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Around the world in 80 rollercoasters
Today I’m flying to LCY starting my month long vacation. I am flying on SQ MEL>SIN>AMS and BA AMS>LCY. I was not originally planning on travelling to London so it is an unprotected connection. I was very fortunate that at check in the agent interlined my bookings, sending my bags all the way to London City. I was dreading having to go through passport control in AMS twice to pick up my bags, and security, bag drop and pickup making for a very stressful and tight connection!
I started my journey with some lounge hopping in MEL. I visited the AMEX Centurion lounge (Meh), SQ Silverkris J (not too crowded but also underwhelming, Air New Zealand (good food selection and at least some sunlight!) and then based myself at The House longe. The views from The House were good with some nice runway action. Had a good journey so far on my first leg with SQ. The meal service started later than I was expecting, about 2 hours after takeoff (so 5:45pm approximately AEST). But the menu did list it as dinner service after all… The steak was great, and with the pepper sauce was better than some cuts I’ve had on the ground in restaurants. The cabin crew were a delight and I thanked them profusely, so they gave me some gifts at the end (socks, slippers etc) to take home. For entertainment I watched Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness which was a good film if rather dark, and otherwise mostly listened to music. As much as I had planned on working on my computer …that did not eventuate. Now sitting in the SIN J lounge waiting for my flight to AMS, will post another update soon. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...42b4d269a.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...08750fba3.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...18c5afff8.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...09de08b35.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...b2f2b899d.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...90c7e2763.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...416b944d9.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a09cc1c9c.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...97b6aabd5.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...bc1e3dbcb.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...54bf29577.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a85ab1671.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...b5e903eb1.jpeg |
My second flight on SQ was decent and uneventful. After a long time taxiing in SIN we took off from I think runway 20C, heading southwest, so the flight took a sharp horseshoe turn that gave some excellent views of Changi.
I preordered the Lobster Thermidor that although polarising I enjoyed (though does not compare of course to fresh lobster). The appetiser was not bad. I got 7 hours sleep on the flight which is better than usual for when I fly. Also was interesting to see the flight path avoiding so much risky airspace. Had the Baked Egg Soufflé with Smoked Salmon for breakfast which I liked, and I thought the mushroom sauce completed the dish (but not the salmon as much). Landing in AMS I was surprised how large the non-Schengen area is to walk in! The OW lounge has a nice interior, with good tarmac views (Just not of any OW aircraft!). The breakfast spread reminds me of a German hotel breakfast - cold cuts, cheese, yoghurt, fruit etc. Not outstanding but not a bad lounge either. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...3f903c645.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...26416cbea.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...96415a09e.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...cd2d8263a.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ded606342.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...6eaf1a040.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...96da688f7.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5afe11dd0.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...3f81bffd0.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...4fc241ea3.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...8d1d439dc.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5a1a5c234.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...229b864ce.jpeg |
Welcome to the Netherlands! :cool:
But such a tease... where are the rollercoasters?! :confused: |
Originally Posted by WiSK
(Post 37139671)
Welcome to the Netherlands! :cool:
But such a tease... where are the rollercoasters?! :confused: |
