Today was our last day in Iceland and we had a lazy start after a long day yesterday. We had our morning coffee and quickly packed our bags. We left the Puffin Hostel to see the sights around Vík and then eventually head back towards the airport. Our first stop was Víkurkirkja, a little Lutheran church situated on top of a small hill, with superb views of the ocean & town. We could even see the rocks in the ocean at Reynisfjall in the distance. ...
Today was our longest travel day, we had our morning coffee and quickly packed our bags. We checked out of our hotel and drove into Reykjavík. Our first stop was the Sun Voyager. We were able to park right next to it since it was before 9:00 AM. The Sun Voyager is a stainless-steel sculpture in the shape of the skeleton of a boat. It is right by the waterfront with a nice view of the sea behind it. The sky was grey and we were not able to take in the view in its full splendour in bright light. But it was nice to see it up close and spend some time there. ...
We were headed to the Golden Circle today. The distance was not much compared to what we covered yesterday and what we planned to cover in the next couple of days. We had a relaxed start with our morning coffee and then headed out. We drove northeast from Reykjavik towards Þingvellir (Thingvellir) National Park and our first stop was the Þingvallavatn Panorama point. It had a great view of the Þingvallavatn lake, the largest natural lake in Iceland and the surrounding areas. ...
We landed in rain around 1:00 AM and that was a preview of what was to come for the next 4 days. The shuttle bus to the car rentals was not operating at this time. It took a while for us to locate the Blue Car Rental Office. It was not too far, but we had to walk in the cold. Following the instructions in the email from Zero Car, we picked up the keys and located the car. It was a silver Kia Rio. We loaded our bags and headed towards Reykjavík. We reached our hotel, Hilton Reykjavik Nordica. ...
This was part of European Escapade - Day 6 🇬🇷 🔗. We joined the walking tour at 10:00am and the people assembled were divided into 2 groups. We started off by walking through the Monastiraki Flea Market to see the Stoa Poikile (Painted Porch). We also got to know about the Ancient Agora of Athens featuring the ruins of an ancient Greek gathering place. Next stop was Hadrian’s Library, which were Roman ruins of a library and cultural complex constructed in 132 CE by Emperor Hadrian. It also had the remains of the Basilica of Megale Panagia. ...
We arrived in Athens early in the morning. The Lufthansa Business Lounge was right next to the Aegean Lounge. We would be flying via Munich and Frankfurt at some point in the remainder of the trip and would have other opportunities to try the Lufthansa Business Lounge, so we decided to visit the Aegean Lounge here. It wasn’t crowded, but there were quite a few people around. They had a huge spread of food and drinks. We freshened up and had a quick breakfast. The lounge had luggage lockers, something we found missing in Lisbon. So we consolidated our bags and took just one backpack and headed out to see Athens. ...
After spending 2 days in the Azores 🔗, we got up early and walked to the airport from Hospedaria Casa d’Avo. The airport is really small and we were checked in by an agent at the Azores Airlines counter. We had 3 transit stops before our final destination, so the agent and her manager had some back and forth about the baggage tags and how to attach them to the bags. The check-in agent issued each of us a consolidated boarding pass for 4 flights, to Lisbon, Athens, Munich and finally Reykjavík. With fingers crossed that our bags with all our cold weather clothes would make it to Iceland, we headed through security check to the boarding area for flight TP1828. ...
Like yesterday, we started our day with coffee on the porch. Our plan today was to cover the rest of the sights in Terceira. We were to check-out at noon so we decided to head to Piscinas Naturais Biscoitos first and come back after spending some time there and then get ready and check-out. Piscinas Naturais Biscoitos are natural pools at the edge of the ocean formed by lava rocks from ancient volcanic eruptions. We carried a couple of towels and our swim wear and headed out. The weather was cloudy but it wasn’t raining. ...
We got up in the morning and started our day with a cup of coffee on the nice porch with a garden out back. After getting ready, we started off towards our first destination, Miradouro da Serra do Cume. The road steadily climbed towards the top of the hills and was paved, with cobblestones in some places. It became quite steep as we came close to the top. There were view points on both sides of the top of the hill. Looking towards the north east we could see Praia da Vitória and on the other side, towards the south west, we could see fields separated by walls of volcanic rocks forming a massive expanses of green patchwork. The clouds rolled in quickly and it started raining while we were there so we decide to head back down and come back again for the views the next day if possible. We could see Ilhéus das Cabras at one corner and next we headed there to take a closer look. ...
