Planes, Trains & Automobiles - Lufthansa 747-400 Upper Deck & A Drive around Scotland

[yflyer]

Pre-dessert...



Souffle...



The desserts here were beautiful...



At some point during lunch, Tom Kitchin came out of the kitchen to say hello, and was kind enough to let us take a photo.


We thanked him for the incredible meal we were having.

This was a wonderful meal which ticked all boxes -- superb staff, ambience and really inspired cuisine!

Foodwise, this was probably the highlight of the trip. A big thumbs up!

[yflyer]

While in Edinburgh, we met up with cousins currently living in Edinburgh for a Chinese dinner at Guangdong Gardens (If you are in Edinburgh and need a Chinese food fix -- this is a great choice!).



During dinner, they mentioned that an outdoor activity worth doing was a walk/hike up to Arthur's Seat, the highest peak among a group of hills not far from Edinburgh, well known for its panoramic views of Edinburgh and the surrounding area.



At an elevation of 251m, it was not a particularly challenging hike. It was very popular with visitors, especially at this time of the year, when the weather was pleasant.

I was planning to head out for a run in Edinburgh later that week, and so decided to make Arthur's Seat part of my route.

My original plan was actually to simply run around the hill, not head up, but when I got there, the temptation was simply too great -- I changed my route on the fly and headed up to the top.

It was a 3km run from the hotel to the base of Arthur's Seat, then a 2km walk up to the summit.

[yflyer]

My route took me through city streets...



...past the Scottish Parliament...



...then to the base of Arthur's Seat.



It was a gentle and well marked trail. The ground was not always even, but it was easy enough to navigate...



I headed upwards...



The final stretch was fairly steep...



The panorama from the summit was worth the climb...



What a view!



In the distance, Edinburgh Castle...



The weather was perfect that day.



The sky was clear, and the view stretched out for miles...


I could have spent a lot of time up there.

[yflyer]

Eventually, I headed back down...



...and retraced my steps back to the hotel. It was 5km each way, for a total of 10km.



When in Edinburgh, I would highly recommend a hike up to Arthur's Seat!

[yflyer]

Another must-do in Edinburgh was a visit to the Castle...



Entrance to the Castle was via the Castle Esplanade, where seating had been installed for the famous Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, a famous event featuring militar bands and other performances, scheduled to take place later in the year, in the month of August.



The castle grounds were sprawling...



...with a lot to see inside.



You could see the Firth of Forth, the river estuary leading to the North Sea, from the castle ramparts.



There were many medieval cannons at the castle.





However the most famous artillery piece there was actually a modern 105mm field gun, the one o'clock gun...



...which, as the named implied, was still fired at 1pm each day.

Elsewhere in the castle were the Crown Jewels (No photos allowed), and a hall filled with ancient armour and weaponry.



The armour and weapons on display dated from the 16th and 17th century...





Many swords on display, including a gigantic two-handed one.

[yflyer]

Within the Castle, there was also the Museum of the Royal Scots and Royal Regiment of Scotland, which told the history of these military units during conflicts from the past to the modern day.



Waterloo...



WW2...



...and modern day conflicts...

[yflyer]

After our visit to the castle, we visited the National Gallery of Scotland...



Admission was free...



Once again, the artwork on display was incredble, with works by many of the great masters.

Botticelli...



Paul Gaugin...



Claude Monet...



Edgar Degas...



and Vincent van Goh...



...just to highlight a few.

[yflyer]

Our final meal in Scotland was at The Magnum...



Complimentary amuse bouche...



Pan Seared King Scallops...



A superb version of Cullen Skink...



...and the most delicious venison of the trip...



...tender and perfectly prepared.

A very satisfying final dinner in Edinburgh!

[yflyer]

After dinner, we returned to our hotel, and I turned on the TV to watch part of the World Cup match between Scotland and Brazil, which was being broadcast live. The Scots had done very well in the World Cup till that point, and hopes were high.

Unfortunately the match did not go well for the Scots, and they were beaten 3-0 by Brazil.



The advertisements for this World Cup fixture seen all over the city in the run up to the game seemed to sum up the post-match mood in Edinburgh perfectly.



This was not the outcome I was rooting for, as the Scottish football team had had a great run before this match, and they appeared to be on the verge of making it past the first round, to the elimination rounds, for the first time in history. I hope they achieve that goal in the next World Cup.

[yflyer]

The next morning, we checked out of our hotel and headed to Edinburgh Airport for our flight home, on Lufthansa via Frankfurt.



Our first flight was Lufthansa LH961, a 2 hour sector scheduled to depart EDI at 1pm, and get us into FRA at 4pm local time.

The check-in area was jam packed when we arrived at the airport at 11am.



Fortunately, the line at the Business Class / Star Alliance Gold check-in lanes was fairly short.



We were able to complete check-in, and tag our luggage all the way to SIN, within 15 minutes.



We were also able to clear security via the fast track lanes very quickly, and were soon in the airside area.



There were many shopping and eating options in the airside area, including a large, and very busy, Wetherspoon Pub.

[yflyer]

After a long walk around the terminal, we finally reached the designated lounge, the Aspire Lounge.



This was a smallish lounge, with an average, if unexceptional, F&B selection and a manned bar with complimentary soft beverages, wine and beer.. Premium spirts and wines were available on a chargeable basis. The lounge had a no-photo policy, so I abided by this rule and took no pictures.

While this lounge was acceptable, there was nothing really special about it.

We spent a few minutes the this lounge before heading to the Turkish Airlines / Star Alliance Lounge next door, which we were also eligible to use as Lufthansa J ticket holders.



This lounge was a step up from the Aspire Lounge in almost all respects. The lounge was more spacious...



...with a better F&B selection...



...and a much nicer bar.



There were self service wines and spirits...



...as well as a manned bar, with friendly bartenders...



...and an extensive beverage menu, with both complimentary wines and spirits, as well as premium selections on a paid basis.




Interestingly, based on my boarding pass, my order of a glass a premium sparkling wine, the Bottega Milliesimato Spumante Brut, was complimentary. Not sure if it was because I was flying LH J, or because I was Star Alliance Gold, but this was a pleasnt surprise.

[yflyer]

The TK Lounge had a nice F&B spread.



Soup...



Salads...



A tasty selection of hot mains...



From the TK Lounge, we saw the arrival of the inbound Lufthansa Airbus that would be operating LH961 that day.

This was an A320neo, registration D-AIJE, a 5 year old aircraft named "Bad Segeberg".

[yflyer]

We left the lounge and headed over to our gate for boarding.



We were flying Euro-Business i.e. these were simply economy class seats in 3-3 with the middle seat left empty.



Legroom was not noticeably different from Y.



Recline was also no different from Y.



USB charging, including USB-C, was a nice touch.



Nice views of the EDI control tower as we taxi'ed out...



This was a fairly busy afternoon...



Take-off...

[yflyer]

Lunch was served while we were still flying over the UK...



The menu...





Bread rolls...



The meal was quite tasty.



I had sparkling wine with lunch...



...and coffee afterwards.



Still over the UK, we overflew the city of Hull and the River Humber...



We were soon over the North Sea, towards the European continent. Boxes of white chocolate were handed out.



There were vast wind turbine farms near the Dutch coast.



We flew over the North Sea Canal, which connected Amsterdam to the North Sea at IJmuiden, first constructed between 1865 and 1876.

[yflyer]

Great views of Schipol Airport...



The pic above shows 5 of the 6 runways at Schiphol.

The 6th runway, 36L, is in the pic below, to the far left of the airport...



36L is the furthest runway from the terminals, and taxing to/from that runway apparently takes 15-20 minutes (!)...