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...1b7958c88.jpeg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...c4f2e514e.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...75ca63e20.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...b82f0ec68.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...70837e05c.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...66e0aa641.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d1a747331.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...7f5a06ad5.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...835aaab99.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...f7ec2a518.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...bd5962525.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e027b05f3.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...bbed4b849.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...c09cd4b95.jpeg My last flight on my third act journey to LCY was on BA8486. When I was checked in and interlined in MEL, I had a boarding pass printed that retained the SQ branding for BA. So it’s certainly amusing to see the BA flight code with “a Star Alliance member”. The flight was delayed at the gate, and we had a long taxi to the Polderbaan. Taking the bridge over the motorway was certainly intriguing. The purser was friendly, and I had a vegetarian cheese “muffin” (I didn’t realise they meant English muffin!) and ginger ale. It was fine but I couldn’t help thinking this would have been served for Eurotraveller in years gone by… The soft drink can was remarkably small, I think just 150ml! It’s good to see BA cutting costs and my waistline. The landing at LCY was dramatic, as we were flying through a cloud until moments before we touched the runway. The disembarkation was delayed as the stairs were slightly misaligned with the aircraft door - leaving a gap. The ground crew member said to the purser it shouldn’t be a problem, but the purser was skeptical. And after testing they found a foot could indeed go through the gap. So the purser asked for a second opinion, and we very nearly ended up with the rear exit. In London I saw two plays - Giant and Clueless (a musical). Both were good though the former was much more thought provoking. Last night I had dinner at Noble Rot Lamb's Conduit - fittingly eating lamb. Now I’m at LHR and waiting for my BA flight to AMS (delayed again). The First lounge at LHR is underwhelming - feels more like a status based lounge like Senator or SAS gold lounges - and in no way worthy of its “first” name. At the entrance the lounge dragon kept telling me “business class is over there” despite my protestations - until she exclaimed “oh emerald”. My first day of rollercoasters will be on Sunday, and will become increasingly frequent - I apologise for my own delay! |
The BA flight I took to Amsterdam on Friday was delayed due to a late arrival of the aircraft from FRA,
Queueing at the T5 gate was quite chaotic, as they had everyone in groups 1 to 3 lined up before boarding started. The flight wasn’t too memorable, although the gentleman next to me was already asleep before we had taken off! Lunch from Do&Co was a prawn and avocado salad with just two lettuce leaves and a stale bread roll. The prawns and the avocado itself was tasty though. And the chocolate mousse for dessert was good. Passport control in AMS had a very long wait, with just a single queue for EU + non EU passports, the e passport gates were closed and just two manual booths open. So I waited for around 20 minutes. Despite that, it was still another 20 minutes waiting for my baggage to reach the carousel. I took the train to The Hague, which was delayed due to the NS train. A train to a different destination at the platform was about to depart. The doors were closing as one woman ran and blocked the doors, and then shouted to everyone “is this train going to The Hague”, which it wasn’t. I stayed at the Hilton property and got upgraded to an executive king room, which was quite large. It had just a view of the courtyard. And the executive lounge was alright, usually very quiet. Though on my last night I had a cheese square that I can’t tell if it was mould or crystals - I didn’t eat it. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...02d052f2a.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...1fe833b20.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ab9f67487.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...f3ffd3607.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...deb3f3905.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...640219299.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...3c839d9d4.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...64ab5be11.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ba6335d33.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...3ee888874.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...4c6af8217.jpeg |
Yesterday I went to my first amusement park - Walibi Holland. I got up at around 6am as it is a long journey from The Hague to Harderwijk by train. The intercity train I had planned on taking was cancelled so I took an earlier Sprinter train at 7:13am. Breakfast at the hotel opened at 7am so I skipped it and walked to the central station. The streets were all deserted, which was eery. But still nice to see the city centre without the usual crowds.
