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Scandic Helsinki Airport Hotel
Standard Room with a bathtub
Part Deux

So, I'm not going to rehash everything from my previous post about this hotel. Suffice to say, it was a good stay and I chose to stay again on my final overnight in HEL. The pictures should suffice, but feel free to peruse my previous post about this hotel.

The Room


The View

Fredrik74

I have been to Minsk and it's just as ugly as the pictures show. When you find yourself thinking McDonald's look decent then you know how bad it is. That said, I think this is the charm of Minsk. Some places are just meant to be hideously ugly.

Thanks to OP for showing us what it looks like both in Minsk and in the more beautiful parts of Europe.

swingaling

Helsinki, Finland

After checking in to the hotel, I made my way to the train station under the airport. I purchased a regional 1 day ticket that covered me for all forms of public transport for a 24hr period. Total cost was €14, which was a bargain. One of the only things in Finland that was a good value. Hint: Finland is expensive.

Descending into the Bowels of HEL
That is one steep escalator ride.


Some cool train tunnel mosaic action


Arriving into Helsinki Central
It took a moment to get oriented, but I quickly found the nearby tram stop, where I caught the number 1 or 2 tram to the first stop on my itinerary. Google Maps is really invaluable in these situations.




Temppeliaukio Church
The church was built into the bedrock of the local area. It's definitely unique and quite beautiful. The accoustics inside are really good, as one might imagine. I was lucky to arrive just as a group choir service was beginning. Having no reservation, I simply the paid the small entrance fee and was free to walk around and snap a bunch of photos. It's a really unique building and it was pretty cool to watch the choir service.










Some cropped photos that give the illusion that the space was empty.








Back on the Street
Onward to my next destination, I caught the same tram in the opposite direction.




Kampens Kapell
Getting off at the train station stop, I took the short walk to this very unique chapel building.





Central Helsinki
It was a rainy and cold day, but I decided to walk for the rest of the time here. My next stop was Senate Square, but I passed by some interesting sights on my way.








Ateneum Museum
Didn't have the time or the inclination to go inside on this occasion.





Senate Square and Helsinki Cathedral
Lots of tourists here, despite the less than ideal weather.






















Market Square
Next stop was the Market Square for a snack, as I hadn't had much in the way of food since breakfast. Went there via the Havis Amanda fountain.







Pulled Moose
Like pulled pork, except with moose? I'm not nearly brave enough to try it.



Reindeer Burgers and Moose Pies
Maybe reindeer is more your speed? Sorry, I'm not eating Rudoplh, though not on ethical grounds.



Finnish Meat Pies
This is more my speed. Made with beef, not moose for the tourists. This is the Finnish version of a meat pie and it was delicious. We'd refer to this as fried dough or a dough boy, or a beaver tail for the Canadians among us. Instead of it being filled with, well, nothing as is the custom here, this slab of fried dough was filled with a ground beef and rice mixture. It was excellent and definitely hit the spot on a cold rainy day.





Waterfront Area
One can also take a dip in an outdoor heated pool right on the waterfront. I don't really see the appeal, but it's definitely a thing here.







Uspenski Cathedral
Next stop was the red church up the hill by the waterfront. Pretty cool Russian church, I must say. Didn't get a chance to go inside, but the exterior alone was worth the trek. And yes, I tweaked the photo a bit to get the colors to pop more. The light was very flat, so taking good photos was a challenge. I won't tell if you won't.












Back to the Hotel
After that, I stopped at a supermarket near the train station to pick up some food for dinner. I then caught the next train to the airport and went back to the hotel to have some dinner, pack and get ready for the return flights in the morning. I also made a trip to the supermarket inside the airport to grab some bottled water for cheap, Super convenient. The rest of the evening was uneventful and I settled in for an obscenely early morning departure the following day.

swingaling

Finnair
Economy Class
AY1571: HEL-CDG (Helsinki to Paris)
30 April 2018
Airbus 321-200 (Two Class Configuration)
OH-LZL
Seat 7C
Departure: 07:35AM
Arrival: 09:40AM

I got up early and had a quick breakfast at the Scandic Hotel buffet. It was pretty good once again and actually had some very tasty vegetarian options. The giant beans and veggie meatballs in particular were quite nice.

