Unsere Hochzeitsreise - 1 Monat USA

[oneworldflyer]

Hallo zusammen

 

Ich habe auf Flyertalk einen Reisebericht publiziert. Ich stelle mir vor, dass er auch hier auf Interesse stossen könnte. Viel Spass!

 

Hi all

It’s been a while since I posted my last trip report on here but I thought I might give it another shot and share this with you all.
My wife and I got married in the beginning of June. For our honeymoon we took a month off work to travel to the USA.
We had booked the following flights:

14.06.19: Basel-London, British Airways A321, Business Class
15.06.19: London-Gothenburg, British Airways A320, Business Class
16.06.19: Gothenburg-Helsinki, Finnair A319, Business Class
16.06.19: Helsinki-New York JFK, Finnair A330, Business Class
16.06.19: New York JFK-San Francisco, American Airlines A321T, Business Class
11.07.19: San Francisco-Los Angeles, American Airlines Embraer E175, Business Class
11.07.19: Los Angeles-Helsinki, Finnair A350, Business Class
12.07.19: Helsinki-Oslo, Finnair Embraer E190, Business Class
13.07.19: Oslo-Helsinki, Finnair A320, Economy Class
13.07.19: Helsinki-Zurich, Finnair A321, Economy Class



The ticket was purchased as BA Holidays package including a car rental (Avis Group W (SUV)) from Gothenburg, so we used BA Avios to position to Gothenburg. To get back to Switzerland we purchased a cheap Finnair Economy Class ticket. Since we hold status with BA, Finnair is perfectly fine for short haul flights even in Economy as we get free checked baggage and a complimentary alcoholic beverage as well.

I will post this trip report in instalments so it is a bit easier to navigate for you guys.

I hope you will enjoy this trip report! Safe travels to you all.

 

Instalment 1: Getting to the US

Friday, June 14th 2019
We had a busy week just after the wedding. My wife had her last days at her old job as she would start a new job right after our honeymoon. I had a very busy few weeks prior and needed to wrap everything up before I would be away for a whole month. Our flight from Basel to London was at 10pm. We both went to work on Friday, but were able to get home a bit earlier than we usually do. It was time to pack our bags and then head to the airport. The flight from Basel to London was pretty quick as always.

We enjoyed that feeling when you know you can leave work behind and look forward to an amazing trip. Of course, we celebrated this with champagne. During the approach we got beautiful views over London which is breathtaking even for us frequent travelers. We had an overnight connection and checked the bags through to Gothenburg and had all essentials in our carry-ons. We headed to the hotel straight away and went to sleep as we were tired.



Saturday, June 15th 2019
Our flight to Gothenburg was scheduled to leave very early. We went to the airport and enjoyed a quick breakfast at the lounge and then it was time to board a full flight to the Swedish city. The breakfast onboard was delicious and yet again we indulged in champagne. After landing we took the bus to the city center and checked in to the hotel (First Hotel G) which was conveniently located in the city center by the train station.

It was our second visit to Gothenburg and since we were still tired from the wedding and work we took it easy, walked around the city without the need or pressure to do this or that. Eventually, we sat down at a café and enjoyed a cinnamon roll and coffee.









Sunday, June 16th 2019
I had been looking forward to this day for a long time. Even as a frequent traveler, traveling across the pond is still something special for me and we had an amazing day ahead of us. We took the bus to the airport and checked in. We then went to the rather nice lounge to enjoy breakfast. The lounge had beautiful views to the apron and runway and eventually we saw our Finnair A319 land. When it was time to board we were quite excited to see that we would be the only passengers in Business Class – a first for us.

The flight to Helsinki was pretty short – it took a bit more than an hour – but the service was very attentive nonetheless. The food on Finnair is very good and nicely presented. Both my wife and I had pre-ordered vegan meals and it was very good indeed. After arrival at Helsinki we went to the newly opened Platinum Wing straight away. I was very pleased to read on Flyertalk just a week or so prior that it would finally open. The opening had been delayed for some time and I was already worried that we wouldn’t be able to enjoy it. We were impressed by the lounge. I tried an Arctic Blue Gin and Tonic (They also serve Napue Gin, but I had had it already and wanted to opt for something new) which I found delicious.