On the train the conductor asked if I was doing anything fun today and I said “yes, to Walibi” and he said “that is very fun!” From Harderwijk there was a bus to Walibi, which was quite busy. The gates into Walibi only opened just before 10am. We all proceeded through the gift shop but the doors beyond that were also closed until just after 10am. And then lots of kids and parents started sprinting to the rollercoasters! My first ride was the new “Yoy: Thrill” - a new single rail dualling coaster. The lift hill was initially extremely slow. It was a fun ride - though I think the lateral forces put a lot of pressure on my hip that left me thinking about a hip replacement after! The next ride I went on was Condor, a suspended coaster also with loops. That ride was extremely rough, and I did not go back on it! Though the signage on it said “eat 1994” so perhaps the roughness was unsurprising - the rollercoaster is older than me! Subsequently I rode Goliath, which I really enjoyed! It didn’t have any of the roughness of Condor but had some fun drops and speed. Untamed was my favourite rollercoaster - an RMC hybrid coaster. It had a very steep drop initially followed by a long inversion with a lot of hang time. The coaster sped through the course like a demon which surprised me. Xpress: Platform 13 seemed to be a hybrid haunted house/launch coaster. The queues had a lot of scary elements which was fun. For the ride itself the launch was good - very punchy, and then immediately went into a loop. But after that the ride slowed down substantially and felt quite tame. Though I think the attraction had the best theming of all the rides at Walibi. Lost Gravity kept closing throughout the day due to technical issues, so by this point I thought I wouldn’t get to ride it. I bumped into Taylor from Coaster Studios (a YouTuber). I told him about the Lost Gravity issues to which he said “it’s closed? That is useful information”. He gave me a wristband which was nice of him. And then I bumped into them again leaving Eat My Dust - a kiddie coaster with a car theme. Next I rode Speed of Sound, a Vekoma boomerang coaster. The ride starts going up the lift hill backwards! So that is new for me. And then the ride was released, travelling forwards through the course with three inversions. After this the ride goes up another lift hill - forwards this time. And is released again and returns back to the lift hill backwards - including through the inversions! Thankfully just before I left Lost Gravity reopened and I got one ride in. I could tell at boarding it was a Mack coaster by the seating, which they always do really well. The ride seemed like a prototype for their Voltron ride at Europa Park, just with less inversions and a lift hill. A fun way to end the day. My ranking of the coasters:
This brings my coaster tally so far to 9. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...cc4f99e99.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d0896dd0a.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...183d65491.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...6831b4a19.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...700422f34.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...1744b8aa3.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...cc1cfd466.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...27c40b5d0.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...beeb8e521.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...b75d1fabc.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5176c0eef.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...7f0050683.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...4b44dc401.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...2f4994b50.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...152d16bf5.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...33cc0085b.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...467b0cc4a.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...92fdec201.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...01fa6f474.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...b2d8d2ca8.jpeg |
On Monday (June 16th) I flew back to London on BA (LHR this time). I’m running a bit behind in my trip report unfortunately!
I began my journey from Den Haag HS by train - thankfully the NS strike was cancelled that day. When I arrived at the BA check in counter unfortunately it was as chaotic as I’ve come to expect from BA. There were just two check in agents and three long queues of passengers (regular, priority and bag drop). The counter had run out of the tape needed to label checked luggage. So out of desperation the staff started triaging passengers by flight - starting with the next departure to LCY. I think I queued for 30 minutes, and many others even longer. The priority security line was quick but again passport control was congested - so I went through the manual passport line which was faster than the crowds around the automatic gates. BA said that my flight was delayed - but listed the boarding time as 11:25am. So when I arrived at the gate at 11:22 I was very surprised to see the monitors saying “flight closing”. Flight was largely unmemorable. Unfortunately the table covering the middle seat was covered in marmalade that hadn't been cleaned! The lady next to me put her leather handbag right on the residue! https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ecf9cb285.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ad421b796.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e9f6a121b.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...7f84a2eb0.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...45b1c36ba.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...9653ceb14.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...dcb59b048.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...de5e2c079.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...9c57a0088.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...c67df2318.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...06135081a.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...16af3efcd.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...8b444240c.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...3b71e86e6.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a522abcbf.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...2ec337d3d.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...15ead0a84.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...26e498853.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...6762e83ea.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...99d7cd6e5.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...fb87efa9b.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5be18d93f.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...0fb743b05.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...4bc010df6.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...3cdee096e.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...c9f68b517.jpeg We had a long taxi ride again to Polderbaan. And a nice view of the Dutch coastline and crossing the channel. I even saw the LCY runway as we descended over London! The inflight salad unfortunately was not good and I didn’t finish it. The dessert was interesting - not sure what it was. The top half was something creamy and underneath some kind of tropical fruit sauce. We arrived at a C gate in terminal 5 - something I haven’t experienced before flying short haul! The purser was not happy about it and kept complaining that we weren’t at an A gate. It was a very long walk into the satellite along the jet bridge. That evening I had dinner with my family at Trinity in Clapham. A nice meal - the beef tartare and honey soufflé especially stood out to me. |
I had an early start on Tuesday morning as I was on BA’s 9am flight to Kraków.