In any event, I hit the airport by 6:30AM and was through the priority security channel in roughly 2 minutes flat. Really a pleasure to use. After that, I hit the lounge for an espresso and a short repose. Then it was time to shop. I'd thus far resisted buying much of anything, as I did not want to lug it around for the entire trip. So, I stocked up on a boatload of chocolate at the HEL duty free shop on my way to the departure gate.

I made it to the gate a few minutes before boarding to snap a pic of the plane. Sorry for the potato image quality here, but it was insanely foggy that morning. So foggy that I was worried there might be ground delays. But the worry for for naught. The plane boarded and departed on time. Gotta love that Finnish efficiency. That's a thing, right?

OH-LZL
Can barely see her through the fog.


Plenty of leg room on Euro economy class.


The flight went by quickly, aided by the fact that the middle seat next to me was empty. Though the French toddler behind me kept kicking my seat like it was a rented mule. I thought of a few choice words in French for her and her father, but thought better of it. Upon landing at the sprawling CDG, we were informed that our jetbridge was inoperative. Several others were as well. Perhaps it was simply on strike? Either way, it was a cold and rainy day in Paris, for which I was unprepared when I emerged wearing only a t-shirt.


Either way, we had to deplane the old fashioned way and walk into the ridiculously crowded Terminal 2D. I made my way, with haste, to the transfers counter and through immigration in no time. Then came the bad part. I had to wait for the shuttle bus to take me to Terminal 2A to catch my onward flight on AA. No problem, right? Wrong. The shuttle operates in a loop in one direction only, so my stop was a solid 30-40 minute bus ride away. Seriously? Is that the most efficient way they could solve this issue?

Being my first time transiting at CDG, I was understandably annoyed at the inefficiency of this system. Hopefully, I won't have to transit CDG again any time soon. On the plus side, I got up close and personal with a number of widebodies on my way to T 2A.







After the very long shuttle ride, I hit the duty free shop to stock up on more chocolate gifts, then hit up Laduree for some of their excellent macarons. Then it was time to visit the lounge for some free grub and espresso.

swingaling

American Airlines
Domestic First Class (J)
Cheapo Y Fare upgraded with SWU
AA151: CDG-ORD (Paris to Chicago)
30 April 2018
Boeing 787-8 (Two Class Configuration)
N816AA
Seat 1H
Departure: 12:10PM
Arrival: 02:15PM

First stop was the Cathay Lounge where I scored a passable bowl of chicken pho. I didn't have time to linger, so I slurped it down and made my way next door to the AA lounge to see what was on offer there.



The offerings at the AA lounge were a bit worse, though I did have a miniature croque monsieur that was quite good. I was in a huge rush, so no photos. I didn't plan on being delayed so long by the terminal transfer.

The agent at the AA lounge informed me that I needed to arrive at the gate early to undergo document verification. Of course. So, off I went to my gate at the farthest possible distance from the lounge while still being within the 2A building. Once I got there, they just wanted to confirm I had no checked bags and they promptly reissued my boarding pass. Ok then.

And then they told me to board the plane, even though boarding didn't officially begin for a further 10 minutes or so. Sure thing! So I was the first on board and I settled in the for long ride back to the US. Since this wasn't my first time flying the AA 788, I knew enough to pick a good seat to avoid the motion in the ocean issue. 1H was an excellent choice and it worked out quite well. I personally really like this seat, despite what detractors say.

Menu


Meals
I pre-ordered the chicken, which turned out to be a pretty good choice. Quite tasty overall. However, the FA did inform us that they had not been provisioned with linens for the meal service, so we had to do without. Not a huge deal, but a bit odd. Also, the blanket and pillow I was given had a ridiculous amount of black lint stuck all over it. Really a poor laundering job on the ground. Job not well done on that.

Pre-meal Nuts and Diet Coke
With the bright striped socks from the amenity kit. Very comfy. And some trashy TV downloaded to my iPad from Netflix. Don't judge.


Starter
I don't eat salmon and the orzo salad was so-so. Not bad, but not a lot of flavor to it. I ate less than half.


Main Course
The aforementioned chicken. This was really good and perfectly cooked. The chicken was tender, juicy and flavorful. Probably the best chicken I've ever had on a plane A+ for ground catering this time.


Dessert
I went with the cake and it was quite tasty.


