krazykanuck

So you know when you have 3 things you want to do and there’ll all in quick succession? One is in California, the next in Europe, and the third in South Carolina. Well normal people might just scratch one of them because who flies from Texas to CA just to fly on a plane, then to Belgium to drink beer with friends, and then back to SC for a wedding. Well I’m one of those people, that’s who. By the time everything was all said and done I clocked 11 segments and 15,549 miles, and I’d do it all again. The wedding was really the “must do” part of the 3, the VX farewell popped up last, but the relatively small cost and knowing other FTers on the flight made me want to do it. The side benefit was it set me up for super easy award availability out of LAX to Europe, albeit a longer flight than I wanted. The return flight from Europe varied a bit from schedule thanks to an AA mechanical issue, but we’ll get to that later.



Tuesday

I’m all packed and ready to go. (I'm not, but I don't know this yet...) AA has continued to surprise me with their sporadically low economy fares and is getting me from Houston Hobby to SFO via DFW for only $80 today. The flights were like nearly everything about AA, rather non descript and not memorable, but efficient enough. I backtracked a bit at DFW to go to the Centurion Lounge for some lunch and had some tasty bison meatloaf and veggies. We arrived on time into SFO and I realized I had forgotten my portable power bank, which is the first of many things I will have forgotten on this trip.

I went to take the bus to meet some of the other FTers at Steelhead Brewing in Burlingame and in my rush to leave the bus I managed to forget my eyeglasses in their case on the seat next to me I realized almost immediately and chased the bus down California Ave, alas I wasn’t able to catch it.

Anyway, the online lost and found form was submitted and I had a couple beers, resigned to wandering around looking like a Ray Charles impersonator until I got my contact lenses in LA which were in my checked bag. After some beer and food a group of us migrated back to SFO and to the Centurion Lounge for some more drinks before heading to the VX celebration at the gate.

Ok.. just one last cocktail



For those that are not AS/VX fans, you may have missed Alaska’s plans to retire the Virgin America brand. I’m not going to rehash it, but a couple of dedicated FTers planned a celebration ahead of the final customer revenue flight. You can read about it here if you feel like it: VX Farewell Flight 1948 - 24 April

Cupcakes which had been set out by Alaska



See I wasn’t lying about wearing my sunglasses all night



Signature VX cookie and a beer (provided gratis, I don’t think anybody was charged for drinks on the flight)



Alaska hosted an afterparty with a midnight farewell toast in the Alaska Lounge. After a brief trip with others to the In-and-Out burger by the airport for another dinner, I took an Uber to the Westin where I can only imagine what the front desk clerk thought about the tired looking 20-something guy wearing sunglasses at 1:30 am.

Wednesday

After a much needed sleep at the Westin, I went back to LAX to find my checked bag and be reunited with my contact lenses. Hooray eyesight! Another FT friend and I just had plans to hit a microbrewery or two and then go back to LAX for our respective flights late afternoon. We settled on HopSaint Brewing in Torrance, and then went to Manhattan Beach for lunch. Fish tacos were ^.





Beautiful day in Southern California



Back at LAX, it was time to camp out in the United Club and get some last minute errands done, like booking one of the flights that was still missing from my plan. The LAX UC has got to be one of the best ones in the US. It’s spacious, has a decent food selection for a UC, and I like the sky deck although I wish it had a better view of anything.

Out on the Skydeck with my new goodies



But are we really? Hiking from T7 all the way back...



AA136
LAX-LHR
Cost: 20k Etihad miles + $40

Ugh, nearly 12 hours in economy. I haven’t done a flight this length in Y this since, probably a JFK-AUH flight over two years ago. At least the flight wasn’t full so I had a row of 2 to myself.

I LOVE THIS SEAT PITCH! Said nobody ever.