I had intended to wake up at 5:45am, but realised I inadvertently set my alarm for 6:45am! I still managed to wake up early enough thankfully. I took an Uber to Paddington and then the Heathrow Express to T3. The train was almost empty. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...580a2cd00.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5201bd65d.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a1696edae.jpegI enjoyed breakfast in the CX F lounge, trying the smoothie, Eggs Royale and Joseph Perrier champagne. The CX menu listed it as “Grand Cru Brut” but I’ve seen no mention of that wine online. Perhaps it was Cuvée Royale Brut? I brought my dad in as a guest and he enjoyed the Chinese Set Breakfast, which looked much tastier. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...82b360d0b.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...69cf07916.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ff0d1a500.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a59305467.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...212076934.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...9c56077ba.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...9cc17045b.jpegAs we taxiied to the runway I good to see a good mix of big and small birds patiently waiting for departure. And after takeoff I even saw Thorpe Park in the distance! https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a79351200.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...22110b87d.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...294cc0b5f.jpegFor my second breakfast I had the omelette - which was better than I expected. The flight seemed to have a lot of American tourists, perhaps connecting ex-AA. This has also been my first flight on BA where the wifi actually worked! But free messaging only tier was extremely slow. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...f7603fc45.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...aafcd4250.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...641aad19e.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d7522ff4f.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...cbce1e46c.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...1a46ba646.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...addeaa5e3.jpegWe had a bus gate on arrival at KRK. Though I did like the bus’s promotion of a theme park ;) https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...848d6f584.jpegThere was a long wait for baggage again at the carousel. And unfortunately many passengers stood right by the conveyor belt, obstructing access for others. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...39c327979.jpeg I took the train into Kraków Główny, which was surprisingly cheap - especially compared to HEX! https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...3d8e62289.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...64566a9bd.jpegI have been staying at the Saski hotel in the old town. It’s a smaller room than the one I had in The Hague, but I got a nice welcome plate of fruit and macarons. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...12d769c7e.jpegI had a nice exploration of the old town that evening. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ec5335706.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...f19c21fb3.jpeg I had dinner in the hotel restaurant that evening. To start were some house breads, with brown butter and garlic butter. And an amuse-bouche (I'm not sure what it was exactly but I liked it). https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ef17fcf9a.jpeg Beef Tartare. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...bca73095f.jpeg Cheese pierogi. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a2c3ae1b1.jpeg "Saski" cake for dessert. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e63ec744b.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...f58fa35fc.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...2dd8f50aa.jpeg I retired to my room and mentally prepared myself for another day of rollercoasters. |
Tuesday June 21st. Another rollercoaster day!
I had an early start again, and was in the Saski breakfast room at 7:15am. I don’t have too many photos but they have a continental breakfast spread and also a few ą la carte options. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...01aec9c8c.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ae429e98c.jpegI had the poached egg and guacamole toast, which was not bad. The hollandaise sauce reminded me of an Eggs Benedict though. Also nice to see Kraków style bagels on offer. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...2f42f3fa0.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...4b93bde9f.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...4c6231cb2.jpegI took the tram to Kraków Grzegórzki station. After getting confused about which platform the train departed from, I boarded the train to Zator Park. The train was packed, with many passengers standing. My ticket was incredibly cheap at just 6.61 złoty. The train though was slow, with frequent stops. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ee3deeca0.jpegAfter almost an hour and a half we arrived at Zator park, where another “train” awaited to take us to Energylandia. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ac6f36033.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...3c9aa51fa.jpegFollowing tips online, my first two rides were on Zadra, an RMC coaster. Man that ride is demented! It is a hybrid wooden coaster, that reaches 61 metres high and 121km/h. The initial 90 degree drop is quite forceful, and I could feel my body being pulled forward! Like Untamed, Zadra speeds through the course. On my second ride I sat next to a Polish guy who was swearing on the lift hill and at the end of the ride. