Text 8298, 117 rader
Skriven 2011-03-12 23:15:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av GLEN JAMIESON
Ärende: flying high 72
======================
 -=> Glen Jamieson said to Sampsa Laine <=-

 ML> Helsinki
 SL> Urgh don't get me started on the bland, overpriced garbage they serve
 SL> in Helsinki.
 SL> The business class lounge is even worse. Makes me ashamed to be
 SL> Finnish. 
 GJ> I will take care to avoid Helsinki.  :)

Helsinki itself was rather nice. The airport wasn't so hot,
but it was easy to get around.

 SL> Apropos airport hotels - the Hilton in Helsinki kicks ass. Amazing
 SL> restaurant, the higher end rooms come with a private Sauna. Amazing.

I [i]will[/i] have to check it out. In Helsinki I stayed at the
Radisson SAS (now I believe Blu), which was quite nice: a lot of
blonde wood. Also blonde staffers.

 GJ> I was very impressed by the airport Hilton in Copenhagen, only 5
 GJ> minutes walk from the check-in counter.  I had arrived at the airport
 GJ> by train for a 22.45 flight, only to find that the SAS flight was
 GJ> cancelled, so when I pleaded that I had arrived by train and had
 GJ> nowhere to go until the next flight, 12 hours later, I was given a
 GJ> voucher for the hotel, which unusually included a truly excellent
 GJ> dinner of smoked salmon, fish pate, salad and sardine fillets in wine
 GJ> and herb sauce, with drinks, and breakfast of slabs of red salmon,
 GJ> cheese and grilled sliced mushrooms on toast.  All very Scandinavian!

I'm hardly certain that they would do that in these
penny-pinching new days.

 -=> Glen Jamieson said to Bill Swisher <=-

 GJ> Why do you have magnetic staples in your chest?  There is a procedure
 GJ> used on ships to arrange magnets beneath the compass to neutralise the
 GJ> ship's magnetism, and allow the compass to read true.  Perhaps you
 GJ> could wear small magnetic implants to do that.  :)

They don't neutralize the magnetism, just counteract. So they
would double the trouble.

 GJ> Carrying a compass to help orientation in strange places is helpful,
 GJ> but caution has to be exercised.  In particular, I have noticed trams
 GJ> (streetcars) in some cities in Europe are surrounded by a magnetic
 GJ> field, strong enough to spin the compass as they pass.

I found that with tall steel buildings sometimes.

 -=> Glen Jamieson said to Sampsa Laine <=-

 GJ> I didn't know the British airport train was so fast.  Does it connect
 GJ> into the Underground?  When I was visiting London, I stayed in Acton
 GJ> with a friend, getting there from Paris via Waterloo by 300 km/h
 GJ> Eurostar, Underground and walking, which was satisfactory, and quite
 GJ> quick and effortless. Smoked salmon and champagne were served while
 GJ> travelling under the Channel at reduced speed.

There's a fast train, which takes 15-20 min, and a slow train,
which takes about double. The former is L15, the latter about
half. So cost-effectiveness is about equivalent.

The airport trains terminate at Paddington, whence one can
catch various other conveyances, including the underground.

Acton is actually quite convenient to LHR via the Piccadilly Line.

 GJ> I have found airport food generally to be over-priced, Singapore being
 GJ> an exception - but Singapore is exceptional in a number of respects.
 GJ> It has been rated by backpackers as the best airport in the world for
 GJ> sleeping at.  Like most airports these days, it has a good rail system
 GJ> connecting it to the CBD.  Adelaide doesn't, but it is only 4 km from
 GJ> the city, and just has the local bus service calling at a stop outside
 GJ> the Arrivals doors.

The Singaporeans, not missing much, have decided that the
volume of scruffy backpackers produce as much revenue as
the rich asshats and have accommodated them with special
quiet areas, some equipped with business-class-like
recliners. For those of means, such as myself (ha), there
is the transit hotel, which is clean and almost luxurious,
for S68 per block of 6 hours. For the true nobs, there's
a Crowne Plaza just outside security, attached to Terminal 3.
As you know, crossing immigration and security take about
10 minutes each on a bad day.

 -=> Sampsa Laine said to Glen Jamieson <=-

 SL> To be fair, Heathrow is not THAT far from Central London, esp if you
 SL> take  the train (15 mins or so). I live in Zone 2 (still part of the
 SL> centre effectively) and I'm 25 mins from LHR by car.

Remember though that Paddington isn't so close to what
tourists think of as central London.

 SL> Helsinki airport is pretty decent for everything else except food.
 SL> It's  actually very well organised, fast and pleasant. The food isn't
 SL> BAD per se, you're not going to die from it, it's just overpriced and
 SL> bland. 

I agree with all of this except the pleasant part.

Omorangie
cat: booze
servings: 1

4 cl Glenmorangie
2 cl white creme de cacao
2 cl speculoos syrup
5 cl milk

Shake; strain into tall glass.

Nikos Petrous, Sheraton Brussels
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