30th Reunion Fun

I made it back home this last weekend for my 30th high school reunion - it was fun and I had a chance to catch up with so many friends.  There's never enough time and I hope there are opportunities to get together again soon.  Kudos to Kristie for planning a great evening!

My trip back home was not the best - two cancellations required a drive to O'hare just to get to my connecting plane.  United didn't do a great job for this trip.  Notifications and updates were poor at MSN and I even received a flight cancel 'retraction' which was a first.

Spring Trip to Stockholm!

I just returned from a spring trip to Stockholm with mom!  She selected the country although it also worked out for me as it was my first time visiting Sweden.  The weather was perfect and we were able to walk nearly 25 miles over the five days!  Tickets via Lufthansa/United were very reasonable ($679) and we didn't have any fuel cancellations (thankfully). 

Landing to Stockholm is very straightforward although the new EU EES system was a bit of a mess - the kiosks were not all working and lines were not organized.  Once we did the initial checkin we still had to get another round of fingerprints at the gate?  Seems inefficient.  The Arlanda Express train takes about 18 minutes to get into the center of Stockholm and from there we acquired our multi-day city transport pass for the trip.  Our stay was at Hotel Rival and the room was very comfortable (with amazing breakfast).  For dinner the first evening, we decided on a very popular local favorite, Restaurant Kyp In, and luckily they had a table open!

On Friday we visited the City Hall, Royal Palace. and Riddarholmen Church.  Public transportation is easy in Stockholm and we didn't have any problems using the busses and trains.  We were lucky to watch the changing of the guard right after our palace tour was done!  The old town Gamla Stan is a great place to walk with many cobblestone streets, shops, and restaurants.  One place we stopped for drinks and a snack was Cafe Nova - street seating is very popular.  For dinner, we chose one of the highly rated restaurants on the island, Gastabud.  No reservations so you need to arrive early or wait!

For Saturday we decided to train over to Djurgarden where we visited the Vasa Museum and Skansen museums and zoo.  Dinner was at a local bar and restaurant called Akkurat.  So many beer and whiskey choices!

Sunday's (and Mother's Day) plan was exploring Sodermalm with many shops and walkable gardens as well as a special get together in the evening with a classmate from high school!  Henrik was very generous to host us at his home and we enjoyed catching up with a special dinner.  

On Monday we booked an archipelago tour via GetYourGuide that was a 2.5 experience around the islands.  I highly recommend this if you're interested in learning more about how Stockholm developed over time.  After the tour we made our way to the airport and stayed one night onsite due to an early morning departure.  

Overall it was an excellent trip and we can't wait to visit again soon!

Reminder: No connects at LGA

Since I recently had a family-related issue with a travel connect that involved LGA, I feel that I need to remind everyone: connecting at La Guardia should be avoided if at all possible.  

(you may also use this advice for JFK and possibly Newark)

Off to Bachfest

Time to hit the road!

I'm off to BachFest in Leipzig this week with a brief stopover to acclimate before taking the ICE up to Germany.  I was hopeful for a potential use of PlusPoints on the outbound flight though it appears most seats are now taken.  Summer travel on United!

If you're interested, Emmanuel Music of Boston is scheduled to perform on Sunday 6/9: https://www.bachfestleipzig.de/en/bachfest/emmanuel-music-boston-usa

November 2023 travel

November is here!  I'm looking forward to another fun month of having trips scheduled.  

Thankfully I have an additional day off which means I will be flying back to WI for a weekend to be at home.  Hunting may be on the schedule!

And our annual Thanksgiving trip is also planned and ready - the itinerary map looks something like this courtesy of gcmap:

More info to come!

Site share

Hello everyone!

Just wanted to share Heather has a new website that just went active - please feel free to visit and bookmark!

www.heatherbraun.com

July is here...and vacation

It's a bit hard to believe we're in July already - I'm trying not to think about how the fall semester is right around the corner.

Before that happens, though, there is much travel to be experienced!

It will start later this week with a trip home to be with family for the 4th holiday.  Looking forward to being in the northwoods (even though it will probably be hot and humid).  Last year United foiled my attempt to go home with cancelled flights so I'm anticipating a better experience this year.

Safe travels to all! 

50th Anniversary of Choral Fest

I had the privilege to make it home last weekend for the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Choral Fest, a tradition started in 1967 by David Adickes at Luther High School.