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...064b7b688.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...48db0be08.jpegAfter the long wait the second time I decided to buy an energy pass, which allows a much shorter queue one time each on 13 of the rides. But before I could do that, I forget in which locker I had left my belongings! So I wandered around the park aimlessly like a headless chicken, until I was finally reunited. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...810052613.jpegMy next ride was Formula - a launched coaster with a racing car theme (hence the name). The launch was good - and I preferred the ride to Xpress: Platform 13. My only wish was that the ride was a bit longer! https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...2ce2bcdcf.jpegMayan - a suspended looping coaster was far more intense than I was expecting! If Energylandia didn’t have such a large lineup of thrilling coasters this could be a standout ride at a smaller park. The pretzel loop was particularly cool. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...761607a18.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...4c790b69d.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...40f05e9fb.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ea39f7f30.jpeg |
I then tried RMF dragon - a suspended coaster that is meant to be more family friendly. It is the ride with the green track.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...4610227f3.jpegSpeed was a uniquely terrifying water coaster. (I’ll include water coasters in my rollercoaster tally but maybe that is controversial!). It ascends to the first drop by being elevated by one of the two vertical tracks - I tried not to look down as that happened even as I worried about the ride breaking. Built by intamin, it is the tallest and fast water coaster in the world (50 metres high, 101km/h!). A much more forceful ride than I was expecting. I also rode the water flume Anaconda but unfortunately didn’t get a photo! https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...20559acb7.jpegEnergyus - another family oriented coaster that wasn’t too memorable (or intense, thankfully!) https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...3036c42d7.jpegHyperion. The tallest and fastest coaster at Energylandia and also that I have ever been on! (Reaching 77 metres high, 142km/h). I was in the front row, and they gave us goggles to protect our eyes from the wind! An incredible ride and it flew through the course, incredibly smoothly. It was fast that I didn’t even notice the single inversion! https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...58db7bdae.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...378bfbacb.jpegAfter that I rode Viking, a wild mouse style spinning coaster. I thought it would be a fun and gentle break from the thrilling coasters but no! I got slammed from side to side as the coaster spun, hitting my ears from side to side. (I was starting to feel like a wounded coaster veteran at this point!). https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...51d24d9f8.jpegFollowing this I rode Abyssus, a multi launched coaster by Vekoma. That was fun, and also more intense than I was expecting! https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...b5ad3ea10.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...eb7064e2d.jpegI rode three more family coasters - Choco Chip Creek, Light Explorer and Frida. Chocolate. Choco Chip Creek had 3 lift hills, which is something I haven’t come across before. Light Explorer was a shuttle coaster and Frida was another steel coaster propelled up the lift hill by booster wheels. Pictured below: Zadra, Frida (the purple track), and Light Explorer (the charcoal coloured track). https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...91d806545.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...732b7bb2f.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...3c9315d2d.jpegI concluded the day with one last ride on Zadra. This time I was in the second row, and while fun I could feel the wind against us as we raced along the course. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...1cfdb401f.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...cd05da5aa.jpegBy now I was sunburnt, bruised and dehydrated and ready to head back to Kraków. I had a long walk to the train station - much further than google maps was suggesting. So I missed the train I had planned to be on. Near the train station there was a vending machine attached to Zator Holiday Park. It looked very basic, almost like a trailer park. But being able to get a bottle of water was like finding an oasis in the desert! My train back was delayed 15 minutes. But it was very nice to return to the hotel. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...74d27c269.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...6049dc574.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...080b52c7f.jpegI liked Energylandia, and for an amusement park it has the best rides of any I have been on. Though the space is massive (like Europa Park) but doesn’t have any transportation around the site. (And the park is split in two by a road running through the middle!) I think Energylandia lacks some of the ‘magic’ of other European parks like Tivoli or Europa Park. Still was a very good day! Coasters ridden at Energylandia: 13 Rollercoaster tally: 22 |
I’m back! Been very busy over the past week so now will have some more time to update the trip report.
