Diary of an eight-hour flight

What to expect on an eight hour flight in economy - Travel for a Living

I fly on a regular basis – now there’s a revelation; who would have thought – but pretty much all of my flights are short haul. Just an hour, two hours tops if I have to get to Central Europe or Nordics. But to actually do a long haul flight? Nah, not on a regular basis. But as I told before, hubby and I are New York bound again this month and as much as we were looking forward to it, it does come with a long flight at the start and end. So what to expect on an eight hour flight?

I am fairly relaxed about it all, I spend so much time sitting around airports for hours at a time that this flight couldn’t be any worse. Just make sure I have a fully charged laptop in front of me and I potter away forever (if I run out of things to write for the blog, I could always catch up on work, if and when I get very desperate). Hubby on the other side? Well that’s a different story.

You all remember that scene in Shrek when they travel to the Kingdom Far Far Away and donkey sits in the back, asking ‘are we there yet?’ every other second? Yep, that’s my other half (nah, he’s not a donkey obviously). He’s fine for the first hour, two tops, after that he gets a little restless.

So, I decided to share the pleasure with you all with my ‘diary of an eight-hour flight’.  To give you a better idea what to expect on an eight hour flight, if you’ve never flown long-haul.

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My little travel companion

Spoiler alert – not much travel advice to be found here, this is just a fun little anecdote around my travel.

Last day in the office before my trip to Oslo my colleague left a little plastic pony on my desk.

Why you wonder? Well so did I.

Turned out her daughter put it in her bag a while back and little pony travelled to Italy with her (unnoticed). When it was eventually discovered, her daughter was so happy about little pony having been to Italy, that my colleague decided to send it travelling some more.

So in my bag it went to accompany me to Norway.

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Visiting Oslo for the first time

Somehow I’ve always neglected Nordics as a travel destination (despite actually really wanting to see them). Therefore covering maternity leave for a colleague and occasionally going there came as a nice perk of the job. As one of my last trips in 2017 I had my first ever trip to Norway… for work only, but nevertheless. And thanks to things going anything but planned, I ended up with an extra night there, although without actually seeing a thing (if you don’t count hotels and airports). So I was delighted when Norway showed up on my travel itinerary again for January. The prospect of actually visiting Oslo for the first time and staying the night and not just changing flights there got me rather excited.

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Visiting New York for the first time

Visiting New York for the first time - Travel for a Living

It doesn’t come as a huge secret if I tell you that I love New York. I always did… or at least I always loved the thought of New York City. It wasn’t until our honeymoon in 2012 that I actually manage to visit New York for the first time.

At the time the idea was to have an extended stay (we stayed 11 nights) to see it all and get it over and done with… been there, done that, got the T-shirt kinda thing.

But little did I know. Yes, by the time we got back from our honeymoon we felt so overwhelmed and tired (I mean how many miles can you walk in a day for days on end without losing the will to live) that I would have totally subscribed to that ‘been there done that’ idea… but as time passed (and my muscles stopped hurting) I started longing for New York again. And the rest is history as they say. We have been back a few times since and are preparing for yet another trip in the New Year.

So what better time to share with you some tips for your first trip to New York City.

Read more Visiting New York for the first time

2017 – my year in numbers

As 2017 is in its final hours, it seems like the perfect time to re-cap and take stock.

It’s been a good travel year with lots of trips, both for work and leisure.

But let’s take a closer look at the where, when, how often and why (if this bores you, I do apologise, I am aware this might be more for my own sake than anyone elses… I promise there will be something more interesting up on the blog soon).

Read more 2017 – my year in numbers

City Break in New York

Whilst I am still enjoying my few travel free weeks in the run up to Christmas (such a rare thing not to travel for a whole month), I am already preparing for more trips in the New Year.

For a few days (or was it mere hours?) I thought things would eventually quieten down a little in 2018, but looking at my diary now, I’d say far from it.

Looking at January and February, everything is already back to normal with trips booked for pretty much every single week.

But it is not all work. Hubby and I will go to New York for a week. Yes… again.

Read more City Break in New York

Queen at Wembley – a Childhood Dream come true

Queen + Adam Lambert at Wembley Arena

With my parents and aunt being huge Queen fans, I grew up with their music. And with the dream of one day seeing them live.

Back in the days – when dinosaurs still roamed this earth – they went to see Queen live not once but twice… and refused to take me with them. How dare they say I was too young to come to a rock concert at the sweet age of eight (ok in hindsight maybe they had a point, but I refused to believe that). Then the unthinkable happened and Freddie died.

Fast forward 30 years. Queen + Adam Lambert live in Wembley.

Too good a chance to miss.

Read more Queen at Wembley – a Childhood Dream come true

Things to know about connecting flights

Things to know about connecting flights - Travel for a Living

Last trip was a trip of firsts. First ever trip to Norway. First ever flight with Norwegian Air and SAS. And – believe it or not – my first ever connecting flight. Yes, I am as shocked as you are. Despite being a frequent flyer, I have never before changed planes. I have had days when I took a flight in the morning and then continued with another flight in the evening, but never direct transit. So here I was. Ready to do this not once, but twice in as many days. No better time to tell you all the things to know about connecting flights. 

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Airport Guide for Berlin – which airport to pick for Berlin

Which airport to pick for Berlin - Travel for a Living

To me Berlin is very marmite. You either love it or hate it. Not much in between. And what shall I say… I don’t love marmite…. Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying I hate Berlin. Not really. But it would not make it into my top five of cities (hey here’s an idea for a new blog post… stay tuned). Nor would it be my first (second or third) choice of places to live in Germany. But I am always up for the odd weekend or visit (unlike marmite… that I do loath at all times). So if you are planning a trip to Berlin, let me tell you which airport to pick for Berlin.

Read more Airport Guide for Berlin – which airport to pick for Berlin

Swimming pools and spa hotels… travel done right

Every now and then the choice of hotel or location turns out to be just perfect, making an otherwise standard work trip that little bit special.

I am usually in charge of my own itinerary. So within limits I can pick and choose my preferred dates, flights and hotels. But saying that…. When it comes to hotels I am regularly at the mercy of the client, as they confirm the appointments with the dealerships, pick me up from the airport and drop me at the hotel (often the case when they actually stay at the same hotel). This can be a bit hit and miss obviously. Sometimes I am informed before where I will be staying (or even get a say in where I want to stay), other times I just have to hope they actually remembered to book me a room.

Read more Swimming pools and spa hotels… travel done right