The Friday night Pops Concert can be seen here: https://youtu.be/5tElac4WFmY

On Sunday, the Sacred Concert included a mass choir selection of all students along with alums who had previously participated in past Choral Festivals.  I consider myself fortunate to have attended all four years of high school (92-95) - it was even more meaningful to be able to sing in the choir with both mom and dad (who are also alums).

You can find the Sacred Concert here: https://youtu.be/q-C5bqzOf_Y

Family trip: visiting Murren

Mom specifically requested a trip to Switzerland and the Alps, and I was more than happy to plan and share one of my favorite places: Murren.  I was wondering how the weather would hold this time of year and we were treated with amazing sun, warmth, and snow!

It was the first time visiting the Eiger Guesthouse and the room did not disappoint.  I also liked its close proximity to the BLM station.

We had time to take a hike on one of the lower trails and had nice conversations with a local man also on the same path before finding dinner at a Rick Steve's recommended restaurant, Hotel Restaurant La Grotte.

Treating Mom: Flights and stays

I had my eye on flights to get us over to Switz for some time, but the challenge is to find mileage options along with a paid ticket itinerary that matches (and doesn't make you break the bank in the process).  Thankfully, mom's flight options were fairly straightforward - I also needed to get her to Newark to meet me before we took off for Zurich.

American miles to get mom to EWR: 54,000
United miles to Zurich: 180,000 (a surprise: Polaris Business class!)

For places to stay I once again used Booking.com and found some fantastic deals.  We'll be staying at the following locations:

Eiger Guesthouse

Hotel Alpha

Park Hyatt Zurich

The best way I've found to get around Switz is to use the train system - fast, efficient, and always on time.  As luck would have it, a March promotion was happening on RailEurope that took 30% of tickets purchased through 3/27...and made the cost of a 2nd class pass the same as 1st class.  Score!  Quantities were limited and I'm fortunate we could take advantage.

Upcoming trip: treating mom!

Back in 2013, I had an opportunity to take my dad to Norway and we really enjoyed exploring Oslo - I'm hoping someday I can get back to do more work on family genealogy.  When I had planned that first trip I also knew that I would do a similar trip for mom.

Well...very soon I will be back on the road with mom on a trip to Switzerland!  Seeing the Alps was one of the things she wanted to do so we'll be visiting the Bernese Alps region and a few other places along the way.  As in the previous trip, I was able to use all miles for mom's tickets and found a matching itinerary for myself that had good value.  We'll be flying United on the way over though mom will be connecting through O'hare on American to get to Newark.

I have some writing to complete before we leave, though with a 4/7 deadline it will be wrapped before we take off.

Looking forward to the fun!

The next adventure is...

Tis true, friends, I have been very tardy in posting.  The last few weeks have been busy, and I'm soon to be jetting out again tomorrow morning early for Madison and the 2014 Unleash Conference, hosted by Mediasite.  We've been increasing our deployment of the appliances and so the conference will be a nice check in to see where we're at with our plan. 

Will be nice to be on the road and also to see family for a brief time on the weekend. 

Stay tuned for more...I'll be visiting the Madison Hyatt one more time and I'll update a review!

Hotel Review: Doubletree Tower of London

I've been a bit backlogged in work, so here is a review of the DoubleTree that's been sitting on my to-do list!

London hotels can be quite expensive, and finding deals can be tricky unless you're willing to burn some points.  Before Hilton decided to devalue their award chart, I got in on the deal for reasonable night stays and chose the Doubletree Tower of London for this trip.  I liked the location close to the Tower and easy access to the Tube.

It was extremely easy to get to the DT from the Tower Hill tube stop - just a quick 5 minute walk out and around the corner and we were there. Check in was a bit of an adventure - the agent didn't remember my Hilton Gold benefits, and I had to ask at least three times for the amenities that were part of it.  He said he was new - I'd recommend always asking if they don't bring it up.

Our room was of medium size and ready to go once we made it up the elevator.  Since it was warm during our stay, the air conditioning was very welcome.  I'm always left with a safe feeling when staying at DT's, and this property also gave me that feeling.  Our calls with questions were always quickly solved, and staff were always welcoming.  Internet speed was adequate.

We even tried the rooftop bar on our first night - there was also a wedding party having fun up there - but our drinks were served quickly and the view was ok.  Pricing is a bit high though - watch out for how much you're paying.

All in all I'd stay again if the price were right - points made it easy for this trip.

