wakesetter93

The catalyst for this trip across the pond was twofold, first I stumbled upon $600 RT tickets from New York-JFK to Paris Charles De Gaulle over the Christmas holiday and second was the occasion of my girlfriend’s birthday a few days beforehand. With the tickets to Paris booked we started exploring our options for our time abroad. Both of us have been to Paris before so we knew that we didn’t want to spend our full trip in the city. After much searching and back and forth we decided to visit Munich, Salzburg, Vienna, and Bratislava (being that it is a quick day trip from Vienna). With our itinerary nailed down the last thing we needed was positioning flights to New York. The GF is flying Southwest from Denver while I found a cheap American ticket from DFW-LGA on the outbound leg and JFK-DFW on the return. Overall, our final routing was as follows.




With our flights booked and our itinerary determined we needed accommodations. Due to a hefty Marriott Rewards and Hilton HHonors balance we were able to get the following on points:

• Munich: Hilton Munich Park (1 night)
• Salzburg: Sheraton Grand Salzburg (2 nights)
• Vienna: Courtyard Vienna Prater/Messe (3 nights)
• Paris: Courtyard Paris Gare de Lyon (2 nights)

This is the first trip for both of us to Germany, Austria and Slovakia so any recommendations or tips are welcome. Also, a quick check of the weather has shown me that it will be cold and wet during our trip. I’ve already started to amass my cold weather gear but are there any must have items for that climate?

Bretteee

My mother was from Vienna. For the famous cakes my mother's favourite was always Gerstners on the Kartnerstrasse in the historical center with the nice shops. They also serve meals there. The Apfel Strudel is unbelievable. Some will say go to Demel but we preferred this place. It was famous even before the war. Not far from the Stephans Dom Cathedral which I am sure you will visit. Beautiful roof.

https://www.gerstner-konditorei.at/en/index.html

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaura...er-Vienna.html

Also a must is to have a Sacher Torte chocolate cake with whipped cream at the Sacher Hotel, also close by next to the Opera house. Also Vienna is famous for the different coffees.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...en-Vienna.html

Lastly don't forget to try Wienerschnitzel. Veal is better than the pork one in my opinion.

It can get very cold. So make sure you come well equipped. When I lived here I used to wear a Balaklava which covered my whole head and face.

Enjoy your trip. I think you will enjoy Vienna.I am sure you know to visit the Schonbrunn Palace. Also the Spanish Riding School show.

wakesetter93

Thanks for all of the recommendations! We're intentionally spending longer in Vienna because there is so much that we want to see and do.

As far as the weather it seems like our whole trip will be 45/35 with a rainy/snowy mix so we're packing all of the waterproof warm weather gear we have.

wakesetter93

Off to New York

Well the day has finally come for the GF and I to begin our trip across Europe for her birthday, which just happens to coincide with Christmas. I’m on my way up to New York tonight from my home in DFW while she’s flying in on WN. Headed towards the airport tonight around 5:00p for my 6:40p departure. Hit a few areas of traffic but I was pulling up to Terminal C at DFW by 5:45p





TSA PreCheck took longer than usual due to lots of groups flying for the holidays.



Was randomly selected at security for the second time this week though that only set me back a few seconds and about 10 minutes after arriving I was through security and headed towards my gate.

Terminal C at DFW has definitely seen better days as evidenced by the AA Eagle adjacent to the Admirals Club at C21. The airport recently underwent an interior remodel however they ran out of money before Terminal C was retrofitted. My flight to LGA was leaving from the “temporary” terminal expansion built in the 1980’s which is long past its prime.







After a quick pit stop at the Pizza Hut at gate C24 for dinner and the first of many Tito’s and sodas for the trip I made the short trek to C37 for boarding. I had a chicken Caesar salad to go along with my meal all while being tempted by my fast food weakness right next door.







AA 2708
Sched: 6:40p-11:03p
Actual: 6:37p-10:52p
Seat: 12F
Aircraft: A321-200 (N137AA)

The boarding process was a breeze and I settled into 12F which, in my opinion is the best seat in the MCE section of the LAA A321’s. The taxi and climb out were uneventful and the captain finally turned off the seat belt sign somewhere over Tennessee. At this point the FA’s came through the cabin with pretzels and drinks.







After a couple of hours in the air, with a second round of drink service, we were beginning our descent into LGA.



Times Square and Central Park





After a short hold on the taxiway, we arrived at gate D6 a few minutes before schedule.



At this point, the GF was still about an hour out so I made myself comfortable and finished some work before her arrival.

roadwarrier

Looks like a great start to your trip. Several years ago, we spent time in Vienna before Christmas, and it was really an amazing experience - hope that you enjoy it as well.

wakesetter93

CarlTheWebmaster

Heading to Vienna and Bratislava myself, as we've done for 28 years.

Top tips:

Vienna:
Food:
Roasted Chestnuts (Maroni) and potatoes in the main pedestrian area (Graben) - must have from Vienna in winter.
https://www.trzesniewski.at/ - open-faced sandwiches, https://www.trzesniewski.at/filialen/dorotheergasse is close to Graben and open every day including Christmas day.
Christmas market at Rathaus or Schoennbrunn or Karlsplatz - HOT WINE!