We got up early and walked to the airport from our hotel, ibis budget Nice Aéroport. It took a while to find the check-in counters for TAP Air Portugal. We’re not used to seeing no lines. The check-in agent issued each of us a consolidated boarding pass for both our flights: to Lisbon and then to Terceira. I asked about our bags, and they said that the system showed them the bags from Lufthansa and then made a call to someone about something. It was all in French, so I didn’t understand a thing. But I was hoping that things behind the scenes would have been sorted out and our bags would make it to Terceira. I asked if there was a Star Alliance Gold lounge we could access and was told to go to the Library Lounge after the security check. There was no crowd, and after clearing security, we headed to the Library Lounge for breakfast. ...
After just making the connection from Pune, we boarded LH763 from Delhi to Munich. We had bulkhead seats on this flight. 31D and 31G, both aisle seats in the middle 3 seats in a typical 3-3-3 widebody configuration. The seats had the tray tables in the armresrts and the armrest for 31D was fixed on both sides and the armrest between 31F and 31G was movable. The flight attendant in the galley in front of our seats suggested that since we were traveling together we should take seats 31F and 31G and offer 31D to anyone who shows up for the middle seat, but from his records that seat was still empty. We thanked him for the tip and sat in our originally assigned seats hoping that no one would turn up on the middle seat. Soon the cabin crew announced that boarding was completed and we had 3 seats for the 2 of us to stretch out a little more. ...
We reached Pune airport a little after 6:00 PM to check-in for our flight to Delhi, starting our journey to Europe. We had to scan our bags before check-in and the staff sealed the bag with plastic zip ties. The line for check-in was quite long and it took a while before it was our turn. This was the first of five connected segments for our award tickets to Europe 🔗. Vistara had an interline agreement with Lufthansa but not with TAP Portugal. The agent at the check-in desk said that they would be able to complete the check-in for us till Nice on the Vistara and Lufthansa flights but not onwards. So we asked him to issue the boarding passes and tag our bags only till Delhi. We planned to pick up the bags there and check-in all the way to Terceira at Delhi with Lufthansa. He was also kind enough to add priority tags to our bags to ensure that it would be easier for us to manage the international transfer at Delhi. ...
After more than 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown, we were looking forward to some travel. I have been collecting miles on United MileagePlus for quite some time and I was scouting for destinations which we wanted to visit and where we could maximize our miles. Europe was on top of our list and I was trying to figure out how we could do the most with that. My wife has always wanted to visit Iceland and I wanted to go to the Azores. ...
This was part of A day in Lisbon 🇵🇹 🔗. After lunch I joined the 3:00 PM walking tour of Baixa and Bairro Alto by Live History Lisbon with Alexandra. We started at Praça Dom Pedro IV and walked past Joalharia Ferreira Marques which was featured in some James Bond movie. We passed by Elevador de Santa Justa and while telling us about it, Alexandra said we’d be getting there another way. ...
This was part of A day in Lisbon 🇵🇹 🔗. I made it to Praça Dom Pedro IV just in time to join the 11:00 AM Alfama Free Walking Tour by Discover Lisbon. Our guide was Francisco. He told us about the history of Lisbon and then we stepped into Casa do Alentejo to see the beautiful moorish courtyard there. × < > We walked to back to Largo de São Domingos and got some time to visit Igreja de São Domingos. ...
Going to the airport and taking a flight always gets me excited, so I didn’t really mind waking up at 3:00 AM and making my way to Helsinki airport for my flight to Lisbon and onward to Barcelona. I was able to use priority check-in at the airport with my Star Alliance Gold status. The counters for TAP Portugal were located right next to Lufthansa’s. With my bags tagged to Barcelona, I was issued boarding passes for both legs, first to Lisbon and then onward Barcelona. I was offered a complimentary priority seat in forward economy cabin but I was ok with my currently assigned aisle seat at the back so declined (a decision which I questioned later). I made a quick visit to the SAS Lounge before heading to the gate for boarding. ...
