The flight experience with Lufthansa from beginning to end has mostly positive. We set out of Boston over July 4 to Munich, in a mostly empty cabin. The long haul business class product was better than originally expected but not particularly thrilling. Much like Asian carriers, the crew keeps to a tight schedule and makes and effort to synchronize the experience from every vantage point, whether you sit in the beginning or the front of the cabin. I do remember previous travels on Virgin Atlantic's Upper Class and British Airways Club World, that allowed for various creature comforts like a bar and a masseuse on Virgin, and "raid the larder" or as it is now called "club kitchen" that allows you to help yourself throughout the flight. Lufthansa takes the more traditional route in this respect, and expects the customer to ring the call button. I couldn't be bothered, frankly.
I also felt that Lufthansa has cut down on inflight options, especially on alcohol (surprise!), where you had a choice of 1 champagne, 2 whites, 2 reds and port. There could have been other options, but I didnt bother reading the menu fine print and the trolley didnt look very imaginative. Not to digress, but clearly all the cellar in sky, adds weight to the payload and in today's cost of fuel, i can see them and others cutting where they can.
The onward connection and flight from Munich to Hamburg was virtually seamless. I was more interested in the layout and options of the Munich airport and the exclusive Lufthansa terminal that provides easy access to connecting flights.
Impressions of Hamburg
To quote travelocity.com overview of Hotel Haffen Hamburg:
"In a unique location, directly above the pier of St. Pauli, the Hotel Hafen Hamburg presents itself in a harmonious mix between tradition and modern life. All 353 rooms, either in classic-hanseatic ambiance or modern-light flooded architecture, are equipped with shower/bath, WC, hairdryer, telephone with voicemail, cable and Pay TV, mini bar and safety deposit. The restaurant Port offers regional and international cuisine in a stylish ambiance with view across the harbor of Hamburg, the hanseatic-rustic bar, the piano bar in a mediterranean atmosphere and the Tower bar at 62-meter height with a breathtaking view invites you to relax. Since spring 1998, the restaurant offers a terrace where you can enjoy a nice dinner or just a drink and have the possibility to sit outside all day long. The hotel also offers eight modern meeting rooms where meetings and parties for up to 300 persons can be given. "
Here is my take. The property only offers a few rooms with air-conditioning, which on a humid July day made the room unbearabely stuffy without it constantly running. My room had a built in unit resembling the one I have in my apartment in Boston, except the control settings were literally screwed in so that the unit can be only turned on and off. The unit was also unbearably noisey, and after a call to reception, a technician had to come do some tweaking to make the rattling noise stop. So much for a 4 star property, right?
Overall, 3 days in Hamburg, air conditioning issues aside, (thank god for ear plugs) were festive. I have made a good effort to be a tourist and take the double decker bus tour that made a stop right across from the hotel. Everything was going well until a point when an overly eager ambulence driver, literally side swiped our shiny red bus, and put a nice gash in it. Thank god no one was hurt. We were moved to another bus while the 2 parties were doing paperwork and taking photos of the damage.
As I write this, I'm in Copenhagen taking in 3rd night of Danish hospitality. I shall return tomorrow hopefully and comment some more on my impressions of this wonderful city.
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