Around noon it was time to board the A330 bound to New York. The flight was full and once again we had an excellent crew which really did a great job and offered a very personalized service. The food was delicious too. Even though the A330s are a bit worn, we didn’t mind much as the soft product was excellent and the seats are excellent too when traveling as a couple. I find the Thomson Vantage seat very comfy, especially for lounging. The first row has a larger footwell, so sleeping is also very enjoyable in this seat. The flight time was 8 hours it went by quite quickly.

After landing in New York we had to go through immigration and re-check our baggage. It took about an hour from de-boarding until we arrived at the American Airlines Flagship Lounge. First, we went to have a shower to freshen up and then relaxed for a few hours until our flight to San Francisco was ready to board. The flight to SFO was operated by an A321T in a 3-class premium configuration with lie flat seats in Business Class. We had a quick meal after departure and then slept all the way through. The flight had an interesting routing as we first flew north into Canadian airspace and then flew west as there were many storms across the US. After landing we collected our baggage and went to a hotel close to the airport for a good night’s sleep.

[oneworldflyer]

Instalment 2: San Francisco, CA to Portland, Oregon – the long way!

Monday June 17th 2019
After breakfast we went to the rental car centre at SFO to collect our car. We got a Ford Edge. We then drove northeast as our first stops would be at Donner Lake and Lake Tahoe before heading to Reno, Nevada for the night.






















Tuesday June 18th 2019
We had a long drive ahead of us! We drove a couple of hundred miles through the desert from Reno, Nevada to Boise Idaho. It was an interesting experience to say the least. Boise is absolutely worth a visit and I can only recommend it. The downtown area is very clean and there is a lot going on with cafés, shops and restaurants, most with an outdoor terrace too. We had dinner at Juniper which had an excellent Gin selection too.































Wednesday June 19th 2019
We first drove north on I-84 to Baker City before heading west to Bend, Oregon through some truly beautiful landscapes and towns. Of course we planned a stop at the famous Painted Hills as well. We had dinner at the Deschutes Brewery Bend Public House. It was great to taste a few local beers there too.





























Thursday, June 20th 2019
Today was all about volcanoes. We visited the Lava Cast Forest Trail which was very interesting. Then we went to the Newberry Volcano. Unfortunately, the drive to the peak was not possible because of road closures due to snow. Then, we continued to the Deschutes National Forest and drove along the Cascade Lake National Scenic Byway around Mount Bachelor. In the evening we went to visit Sisters, which is an interesting town north of Bend before having dinner at Pisano's Woodfired Pizza in Tumalo.





















Friday, June 21st 2019
First thing in the morning we visited the Newberry National Volcanic Monument. Then, we headed to the Diamond Lake before making our way to the Crater Lake NP. It was truly beautiful there. Unfortunately, the east rim was closed due to snow, so we were only able to drive along the west rim this time. The lake’s blue is truly the bluest blue I’ve ever seen in my life. After spending the day there we headed to Medford where we stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn for the night. We tried a local chardonnay which was very enjoyable and had a chat with Buddy, our waiter at the hotel’s restaurant.





















Saturday, June 22nd 2019
We are now heading north towards Portland, basically driving along I-5N and making a few stops on the way. The first stop was Golden, a ghost town just off I-5 near Wolf Creek. The next stop was a really quick one in Roseburg which we didn’t really find interesting and a bit creepy too. For lunch we stopped in Eugene, a pleasant university city. We then continued to Salem, Oregon’s capital for the selfie in front of the capitol building. After this quick stop we drove to McMinnville in order to visit the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum. Even though the museum is quite large I found it disappointing. The highlight probably is the world’s only Hughes H4 which is on display there. We then drove to Portland’s Pittock Mansion to enjoy the view over downtown and we even saw Mt. Hood in the background. We then went to Lakewood for dinner.

