Well gang, after reviewing some of the 2017 posts on this thread, I've decided I'm going to post my trip reports on this thread as well as on my Wordpress page. I've missed the post-trip discussions, and sadly unlike on Wordpress it won't be as easy to add photos on here. They're all on my Instagram and Twitter though
So let's get back to posting actual trip reports on the forum! Oh, I'm so excited for Sydney that I've already typed up the backstory part of that report!
11/01/2019 - Juliano's World Frenzy, Copenhagen, Day 1
Hello all and welcome to
2019's first instalment of Juliano's World Frenzy! Booked thanks to a Ryanair flash sale on 13th November
2018, I got quite the bargain. Including a 10kg checked bag in each direction, the flights cost me less than £43. On such a short trip as this one, I could have easily managed just a small cabin bag, so why include a hold bag? Well that's quite simple, I collect my hold luggage tags [ooh, there's an idea, I must share a photo of the collection online after this trip - Ed] and I wanted the two airports for my collection! On this trip, I also used Ryanair Rooms for the first time, yes it was only an ultra basic place but for less than £20 in an expensive city, and considering I was unlikely to spend more than a few hours actually staying there I didn't mind too much on this occasion.
In case you're wondering, I used Ryanair Rooms to finally start building my Flight Credit you get from booking with them. This trip would get me £1.93 in credit, which I will certainly find handy for future flights in
2019, given I plan to fly a LOT with Ryanair during the year [or not, as the revised plans reveal... - Ed]! I may not use the credits until
2020, by which time I'll probably have enough for several free flights, but we'll see.
Technically this is Day 2 of the trip, as I started heading to London Luton Airport the evening before. Given it was simply a case of heading to London on a positioning move, I didn't see much point in wasting an entire blog post on it. Yes you will have seen I was going to London Luton Airport, almost as famous at London Heathrow in the aviation world but that's because of it having a reputation as being a truly horrible airport to fly from. I've been wanting to find out how accurate this is for myself for a long time, so much so it was set as an objective for
2019 to finally get it done. If it is as dreadful as I'm told it will be, I won't be using it again! Having not flown on one of my favourite [yes I really do like Ryanair! - Ed] airlines since October
2017 I was rather looking forward to this trip!
So to the main event itself, having positioned myself from The Ford to London the night before by means of the 21:51 Hereford to London Paddington, and during the early hours of 11th January
2019 I was waiting for a National Express coach to Luton Airport. I had looked at going by train to the airport, but the cost was way more than expected and that was without the bus from Luton Airport Parkway station. An £8 coach fare from Paddington was therefore a much better choice, as it also saved faffing around with the Tube. With a booked 90-odd minute connection between train and coach, I used the time to source some caffeine and food. Better to do so here than at the airport after all!
So before we carry on, you may be wondering what I've been up to since Estonia and Finland. I've been very busy with the transformation into the much-improved Juliano I've always wanted to be. There's no more being competitive, no more being pedantic and no more obsessing over doing things in odd-numbered ways. By which I mean not winding myself up if I only stir my coffee twice and not three times, or only putting in an even-numbered number of sugars into my coffee, that kind of thing. I still haven't achieved better eye contact, but otherwise the personality has been transformed. I'm still working on the health improvements, which I've had to temporarily suspend while more important things got dealt with. In late November
2018 I finally dealt with everything that was driving me to alcohol on a heavy and regular basis, so my planned trip to Poland for beers is now off. There's a few other major changes coming up in
2019, all part of Juliano's Fresh Start, which will probably mean much less world exploration but with good reason and by the time my next trip happens all will be revealed! On which note, Sydney *WILL* still happen, and I'm getting closer to being in a position to book it all. In theory it'll be booked in April, to potentially happen in October or November
2019.
So let's get back to this trip! A visit to Chicken Cottage for a quarter pounder, fries and a can of Diet Pepsi for £4.99 saw my stomach pretty satisfied, then I still had ages to fill so went and found the stop for my coach. Having located it on Bishops Bridge Road, I went in search of caffeine. Eventually I found a Tesco Express and got a meal deal ready for breakfast [no way I was paying airport prices for it! - Ed] as well an energy drink to keep me going. By the time I got back to the bus stop, I still had 35 minutes to spare and I was so bored waiting for the coach to Luton Airport! Some tunes helped for a while, but the cold was getting on my nerves, so I was very glad to see the coach arrive just before 3am. I spent the journey reading and before I knew it I was arriving at the airport.