We pushed back ontime and the captain announced a flight time of about 11:30. Without too much wait we were up and away and the crew was passing out dinner. It was nothing to write home about, but the chicken and orzo pasta wasn’t bad. The brownie was the star of the meal. Of course AA failed to cater their drinkable beers, the Voodoo Ranger IPA and Sam Adams, so that was and I was relegated to Dos Equis until they ran out of that. #GoingforGreat



A mostly forgettable flight, a mediocre sleep, and a couple movies later we were on approach to London. The breakfast box was a waste of paper, with a yogurt cup, a muffin top, and some dried fruit in it.



While I seemed to puzzle the UK Border Force agent with my 4 hr stay in London and inability to pull up any travel details thanks to LHR’s not functioning wifi, he eventually relented and let my Canadian soul into the UK. I walked what felt like a full kilometer over to Terminal 2 to check my bag with Brussels Airlines.

Finally getting to Terminal 2



After checking my bag I walked what felt like another kilometer to the United Club, which seemed to be located in the Manchester annex of LHR.

Once I arrived, while I had seen reviews of the LHR lounge, this is easily the nicest United Club I’ve been to. I went to take a shower feeling gross after my 12 hr flight in Y and had grabbed some clean clothes before rechecking my bag, so it was very refreshing. The showers are roomy and well appointed with toiletries from Cowshed.

Back at the bar I had one of their signature cocktails to start, and then moved to bourbon and coke, though apparently opening the can of coke was beyond the bartenders job description as he kept handing me a glass with bourbon and an unopened can of coke

The lounge has a really pleasant ambiance with large floor to ceiling windows and a tasteful aviation themed decor.





The food selection at the UC was solid too. On offer was rice, an indian dish, a chicken dish, and a couple of other options and beats the heck out of anything stateside. This was in addition to the breads, cold cuts, cheese, and the like that are normal for European lounges.



SN 2096
LHR-BRU

Since I had to hike back to Buckingham Palace to find my flight, I was happy when a LHR buggy driver took pity on me and drove me back to the A gates. I had booked this flight with Etihad points and was pleasantly surprised that the award ticket booked into their “Flex & Fast” fare class, which is economy with free drinks, snacks, and a checked bag ^ Another perk was that most of the Flex and Fast rows had an empty middle seat.

While it isn’t much, the pasta salad was decent and when paired with a G&T made for a pleasant and short flight. Upon arrival at BRU I took the city bus and Metro to get to the hotel.



Hilton Garden Inn Brussels

While it’s not the most conveniently located or nicest hotel in Brussels, it offered a very cheap rate, and when paired with my Hilton corporate code and my Citi Prestige 4th night free it would be about $350 for 4 nights. I posted a more extensive review in the Hilton sub-forum (DISCUSSION for Hilton Honors Hotels in Brussels, Belgium {BEL})

It's an OK property if you have the right expectation going in and get a cheap enough rate. This hotel and its offerings simply aren’t up to Hilton brand standards, but at the rate I paid I felt like it was adequate enough.

offerendum

No, this seat pitch likes no one.....

krazykanuck

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday drinking beer!



On Friday we had plans to go out to a rare bottle release at a lambic focused brewery in Lot, followed by the Night of Great Thirst event. But first I had to walk down to Primark in the shopping area of downtown because somehow I’d managed to forget to pack shirts? Yes I left Houston for 12 days with a dress shirt, a polo shirt, and 1 tshirt in addition to the clothes on my back. Primark saved the day with shirts for €2-3 each!



Visiting Grand Place







Walking around BRU







Lambics!







Night of great thirst!











On Saturday, it was out to Leuven for the two day beer Zythos Bierfestival. An easy €7 r/t fare from Brussels Central, and a free bus connection to the event. Overall it was a pretty fun event, though the food available onsite seemed to leave a lot to be desired. All of the beers were one or two tokens, meaning €1-2 per tasting glass.



Brussels Central







In town in Leuven







My only real picture







On Sunday, I was planning to go to Bruges with a couple of other FTers but I accidentally missed our planned train by an hour, so went back to Zythos for a second day. It was chilly and rainy so it’s not as if I wanted to do any wondering around Brussels. On the 2nd day what it made up for in smaller crowds, some breweries began to run out of the better stuff.