[oneworldflyer]

Instalment 3: Portland, OR to Seattle, WA

Sunday, June 23rd 2019
Before visiting Portland we planned another day on the road to explore the Columbia River Gorge with its countless waterfalls. We drove along the Historic Columbia River Hwy. As it was Sunday, everything was extremely busy. For example, there was no parking at the famous Multnomah Falls which was really annoying. We drove all the way to Hood River before heading south to drive along the Mount Hood Highway. We stopped at Trillium Lake where we walked around and waited for a clear shot of Mount Hood. We were very lucky to get a picture of Mount Hood visible, as it was a cloudy day. It was then time to head back to Portland and check in to the Porter Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton. A nice bottle of white wine as well as chocolate strawberries were waiting in our Corner Room. We went to have dinner in downtown and then went back to the hotel for a few drinks at the bar. Of course I had to try the Aviation Gin which I really liked.

























Monday June 24th 2019
A full day to explore Portland. My wife is a bookworm so it was obvious to visit Powell’s City of Books. We also went to the Rose Test Garden as well as visited the Japanese Garden. We had lunch at the 10 Barrel Brewing Portland. We like it most to explore new cities on foot, so our iPhones showed 26k steps. Since the hotel had a pool and sauna, we made use of it in the evening to relax and spend some time at the outdoor area by the fire.























Tuesday, June 25th 2019
It was time to hit the road again! Today’s destination was Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. Just after leaving Portland on I-5N we crossed the bridge across the Columbia River which also is the border to Washington state. We spent a couple of hours exploring this gigantic area and learnt a lot about the history of the eruption at the Johnston Ridge Observatory. I can only recommend to visit this place – it was truly worth it. It started to rain in the afternoon, so we got back to our car and drove to Olympia, Washington’s capital. Of course the only reason to visit is to take a selfie in front of the capitol – otherwise Olympia is just another US town. The downtown area seemed a bit dodgy to be honest and there was not much to do either.

















Wednesday, June 26th 2019
Another day exploring the beautiful nature of the Pacific Northwest! The plan was to go hiking near Mount Rainier, but unfortunately, the weather was pretty bad almost during the whole day. We decided to drive to Paradise to visit the Henry M Jackson Visitor Center and then continued to Seattle. We were stuck in traffic for about an hour as we arrived during rush hour. We had planned an early Boeing Factory Tour the next day, therefore we decided to stay north of downtown near Everett that night. For dinner we opted to try out Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, where I had a milkshake and a vegetarian burger. It was really delicious.



















Thursday, June 27th 2019
We had an early start as we were on one of the first Boeing Factory tours of the day. Unfortunately, there are no pictures from the tour as photography is not allowed. However, we were lucky enough to see two of the four Boeing Dreamlifters parked right near at the Boeing Future of Flight Museum and even saw one take off:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElfAwv4nK9E

The tour itself was well-organized and very interesting. Around noon we left Paine Field and drove to Bellevue, where we checked in to the Hilton Garden Inn Bellevue Downtown. Hotels in downtown Seattle were at least 50% more expensive and we didn’t really want to pay that much to stay in downtown Seattle. The HGI was a perfectly adequate hotel for our two night stay. We spent the afternoon exploring Seattle’s Pike Place Market, the world’s first Starbucks and the downtown area with surprisingly steep roads. I wasn’t really aware of this before, as I only knew San Francisco had steep roads, but didn’t really think of Seattle. Instead of visiting the Sky Needle which would have involved a 45 minute wait for the next elevator ride up we opted to go to the Sky View Observatory - Columbia Center which was not only cheaper but also much less crowded. We had a drink in the bar on the top floor and enjoyed the amazing views this observatory had to offer. We then went to Kerry Park for skyline views. By now we got hungry, so drove back to Bellevue and went for dinner at Maggiano's Little Italy.





























Friday, June 28th 2019
We had booked a full day whale watching tour – leaving at 8am from Seattle returning at 9pm or so. It was one of the highlights on this trip as we saw a lot of wildlife during the day. See for yourself!