My first impressions were actually really good, it looks as if the airport has had a modernisation done recently and the variety of retail outlets was actually really good too. So far I was wondering who told me Luton is awful! I saw Pret as soon as I arrived and got myself a filter coffee for 99p immediately, it's been way too long since my last one in October and it went down a right royal treat. I finished off my book just before 5am, and after a quick re-organise of my bag I decided to get some tunes on for a while before starting my next one. For the record, this was the second in Linwood Barclay's Zack Walker mystery series, and I thoroughly recommend giving it a go as the first of four books in the series was excellent.
At this point, about 4 hours after my meal in London, the stomach got tempted badly by the smells from nearby Burger King, so the food from Tesco got devoured to silence the cravings for food for the time being. After 84 out of 366 pages of the book, I decided enough reading had been done for the time being and got a favourite album from the early
2000s playing. Oh, and before that I'd gone back to Pret for another coffee! While I zoned out to some pumping tunes, I got busy partaking in one of my favourite interests of the last year or so, people watching. I find it oddly fascinating, wondering where people are going at an airport, what the purpose of their trip might be, that kind of thing. That's probably a bit weird!
By half 8 I could resist no longer, the wait for check-in to open was driving me mad and I went to BK and got a XL Bacon Double Cheeseburger. £6.79 but what annoyed me was that it wasn't as awesome as it usually is, but then it was only half-hot which is very disappointing. Eventually bag drop opened a little before 9am, and due to my rucksack having straps it had to go through oversize luggage which is a first for me. Security was cleared in about 12 minutes, not because of the amount of people [less than 20 there when I arrived! - Ed] but due to the slowness of security staff. There was a decent amount of catering and retail outlets airside, including Pret which got me visiting unsurprisingly. A few planes were noted, all scores for sights, and by 10:09 I was really bored of waiting. In fairness I had been at the airport for 6 hours by now!
The gate was finally announced at 10:20 and I didn't hang around getting to it, after sourcing some bargains in WHSmith it was a short walk to gate 12. Winner for everything [that means it was both required for sight and required for flyage - Ed] EI-FTH was on FR
2679 11:05 to Copenhagen and I took my seat on 14B, a middle seat. Pushback was at 11:03 and take-off at 11:13, with it being beautifully smooth. When the trolley came by I couldn't resist a coffee and I'd been curious for a long time so had to try it. However, I really don't recommend trying the red wine!
Around 12:38 we were just 10 minutes from landing, so having now reached 198 pages into my book [I'm going to have finished it before I get back to London at this rate! - Ed] it was time to put everything away and get ready to land, which we did at 13:45 with arrival at the terminal at 13:50. Wow that was a hard landing, not had one like that before and it's not like the weather was bad! Now it was onto GMT+1, and I was through passport control by 14:01. It was a further 9 minutes of marching all the way to baggage reclaim belt 1, getting a couple of maps on the way, and it appeared my bag was being delivered to belt 9 at the other end of the area. Good thing I was on a mission to increase my exercise lately eh? Apparently not up there, but it did eventually turn up at 14:16, so then it was off to the train station to get into town as check-in for base camp was to open at 3pm!
36DKK got me a 3-zone single ticket to the city centre on the Metro, and 1DKK was roughly 12 British pence, so according to
xe.com my ticket cost me £4.33 which wasn't too bad but still expensive compared to London. This also meant I'd have further to walk to base camp, but that had the advantage of seeing some of the city as I went. All was going swimmingly until Kongens Nytoru, where a technical fault on the system caused all trains to stop! However, a few minutes later things were back up and running and I alighted at Norreport as planned, thank Goodness the English for the announcement came on quickly so I could re-board.
My first 45 minutes in the city showed it to have some nice sights, but much to my disappointment Tivoli Gardens was completely shut for another 3 weeks. That was going to be a highlight of my visit, oh well that will teach me to check next time! Checking in at my base camp was mostly done online before I left the UK and the relevant details were texted to me earlier in the day. Yes I was in a hostel but this was a really nice one. Modern, very clean, comfortable, power point and reading light at each bunk, good quality bedding, en-suite shower in an excellent size bathroom and even had toiletries and towels provided. For less than £20 a night I really did well here! Yes I had to set up my own bed, and no breakfast is included, but for what I got I'm very pleased! Oh, the shower wasn't the best but then mine at home is simply amazing so every other shower I use around the world will always be compared to it!