After walking around well past 2:00 AM, it was a lazy morning. There was complimentary tea and coffee at the hostel pantry. After getting ready we checked out of the room and left our bags at the front desk. The original plan was to try and visit the Peterhof Palace or the Catherine Palace at Pushkin. But the rain and overall weather were not encouraging and also we didn’t have all day. So we decided to skip that and spend more time at the places we had seen yesterday. We walked along Nevsky Avenue to the Kazan Cathedral and then along the Griboyedov Canal and the Italian Bridge to the Savior on the Spilled Blood. ...
This was part of A weekend in Russia - Day 1 🇷🇺 🔗. We had seen the Obvodnyy kanal (Обводный канал) station when we arrived earlier today. We started off from the Admiralteyskaya (Адмиралтейская) station and took the northbound Line 5 (also known as the Purple Line or the Frunzensko-Primorskaya Line) towards Komendantsky Prospekt (Комендантский проспект). ...
This was part of A weekend in Russia - Day 1 🇷🇺 🔗. We joined the 10:30 AM St. Petersburg Free Walking Tour. We started our walk at the Bronze Horseman and then headed towards St. Isaac’s Cathedral. Our guide told us about the history of Russia and specifically of St. Petersburg. Our next stop was the Admiralty Building and we saw the Monument to Nikolay Przhevalsky and the Admiralty Fountain. ...
From October 1, 2019 nationals of 51 foreign States (including India) could be granted an e-visa to enter the Russian Federation through checkpoints (except via rail) located in the Saint Petersburg region. This was an opportunity I wasn’t going to miss. A few colleagues and I were going to be in Helsinki for work, and we since had a weekend during our stay, we decided to take a trip to St. Petersburg. We booked Lux Express from Helsinki to St. Petersburg leaving late Friday night (just before midnight) and reaching St. Petersburg on Saturday morning. The LuxExpress bus was comfortable, had free Wi-Fi and a machine for complimentary tea and coffee. After about three and a half hours of driving we reached Vaalimaa and exited the Schengen region and had to clear immigration and get entry into Russia at Torfyanovka. ...
This was part of A weekend in the Baltics - Day 2 🇱🇻 🔗. Our Alternative Riga Free Tour by Riga Free Tour started at St. Peter’s Church, and we made our way to the Riga Central Market which was a massive indoor/outdoor market with stalls selling fruits, veggies, cheese, meats and prepared dishes. We then headed across the tracks to the parts of town which were not considered safe earlier. We saw the Latvian Academy of Sciences; the architecture was typical of the Soviet era. ...
This was part of A weekend in the Baltics - Day 2 🇱🇻 🔗. The Old Riga Free Walking Tour by Riga Free Tour started at St. Peter’s Church, and we made our way to the Riga Synagogue Peitav Shul and learnt about the Jewish history of Riga. We then headed to the Riga Town Hall Square and saw the Riga City Hall and the House of the Black Heads, which was symbolic of Riga. ...
After arriving from Vilnius yesterday, I had a good night’s sleep at the Clarion Collection Hotel Valdemars. We had a nice breakfast and checked-out. Leaving our bags at the front desk at the hotel, we headed out to take in Riga. We walked to the St. Peter’s Church to join the Old Riga Free Walking Tour 🔗 at 10:00 AM and then the Alternative Riga Free Tour 🔗 at 12:30 PM. ...
This was part of A weekend in the Baltics - Day 1 🇱🇹 🔗. I made it just in time to join the Old Town Free Tour by Vilnius Free Walking Tours at 10:30 AM. Our guide was Ugnė. She started by telling a little bit about the history of Vilnius and Lithuania. She also told us about how the Lithuanian language has a lot of common roots with other languages, including Sanskrit; her name was very similar to the Sanskrit word agni, and both meant fire. ...
Vilnius was the first stop in my weekend in the Baltic States. I had been to Tallinn, Estonia before and would pass through it on my way back to Helsinki the next day. I reached Helsinki airport early morning for my flight AY1101 to Vilnius. It was my first flight on Oneworld carrier Finnair. I only had my backpack with me and I had checked in online and had the mobile boarding pass, so I just went through security check and headed to the gate. The flight was booked as Finnair and operated by N°rra (Nordic Regional Airlines). ...