[oneworldflyer]

Instalment 4: Highway 101 to San Francisco, CA

Saturday, June 29th 2019
We had reached the northernmost point on our road trip already. Somehow it is always incredible how quickly the time goes by when traveling. The plan from now on was to drive along the Pacific coast all the way to L.A. But before heading towards the ocean we had one more stop to make in Seattle: The museum of flight! This is where the world’s first 747 is located as well as the world’s first 737-100 and the fourth 787-8 Dreamliner. There is also a Concorde and many other interesting airplanes. The original Red Barn, where the Boeing history started is inside the museum as well. It was incredibly busy but well worth the visit! The first stop outside of Seattle was the Vance Creek bridge, a decommissioned railway bridge which is actually the second highest in the USA. We then headed to Astoria OR, where we had dinner and good beer at the Rogue Pier 39 Public House. The sunset that night was particularly beautiful and we were very happy to have reached the coast (even though technically, Astoria is located on the river).































Sunday, June 30th 2019
First thing in the morning we visited The Astoria Column. Built in 1926, this 126-ft. column features murals of Oregon history & an observation deck. From now on we would drive along Highway 101 and pass through some insanely beautiful landscapes and coastlines. It was fairly windy and chilly (16°C / 60° F) and oftentimes we were the only ones stopping and scenic vistas which was very enjoyable. Most other tourists were American or Canadian, often traveling with their huge RVs. We stopped at the following places to enjoy the beautiful nature: Ecola State Park, Haystack Rock, Cape Lookout, Depoe Bay and Yaquina Head Lighthouse. As usual, our lunch consisted of a Picnic. When road tripping, we usually have picnic for lunch as this gives us great flexibility as to when and where to eat. We bought a small cool box on the first day after arrival, and since there is ice in every hotel it was very simple to keep our stuff chilled as well. Of course we had to try Tillamook cheese today, which is produced in Tillamook OR. We stayed at the Best Western Plus Agate Beach Inn where we had a room view sea view. Fortunately, we arrived just in time for the evening reception, where we could indulge in good white wine from Oregon once again.































Monday, July 1st 2019
Another chilly day, but nonetheless a beautiful one. We stopped at many scenic viewpoints to enjoy the views, nature and wildlife. We had another picnic by the sea, all by ourselves which was particularly enjoyable. The saw a lot of sea lions and elk, too. We stayed in a motel in Bandon which was the cheapest stay on this trip ($90, incl. tax). For dinner we opted to have a pizza at Bandon Brewing Company & Pizzeria in downtown Bandon.







































Tuesday, July 2nd 2019
It was our last day in Oregon before we would be back in California later today. We started off by going to walk at Bandon Beach. On the way to Eureka, CA we stopped at the Face Rock Scenic Viewpoint, Cape Blanco Lighthouse, Sisters Rock, Cape Sebastian and at Arch Rock. Once again, the views and the nature were incredibly beautiful and it was another very enjoyable day on the Pacific coast. We stopped at the Redwoods Visitor Center before heading to Eureka to get maps and information for the next day. In Eureka we had dinner at the Lost Coast brewery. As you may have noticed, we often had dinner at brewpubs. There are two reasons for this. The first, obviously, is to be able to try out local beer. The second reason is because we are both vegetarians and they often have a few vegetarian dishes to choose from.































Wednesday, July 3rd 2019
Redwoods! We planned to spend a full day in the Redwoods and it was the right decision. These trees were truly awe-inspiring and it is difficult to appreciate their size from the pictures as it is incredible to see this in real life and was another highlight on this trip for us. See for yourself! After spending the day with a lot of hiking among these trees we had dinner at Six Rivers Brewery in McKinleyville, just north of Eureka. If you are looking for a great hike among Redwoods I would definitely recommend the Big tree trail. It is accessible via a dirt access road. However, you will need a code to open the gate and they only let 50 cars in per day. The hike was 4.5 miles in total and we were mostly by ourselves. The Lady Bird Johnson trail, however, is much shorter and open to everybody and therefore much more crowded. It is definitely worth to spend more time in the Redwoods to appreciate the beauty.































