[Finally Finished!] Kyo Does The Land Of The Midnight Sun (aka Kyo Visits Norway)

[Pinkfloyd]

Cheers kyo+++!

Was just at the SK Lounge in OSL two days ago. The trick there is to sit in the Biz lounge area (as there are hardly any people) while getting your drinks and snacks from the Scandinavian Lounge area (only for *G card holders). The selection is a bit pathetic , I agree, but there a few restaurants scattered around the airport for proper food... Of course this includes the two typical Norwegian dishes...hotdogs and pizzas...

Interesting you finished this at the same time I made my last official trip to Norway for my previous company!

[Kyo]

Aulia Harun: Thanks very much for your supportive comments - without which this TR might never have made it to completion!

jjpb3: Were the Norse sagas of yore also this exhaustive and long-winded?
Thanks for your very kind words, Sir!

Dent@SUB: I didn't want to be the first person to take longer than a year to finish a TR! It's a hard commitment to make when there are these many pics involved and I just wanted to write something I'd be proud of reading again next time. Also, now you can embark on your CX flight in peace knowing the outcome of this TR!

Pinkfloyd: Thanks for the tip! Yep, I did end up in the Scandinavian *G area (even used their workstations for a bit, and their funky mobile phone charger stations which are really great stuff). Seems I was lucky to have made the decision to enjoy the Norwegian salmon at Monolitten (do they have an equivalent at the Int'l area?). Will we finally have the pleasure of seeing you more around the SE Asia region now? Didn't mean to rub salt in the wound by finishing the TR off today...

Anyway, thank you to everybody for the motivation. I apologise profusely to my generous Norwegian hosts for taking this long to complete this TR. Hopefully this won't always be an annual thing... and I tip my hat to those who contribute generously with their TRs, especially the ones that churn 'em out like there's no tomorrow (ala SQfg!!)

I did promise sumitsan that there was a B744 somewhere, however I have decided to write that as an epilogue with its own separate chapter. It will show the OSL-FRA segment and the FRA-BKK segment and hopefully at maximum, take not longer than two posts. It will also have a tribute to that famous Nickbot TR, with an unforgettable moment from the FRA FCT.

[borntofly]

Great trip report, I enjoyed reading it.. you definitely have a gift for photography!

[sumitsan]

Thanks again, Kyo for sharing this awesome TR. Always enjoy your TRs. I do agree with borntofly that you have a gift with photography. Loved the scenery!!

I just wanted to write something I'd be proud of reading again next time.

That's exactly what I think when I write my TRs. I know most here probably didn't enjoy mine compared to other TRs in here, but I was defintely proud of them.

Looking forward to the epilogue with the 744!

[Aulia Harun]

If I may ask, do you typically have someone take these self-portraits for you, or do you set it to self-timer? By the way, I like the idea, and I might take photos like this for my future TRs, hmm, I would say trademark Kyo "allow me to demonstrate" photo What do you think?

Aulia Harun: Thanks very much for your supportive comments - without which this TR might never have made it to completion!

You're welcome. Hope to see more in the future!

you definitely have a gift for photography!

I second that statement.

[leo]

Aquavit looks potent.. Yikes! Epic TR Kyo! Well done!

Note to self: Now, to get started on the Lombok one

[Kyo]

Epilogue - Flight Report

LH3133
Business Class
Seat 2A from OSL to FRA (Oslo to Frankfurt)
25 September 2009
Plane: A320-200

This is my first flight not just on LH Business, but on Lufthansa, ever!

And I was heading to LH's world-(in)famous hub, FRAnkfurt, a 2-hour hop away... (no problem, I've been trained weekly on SIN-BKK!)

So, you can imagine I was really looking forward to see how ze Germans vud match up to all the other 5-star carriers out there!


Lufthansa - Business Class


Star Alliance logo on top - Crest of Arms "This aircraft is named after the city of Zwickau"

Geographical fact of the day: Zwickau's a city near Dresden, located in the very Eastern part of Germany, close to the Czech Republic.

We take off and the ascent is nice and fast. I feel a sense of pity that I'm leaving Scandinavia behind, my home for the better part of the last week. I've truly enjoyed my stay in Oslo and am keen to come back to Norway.


View From The Wings - We're roaring away from OSL, dedicated to jjpb3


Moments Later - A little Norwegian town disappears below


The Oslo Fjord - Top-left hand corner, it's a long swathe of landscape, a picture postcard of nature come to life


Seat Pitch - It's comfortable enough for this short flight

It was a little bumpy, and the seatbelt sign stayed on longer than normal. So the cabin crew swung quickly into action to begin meal service when it went off.

Lufthansa has catering that is themed 'Discover Flavour'.

For J pax, they serve several cold courses. Probably easier, on short intra-Europe flights. I don't see why everyone complains about these, I actually think they are quite nice!