This was part of A day in Oslo 🇳🇴 🔗. I joined the Free Tour Oslo City by Nordic Freedom Tours at 10:00 AM. We assembled at The Tiger and after introductions and seeing where everyone was from, we started off. × < > We walked by the Christian Frederiks plass to our first stop the Oslo Opera House. We were given some time there to explore around and walk to the roof. There were great views of the floating sculpture She Lies. ...
There were no connections from Helsinki which would make it in time for the Swiss flight to Mumbai on the same day. So I flew from Helsinki to Oslo on SAS connecting on Swiss to Zurich and I was going to stay at the Zurich airport tonight. Since my flight to Mumbai was the next morning, I wasn’t in any rush to get to Zurich so I choose a long layover in Oslo. ...
My flight from San Francisco via Hong Kong landed around noon and I had just short of 7 hours before my connecting flight. I decided to take the Free Singapore Tour from the airport. Indian nationals in transit through Singapore are visa-exempt for 96 hours, provided they hold a valid visa issued for USA. I registered for the 1:30 PM Heritage Tour and it was fully booked soon after. I would not have been able to take the 4:00 PM tour so it was good that I signed up just in time. ...
We checked out of Nine Hours Narita Airport and headed to the terminal for our flight to Mumbai. We were able to use the priority check-in counters thanks to my Star Alliance Gold Status on United MileagePlus. We had missed seeing Mt. Fuji during this trip and also hadn’t been able to see it from the Shinkansen the previous day. Looking at which runways were used for take-off for the last few days for this flight I took a calculated guess and asked for seats on the right side of the plane hoping to catch a glimpse of Mt. Fuji from the air. We got assign a middle and window seat on the right side. ...
Today was the last day of the trip and we would spend most of it travelling back to Tokyo. I had a couple of options in mind. One option was to take a break at Himeji and see Himeji castle. The second was to take a break at Shin-Fuji and go and see Mt. Fuji. Getting to see Mt. Fuji trumped visiting the Himeji Castle. But based on the reading of travel blogs and websites, it seemed that being able to get a good view of Mt. Fuji was subject to local weather conditions and/or the time of day. The last thing we wanted was to get there and not be able to see Mt. Fuji. The third option was to break the journey in Okayama and do a side trip to Takamatsu in Shikoku, effectively visiting all the four main islands of the Japanese archipelago. We choose this one and used our Japan Rail Pass 🔗 for seat reservations for the trains till Tokyo. ...
We used our Japan Rail Pass 🔗 to travel to Ibusuki. We boarded the 7:51 AM Nanohana Rapid Service at Kagoshima-Chūō Station and travelled on the Ibusuki Makurazaki Line along the eastern coast of Satsuma Peninsula till Ibusuki Station. It took us a little more than an hour to get there. Ibusuki appeared to be a quite, laid back town. We walked through the peaceful local neighbourhoods which had very rustic feel and were very different that anything we had seen in Japan thus far. Saraku Sand Bath Hall was about a 20 minute away by foot away from Ibusuki Station. ...
We got up early and got ready, it was too early so we skipped breakfast again. We walked from Piece Hostel Kyoto to Kyoto Station. We used our Japan Rail Pass 🔗 for seats reservations for the long distance trains for today. The plan was to visit Hiroshima and Miyajima (also known as Itsukushima) and then head to Kagoshima. Our first journey would take us from Kyoto to Hiroshima on the Hikari 491 which operated on the Tōkaidō Shinkansen line till Shin-Osaka and then on the San’yō Shinkansen line till Hiroshima. This was the fastest Shinkansen ride during our trip covering a distance of 380.6 kms in 1 hour 44 minutes with average speed of 219.58 kmph. After reaching Hiroshima Station, we visited the Hiroshima Tourist Information to buy the Visit Hiroshima Tourist Pass for the day. Seeing that we were foreign visitors who had just arrived by train, the staff confirmed that we could use the Hiroshima Sightseeing Loop Bus to visit all the placed we had planned and that it was included with our Japan Rail Pass 🔗. We then went to the baggage lockers to leave our bags there before heading out and taking the Sightseeing Loop Bus. ...
