I am really looking forward to this trip! Two days of London with shows and good food, a couple of family days in Berlin, and finally three days with m brother at the Edinburgh fringe. Fun!
But first things first.
Playing Chicken with United
Starting from Premium Economy Seating, I had applied for Plus Point upgrades for UA948 from SFO to LHR, being quite hopeful as I come from A higher base fare and I have been fortunate on Thursday-flights.
When the preview upgrade list opened on Tuesday, I was quite hopeful. First on the upgrade list and three open seats in Business. Hey, that’s looking GREAT!
So this is one of those times when the Day-of-Departure upgrades may not be my friend. Truly what they call a „First World Problem“ 😉
Wednesday morning, 6:27 am: Hmm. Not upgraded yet. A DoD upgrade for me prices just over $1,000. No Thanks! I am first on the upgrade list and there a three open seats.
Wednesday, 4:16 pm: The text reminder 24 hours prior to departure comes in. A DoD upgrade now prices at $617 for me. That’s an awkwardly precise number. But: No Thanks! I am first on the upgrade list and there a three open seats.
Thursday, 0:17 am: We are still at $617 for the DoD upgrade. OK, United, I love you, but let’s play chicken and see who blinks first.
Thursday, 4:41 am: Got up early to work and pre-adjust time zones. Same state. $617. I am not blinking. Still three open seats. Doubt is starting to linger. There is a group of three – all with the same last name – two positions behind me on the upgrade list. What if they blink? Hmm.
Thursday, 10:37 am: Argh. I am physically at work now and realize that two other people blinked. Darn you, new occupants of seats 8D and 8G. No more DoD upgrades. Argh! Does the bank always win? Well, all is not lost. There is still one open seat and I am still first in line for it.
Hope.
A friend at work points out that he was in this situation before and they kept that seat for the crew. I hear you. Happened to me before, too.
Still hoping.
It’s a quiet day at SFO. Zero wait at the CLEAR line and I am through security. Is part of UNITED‘s Game of chicken to not not let me into the Polaris lounge? The standard lounge will do. A chat with the United agent confirms that the pilot-seat is already accounted for. I may be fine.
Positive thoughts! Hope is rising again!
Thursday, 3:08 pm: The „we are boarding„ text comes in. I am going to my assigned seat. Should I open the provided „Therabody“ bag? That feels like blinking, so no. Oh wait. There is no purchasable DoD anymore. Did they win already? While I am on my last business call before leaving, I frequently refresh the upgrade list and my boarding pass. As if that would help.
Thursday, 3:45 pm: I am pouting just a little. Still one open seat and I show as first on the upgrade list. Then hope vanishes as the „we are closing doors“ announcement comes. Oh well. Reality sinks in. The Crew got the last seat in Business. Oh well. Time to open that bag. I love you, United. Playing Chicken was fun. But still. It would have been nice to be upgraded.
London
Jake Gyllenhaal looked ripped in „Road House“ that I watched over dinner before getting some sleep. I missed the snack service and woke up for breakfast.
My Whoop refuses to connect using United’s internet during the approach to London to get me exact sleep data. I must have had about five hours or so. Good. Remember the times when there was no internet at all while in the air? One gets spoiled.
10:18 am local time in London: Touchdown.
While taxiing, my T-Mobile international data pass happily announces its presence. Time to switch off Photos and App Store while on cellular – the are through a coupe of GB like nothing during a previous trip.
10:24: At gate. First gate off the connector to pass the Tarmac underground.
10:29: Walking. purchased my Heathrow Express ticket on the fly. A interactive Heathrow Express sign tracks me a happily announced my walking speed of 2.6 MPH. Minority report, anybody? It quite. The facial recognition at entry asks me to seek assistance at 10:40. My glasses perhaps?
10:42: walking through the arrivals area. Writing while my Tumi bags practically drove themselves. Vibes of „Love Actually“ as nobody greets me. LOL.
10:53: At the Heathrow Express platform. Next express in 8 minutes. Several staff talk about delays on the Elizabeth line. The days when you could set your clock by train arrivals are clearly over.
Whoop connects again and gives me 4:41 hours sleep on about 6:21 in bed. Nice.
Announcement that the Elizabeth line has severe delays due to a broken train at Paddington. The comment „the next train at this platform should hopefully be the Boston express to London Paddington“ does not sounds too convincing.
11:03: A train, a train!