Thursday, July 4th 2019
Happy Independence Day!
We left Eureka early in the morning heading south to Petaluma CA. The first stop was in historic Ferndale, a beautiful town. We grabbed coffee and continued to Legget on Highway 101. On the way there we drove a few miles along the Avenue of the Giants – more Redwoods! Then, we started to drive on the incredibly winding Highway 1 to Rockport and further south. There was fog from time to time as one would expect. We eventually made it to Petaluma, where we opted for the relatively newly opened Hampton Inn which is in a former mill. The rooms are very stylish and it is one of very few Hamptons in the world that features a bar. The bar keeper was a veteran from the U.S. Air Force and it was interesting to talk to him. We went to have dinner at Risibisi. After dinner we went to the Sonoma-Marin Fair where we arrived just in time for the 4th of July fireworks.



































Friday, July 5th 2019
We went to the Premium Outlets in Petaluma first thing in the morning to do some shopping and then drove to the Point Reyes National Seashore to go see the Cypress Tree Tunnel. After this we drove to San Francisco, but before crossing the Golden Gate Bridge we stopped at the Golden Gate View Point. It was incredibly foggy, though. We checked in to the Hilton Union Square where we went to the top floor bar to enjoy downtown views and have a glass of wine. Hello, S.F.!

[oneworldflyer]

Instalment 5: San Francisco, CA and Highway 1 to LA

Saturday, July 6th 2019 and Sunday July 7th 2019
We planned two full days in San Francisco. Alcatraz was on top of our to do list and thankfully we had purchased tickets already months ago as all tours were fully booked that day. It was incredibly busy and we somehow struggled to get used to this busy city life with people and tourists everywhere. The last couple of weeks were quiet in the sense as we were able to spend time together and often the places we visited were not very busy (with a few exceptions). Anyway, Alcatraz was worth a visit but we didn’t spend many hours there either. Again, we explored the city on foot, going to see Lombard street, China Town, the painted ladies and tried our luck again to see the Golden Gate Bridge but this time from the other side, from Baker Beach. We once had lunch at Greens, a famous restaurant for vegetarian food in San Francisco.


















































Monday, July 8th 2019
The next couple of days are going to involve a lot of driving! We left San Francisco early in the morning to start our drive along Highway 1 all the way to San Luis Obispo. It got incredibly busy during the day and there was construction work too which led to traffic jams. It was a shame that most scenic spots were overcrowded and oftentimes there was not even space to park the car. The elephant seal viewpoint was probably the highlight today. Even though the views were scenic, we preferred the coastal drive in Oregon where it was generally quieter and less touristy. We had dinner at TASTE! craft eatery in San Luis Obispo and then went to the Sunset Drive-In which is the last drive-in theatre in California!








































Tuesday, July 9th 2019
We started by visiting Solvang, the Danish capital of the US and then continued once again along Highway 1 to Santa Barbara, where we spent some time at the beach. We didn’t plan to visit a lot of things in L.A due to lack of time. The main reason why we did Highway 1 down to L.A. was to be able to have dinner at Moby’s “Little Pine” vegan restaurant as it was a special occasion: My wife’s birthday. Upon arrival in L.A. we went to the hotel straight away to relax by the pool before having dinner. Dinner was delicious and we were glad to have driven all this way for this!

[oneworldflyer]

Instalment 6: Back to San Francisco via Sequoia National Park

Wednesday, July 10th 2019
Believe it or not, but it was our last full day in the USA before flying back to Europe. We left LA very early to drive to the Sequoia National Park. But first, a quick stop at the Griffith Observatory and Whole Foods for our last grocery shopping for our last picnic. It was a long drive via routes 99 to Bakersfield and route 65 north and it was also the hottest day of the trip (36°C / 97°F). However, we would be rewarded with beautiful forests in the Sequoia National Park. We witnessed prescribed burns even which we didn’t know existed. There is an article on this here:
https://www.nps.gov/seki/learn/news/sherman-prescribed-burn-planned-in-sequoia-national-park.htm

Quote

The parks have been performing prescribed burns in the Giant Forest area since 1979. By working with the area’s historical fire return interval, which is ten to sixteen years, the parks are ensuring a diverse mosaic of fire history, which is a natural part of the ecosystem, and makes the area less vulnerable to catastrophic wildfire. Prescribed burns also promote the regeneration of giant sequoias by creating openings in the canopy, clearing the forest floor, and opening the cones, allowing seeds to disperse.

