Category Archives: travel

all travel stories, privat and business

Los Angeles – arrival – departure

nearly 12 hrs from HEL to LAX. Touchdown as estimated. And you may believe or not we made within 30 mins to get out of the airport. Taxi brought us to the Motel 8 by Wyndham. Went to grab some Chinese food, took a shower and went directly to bed. A little kind of a jet lag which kicked us out of the bed 4 am, even alarm clock was set to 4:45. Breakfast was included so we got a “coffee” and Mandy had 2 mini muffins. Not that bad she said. Our transport arrived very early. The lady was older than me and drove a Chrysler 300 limo. The ride to LAX TBIT was short, the whole airport area is under construction. Nevertheless we made it easy through BGP and grabbed our breakfast at the AMEX Centurion lounge. No opened yet but they provide a grab’n’go box which contains a wrap, cookies, chips and fruits. Not bad.

Los Angeles – arrival – departure

nearly 12 hrs from HEL to LAX. Touchdown as estimated. And you may believe or not we made within 30 mins to get out of the airport. Taxi brought us to the Motel 8 by Wyndham. Went to grab some Chinese food, took a shower and went directly to bed. A little kind of a jet lag which kicked us out of the bed 4 am, even alarm clock was set to 4:45. Breakfast was included so we got a “coffee” and Mandy had 2 mini muffins. Not that bad she said. Our transport arrived very early. The lady was older than me and drove a Chrysler 300 limo. The ride to LAX TBIT was short, the whole airport area is under construction. Nevertheless we made it easy through BGP and grabbed our breakfast at the AMEX Centurion lounge. No opened yet but they provide a grab’n’go box which contains a wrap, cookies, chips and fruits. Not bad.

Los Angeles – arrival – departure

nearly 12 hrs from HEL to LAX. Touchdown as estimated. And you may believe or not we made within 30 mins to get out of the airport. Taxi brought us to the Motel 8 by Wyndham. Went to grab some Chinese food, took a shower and went directly to bed. A little kind of a jet lag which kicked us out of the bed 4 am, even alarm clock was set to 4:45. Breakfast was included so we got a “coffee” and Mandy had 2 mini muffins. Not that bad she said. Our transport arrived very early. The lady was older than me and drove a Chrysler 300 limo. The ride to LAX TBIT was short, the whole airport area is under construction. Nevertheless we made it easy through BGP and grabbed our breakfast at the AMEX Centurion lounge. No opened yet but they provide a grab’n’go box which contains a wrap, cookies, chips and fruits. Not bad.

USA 2022 – flight experience – NUE – AMS – HEL – LAX

Prior to that it all ran very smoothly. Nuremberg to Amsterdam was approximately 1:10 hour. After 60 mins of waiting (and yes Mandy was able to smoke outside..) the Finnair booth was opened. A short shocking moment as the lady said out Covid test doesn’t look official enough but her supervisor gave green light. Puhhhh. AMS to HEL was a little more than 2 hrs and we had plenty of space. A salad was served which was very tasty. At HEL airport we haven’t had enough time for the business class lounge, unfortunately. It offers shower service and ….. a sauna! But again, 30 min are too less.

The Airbus 350-900 is very well made for Finnair. No overhead bins in the middle give the cabin a spacious look . The reverse Herringbone seats are good and we were able to get a double seat. Business class cabin is fully booked. IET provides an average selection of movies, games and music. Screen is big enough and headphones do the job. The food is great. Portions are not so big which allows you to eat a 5 course menu . The salmon from the starter was awesome.

The starter
Main course for me – Chicken with rice and mushrooms
The cheese platter

And we definitely enjoyed the great hospitality and the drinks 

The signature drink – Blueberry with Vodka

Namibia 2021

Here we are … Flight via Addis Abeba. Was ok and entering Namibia was easy. We got a lift from the rental car company. After 2 hrs of briefing we got on the road to the first camp, still in Windhoek. We agreed to spend 2 nights to get familiar with left hand driving and with the awesome pickup truck with a roof top tent.

It was great . we slept well and did some shopping for the journey.

Next stop : Kalahari desert

Endless roads, a green Kalahari , a nice and cozy lodge …. perfect.

Our first safari ride, with Gnu’s, Zebras, Ostriches and Giraffes. wow.

Next stop : Namib desert

An almost empty camp inside the National park, a perfect camp ground and a absolute stunning view.

Yes climb up the Dune 45 , 170 mtr’s and made it within 60 mins.

A great thing if you travel like we did , you can have a breakfast and coffee wherever you are . Even in front of the Unesco world heritage Soussvlei and Dead Vlei.

And we comb the desert!!!

From here to Swakopmund. Endless dusty roads, and we came from 35 degrees Celcius to 18 degrees at the banks of the Atlantic ocean…..

Mandy did the little 5 desert tour ….

On the way to the famous Etosha national park we had a short stop at Cape Cross with its seals.

And again breathtaking scenery…

Pulau Pangkor, Malaysia

After 14 hours of traveling we arrived late night at Nipah GH, Pangkor. I still do not feel very well so the journey was quite pain. But we were welcomed by Alicia so warmly so I think it is a perfect place to recover soon.

Alicia and Anur and the kids are still so gentle and warm hearted. the GH is almost empty, may be coz of the economic situation in Malaysia. just guessing . I got more medicine and now after 3 days it’s really getting better.

More to come.

Nipah GH

Singapore, Singapore

The city welcomed me with an epic cold. The airbnb was great , having an own shower and a shared swimming pool is definitely a plus in a city like Singapore, especially if you pay 50€ per night. And if you are used to public transportation in big asian cities… no need to stay in the center with it’s fancy nancy hotels.

Airbnb Braddell Road pool

First evening was ok, we met with my coworkers from our Singapore office for lunch in a hawker center and later on for a walk and dinner at Marina Bay area.

At this evening I knew I will be sick really soon and it happened. the next 48 hours I stayed in my bed, took painkillers and slept 20 hours a day. Fever , cough, cold. I feel so bad for mandy . We had so many things on the list and we didn’t realize even 20% of them. Anyway we will return and start the Singapore business again.

laser show at Marina Bay Sands

Singapore Merlion

Bangkok – 2019

Being in BKK again. Arrived after a smooth Swiss overnight flight and we made it from the time we touched ground to the Solitaire hotel @Sukhumvit Soi 11 in less than 90 mins. It’s nice to be back, cloudy sky and 25 degrees Celcius.

some you might know where we have been for the first dinner

Coffee Mocha with Marshmallow topping

Belgrade. Serbia

Went for a business trip and can’t remember which time I was there. I crawled my memories and looks like it was during the old commis days. Trip was successful so i’ll be in Belgtade more often in the future. people are kind, food is great and the old ancient part comes with it’s own charme.

Real Serbia food

two rivers coming together

see you guys