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Interesting new design at the entrance to Málaga airport


Good selection of sherry at Málaga airport duty free

Once again, security was very efficient at Málaga AGP airport and I was through in less than 10 minutes. I picked up some dry white sherry in the Dufry duty free shop and ended up not having so long to wait before boarding this easyJet Switzerland operated flight to Geneva. What a long way easyJet has come since its origins in the mid 1990s: now they get the best gates in the airports which are closest to the main terminal. Boarding was a bit odd, with two lines of people, which turned out to be boarding both ends of the plane. It was a question of choosing the right one according to your seat number, which I did correctly without being aware of it. So while the left line boarded through the connected airbridge, my line on the right side ended up walking out onto the apron and boarding the aircraft by the rear. The whole process was surprisingly efficient (it looked messy to begin with and for a moment I thought that I was standing in a line to board the wrong flight).


Security control at Málaga airport was calm and well organised


At Málaga airport (AGP), boarding the easyJet flight which would carry me to Geneva (GVA)


Almost walking under the wing of the easyJet plane at Málaga airport

This flight had a very friendly and open French speaking crew, whom I was able to engage in an interesting conversation about the state of other airlines. I, on the one hand, was eulogising about the quality of easyJet service these days, with its affordable menu card. They, on their side, were acting quite humble and apologetic about all the delays and cancellations during the French strikes at the weekend. Once again, despite being assigned a free middle seat, I managed to cadge an aisle seat. The flight was comfortable and calm, although these seats always cause a certain amount of back pain. For the first time, the trolley did not have the items I wanted on the menu card, but I was happy with the Grisons Laugenbrot sandwich of dried meat with a miniature of white wine. As a snack I chose a Milka LU chocolate bar which contained biscuit in the middle (although I am no fan of the chemical company Kraft/Mondelez which owns Milka) and had a Segafredo coffee later on. The menu deal price including wine was CHF12.50 and the coffee was CHF3.60. The flight landed smoothly and on time at Geneva.


A look down the interior of the easyJet cabin on the flight to Geneva


The catering I bought from the BoB menu wasn't too shabby and it was very reasonably priced


Leaving the plane at Geneva airport (GVA)

Rating 8.5*
Seat 19E-19D
Aircraft 32A
Registration HB-JXQ

Fabo.sk

Still, better than Nestle.

The sandwich looked nice as well.

Concerto

Nestlé is horrendous, don't get me started. I recognise that there might be people here who have decent jobs with that organisation. The sandwich was totally ok and typical Swiss quality. I think if you stick to prepackaged things on easyJet you should be ok.
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Apologies guys, if you have been following this thread. I have had a bit of a medical issue concerning my right eye, where the retina has slightly detached itself from the from the skin on the back of the eye. In my case, I believe that it is not too serious, but I have not been able to do any computer work or real reading for a few days now. Will be back to normal in a couple of days, if my next check up tomorrow morning goes well. The next chapter is the last one in the current TR anyway!

Tocsin

Good luck - I'll happily wait for the rest of this interesting TR

lamphs

Best wishes for a successful recovery!

rapidex

Get well soon. I'm enjoying this trip report

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Thanks guys, all is well. It turned out to be not anything serious, so that is a relief. In the next couple of days I will get the next and final post up so we can get started on the next trip report.

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The remainder of the month of March turned out to be quite tough going, with numerous exams to prepare at the Conservatoire at the same time as rehearsals for the Swiss solo brass championships. It was mostly a tiresome and time consuming business of making sure that the planning worked without clashes and making sure there was some flexible spare time in there for when things go wrong. I needed to work out if I could reach everywhere geographically without losing too much time and make sure train connections were realistic (most short connections in Switzerland are realistic, in fact). To be fair, most people prepared themselves properly, with one exception, so there wasn't the need to make too many remedial rehearsals or coaching sessions.


Another view over Lac Léman (Lake Geneva)

The preparations for the CNSQ Championnats Suisses (Swiss Brass Championships) took me all over the place, with dozens of difficult pieces to rehearse and play most of which contained far too many notes and twisting tortured lines of 16th notes, all with the aim of demonstrating technical prowess and dexterity. One of the villages I went to was Vétroz on the Rhône valley plain near Sion, known for its excellent wines and excellent fanfares (brass bands). I believe that the glacial alluvial soils are responsible for the unique wines to be found in places like Vétroz and Chamoson, with Johannisberg often featured and lesser known wines such as Petite Arvine and Amigne de Vétroz. I sometimes have reservations about Swiss white wines of the Chasselas grape variety, because they can be a bit lively and prevent me from sleeping. But Petite Arvine and Amigne are outstanding wines, as are the red Cornalin and Humagne Rouge wines. No better place to try them than in Vétroz.


In Vétroz for rehearsals, trying to avoid the cafés and the bars


A Ganschhorn, an unusual and rarely played brass instrument
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I also found myself high up in the Lötschental in the German speaking upper part of canton Valais, on three occasions for lengthy rehearsals in the Bürgerstube in Wiler. I've always had a special fascination with Lötschental and their Tschägättää monsters, hundreds of which at Carnaval pour down the main road in the valley with the intention of scaring and chasing away the cold of winter. That tradition is a really bizarre one and should be perhaps experienced just once (I have been there and have no intention of doing it a second time). While I was in Lötschental this March we went through a cold and wet period and rather a lot of snow came down and blanketed the whole valley. Not a bad thing considering there had been almost no winter this year.


The famous Tschägättää masks in the Lötschental


Late March, but it still seems to be winter in Lötschental

Lastly, my travels took me to Allaman in the canton Vaud, best known for IKEA (this was the first one to be opened in Switzerland) along with a huge number of other superstores in the industrial zone. But Allaman is a launching point for the whole La Côte région, with its vineyards, castles and amazing views over Lac Léman (Lake Geneva), extending all the way down to Nyon along the scenic corniche road. Here I ended up in the village of Aubonne, with its old streets and buildings, along with an old style cinema that still exists and functions! The high point of Aubonne is it's castle, perched on a hill which is the summit of the village and offers great views over the village and Lake Geneva. The castle is not open to the public but it happens to be the seat of the local music society and it's various preserved rooms are used as teaching spaces and as a rehearsal venue. So it is nice to be able to access these places and see things that nobody else gets to experience! Near Aubonne is fantastic hiking country and trails extend through the Arboretum to the Jura foothills.


Entry to the Château d'Aubonne, the castle of Aubonne


Interior courtyard of the Château d'Aubonne, which houses the community offices


The castle also contains rooms which are used for rehearsals with the local music society


View over Aubonne from the terrace of the castle, with Lake Geneva visible in the background

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So we're at the end of this rolling trip report now and I am preparing the next one. It kicks off with a private flight in a Piper 28 aircraft to Aachen airfield with its very short runway. Then later I discover the delights of Jerez de la Frontera and Cadiz, having continued my exploration of Seville that I began in February of this year. There are a number of flight, train and hotel reviews too. Hope to get started on it in the next few days. Thanks for checking in here and following the adventures!

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interpolfanclub

Sounds fantastic, planning our trip to Spain next year. Thanks for your work on these, they're great.