Cold Meal Service - A selection of smoked salmon with seared vegetables, roulade of chicken with green beans and dessert of cream and passionfruit

Notice the placemat has pictures of nuts on it, which I found to be a very nice touch...

The theme of 'Discover Flavour' this particular month was that of 'curry', a flavour I didn't particularly need any real introduction to, to be honest (coming from SE Asia)... I was chuckling when I opened the booklet. How ironic to 'discover' curry on a flight from Norway to Germany!

Wondering where the curry is?

Look closely. There's a slight dusting of curry around the edges of the salmon.

Okay, so overall the meal was not mindblowing, but I somehow don't think they meant it to be in the first place...

Beverage selection-wise, the drinks were reasonable but I didn't pay much attention to champagne during this meal - there would be plenty of boozing later on today!

A short while after mealtrays were collected, I glimpsed out the window and soon spotted the first bit of land in sight, far below


Land Ahoy! - Is this the Baltic Sea? Perhaps kapitan can enlighten...

Before landing, I was very politely asked to fill out a feedback form.


Your opinion is valuable to us! - Well, if you say so!

With a few more minutes of intra-Europe J to go, time for some camwhoring...


Why am I smiling? - Because I have a cunning plan to hatch? Because I'm finally able to cross Germany off the list of 'countries to visit'?

Before we land, we're stuck in a holding pattern for a bit, however... so that gives me time to snap this:


FRAnkfurt Am Main - I'm finally (almost) here!

Wheels down, and it's a long taxi to the gate, but we finally get there... and I know I'm definitely in LH-land.

Why?


That's why - Plenty of the other type of blue and gold..!

[Kyo]

borntofly: Thanks for your very kind comment! I'll leave that for the rest to judge. I just try my best, but I do think the Ixus 980IS did hold back the quality of the photos, no thanks to its lack of wide-angle capability.

sumitsan: Getting very close now to that 744! Thanks for your comments also...

Aulia Harun: I actually had a very mini tripod (almost useless, but it came free with my camera) with me that's only about 6 cm high... I almost never prefer to ask someone to take photos, and prefer to do it myself.

I like the idea of calling these the "allow me to demonstrate" pose! It's not easy especially when travelling solo, though! Go ahead, no need to pay royalties unlike some patented SQflyergirl legshots (I heard she will hunt down whoever doesn't pay her! Beware!)



leo: I'm glad that my finishing this TR inspired you to share your stunning Lombok (and now Penang, I see) shots!

Get inspired, the rest of you!

[Kyo]

Epilogue - FRAnkfurt In 3 Hours

As I landed for my first time ever ever visit to Germany, it became obvious that Frankfurt is just that little bit more chaotic then Singapore. Although I had checked myself through ex-OSL to BKK, the 7 hour, 5 minute transit at Frankfurt from one LH intra-Europe C flight to long-haul LH F to BKK had me under the mistaken assumption that I would be met/escorted in some way to the next lounge.

There were zilch ground-staff and not a hint of a signboard outside Gate A38 where we'd just arrived after disembarkation to tell us where to go.


There was however - Very, very, VERY long concourse to walk through!

After what seemed like an eternity of struggling with my luggage, I emerged 'landside'. There appeared to be no immigration formalities and this being my first time in a strange land, I was rather lost about where to go and what to do. I guessed it had to do with Schengen and non-Schengen arrival terminals of which someone who'd predominantly not spent time in the Eurozone would know nothing about.

After checking with a very busy (and very gruff) airport official, I was informed that I could proceed straight outside and I'd have to find the LH desk to check-in once again for the flight to BKK.

I, however, had different plans about how I'd spend my time on German soil.

Leaving the dreary corridor behind, I set out to find my way into town and soon realised that taking the train was the preferred local method.


Frankfurt - My first glimpse of Germany was the Sheraton Frankfurt Hotel & Towers, Conference Center (oddly enough)


I guessed I was on the right track - AIRail Terminal!


I made sure to buy a ticket at the very confusing machine - Not quite the local Singaporean MRT ticket machine


EUR 3.70 poorer - And lots of words I don't understand


Let's hope the train's on time - And I was off to town!


The Red Miracle - My mode of transportation upon reaching Hauptbahnhof


Hauptbahnhof - Reminded me of St Pancras

Well, I'd made it.

But I still didn't know what to expect.

All I knew was that before I'd embarked upon my trip, my German colleague in Singapore, upon learning that I 'vud be visiting ze mozerland', had insisted I try a local specialty, and that I had to take a photo of me consuming said specialty. More on that later.

Leaving the Hauptbahnhof behind, I set off to explore FRAnkfurt with barely 5 hours remaining before my flight to BKK!


