Category Archives: Travel Diary

December 18, 2017 Travel Diary

Queen at Wembley – a Childhood Dream come true

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.

December 16, 2017 Frequent Flyer, Travel Diary

Things to know about connecting flights

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.

November 26, 2017 Travel Diary, Germany 2 Comments

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.

November 23, 2017 Travel Diary, Germany

A night in Berlin… and how it all went wrong.

Last week’s work trip was yet another two day trip to Germany.
It all started with an early morning flight from London City to Düsseldorf, a fairly straight forward affair with no notable story to share.
After visiting two showrooms in the area and a brief sweat getting stuck in traffic during rush hour on the way back to the airport, I eventually made it back to Düsseldorf just in time to board my onward flight to Berlin for the night.

October 18, 2017 Frequent Flyer, Travel Diary 2 Comments

Six flights in seven days – a new record

Doing more than one meeting a week isn’t new. The record here is seven in a week, if I remember rightly, however these were usually done as part of one big tour stretching several days. Going back and forth several times in one week – and actually travelling three countries within that one week – is a novelty… even for me. And not one I am eager to repeat anytime soon I hope.

October 1, 2017 Frequent Flyer, Travel Diary 2 Comments

Flying Club Europe for the first time

What to expect when flying British Airways Club Europe - Travel for a Living

Despite flying on a very regular basis, somehow I have never had the luxury of flying Club Europe. Well I did fly Club World last time from New York back to London.

But to be honest, I struggle to see the point of spending extra cash for the upgrade to Club Europe on a 1-2 hour short-haul flight within Europe (neither can I see my client voluntarily splashing out for it).

September 25, 2017 Travel Diary

Two Girls at the Frankfurt Motor Show

Last week’s travel was a rather lengthy one (being away for a total of six days), although not all (or actually almost none) of it work related.

The original plan was to go home just for the weekend to attend my school reunion (still struggle to get my head around the fact that it is 20 years since we graduated), however as plans changed, so did my travel itinerary. So instead my colleague and I flew out on Tuesday to attend the IAA (Internationale Automobil Ausstellung, aka Frankfurt Motor Show) the day after, courtesy of our German automotive client.

September 18, 2017 Travel Diary

A Trip to Helsingborg

Well into my big batch of travels, last week saw me travelling to Sweden for a change. No, I don’t speak any Swedish (unless ‘Hej’ and ‘Tack’ counts as language knowledge), but luckily most Swedes speak really decent English, so communication isn’t too difficult.

Apart from a weekend in Stockholm many moons ago, I have never been to Sweden before I started working in my current job. In the past year I have had a few trips, however have not always had a chance to actually see anything. But what I have seen is very pretty and makes me want to go and see more of this country… so maybe a road trip at some point? We’ll see.

September 15, 2017 Travel Diary, Rome 3 Comments

Preparing for a trip to Rome

Everyone keeps telling me how beautiful Rome is. And I am not doubting this. But I can’t really comment on it. I have never been (yes I can’t quite believe I am saying that either)… well actually not true. I have been twice(ish).

I took a flight to and from Rome last year for a meeting nearby, however other than the airport and train station I have not seen a thing, so it does not count.

The other time I was just two years old… so again, probably not really worth counting…Since I can’t remember a thing (although some faded photos exist as proof).

September 6, 2017 Travel Diary

A typical Monday – Another week another trip

As I already mentioned in last week’s post, I currently have a whole batch of weekly trips coming up. So it might not come as a huge surprise that this week started with another packed suitcase.

Compared to some of my other trips, this Monday morning did not start too bad. I had a relatively late flight (9.30 that is) from City Airport to Düsseldorf, so rather than getting a cab at the crack of dawn I opted for the train / DLR. Meaning I only had to get up around half an hour earlier than usual (as opposed to a 7 o’clock flight from Heathrow to Copenhagen next week that will see me get into a cab around 4am).

Fancy staying in touch?