Monday



I was off to Budapest today with a 9:30 am flight, again on Brussels Airlines, which is the only direct flight from BRU. For 7k miles, it was nice to not have to schlep the 1 hour bus ride to South Brussels Airport, which is where the LCCs fly from.



Now if you’re wondering, what’s in Budapest? Well besides beautiful weather, it must be one of the most affordable cities in Europe and I was looking for somewhere to hang out for a couple days.



Unlike the inbound, I took the direct train to the airport for €9, vs. the €4 for the bus. After a quick checkin and annoyingly long walk through the duty free that might as well be a department store, I was safely in the lounge, which is rather impressive for Schengen flights. My ticket did not include lounge access, rather a swipe of my United Club membership card and I was in.



For breakfast the lounge had hot eggs, cold cuts, a wide variety of pastries, as well as 4 beer taps (and associated glassware, because Belgium), wine, and bubbles. I had some scrambled eggs and a pastry along with some bubbles to drink.























SN 2823

BRU-BUD

Seat 2J



Another Etihad redemption, another Flex & Fast ticket. One of the benefits of this ticket is it lets you use the Fast Lane, or priority security at BUD. Essentially the same experience as the flight to BRU, the breakfast box contained a pastry and a cup of yogurt. I left the pastry but ate the yogurt and slept for most of the flight.



On approach to BUD with Margaret Island in the middle of the Danube River







At BUD, I bought a 72 hr unlimited transit pass which is a decent value at about $15 and took the bus into the city to get to my hotel. New since I was last in Budapest, they have added a 2nd express bus to the airport, the 100E, in addition to the 200E. The 100E requires a supplemental fare of 900 HUF, or about $4, that the unlimited passes aren’t valid for, so I just took the 200E to the Metro. It’s not significantly slower than the first option and was less crowded.



OnRiver Hotels - Ms. Maribelle



Since I wanted a cheap couple days, I found this boat hotel for $136 for two nights and I had a $50 promo credit booking it through Citi’s travel center, so $86 out of pocket ^ It was nothing special but who cares I wasn’t here to spend time in the room. I dropped my stuff, changed into shorts, and got outside.











Monday afternoon was absolutely beautiful, sunny and in the low 80s. So basically the opposite of Belgium. After wandering around and taking in the beautiful weather and sights, eventually stopped for dinner at Cafe Kor, which is a usual stop for me for goulash. Unfortunately I got the loser table in the corner.



















Tuesday



I had originally planned to take the train out to Eger and visit a couple wineries and check out small town Hungary, but on Monday a local I was chatting to said there was going to be all sorts of events for May Day, including car races downtown, and an air show over the Danube, so I stayed in town. Another picture perfect day in the low 80s with clear blue skies started with brunch at bubo, a restaurant just on the Pest side of Margaret Bridge, for only ~$7.











Walking along the river towards downtown, I passed by the Hungarian State House, looking very different from the last time I was here.











These soldiers have a patience that I definitely do not possess…







Walking over to near the Ritz Carlton where the races were, there were so many people to get a good vantage point but I was able to snap a few photos.



From there I headed up to Heroes Square and the adjacent park to check out the activities. One thing I noticed, besides all the local families being out, is that when it’s a public holiday the city really shuts down! Even the Tesco Express stores were closed, as well as plenty of tourist focused bars.











The airshow was supposed to start around 1 over the river and state house, so I went back to one of my favorite craft beer bars, Jonas Craft Beer House, which is right on the Danube. Is there anything better than drinking delicious cheap beer while watching airplanes? I don’t know.















This one was definitely unexpected, a Wizz Air A320. Sure don’t see this everyday!











After the airshow was finished I went back to the boat to take a nap and a shower. Since most places were either closed or packed with people, I got a kebab plate for a few bucks.















Wednesday



I only had until early afternoon to wander around, so I found brunch at Brios Cafe, in a quiet residential area.







Walking back towards the hotel I walked via Margaret Island, which is a large park on an island in the middle of the Danube, which there were many locals walking, suntanning, having lunch. There are neat little golf carts you can rent to drive around if you want to.