Cheers!

Hotel Review: Park Inn Oslo

Oslo has its fair share of places to stay - most can be quite expensive, but I was able to find a reasonable two-night deal at the Park Inn.  This is a Radisson property located within a short distance from the main train station and in the center of many sites to see in central Oslo.

Property specs

• 118 guest rooms
• Breakfast buffet in the breakfast restaurant
• Non-smoking property
• Free High Speed Internet

When traveling overseas, I'm always looking for a nice place to stay that includes some type of reasonable internet option - just so that it's easier to access maps and look up possible places to eat.

This property did not disappoint - our walk from the train station took about 10 minutes, and then we were there - check in was fast and efficient, and because I had booked through Hotels.com all of my charges were already taken care of. 

Our room was small and comfortable - just enough space for the two of us, and still there was room for a desk and decent bathroom.  The shower was a bit of a disappointment - I still haven't figured out why Europeans love the "half" glass wall that opens at the back and lets all the water run everywhere.  Had the same problem at the Holiday Inn in Bilbao.  No matter...the room was clean and service impeccable - dad seemed to enjoy it!

Daily excursions and fun restaurants are only a short distance away.  We didn't even bother with the main tram/train system - we walked everywhere.  Karl Johan's Gate is only a 10 minute walk and many good Norwegian restaurants can be found all around.

Can't recommend staying here enough on your next trip - give them a try, you won't be disappointed!

Birthday Trip Top 10

Not sure what dad's might be, but these are my top 10 things from the trip:

10.1 Seeing the original "scream" - cardboard and all
10. BusinessFirst seats on United - made the flying easier and sleeping flat was definitely worth the trip
9. Fjord cruise in Oslo - perfect to get out on the water
8. Walking the Crown Jewels at the Tower more than once!
7. Changing of the guard by Karl Johan - caught it just at the right time, and got to see the whole thing
6. The idea to make a run for it across the street outside of the Tower...crazy London driving!
5. People who make abrupt stops for no reason right in front of me - for whatever reason, I was a magnet for these on the trip
4. Managing to get a spot on the fence for the Buckingham Palace guard change - and dodging the kids scaling the fence
3. The 60th birthday homage at the Heathrow Hilton
2. Our Norwegian food choices were excellent - fish dishes included

And #1...

1. Spending time with dad!

The final "leg"

I'm happy to report that everyone has made it home safely...and sad to report that the trip is all over.  Other than some jetlag, I think that everything went really well and that dad had a great time.  It was really fun to explore a new city and the connections couldn't have gone any smoother. 

The overall trip back was as long as I thought it might be - but our fun seats in business made it very comfortable.  We were up early to get to Terminal 1 at Heathrow, only to find that the flight was delayed for 2 hours due to a late arriving aircraft.  Great.  Going back to sleep wasn't really an option, so we stayed up, packed, talked, and eventually headed out the door to check out.  Except...that the arrangements I had made for our hotel room never got communicated to the desk staff.  So after some haggling and no resolution, I left the details for another day and we headed to check in.  Having some time to burn, we walked to the Star Alliance Lounge for some breakfast and free internet.  The food was good and I was able to keep up on our flight while responding to some emails. 

About 20 minutes before official gate opening, we started out for the gate - a much longer walk than one thinks to the other end of the terminal, but we made it with plenty of time and waited until the boarding started and the crowds began to cram.  It always amazes me how people "gate creep" and don't listen or read their boarding passes - we had people in Group 2 and 3 trying to board with the first class people and nothing holds up a line when the agents have to kick people out of line because they don't listen.  We got on no problem - our same seats were ready and soon we were off.

The flight was smooth - food amazing.  Dad tried the tenderloin and I chose the chicken.  And we both had ice cream sundaes for dessert.  The flight attendants in our cabin were thoroughly amused at the "father and son team" they had, and came and talked to us often. 

Upon landing at Ohare (8.5 hrs later) we made it through security and off to find dad's bus back to Milwaukee.  We just missed it at Terminal 5, but seeing we had 20 minutes until the Terminal 1 departure, we made a run for it...and made it with 5 minutes to spare!  Couldn't have timed it better.  A quick hug and goodbye, and dad was off to Milwaukee...and I was off to 4 hours of layover until my flight to San Diego.  Which went fine once we left, but I was completely worn out after all of it.