11:21: Paddington
11:49: Arived at the Zedwell @ Piccadilly.
Interesting check in process. The terminals don’t find my reservations, but the technical difficulties are immediately remedied by the charme of Prawintha who check me in. The £40 early check in are absolutely worth it and I find myself in the gym by 1:13 pm. Everything is automated with Apps etc. and the gym is top notch.
Time for a late lunch at the Ham Yard Hotel, just a brief 5 minute walk away. I love the atmosphere of the plaza for lunch and ha e always been in awe of Kit Kemp‘s amazing designs.
Melon and Prosciutto and a great Halibut will do the trick. Off to a couple of business calls from the hotel.
Off to enjoy London. One of my favorite coffee shops – Carpo – has moved to a location across Piccadilly at Sherwood Street. It’s amazing!
Evening Dinner at Ivy‘s
Day 2
Hotel room darkness makes for great sleep
Starlight express
Fangirls
Day 3 – Sunday
Mammoth closed
At Carpo again – the slogan summarizes the vibe nicely and completely.
Lunch at Mount St. Restaurant. A.mazing!
Transfer to Berlin is as uneventful as we like it. Short pitstop at my parents place, then off to the Maritim ProArte. Closing the night with a night walk. This view never gets old.
Day 4 – Monday – Berlin!
Relaxed morning!
Day 5 – Tuesday – Berlin Downtown
Day 6 – Wednesday – Berlin Potsdam with Schloss Sanssouci
Day 7 – Thursday – Transfer from Berlin to Edinburgh
Leaving downtown for the BER airport located in the south of Berlin at 6:50 am gets us there 7:28 am. We have a mixed departure on United and British Airways.
All parties are checked in. Trying to get to be a good boy, I am attempting to check my international carry on. The line at the BA counter is about 70 people with one agent. The “Fast Drop” does not work for BA – really?- and our BER runway reservation is at 7:45. It’s the equivalent of the US Clear program without actual pre-check benefits but a reserved time window to enter a special security line.
Not in the mood to wait with 75 people. Sorry. Let them take my luggage at the gate if they really need to. Warming up for my best Dirty Harry impression – “Do you feel lucky, punk?” I am a spoiled United 1K. What shall I say?
Meanwhile, getting a fun message from BA.
Please be advised that your flight may be delayed today because of Air Traffic Control restrictions due to potential adverse weather conditions across the UK and Europe.
If you have a connecting flight as part of the same ticket and there’s a chance you may miss your connection, we’ll automatically rebook your onward journey. Please check ba.com/managemybooking.
We look forward to welcoming you onboard soon.
Oh well. Looks like our 90 minute layover at Lodon City Airport is lining up to double as our jogging workout for today.
Why do all other apps except the BA App know that we will be at D06? Hmm. Getting there from Laggner Bräu is a swift 5 minute walk.
It seems BA and BER may not go too well together.
It’a 4 minutes past the announced “start of boarding” time. Hooray! Our equipment is pulling in 🙂
Roll call at 11:35. 10 minutes to original departure. BA App mentiones a 12:00 departiee time. Yeah. Boarding has not started yet. So no. Google says 12:05.
11:48: Seated in plane 🙂 No discussions on luggage. It fit like a glove 🙂
11:50: Google catches up with BA. 12:00 departure. More importantly, they claim a 12:57 arrival at LCY.
11:56: The boarding complete announcement, but the aisle is still packed. A daughter in passing tells her Mom “we still have to choose a tattoo artist.” Wishes for good luck and some laughs.
11:59: The door closes and the gangway pulls away. Where is my humble pie?
13:02: Waiting in the aisle to exit. More humble pie for me..
13:16: Passport control is fast. But: London LCY has no connection from an international transfer to domestic flights within Britain. Really? Weird. In a security line again. They have the Clearscan devices that allow everything to stay in bags. Hmm.
16:56: At the gate in Edinburgh
Traffic was quite heavy, but we made it to the Old Waverley hotel by 18:05. We are right in the midst of things. Or as they say in Britain; It’ll do us!
And it’s Fringe Time from here 🙂
The Return to the US
4:10 Taxi to the airport
7:24 touch down LHR after an aborted landing to check the runway. Hmm.
7:58 entering T2
Security is fast and has the new upgraded systems that allows electronics to stay in the bag! Cool!
8:18 finished duty free purchases.
8:29 entered B1 Lounge. It’s busy – they send me to the Global Services lounge.
StageAficionado 