I have arrived this afternoon in Vienna after spending the last three days travelling between four countries. I set out from Australia making stops in South Korea and England before arriving in Austria. The travel could have been completed in less time, but the staggered trip was quite good in the end. Having the two overnight stops along the way made it much less rushed.
Travel Day 1 – Brisbane to Seoul – 7,698 KM
It was an early start today, with a 4 am wake up to get last minute things prepared and get to the airport. The flight was scheduled to leave Brisbane at 8.20am, making it one of the earlier departures. As such besides a few people in the line to check-in, it was a very quick trip through the airport.
The airline I had booked with is Korean Air, in part for how they structure the flight from Australia to Europe. It is two flights like every other airline. However, instead of waiting in airports or back to back flights, there is a stop over in Seoul. As part of the stopover you are provided with a hotel room, and meals between flights.
The first of the two flights today from Brisbane to Seoul was a good flight. The flight turned out to be barely half full, and I had the whole four seats across the middle of the plane in my row to myself. I even at one point put all the arm rests up and had some sleep. I did not sleep much and managed to fit five movies in on the flight as well.
Travel Day 2 – Seoul to London – 8,881 KM
After a great nights sleep the breakfast buffet this morning was included. The flight today was not until just after lunch time which gave me some time to look around the area. I took a walk through the streets and found Incheon Central Park. If you would like to see the photo’s from this little walk, you can visit A Few Hours In Seoul.
There was a shuttle bus scheduled for 11 am to go from the hotel back to the airport. Getting through the airport today is a little different because technically the flight is a connecting flight. There was no need to check-in as my luggage was at the airport for my onward flight. However, my boarding pass for this flight was a window seat. I could have left it, but I very much prefer an aisle seat if possible, and went to see about changing it. In the end, I had two empty seats next to me anyway.
It was a reasonably good flight, although there was a short delay of 30-40 minutes before take off. I made good use of this time getting started on a movie and managed to fit in six movies in total. The drink and meal service was not quite as regular as other flights I have taken but was sufficient. Across the 12 hour flight, there were only two full meals and various snacks throughout the flight.
Would I fly with Korean Air again? I would consider it as an option. The stop over in Seoul and breaking the long trip up is a definite benefit. While the plane from Seoul to London was a little dated, it still had everything yo would expect.
Travel Day 3 – London to Vienna – 1,278 KM
In some ways, I have worked out a way that I avoid jetlag, for the most part. But due to a few factors, it was an early night last night, and I end up awake off and on from 4 am. I eventually got up around 6 am though and set about getting ready to leave the hotel. My next flight was at 11 am heading to Vienna, Austria.
I stopped at a cafe in the airport for breakfast and was happy to get a great meal for around 10 pounds. I had ample time to get from Terminal 4 to Terminal 3 at Heathrow. So by the time I had checked in and made it through security my biggest challenge was just finding somewhere to sit. The terminal was full of people, so I spent most of the time between walking and leaning.
The flight from London to Vienna was rather uneventful and arrived on time. After catching the train into the city, I failed to find a reasonable map of the city at the station. Even still I thought my memory of the map from research would be suitable. In the end, it turns out my memory was somewhat right, but I still managed to get just a little lost. Eventually, as it was getting later, I found another hotel and asked for directions. In the end, they suggested a taxi as it was a little far to walk at this stage with the sun setting.
Anyway, the happy ending is that I got checked into the hotel and had a very comfortable room. I did head out to find dinner, with directions and a map in hand just in case it was needed.
Looking Forward To Tomorrow
So even though I had some unintended exploration of the city this afternoon tomorrow is a new day. The firs thing that will be good is no need to travel by plane for e few days. I expect to get in and see what the city has to offer and do so much easier with a map now. You can look forward to see a few more updates over the coming days about Vienna as I am here for a further nine days.
