your experiences with us.

The reports just get better and better!

Re. Louis Guntrum - this company has holdings all over the place, so it is possible that the bottles you tasted were from batches that were of slightly different origins. Also, there is inevitable bottle variation even within batches.

Terenz... thank you so very much for detailing your recent expeditions for us. Great job!

DG1: I like to write http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

GEO1004: As long as it is consistent as to which seats are served from which aisle, the system works. Unfortunately it fell apart on the return trip and my seatmate was fuming. FWIW, CP on their DC-10 J class (DC-10s now dearly departed) used to have the FAs (had 3 for 28 seats) do the left side and centre pair seats first and then go around to the right side (or v-v) so no one if forgotten. That system may be more accident than design I guess.

I think I had the right chardonnay. Can't be certain as I didn't look at the label cleary enough.

Rudi & Chexfan: You're welcome and I glad you liked it. Just hope it wasn't too rambling.

Violist: So Louis Guntrum is a huge wine maker or bottler like, say, Penfolds? I've experienced both poor and good wines fromt he same label/vintage with the low-end Wynns. Could also be bottle shock. Keep an eye out on the wine tasting and dining reports from SA in my other newly-started live trip report.

I love your report... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif It has so much details and enjoy every bit of it. My present goal is to redeem a free US Airways Envoy ticket to Europe by the end of 2000. I really want to enjoy this service, before United takes over this wonderful airline.

Also the afternoon tea served by US Airways seem to be better than UA and CO and DL... Three choices of pastries seem to be very nice. I am curious what is being served in first class.

I look forward to read your report to Australia...

Carfield http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

Terenz.. great stuff. Do you tap this out on a laptop as you travel?

Seems like it would be darn hard to remember the smaller points even the day afterwards, with a bit of jet lag!

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~ Glen ~

Thanks for the great trip reports terenz. I love the detail on the envoy class experience. It makes it easier for us coach class passengers to dream about what is happening on the other side of the magic curtains.

Jay