After the freshen up I headed out to do some exploring of Copenhagen when it was all lit up. Certainly it all looked very different, and I had only scratched the surface of the city by the time the stomach could take no more and demanded food. I found a rather decent place that sold slices of takeaway pizza for 30DKK each, homemade and fresh pizza too, and these were huge slices so I was very impressed. The IPA I washed it down with wasn't too bad either. 95DKK [two slices and a beer - Ed] Iater I was very satisfied but by now it was very cold so I headed back to base camp, Urban House Copenhagen, as soon as I could to catch up on Twitter, Instagram and so on.
12/01/2019 - Juliano's World Frenzy, Copenhagen, Day 2
It wasn't even 5am local time and I was wide awake, so I started getting ready to go. By the time I was even close to ready, as I had forgotten to post my Day 1 trip report or even finish typing it, it was already 05:40 and I had no idea what to do today. There was plenty to see still, but of course it was still dark and cold, so unsurprisingly I didn't want to be outside too long! I had basically 12 hours to fill now before needing to head to the airport, should be easy enough, surely?
A stop at 7 Eleven got me a large americano [roughly the same size as a McDonalds large coffee - Ed] for 29DKK so not very cheap but oh my days that did the trick! My walking route took me past the Danish Architecture Centre, which really didn't look that impressive. The Black Diamond nearby was more interesting on the visual and design front, and my route gave me a stunning view from the waterfront of Christiansborg Palace, the resulting photo was my favourite of the whole trip so far. As surfaces were slippery due to the cold weather, I was having to take my time and not walk at my usual rate!
Onwards and upwards via the Nyhavn area and a photo stop at Skuespilhuset with its pier, I eventually made it to one of Copenhagen's most famous sights, The Statue of the Little Mermaid. It's mostly famous for being disappointing, and after a couple of quick photos I started my trek towards the city centre. This took me over the railway depot next to Østerport station, and a cursory glance at the interior of the trains reveal they look fairly comfortable.
SMK National Gallery of Denmark was next on my list, architecturally it looks impressive but due to it still being dark a good photo could not be done, regardless of all the wonders my camera can work. Sadly all the gardens appear to be closed until April, never mind eh? Back near Nørreport station, which nearly marked the end of my enormous circular route, I stopped off in McDonalds for another coffee. A large one here was 22DKK which was much more reasonably priced, considering the country I was in.
After catching up on my Live Trip Report on Twitter, and indeed on Instagram, I naturally had this report to catch up on and I decided it was time to play the album my world exploration trips take their name from. I also realised it's nearly 2 years since that decision was made, 34 months ago to be exact, and for those who are new here the album is Bonkers 4: World Frenzy. I love Dougal's mix on this one, some proper classic happy hardcore on it including one of the most well-known tunes, Bang's Shooting Star as well as Brisk & Trixxy's Eyeopener. That one has to be one of my Top 10 tunes of this genre out of all of them!
By 08:16 I still had a fair bit of coffee to go but I had now caught up on everything so it was now time to go and deal with a pressing issue, back to base camp then! As the streets were nice and empty [best time to explore a city in my eyes! - Ed] I could now walk at my usual pace again, and I got a better view of the amusement park at Tivoli Gardens on my way back. Rather gutted I can't visit it on this trip, but it is what it is eh? After nearly 3 hours of exploring, I was back at Urban House to mong out for a bit, and with the urgent matter dealt with I discovered I had already walked 8.8 miles today! I guess that goes to show you don't necessarily need to buy a travelpass if you visit Copenhagen, it is all easily walkable. By now it was 08:51 and I still had an hour until The Round Tower was to open, the last thing I wanted to do in Copenhagen. By the time I expected to be finished there, I would have between 6 and 7 hours to fill before I needed to be at the airport. You're no doubt thinking what I was...
By 09:45 I was back to charged devices so headed back into town, and after going the wrong way for it I eventually reached The Round Tower. Going up it is up a steep spiral ramp almost all the way to the top, think of a helter skelter slide and you'll have an idea for how steep it is. Nevertheless, I took it as a challenge to get some exercise in, and attacked it with my usual walking pace. Yes I was a little breathless for a few seconds at the top, but it was worth it in my eyes. What's the point of having strong leg muscles if you don't use them eh? The stairs at the very top are as advertised, very narrow, but the views made it worth the 25DKK [about £3 - Ed].