On Friday last week (exactly a week ago!), I travelled to Warsaw from Kraków. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...c4c25d770.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ba01e4d07.jpegI took the EIP train to and from Warsaw in first class. It struck my leaving Kraków for the first 45 minutes just how slow the train was. There was nothing “express” or high speed about it, but perhaps that is the state of the rail line. The main sitting in front of me was in tip to toe Rimowa! That included a shoulder bag, phone case and of course an aluminium carry on. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...c293caaa2.jpegOne thing that surprised me was they offered a light dish/snack on the train with free bottled drinks and tea/coffee. I had the honey cake, and sencha tea. The cake was really good and a much larger portion than I was expecting! Unfortunately after I finished my tea, the train went round a curve. And my tea cup and saucer slipped off the table, and smashed on the floor. I was bewildered and the train attendant mumbled something in Polish and then walked away without assisting. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e83d4ef4d.jpegI focussed on exploring the old town in Warsaw, which was quite pretty. It was packed with tourists making photography challenging at times. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...cdb41c086.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...08f83035c.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...65628217b.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a534bbd8d.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...b51e8d8c9.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...20cc71916.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5ebf54b08.jpeghad a steak for lunch which was okay, but the truffle sauce helped. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...da656a723.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...8e7027ac0.jpegThe architecture around Warsaw central station had much more of a Soviet feel than anything I saw in Kraków (even though Poland was never a Soviet republic). One skyscraper reminded me of the Seven Sisters in Moscow. (Which in turn were inspired by the Empire State Building). https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...95eb3c392.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...911753865.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...7996c379a.jpegThe train ride back to Kraków felt much emptier and faster than the former. I then walked back to my hotel and had an early night. |
My flight back to LHR started with a mystery.
The night before (so on Saturday evening), I got a notification from flighty that the inbound flight had been cancelled. I was thinking that would almost certainly mean my flight would be cancelled as they would need to reposition an aircraft to KRK which would not be likely. Looking at other sites - flightradar24, flight aware and even the AA app all confirmed the flight was cancelled. But peculiarly BA said both the inbound and outbound flight was still planned and expected to be on time. And they were selling tickets for both. So I went to bed puzzled by the Schrödinger's flight. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...efdecb65d2.pngThe next morning I bolt[ed] to the airport. I arrived 2.5 hours before my flight, but stood in a queue at checkin for half an hour. BA seemed to only open check in two hours before the flight! And no self service bag drop either… Once I did make it through checkin, BA872 was well on its way to KRK. So all signs were I would indeed fly to LHR today! The lounge was unmemorable but I got a seat and some mineral water, which sometimes par for the course in a contracted lounge. We had a bus gate again to the plane. And then had to wait for sometime to board the plane. They had to let a VIP who had been chauffeured to the plane board first! 9 rows of Club Europe on the flight, and I could only get a seat in row 6! (I was originally on the Saturday flight, but that was cancelled a few months prior). https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...925279441.jpegFAs distributed free bottles of water, so no impact from the bottle free trial. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...86fe413dd.jpegWe had three choices of meal a beef salad, chicken teriyaki or pasta. Felt like the classic experience in Y of being asked “beef or chicken”? By the time the cabin crew got to my row there were just two teriyaki trays left, and I got the second last one. I overheard in row 9 they were down to just the pasta as the only “choice”. The wifi did not work for any of the flight (I’d be more surprised if it did work!). https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e18348e6f.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...7b20e3c14.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...1a7b168bc.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ec87e3af1.jpegWe had a nice view of London along the Thames while landing, and a brief glimpse of LCY again. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d60b08306.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...7b5d70ddd.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...896180a8d.jpegAnd yes, at T3 we once again had a bus gate! (And we had to queue for sometime before there was even a vacant bus gate!) So that meant the flight was bookended by bus gates. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...05cfb62f0.jpegArrival was smooth, with the e-gate being fast and my luggage waiting for me when I arrived at the carousel. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e03e9329a.jpegI took the Heathrow express to Paddington and then the tube to my hotel. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...f633d7844.jpegI was staying at the Hyde Park Hilton. At checkin I was told I was upgraded to a “deluxe” room but it felt like a standard queen. (And the smallest on my trip so far!). https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...f437a4575.jpegI had a steak from the hotel adjacent restaurant. Was told there was a (I think 25%) discount for hotel guests. But they added a 12.5% service charge that wasn’t mentioned on menu so that offset most of the discount. The steak was terrible. I asked for medium rare and it seemed well done and grey. The meat was also very dry and full of chunks of fat. The restaurant manager when I paid never asked how my meal was (none of the wait staff ever did), and I told him about the poor steak. He laughed and dismissed me “it’s a sirloin”. It’s a cheap cut of meat is what it is. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e09cbcdcc.jpegThen I went to bed, excited for another day of rollercoasters. |
Monday June 23rd.