The Majestic Hauptbahnhof - I still don't know what the DB stands for!


Straight Ahead! - Die Kaiserstraße


N_Architect-styled Shot - Of Die Kaiserstraße

Before I know it, I'm at a park with a big EURO sign!


EU's Fave Currency - Hot or Not? (dear readers, do note the artistic motivation to take the shot while the Euro faced the wrong direction, was actually due to lack of patience)

I opted not to camwhore this time as I was on an urgent mission to find that food item in this German maze of a city...

Coming up, that mysterious food item and (as it's been revealed in this post) an LH F flight, stay tuned for a FRA FCT experience!

[Dent@SUB]

....
I still don't know what the DB stands for!
......

Deutsche Bahn maybe....
The National German Railway.....

Now I must say:"ENCORE.... ENCORE.... ENCORE...Give us more, please!".

[Pinkfloyd]

Deutsche Bahn maybe....
The National German Railway

Yepp that is right...

[Kyo]

Epilogue - 2 More Hours in FRA and a Currywurst

As some will know, I've been known to travel for food, and in particular, sausage, which is the 'mysterious' food item being alluded to in my previous posts.

Now, I know what you're thinking... but let's not go there! Tsk tsk...

I always thought, "When in Germany, eat a Wurst..."

To be honest, I didn't really know where to start with finding this particular 'mysterious' local food item: a Currywurst (often pronounced 'Curryvurst')

First it involved a walk back through the park, and then, still lost and more confused, back through it again... here's a picture -


Frankfurt has skyscrapers - Looks like a decent enough place to live and work

After a little bit of wandering around, we passed by a very magnificent looking building when we made our way back to the Kaiserplatz. Here's a panorama shot I stitched together (I was using it as my wallpaper for quite awhile at one stage)...


Steinberger Hof - A magnificent-looking hotel (looks far better when enlarged, btw)

I walked further along, without regard for where I was going, but generally following the flow of traffic and I soon emerged at a church in the middle of a little square.


Steinberger Frankfurter Hof - A magnificent-looking hotel (looks far better when enlarged, btw)

Somehow, my gut/nose/combination-of-both told me my quest would soon come to an end. My 'sausage-sense' was tingling!


'Sausage-sense' - Tingling!

I walked around the area (which was rather large) and found this restaurant... but it turned out to be a red herring.


Beautiful Restaurant - But no Currywurst on the menu!

Was my 'sausage-sense' giving me false readings?!

Was it my mind playing tricks on me or was there a distinct smell of roasted meat in the air?

Before I knew it, my heart was pounding and I was dashing across the square, around the side of the church! I was positive I was now on the right track, especially when I saw a little queue forming in front of a nondescript wooden hut of sorts, next to the church. I caught a glimpse of that holy grail of fine German meat on the counter... and it was beautiful.


It was simple - But it was beautiful


Roasted Wursts (?) - Hanging from the ceiling (No idea what's the plural for 'wurst')

Look how happy the staff are. What could be better?


Eating it, of course!


Allow Me To Demonstrate - Well, that was the plan but I got carried away...


Currywurst - Not typical 'kampung' fare

Tell us, Dent@SUB, which one is better? Sex On The Beach? Or Currywurst?

In honour of Oktoberfest happening around this period, I devoured everything. There were likely no traces of the plate and cutlery by the time I was done.

I had barely 90 minutes left before I had to begin heading back to the airport. Yet, there was still one item left on my eating agenda. Yes, really.

Thankfully, I'd done a little bit more research on this one... and I was told to try the Old Town Hall area... so after a bit of zig-ging and zag-ging, I could make out its famous spire.


Late Afternoon in Frankfurt - The Spire of the Old Town Square

I soon emerged into -


Frankfurt's Old Town Square - Resplendent in all its glory (also looks great enlarged)

It's also famous for it's Old Town Hall!


Das Rathaus von Frankfurt Am Main - Ye Olde Town Hall of Frankfurt (sorry about the overexposure - this camera doesn't shoot in RAW unlike the ACIEL)

And in the next post - another mysterious and famous German delicacy... and guaranteed, the first photos of my visit to FRA's FCT

[Dent@SUB]

[SIZE=4][B].......


Tell us, Dent@SUB, which one is better? Sex On The Beach? Or Currywurst?

.....

Off course Sex On The Beach along with Currywurst... What else can complement having Sex On The Beach other than the Currywurst????

[Dent@SUB]

Ooppss....

Should I use " " on certain phrases??

[Kyo]

LOL, all I can is keep asking myself is if the SUB self-proclaimed 'kampung' boy is really so innocent or if there's something more-than-meets-the-eye there...

I'd better keep the 'wursts' away from the 'SotBs'! *oops*

(Thanks for the hints on the DB thingo, Dent@SUB and Pinkfloyd!)