I went back to the hotel to get my suitcase and take the bus to Monyo Brewing’s taproom, located conveniently next to the Metro stop to the airport.



r



A couple delicious beers later I took the metro and bus back to BUD the same way I came. The check in counters weren’t open yet, so I took the bus 1 stop to the air museum, Aeropark, paying the ~$4 for admission. Really cool to see some of these old Malev planes, many of which were Tupolev and Ilyushin planes. Malev stopped operating in 2012 following an EU investigation into illegal state subsidies from the Hungarian Government.



































Once I got my fill of planes, it was time to walk back to the terminal. Because of the one way loop around the airport, you can take the bus to Aeropark, but have to walk back. The front desk and gift shop sells beer and ice cream, because it’s Budapest and everywhere sells beer. In my attempt to use up my few hundred remaining forints, I asked how much much and it’s 500 FT, so I only have about 300 and the woman says “shhh, iz close enough” So I thank her and take my $1 beer for the walk.



Cheers to you and your history Malev!

krazykanuck

Sorry for the delay in finishing this. I got caught up with some other travelling after this and the thread didn't garner much interest. That being said I didn't really like leaving this unfinished, so here's the last segment.

BA 875
BUD-LHR

For this award redemption, AA was kind enough to book me on Oneworld’s favorite LCC, British Airways. My bag was tagged to LHR as I had a one night layover, and the pleasant and rather attractive woman at the check in desk assigned me an aisle exit row seat. Life is good. It was a quick enough flight to London, I drank my free tap water, and was out of there napping for most of the flight.




But seriously BA? Charging nearly Ł2 for something that costs about 25 cents? Last time I flew BA, which admittedly was 3-4 years ago, beer was complimentary, you got a snack, and it was a nice change from flying within the US. The BA of now is just sad.



In no rush to get to my hotel, I stopped at the Plaza Premium Arrivals Lounge in T2 for a couple drinks and a bite to eat. The Indian dish they had available was pretty good, although it took them awhile to prepare, ~30 mins, and the portion of only a few cubes of chicken left something to be desired. After a bit I went and found the public bus to my hotel.



Moxy London

This is a relatively new Marriott property and was drawn in by their grand opening rate at Ł58. There was no elite recognition at all (not that there seem to be any perks anyway). I just took the bus to and from the Heathrow Central Bus station. The lack of a desk is the most annoying aspect, but I appreciate all the USB power outlets since I didn’t have a UK adapter and it alleviates the need for that.

Probably the coolest thing about the room IMO is there is a motion activated under bed light, so if you get up in the middle of the night to use the restroom or whatever it automatically gives you enough light to move around but not enough to be jolting and wake you up too much, and it shuts off after about 60 seconds.





Staff was friendly. I arrived late so I had just grabbed a sandwich and a couple of beers from the Tesco next to the hotel.

Up at o’dark thirty for my 7:45 am flight, I caught the bus at about 5:30. For some reason my contactless credit card didn’t work and the bus driver was kind enough to not care for my ~5 minute ride back to LHR.

A quick Screwdriver and a bacon roll in the No.1 Lounge and I was over to the gate, for what would become the longest day of the trip. Not that I knew this yet.

AA 99
LHR-ORD
787-9

So I was supposed to fly to ORD, connect to CLT and get to SAV with enough time to grab an Uber out to Hilton Head Island, change, and just barely make it to the night before the wedding drinks and desserts event. None of that happened.

We get all settled in and we’re mid safety video and it cuts off and the plane goes dark. And then it comes back on. And then the Captain says “oh this should hopefully be a quick fix”. It wasn’t. Then the Captain says “So we have to power off the airplane and turn it back on again, and if you’re familiar with the Dreamliner, this will take a few minutes” 90 minutes go by and we’re all still stuck sitting there. My phone starts buzzing and bleeping with all sorts of AA push notifications. Delays. Blown connections. Now of course had we not been onboard, I’d have tried to hop on the LHR-RDU flight departing a few gates away. Finally about 2.5 hours late, the Captain finally has good news, the small army of AA techs have fixed the problem and we’re off!