We visited the General Sherman tree which is the largest currently living tree on earth.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Sherman_(tree)

After spending a couple of hours in the Sequoias we drove to Fresno, where we had one last dinner at the Red Robin Gourmet Burger. We realized that our trip is coming to an end…

[oneworldflyer]

Instalment 7: Getting back home

Thursday, July 11th 2019
We got up at 5am or so as we had to drive to SFO airport, return our car and hop on the 1210 flight to LAX. It was tricky to plan the drive to SFO as we knew we would be in traffic and there are potentially 3 routes from Fresno to SFO: One is via route 99 to Modesto, then I-205 and I-580. Another route would be via route 33 and I-5 and another via route 180, I-5, route 152 and Hwy 101. I was monitoring real time traffic using google maps and we opted to drive North on route 99 to Modesto, then drove west on Route 132 where we joined I-580. There was a traffic jam where I-205 merges to I-580 but we had enough time planned for this. We arrived exactly 2 hours before our flight – perfect timing!





The Admirals Club at SFO was disappointing to say the least. The flight to LAX was quick and I enjoyed the views. We had a long layover in LAX – about 5 hours I think – and enjoyed spending time at the Qantas First Lounge there. We met two fellow FTers for champagne and cocktails, had a shower and then made our way to the gate to board the 10 hour Finnair flight to Helsinki. The crew on this flight was perfect. Very friendly, attentive and refills were made on a regular basis. Once again, the meal was very good. I had preordered the vegan meal but saw that their vegetarian meal from the main menu was mushroom ravioli. I had this meal before and knew it would be delicious. I asked nicely and the cabin crew made sure to put one aside for me which I found extremely nice of them. It also turned out that one of the cabin crew was one I was following on Instagram. Another cabin crew was also working on a flight last year when we went to India. Small world! I didn’t sleep very much on this flight – maybe 4 hours in total as I wanted to enjoy this flight as much as possible. Finnair had in the meantime changed their Gin offering onboard by the way. On the way to New York they served Napue Gin which is served with rosemary and cranberries. Their new offering was the Arctic Blue Gin which I had tried in the lounge in Helsinki and it is served with bilberries. We also had the new amenity kit onboard which was fairly basic.
































































Friday July 12th 2019
After landing in Helsinki we went to the Platinum Wing to freshen up, grab a quick bite to eat and then made our way to the gate for our flight to Oslo which was operated by a NoRRA Embraer 190. We were the only ones in Business Class and quite tired by now.

After landing in Oslo we went straight to the hotel and had a good night’s sleep.













Saturday, July 13th 2019
We flew back to Switzerland via Helsinki once again – the flights were uneventful. We enjoyed the complimentary champagne and realized that the trip is coming to an end.

[dormi]

Hi Florens,

 

schöner Bericht und v.a. supertolle Bilder. Danke dafür.

[ueberflieger90]

Lieber Florens,

 

Genau solche Berichte bereichern unser Forum

 

Danke dafür und fürs mitnehmen auf Deine Reise.

[oneworldflyer]

On 9/2/2019 at 8:30 AM, ueberflieger90 said:

Lieber Florens,

 

Genau solche Berichte bereichern unser Forum

 

Danke dafür und fürs mitnehmen auf Deine Reise.

 

On 8/26/2019 at 10:23 AM, dormi said:

Hi Florens,

 

schöner Bericht und v.a. supertolle Bilder. Danke dafür.

 

 

Danke!

Bearbeitet 3. September 2019 von oneworldflyer

[Phil]

Hallo Florens

 

Danke für diesen erlebnisreichen und detaillierten Bericht und dass diesem Corner wieder mal etwas Leben eingehaucht wurde! War schon an vielen dieser schönen Orte und war interessant, dies aus den Augen einer anderen Person dokumentiert "nachzuerleben". 

 

Grüsse

Philipp