Kicking things off I went back to the same restaurant as last night’s steak, which was turned into the breakfast room. It had the most mediocre food selection of any Hilton breakfast on my trip so far. The omelette, while a large portion wasn’t great (I didn’t finish it). And a rather small fruit selection too. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...47836ace6.jpegI had a ticket booked for Thorpe Park, and wanted to get there in time for the ride openings at 10am. Unfortunately luck was not on my side. I walked to Bayswater station and unfortunately the line was suspended due to a trespasser. So I walked back to Queensway, and took the Central + Elizabeth line to Paddington. From there, yes you guessed it I was on the Heathrow Express again. I must have looked quite strange with just a shoulder bag and no luggage that day. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e70901d6e.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...8eda1c7c7.jpegFrom Heathrow I took an uber to Thorpe Park. I was quite surprised that for an uberX I had a ride in a black BMW! https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...2fb64a074.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...11fc3e648.jpegUnfortunately with the delays I arrived at the park at 10:45. But that was nothing compared to the 45 minute wait just for the bag search and entry into the park! (The queue was in the area of the photo below, just imagine it crammed with people!) Completely absurd, I can see why some coaster fans don’t like UK (read Merlin) parks. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...0a18490e4.jpegMy first ride was on The Swarm, a wing coaster (and my first experience on that type!). It was a fun ride, and surprisingly fast!I I liked the inversion into the first drop. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...62db16670.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...f10f9037f.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...2a0db4950.jpegFollowing that I rode Stealth, my first Intamin hydraulic launched coaster. That reached 62.5 metres high at the top hat and 129km/h from the launch. I was quite nervous before riding but my seat mate told me to enjoy the half second view from the top hat. Eventually we launched and it was all a blur. We accelerated quickly and soon started climbing the hill. We did indeed had a view of the park for the brief half second at the top. Not quite as bad as I was expecting! And considering the speed the ride was over very soon! https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...93d525706.jpegNemesis: Inferno is a B&M inverted coaster. I had ridden their Monster ride at Gröna Lund, but this ride was far more punchy. I liked the fun initial descent before the lift hill. A much better ride than I was expecting. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...6faf708c4.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...c5a045134.jpegThe Walking Dead: The Ride was a fun indoor horror experience/coaster mashup that reminded me of Xpress: Platform 13. There was a warning for live actors so I worried about bumping into staff dressed as zombies. A fun spooky experience. The coaster was completely indoors, so it reminded me of Eurostat CanCan Coaster at Europa Park. (And prevented me from taking any photos of the ride, unfortunately!) https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d2ac1b52a.jpegColossus (in the foreground), another Intamin coaster is known for being the first with 10 invesions (and my first with that many). I was excited for that ride but man it was rough! I was being banged from side to side and was left with a headache by the end. My least favourite coaster. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...9dac8a60c.jpegMy last ride was on Hyperia (the coaster train at the top of the lift hill) - the ride I was most excited by. Mack Rides is my favourite coaster manufacturer and they did not let me down! Leaving the ride station, we descended with a sharp tilt. And ascent up the lift chain was surprisingly fast! Man that drop was so much more intense, fast, incredible than I was expecting! The ride was a sensory overload and so much better than I could have imagined! https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...588d302d0.jpegI ended up skipping Saw as I didn’t want to have another rough ride that left me with a headache. But it does look fun! So I rode 6 coasters at Thorpe Park, and that brings my tally to 28. |
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