Adventure Hike: Ubahn to Heilingenstadt / tram to Nussdorf, then walk up the Nasenweg to Leopoldsburg. Amazing views.
Milder hike: stroll around the Ringstrasse and Donau kanal

Bratislava: walk up to and around the castle from the old town. Museum is worth a look.
On the way stop at Le Senk brew pub: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUser...va_Region.html
Ice skating in Hviezdoslavovo Namiestie; Christmas market in old town square.

wakesetter93

Thanks for the information! We'll have to add those to our list of stops.

Currently sitting in the Flagship Lounge at JFK waiting on our flight to LHR to board

wakesetter93

Day In New York

After landing in New York our first stop was for a piece of greasy NY pizza before heading off to bed. Found this spot just around the corner from the apartment and after a slice, it was off to bed.





The next morning we were up bright and early and after a quick trip by Zabar's for a breakfast pastry we were off on the subway to One World Trade and the 9/11 memorial.





After a 20 minte subway ride we arrived at Ground Zero and the new One World Trade Subway stop. The memorial is a very moving experience and one that I encourage everyone to go and visit. The white roses are placed out each day by volunteers for the victim's birthdays.



















After our tour of the grounds we headed off to Rockefeller Center and 5th avenue for some people watching and window shopping.









Checking in on the President





Imagine if his last name had been harder to spell.







We cut across Central Park en route back to the Upper West Side and the GF's favorite restaurant in NYC, Red Farm.











Pork and Crab Soup Dumplings



After lunch, we swung back by the apartment, grabbed our bags and headed off to JFK!

HLT1904

Looks like a fun trip, great start in NY. NY is awesome during Christmas time, definitely will try Red Farm next time we are there. Thanks for posting.

wakesetter93

wakesetter93

Off to Munich (The Long Way)

After our late lunch at Red Farm we retrieved our luggage and with Uber's from the city running well in excess of $100, we hailed a flat rate cab from Manhattan to JFK for $52. With everyone heading out of the city for the holidays traffic moved extremely slowly and it took us almost an hour and a half to reach JFK's Terminal 8. After retrieving our BA boarding passes from LHR-CDG (we OLCi'd but couldn't get anything other than our AA passes even though it was a codeshare) we headed off to the lounge. Because most of my travel is domestic I rarely, if ever, have access to the lounge. However, thanks to my OW Sapphire status we had access on this trip. Initially we made the trek over to the T8 Admirals Club where the attendant checked us in and informed me that, due to my status and itinerary, we had access to the AA Flagship Lounge and gave us the option of either staying in the AC of heading to the FL. We chose the FL as it was closer to our gate (8) and he checked us in from there. A trek back through the underground tunnel and we were at the FL where we settled in to relax before our marathon travel day began.









Another Tito's and soda


With a glass of champagne


Nice selection of sweets available in the lounge


Not the same can be said for the hot food






I had a cup of the Italian Wedding Soup and a Roll


While the GF had the remainder of the food in the FL




One more glass before departure


Flagship Lounge Liquor Selection


AA 100
Sched: 6:59p-6:50a (+1)
Actual: 7:01p-6:53a (+1)
Seat: 32J
Aircraft: B777-300ER (N722AN)

We arrived at Gate 8 right as priority boarding was finishing up. We were seated in Row 32, seats J and L, one of the 2 seat rows on AA's 77W's.



Legroom, 77W, Main Cabin Extra


The theme of our trip, rain


After a quick departure from JFK, the meal service began. With the option of pasta or chicken both the GF and I went with the pasta. It was good and flavorful however the cheese and bread that came with the meal were inedible. The bread tasted like it was made from powder while the cheese seemed to be of the solidified nacho variety.


After the meal, most of the cabin went to sleep. The flight attendants set up snacks and beverages for those of us unable to sleep.






Glad we decided to fly into LHR


About an hour before landing, breakfast was served, which was good if you liked blueberries




Around this time I decided to charge my phone phone for a bit. While the &&W does have on board power at every seat, the plug was so loose I had to hold the charger in place in order to get it to work


Descent into London-Heathrow


The aircraft had a medical emergency on board, a passanger slipped and hit his head on the service cart during the flight, so after paramedics boarded the plane and took him off, we disembarked and headed out into Terminal 3 for our transfer to Terminal 5. After bussing over to T5 and reclearing security. We made it to our gate just in time for boarding. The previous few hours of travelling had finally caught up to me so I slept for the majority of our LHR-CDG and CDG-MUC flights.














Views on departure from CDG


AF economy snack

flyingeph12

You were in my neck of the woods, the UWS! Hope you enjoyed your day in NYC and have a great rest of your trip! Vienna is so wonderful at this time of year, and I also have enjoyed a weekend trip to Bratislava.

wakesetter93

We just got back from our day trip to Bratislava today. Gorgeous city especially once the sun came out!

wakesetter93