OK so it's not like you're looking out on incredible views like you would in New York or Toronto, but it was certainly nice to get the different view of the city. On a nice and sunny day it would no doubt be better, but I was satisfied. On the way back down I checked out the room which used to house bells, and after returning to street level I also checked out Trinity Church next to the tower. Some stunning architecture in my eyes!
It had now started drizzling with rain, not welcome, and I made my way to a different McDonalds with seating upstairs. Originally I was just getting a coffee, but I went for a McBacon burger and large fries to go with my small [200ml - Ed] coffee. 63DKK was not cheap, but it got me out of the cold and I apparently needed that food as it didn't take long to devour it. After updating Twitter and Instagram, at 11:28 I started my walk to the airport as the rain was not strong enough to stop me and I needed something to do.
A short visit to Netto was made near the airport, and walking past the closed Terminal 1 felt really spooky. It's all boarded up and all that, but I just felt odd walking past it which might sound weird I know. At 13:00 I had arrived at Terminal 2, and by that point my feet were destroyed. When I checked the Moveband around my ankle, I'm not surprised as it had clocked up an enormous 29.7km. 18.5 miles in just 7 hours with a fair amount of time sat around in that too, that was crazy and it could well be the most I've ever done in one day by some measure. The day isn't even over yet, so I would clear 20 miles easily and it was interesting to think about how much I'd end the day on!
By half 3 I was down to just 80 pages to go, and a walk-about was needed. I found Pret, and the temptation to get a coffee was pretty mega. Interesting the price difference between filter coffee and an americano was not as significant as it is in the UK from what I could tell. I also got one of my other albums blasting into the ear canals while I decided on a Pret and trying to take my mind off the feet which still felt like they were burning on the soles. I also noted Ryanair use self-service bag drop desks here, which was oddly lacking at Luton. This is another airport with not many Ryanair flights, much like Luton. Some pumping tunes were mandatory by now, and after that I got back to reading, as well as thinking about my next trip. I still don't know where I'm going, but focus needs to be on getting Sydney booked, as funds to do so should only be a couple of months away now. Once the book was finished a little before 6, I dropped my rucksack off to find it was only 3.6kg, not bad, helps saves fuel eh?
Security was cleared in just a few minutes, almost beating my record in Tallinn and missed it by moments. I wasn't super impressed by the catering outlets in Terminal 2, too upmarket for me but I did find a wine bar that did a small americano for 30DKK and that went down beautifully. At 19:30 it was noted that I was departing from gate F4, noteworthy as the F gates are at least a 12 minute walk from most of the shops and restaurants. Passport control was only a couple of minutes waiting time, and boarding eventually began just before 8pm. The actual getting people onto the plane didn't start until 20:16!
Pushback was had at 20:32 so just 2 minutes late, and I had winner for everything EI-EVL on FR
2678 20:30 Copenhagen to London Luton today. Of note was that this was one of the older
737-800s in the Ryanair fleet with the old interior and smaller overhead lugagge bins. I had forgotten how tiny they were, how did we ever manage in years gone by? Take off was nice and smooth at 20:41 and by now the stomach and need for coffee were back in play. €10 for a meal deal including a chicken tikka masala, a coffee and a KitKat looked good value, although of course the portion size and flavour would determine that!
To be fair, despite the fact it didn't look great, it was actually really tasty. I have no doubt I'll still be a bit hungry later, but compared to my options at the airport that was a good call. I'd recommend the on-board food that's for sure. At 20:50 [yes I was back over UK shores so back to GMT+0 - Ed] we were descending to Luton, wow that went fast! It was back on the ground at 21:09 and arrival at the terminal at 21:13, 17 minutes early. For a change it didn't take long to get off the plane, but multiple plane loads of people all dropped off at once led to a fair bit of time queuing for passport control. Baggage reclaim was nice and quick though, and by 21:49 I was at base camp, this time Ibis Budget a short walk from Luton Airport.
It was then time to de-rancify, finish up the trip report then start hitting the hay as I was exhausted. Oh and I finished the day on 23.3 miles of walking! The following day was simply getting back to London and onto my booked train back to Hereford, so unless something super special happens then I'm not wasting a blog post on it. Stay tuned in the coming months for announcements about Sydney and wherever else I end up booking!