What was initially a tolerable 8.5 hr daytime TATL turned into 11 hrs on probably my least favorite plane to fly in Y. The narrow seats, the Pleather upholstery that doesn’t breath at all, and the relative lack of bathrooms meant there was almost always a line.

We finally got breakfast, which was honestly not that bad at all. Not sure if it was the ex-LHR catering or I was so hungry by then but no complaints. They also catered the good beer this time around ^



More movies, more napping, and we finally made it to Chicago. The customer service desk line in T5 was a gong show, so I just went straight to T3 where there was no line and got re-booked via PHL. There was no way to make the day’s wedding event. There was a direct UA ORD-SAV flight, but the United app was showing it sold out, even if AA had been willing to push me over.

So lemons into lemonade, I grabbed a clean shirt from my suitcase, sent the bag along the way to SAV and I went airside to the United Club while waiting on my flight. This UC club card is turning out to be really useful despite not flying UA once yet this year! A couple of bourbons, some sweet and sour chicken, and a cookie later it was time to fly to PHL. In a middle seat.

Pretty much the only plus of being routed through PHL was being able to check out the PHL Centurion Lounge, which I’d not visited yet. It’s on the smaller side, but the dinner they had out was decent, harissa chicken with rice, an Israeli salad, and veggies. Also the beer selection was top notch.

After lounging and dinnering I took the A to F connector bus to get to my flight to SAV. I was so tired I slept the whole flight. Getting to SAV though, Uber fares were outrageous at about $70 to get to my hotel. I fired up the Hertz app and got a $35 OW rental to HHH. Done. Now I don’t even have to deal with an Uber driver, and as Hertz PC, got thrown the keys to a nice Nissan Pathfinder. ^

Wedding time

I had booked a Holiday Inn Express by the beach in Hilton Head Island for 20k IHG points/nt, which I thought was a decent redemption since rooms were near $200/nt. Finally got to the hotel at about 12:30 am, around 25 hrs after woke up in London. What a long day…

I spent Friday day at the beach with a couple friends that were in town for the same wedding, and we had the ceremony at the church at 4 and the reception was to be at the Westin afterward. Before that I had to return the Pathfinder to HHH. There’s a brewery right by to the airport, so I may have stopped for a beer or two.

Relaxed island theme around the Holiday Inn







For a traditional Catholic ceremony it was fairly short, as in done in under an hour.

Saturday

I had inadvertently booked the same Southwest CHS-HOU flight as 3 of my friends, and somehow they talked me into cancelling my rental car from HHH to CHS and tagging along in their car. I mean sure I saved $20 over having my own rental car after chipping into their cost, but I had a 7 seat Nissan Pathfinder and these folks had a Kia Shoebox, so it wasn't a great tradeoff. The four of us and our bags barely fit in the car.

Anyway we got to CHS in one piece, but what a boring airport. No lounges, only a couple semi decent restaurants and a couple shops. A rather uneventful flight home on what felt like one of the oldest Southwest planes in the fleet.


And that's the end! The silver lining of the delay was that I arrived at SAV 5.5 hours late, so a cool 90 minutes over the threshold for a successful EC261 delay claim. After notifying AA of this by email using instructions I found here on FT, a week later I received a nice check for ~$720, or the equivalent of 600 euros. This went nicely towards offsetting the cash expenses from the rest of the trip.

sky303

I must have missed this. It was too bad I wasn't able to join you and Zorak for beers Wednesday as I had hoped. Was good meeting you for the VX flight. If you ever pass through ATL and are bored, drop me a line!

Naick_berden

mromalley

Thanks for sharing

roadwarrier

Yikes, what a round trip - but it looked great!! Thanks for sharing - enjoyed the photos and some comments, esp "Oneworld's favourite LCC'.

lamphs

Belgium is known for its beer?

Great Budapest pics. I did a Vienna/Budapest special with OS some years ago. For some reason I was not inspired by BUD. But I think I need to go back and try again.