We got up early and got ready, it was too early for breakfast. The plan was to go and see the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest as early as possible to avoid the crowds. We walked from Piece Hostel Kyoto to Kyoto Station. We used our Japan Rail Pass 🔗 for the 6:04 AM train on the JR Sagano Line towards Sonobe. It took a little more than 15 minutes and we reached Saga-Arashiyama Station station. ...
We got up early, got ready and went down to have breakfast. Breakfast the next morning was basic but adequate. We walked to the Hakodate Morning Market which was only a couple of minutes away. The market area spanned a few city blocks and was open from early morning till about noon. There was a lot of local Hakodate produce on display, vegetables and fruits. But the main attraction was the large variety of fresh and preserved seafood, including crabs and salmon roe. A few stores had freshly-caught squids swimming in tanks, you could fish them and then have the chef prepare it for you to eat. There were many restaurants in the market area that offered Seafood Rice Bowl. Having eaten (a more western) breakfast of eggs, toast and coffee already we were not sure if we would fancy seafood so early in the morning we decide to give it a miss. Overall it was a nice experience to walk around. ...
We got up early and got ready. We checked-out of the Pearl Hotel Yaesu and walked to Tokyo Station. Our journey today would take us from Tokyo in Honshū to Hakodate in Hokkaidō. We used our Japan Rail Pass 🔗 and had made seat reservations on Hayabusa 1 service from Tokyo to Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto and after that we would take the Hakodate Liner to Hakodate. We were looking forward to our first journey on the Shinkansen. When we reached Tokyo Station we saw lines drawn on the platforms for First and Second Class passengers to organize the boarding process. The passengers in the Second Class line would wait till all passengers in the First Class line had boarded. While we waited for our train, we saw the E7/W7 Series with E2 Series Shinkansen trainsets. ...
After a comfortable flight 🔗, we landed on time at Tokyo Narita Airport; fresh and ready for our week in Japan. Immigration and baggage claim was fairly quick. We headed to the JR East Travel Service center and exchanged our vouchers for the actual Japan Rail Pass 🔗 after showing them our passport and visa. We used it right away and booked tickets on the Narita Express 10 at 9:45 AM reaching Tokyo at 10:44 AM. ...
We were able to use the business class check-in counters thanks to my Star Alliance Gold Status on United MileagePlus. I had originally chosen seats 13A and 13C in the first row of economy hoping that the middle seat would remain empty. The check-in agent was very nice and offered to seat us separately in the same row with two empty seats next to each of us. Of course we accepted and were assigned 14A (with 14B and 14C unoccupied) and 14D (with 14E and 14F unoccupied). We also got invitations to visit the GVK Lounge before departure. The lounge was nice and had a very good selection of food and drink. We had a quick dinner before heading to the gate for boarding. ...
When we decided that Japan was going to be our next holiday destination, it was certain that we would be using the Japan Rail Pass there. It was quite expensive, considering that it costs about half the price of the standard return airfare from Mumbai to Tokyo per person. I ordered the Japan Rail Pass vouchers from www.japan-rail-pass.com and they were shipped to us by FedEx. These vouchers were to be exchanged for the actual Japan Rail Pass from a JR Travel Service center. ...
I landed from Munich at around 11:00 AM and had the rest of the day in Madrid till my next flight at 11:50 PM. This was my first time in Spain and I was excited. I made my way out of the airport and to the metro station and bought the €8,40 Tourist Ticket for 1 Day. × < > I planned on talking a walking tour at 3:00 PM so I had time to see a couple of places on my own before that. First I took the metro from Madrid-Barajas Airport to Puerta de Toledo to see the neoclassical arched gateway built to honor Fernando VII. ...
This was part of A day in Tallinn 🇪🇪 🔗. I made it just in time to join the Tallinn Free Tour by Traveller Tours at 12:00 PM. We started at Tallinn Tourist Information Centre and made our way to the Danish King’s Garden as we learnt about the history of Estonia. × < > We saw the sculpture Tuli lipp about the legend of the Danish flag and also the sculpture of three monks. ...
