Round The World and other travels

A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries

This is: Round The World 2015

Across the Atlantic

ABOVE: Tuesday morning view from Room 1119, and it looks like a fine day for flying

I woke up at 7:30, and an hour or so later repeated the previous day's experience of a McDonalds breakfast. Well, why not? It was just across the street (and discreetly round the corner ) - better than paying €OMG for a huge buffet that I neither needed nor wanted.

I checked out at 10am and crossed the road one last time to catch the X9 express bus to Tegel. Check-in was reasonably straightforward, although there was little bit of a faff when I was asked to produce evidence of my "return" journey. (In my case it was going to have to be evidence of an onward journey.) I was able to choose between the British Airways and Air France lounges, which turned out to be situated one on top of the other.

ABOVE: Instead of closing along with the rest of Tegel Airport, the British Airways lounge has received a partial refresh in 'Galleries' style

I chose the BA lounge simply because it involved fewer steps. The look had been updated since my last visit to include 'Galleries' furniture, although one or two remnants of the previous 'Terraces' theme had managed to survive. A small glass of Sekt seemed entirely justified. Thanks to BBC World News, I was reminded that it was during this week in 1989 that the Berlin Wall fell. The thought occurred to me that it will soon have been gone for longer than it stood.

LEFT: General concourse view at TXL, an airport that is still very much in service
RIGHT: A sign of what should have been

In due course I made my way to the bus gate, where I was amused to find a retractable belt barrier marked as belonging to Berlin Brandenburg Airport. Originally due to open in 2010, the city's new showpiece airport has been hit by calamitous construction problems, making it appear to be one of the worst-managed projects of all time. (Yes, even worse than the build phase of Edinburgh Trams!)

LEFT: About to board AB7248 for New York (Click picture for full flight log)

On arrival at New York's Kennedy Airport, immigration and customs formalities proved to be remarkably efficient, largely because I fell into the 'returning ESTA' category. Indeed it was all so hassle-free that I had to stand around for a while waiting for my luggage to catch up. I made it safely into an official cab despite having to run the gauntlet of a squad of in-your-face touts, the worst example of this that I had seen for many years. Traffic was hideous and the journey to Midtown Manhattan took in excess of 90 minutes, albeit at a fixed price in a clean, comfortable and modern cab.

I was starting to feel quite tired when I eventually reached the Hilton Midtown. The purpose of choosing a central location was not to allow me to do anything tonight; it was to ensure that I was in the right place from the word 'go' on Friday morning. After buying a Greek-style salad from the in-house Herb Kitchen and eating it in my room, I finally surrendered to sleep around 9pm, in line with my usual practice on arriving in the USA from Europe.