My top list of fun things from the trip will be coming soon...but for now I will sleep.

Final eve in London

Another spectacular day in London - sunny and warm.  We got out to see the area around the Tower and over to Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guard - pretty large crowds made navigating a bit interesting, but we managed to find an open spot on the fence near a corner where we could catch all the action.  We certainly timed the arrival well and didn't miss any of it.

Afterwards we tubed back to the hotel, repacked, checked out, and made our way west to Heathrow where we'll spend the night before flying out in the morning early.

It's been a really great trip so far - seems like dad has had a really good time, and I'm sure thankful we were able to make it all work. We weren't able to get to everything, but that's what future trips are for!

I'll be posting more pictures from the trip once I'm back in San Diego...stay tuned!

Warm day of walking...and buzz

No, it's not a buzz related to 'spirits' of any sort, but buzz because Andy Murray won Wimbledon today - first British man to do it in over 70 years.  So naturally there was much rejoicing to be had as we walked around - stopped in for dinner at a pub, and caught the last part of the festivities.  Pretty fun to be in London when it happened.

Our morning/afternoon for about four hours, though, was spent walking at the Tower of London.  Thought that dad might enjoy visiting for the historical part of it, and we were not disappointed.  They've redone the Jewel House since last I was here, and now you can actually view the Crown Jewels multiple times since they put a little walkway in next to the moving sidewalk.  Thought that was a nice addition, especially given the large crowds today due to the warm weather.

I must say though that I don't enjoy one thing related to the crowds - what possesses people in a crowd to just stop abruptly right in front of me (nearly causing an accident)?  Am I a magnet for this sort of thing?  I lost count of how many times it happened throughout the day - dad was laughing by the afternoon.

We also made it to see Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and Academy of St. Martin in the Fields (where we caught the end of a quartet rehearsal).  Was fun to show dad where WLC's choir performed and I recorded (and nearly burnt the piano down). 

We'll be out again tomorrow to see the Palaces and visit my favorite fish and chips place!

From Oslo...to London

Bit of a whirlwind day, but we made it safely to London and our hotel.  Here's the recap:

- Got up and took part in a boat tour of the Oslo Fjord - amazing pictures and time out on the water
- Walk by the Town Hall (and location of the Nobel Prize ceremony each year)
- Changing of the guard and pictures at the Slottet (Royal Palace)
- Visit to the Museet to see the Edvard Munch exhibit and original "Scream"
- Afternoon food on Karl Johan's Gate
- Picked up our luggage from the Park Inn and took the quick Flytoget train to OSL
- Made it through security and passport without issue and to our gate to board our British Airways flight
- Landed Heathrow just about on-time and after a quick bus to the terminal, made it through Passport control and to the Tube for our journey
- Our hotel is a 5 minute walk from Tower Hill and the Tower of London!

Looking forward to running around tomorrow!

Day in Oslo

Had an amazing day in Oslo...the sun rose and clouds cleared out, and warmer temperatures made for easy walking.  After taking our time this morning and getting our systems on the Euro-clock, we headed out for the water and Bygdoy, an inhabited island to the southwest of the main city.  This particular area has numerous museums, including the Frammuseet, Kon-Ticki Museet, and Vikingskipshuset.

The fastest way to get to the island is by boat, and after a quick walk from the hotel we were at the water and quickly hopped onto the transport.  It was a modest 50,00 Kr to get over, and in about 10 minutes we were off and walking to the Viking Ship museum.  The ships were uncovered some time ago and continue to be restored as funding allows.

We decided after seeing the boats to also walk down to the Frammuseet and see Roald Amundsen's polar ship Fram - this was one of the boats that took adventurers up toward the North Pole. 

After viewing the information on the expeditions, we boated back across the bay to the main city center, and "turned left" into the Nobel Peace Center.  The main exhibit highlighted the most recent Peace award winner, the European Union.  It also had portraits and information on each of the other peace prize winners.

It was time for dinner after the Peace Center, so we dropped off our packs at the hotel and were next off to dinner at Bacchus, a cafe/restaurant we had researched that offered authentic Norwegian food near Karl Johan's Gate.  We were not disappointed - dad tried a pink mountain trout dish while I tried a more traditionally cooked burger with Norwegian cheese.  Both were excellent!  After dinner we did a bit of shopping on the street, visited the Oslo Domkirke, and then walked back toward the hotel to get ready for our next day.

More to come tomorrow!