I had booked A Day in Tallinn Cruise on Eckerö Line for just €10,00 about 10 days in advance which was a steal. I was scheduled to depart by the 9:00 AM ferry from Helsinki to Tallin so I got to the West Harbour Helsinki and checked-in. Boarding was interesting and there were a large number of people closely packed together (which you don’t generally see in Finland) and moving quickly. We left Helsinki on time and made our way south across the Gulf of Finland. I went to the upper deck to enjoy the wind and the views. ...
Luckily I had an overnight at Vienna Airport so when my flight from Delhi got delayed I didn’t have to sweat it. I followed the signs to the hotel. It wasn’t too far from the terminal building but still a significant walk away. There was an covered underground passage all the way there. Check-in was hassle-free and the room was comfortable for an overnight stay. The front desk was part of a bar and I had a quick dinner there and went back to my room. The room windows had views of the apron. The overall decor was trendy. ...
This was part of A day in Copenhagen 🇩🇰 🔗. We started at Højbro Plads and walked to the Stork Fountain. × < > We saw the Tomb of the Unknown Concentration Camp Prisoner at the Church of the Holy Spirit. We also learnt about the origins of Lego. ...
This was part of A day in Copenhagen 🇩🇰 🔗. We started at Københavns Rådhus, the Copenhagen City Hall and walked to Henrettelsesplads to see the Copenhagen Court House and the Scientology Church Denmark. × < > Next stop was the Christiansborg Palace which had stables and large expanse. The Supreme Court and the State Government Office was also on the grounds. ...
I was flying back home from Helsinki on SAS and Air India. The Air India flight from Copenhagen was at night so I decided to fly to Copenhagen the previous day and spend one night here instead of staying one more night in Helsinki and taking the day time connection. My flight from Helsinki reached Copenhagen at 9:25 PM the previous night and the flight to Delhi was at 8:45 PM giving me about a 23 hours layover. I had stayed at the Park Inn By Radisson Copenhagen Airport last night. I got up early in the morning and walked to Kastrup Søbad to see the sunrise. There was a boardwalk from the beach leading to a circular multi-level wooden structure around a seawater pool. ...
I joined the Helsinki Free Walking Tour at 12:00 PM from the Helsinki Cathedral. We learnt about the Senate Square and the buildings around it. We walked to the Bank of Finland and saw the Johan Vilhelm Snellman Statue. We also saw the House of the Estates. Then we crossed the Love Bridge and saw the Enso-Gutzeit office building, designed by Alvar Aalto. The façades are clad with white and grey-blue Carrara marble. ...
This was part of A day in Stockholm 🇸🇪 🔗. We started the Free Tour Old Town by walking to Helvetesgränd (Alley of Hell), which was the northern end of Storkyrkobrinken/Prästgatan known as such due to the location of the city executioner in the area. We then saw the S:ta Gertrud, Tyska kyrkan and then the Boy climbs the horse sculpture. Next was the Järntorget (The Iron Square), where we also saw the statue of Evert Taube. ...
This was part of A day in Stockholm 🇸🇪 🔗. Free Tour Stockholm City started at the Familjegrupp sculpture towards Munkbron and we saw the Riddarholmen Church across the water. We saw the House of Nobility and then crossed the Stallbron to see the Parliament House. Next we walked to the King Gustav II Adolf statue and then saw the Charles XIII statue in Kungsträdgården. ...
Having arrived on the flight from Delhi the previous evening, I had stayed at the Clarion Hotel Arlanda Airport. This place was inside the terminal building and easy to find. Check-in was hassle-free and the room was comfortable for an overnight stay. The room windows overlooked the interior of the terminal building and there were also views of the apron. Breakfast was served in the Runway Restaurant on the 2nd floor and included in the price of the room. ...
This was part of Central Europe - Day 4 🇨🇿 🔗. I joined the Old Town and Jewish Quarter Free Tour at 11:00 AM. We started from the Powder Tower and walked to the House at the Black Madonna, a 5-story historic building with Cubist architecture. We then headed towards The Estates Theatre and saw the Ernst Mach Sculpture on the way. We also saw the Charles University Archives and the IL COMMENDATORE sculpture by Anna Chromý. ...