For the next several hours, I spent my time bingeing on garbage from Netflix. It was thoroughly enjoyable. That said, the woman next to me in 1L was absolutely obnoxious. The phrase white privilege comes to mind. But basically, the kept her shade up the entire flight, even though the cabin was dimmed for every single other window and at least half the J cabin was trying to sleep. Really poor behavior there and very inconsiderate of everyone else. And it's not like there was even anything to see out the window. We took a route too far south of Greenland to see a single thing of any interest.

Pre-Arrival Snack
A couple hours before landing, a snack was served. I went with the sandwich and it was quite good.


A short while later, we were on the ground in balmy ORD and I made my way from T5 to the Flagship Lounge in T3 H/K. I camped out there for an hour or so and had some desperately needed vegetables. I also made good use of the Coca-Cola Freestyle machine, which is awesome. Soon enough, it was time to go to my gate to catch my final flight to BOS.

swingaling

American Airlines
Domestic First Class (J)
Cheapo Y Fare upgraded with SWU
AA1205: ORD-BOS (Chicago to Boston)
30 April 2018
Boeing 737-800 (Two Class Configuration)
N885NN
Seat 5A
Departure: 05:00PM
Arrival: 08:24PM

Not much to say about this flight. It was relatively quick, but there was a meal service, which I appreciated. I don't recall what the choices were, but I'd pre-ordered the chicken.

N885NN
Here's our bird.


Meal
The other bird.


The meal was perfectly fine. They also did a drink service with warm nuts, plus a warm chocolate chip cookie for dessert. No pics of that, sorry.

Overall, it was a quick flight and I was eager to get back home. Anyway, that wraps things up on this impromptu trip. Hope it's been useful to anyone considering a similar trip. Please post questions if I can be of any assistance. I tried to cover a lot of stuff, but there are always omissions.

Happy flying!

offerendum

Great pictures^

swingaling

Sounds like fun! I'm not sure Liechtenstein merits an entire day; frankly, I only visited because it was on my list. Aside from hiding assets and laundering money, I'm not really sure what one would do there...

That said, the AA 763, though often maligned, is really not that bad. It's certainly good enough for an 8hr TATL and it is fully flat, so I had zero issues getting sleep. Of course, it is certainly inferior to CX J and every other flavor of AA J. Overall, I wouldn't mind flying it again, but it certainly wouldn't be my first choice.

Yeah, that was my feeling as well. What struck me was that there seemed to be a relative lack of historical preservation in the city (aside from churches). So despite the fact that the city is at least 1,000 years old, it appeared to be only a couple hundred years old at most. Even the oldest churches had been renovated in such a way that they looked essentially brand new.

Thanks!

andersonCooper

That's the same with what I heard on Liechtenstein (and how do you know I don't work for AML?), but that day will mostly be a morning train from ZRH and afternoon train to Frankfurt, so half a day maybe.

I have a feeling 763 feels pretty similar to 321T (transcon) in J, in terms of sleep quality/seat comfort. But no IFE is a big minus for me.

swingaling

If anyone knows how to cover their tracks, it's an AML guy...

I suspect the 763 is a bit more spacious than the 321T, as it's a 1+2+1 in a wide body vs 2+2 in a narrow body. The IFE situation isn't terrible. They hand out tablets somewhere above FL10 and collect the tablets an hour prior to landing. The content on the tablets mirrors what's available on the rest of the AA fleet. I always bring my own tablet with me, so this is less of an issue for me. But I agree this whole tablet situation is a bit clunky and annoying.

pjs

Thanks for posting such an interesting itinerary. Looks like you had nice weather most of the time except Helsinki, which is a shame as I had a great day there a couple of years ago and took the ferry out to the island fortress. Wouldn't do that on a rainy cold day though.

fivevsone

Awesome trip report!! I have loose plans to do a similar trip with my son when he graduates from high school next year.
Thanks a ton!
T

mad_atta

Great report on some more obscure corners of Europe. I'll be covering a small piece of the same territory - a daytrip to Liechtenstein from Zurich - in a couple of months so nice to see your photos. I have to say, the train ride there (amazing mountains!) looks more interesting than Liechtenstein itself!

So what's the name of that sausage place by ZRH? Your currywurst looks delicious...

Interesting to see a combination of the different Baltic capitals. Riga looks unexpectedly beautiful. How would you compare the three? And which would you recommend most highly for a visit, if there was time for only one?

Madone59

Really great trip report, and photos. Thanks for sharing ^

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