In celebration of finally getting an american passport, I'm embarking on a round-the-world trip (well, really just the northern hemisphere) to check out a few places I would've previously needed visas/bribes to visit. I'll try to chronicle as much of it as I can (or until I get tired of typing).
So this whole crack-pot idea came about because US Airways was doing some weird miles promotion back in May. My college buddy Ernest, who is an avid frequent flyer, pointed me toward this deal as a great way to be able to circle the globe for a very reasonable price. I did a quick back-of-the-envelope calculation and realized that this was indeed a ridiculously good deal. This, coupled with the fact that US Airways was merging with American and will be leaving the Star Alliance soon, meant that I would have to take advantage of the larger airline network before the merger completed. I quickly looked up the individual flights needed to complete this journey, and decided on a flight plan.
The first leg of the journey took me from SF to Zurich via Boston. Sadly, I'd only be in Boston for 1.5 hours and wouldn't be able to head into the city for any adventures. On the bright side, Switzerland would only be a short nap away! I got to SFO a bit early, as I had a little bit of work to wrap up and I also wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to do some plane-spotting. Of course, domestic terminal would only be limited to united express and maybe the occasional trans-continental plane, but what the heck, still pretty interesting to watch. Oddly enough, the area I decided to plop down in didn't have any planes at all! Oh well, time to catch up on work and get myself ready to board.
By the time we boarded, the gates were filled with planes. There was a cluster of the short-haul united express jets, and our 757 looked massive in comparison. Everyone in my section was preoccupied with the boston/detroit game, which was starting a little after take-off time. Half of the flight was asking for wifi or for the game to be shown on the TV. Sadly, our plane wasn’t one of the renovated 757’s that had directTV.
The connecting flight in Boston was an overnight trip on a Swiss A330. Apparently this and the A340 comprise most of their trans-atlantic fleet. It’s definitely a nice ride, and the staggered seat-plan made for an interesting flight. The alternating window seats, coupled with the staggered side/middle arrangement, meant I had quite a bit of privacy during the flight.
Swiss does a good job of incorporating the regional cuisine in its dining options, and today was no different. The meal was from the region of Neuchâtel, and I had the beef tenderloin with roasted veggies…quite tasty. It was kind of odd – when I asked the server what he recommends, he commented I don’t know I’m going to eat after you do. Breakfast was an order form you fill out specifying if you want to be woken and what kind of breakfast items you wanted for a continental breakfast.
All throughout the flight, I was watching different programming that highlighted the different things you can do in Switzerland. Basically, if you're an outdoorsy person, you want to live here. Since the country is nestled within the Alps, there's a combination of town and mountains in pretty much every glance you have, and from the plane, you can easily see that.
Landing in Zurich at 11am meant I had plenty of daylight to soak in the fresh swiss scenery. Even in Zurich, there was something different about this big city that we in the states just don’t enjoy. It’s hard to describe. After a quick shower in the airport and a look-around for the nearest ATM, I was on my way to Chur!
So this whole crack-pot idea came about because US Airways was doing some weird miles promotion back in May. My college buddy Ernest, who is an avid frequent flyer, pointed me toward this deal as a great way to be able to circle the globe for a very reasonable price. I did a quick back-of-the-envelope calculation and realized that this was indeed a ridiculously good deal. This, coupled with the fact that US Airways was merging with American and will be leaving the Star Alliance soon, meant that I would have to take advantage of the larger airline network before the merger completed. I quickly looked up the individual flights needed to complete this journey, and decided on a flight plan.
The first leg of the journey took me from SF to Zurich via Boston. Sadly, I'd only be in Boston for 1.5 hours and wouldn't be able to head into the city for any adventures. On the bright side, Switzerland would only be a short nap away! I got to SFO a bit early, as I had a little bit of work to wrap up and I also wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to do some plane-spotting. Of course, domestic terminal would only be limited to united express and maybe the occasional trans-continental plane, but what the heck, still pretty interesting to watch. Oddly enough, the area I decided to plop down in didn't have any planes at all! Oh well, time to catch up on work and get myself ready to board.
The connecting flight in Boston was an overnight trip on a Swiss A330. Apparently this and the A340 comprise most of their trans-atlantic fleet. It’s definitely a nice ride, and the staggered seat-plan made for an interesting flight. The alternating window seats, coupled with the staggered side/middle arrangement, meant I had quite a bit of privacy during the flight.
All throughout the flight, I was watching different programming that highlighted the different things you can do in Switzerland. Basically, if you're an outdoorsy person, you want to live here. Since the country is nestled within the Alps, there's a combination of town and mountains in pretty much every glance you have, and from the plane, you can easily see that.
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