This past weekend I had the privilege to be aboard Lufthansa’s Flight 500 from Frankfurt to Rio de Janeiro. This specific flight would be no ordinary one as Lufthansa planned a surprise for passengers both at the gate and aboard the aircraft. A handful of members from the media were invited to take part and cover the event; obviously I was thrilled to be on the list! 🙂
For those of you not familiar with ‘Caipirinha’, it is the national drink of Brazil and is based on a mix of cachaca (sugar cane liquor), lime and sugar. After imbibing on a few of these, it was easy to see why it is so popular and why LH would dedicate a flight to celebrate the cocktail!
Before boarding the “Party Flight”, Lufthansa had arranged for a Samba dancer and a Brazilian Musician to provide entertainment for passengers waiting at the gate ahead of the flight. The combination of guitar music and a Samba dancer at an airport gate made for a bit of a surreal experience.
What really made it special was the fact that passengers got into the spirit at the gate with some exhibiting their Samba and singing skills. By far this one of my more enjoyable boarding experiences (aside from an FCT private transfer mind you!). I didn’t even mind being among the last people to board a very full flight! I wish I can post the videos but with so many passengers in the video, I do not want to violate anyone’s privacy.
However, here are a few snap-shots of the festivities that I can share:
Great Guitarist provided the backdrop for our Samba Dancer.
Not everyday that you are greeted by a Samba dancer when you arrive for your flight…..
A clear improvement to the ‘Carry On Baggage Policy’…..
Once aboard, passengers were greeted with a special ‘Amenity Kit’ to mark the occasion. Packed in a pouch made specifically for the occasion, passengers would find a baseball hat, CD of Brazilian music, Brazilian flags, coasters and other bits and pieces.
A sample of what was in the ‘Swag Bag’
The aircraft was full of decor marking the special flight.
Once the Aircraft reached cruising altitude, and as part of the beverage service, the crew broke out the Caipirinha bottles and would pour a great cocktail for anyone that was interested. Safe to say there were very, very few empty hands! I also want to add that the crew was absolutely FANTASTIC. They got into the spirit of the party and would dance and sing along with the passengers making it feel truly like a party. Smiles everywhere!
Perhaps the greatest beverage service EVER….
Lufthansa arranged for their own Caipirinha mix to be on board….
The smile never left her face……
I think this photo says it best…..
It took a while for everyone to clear front of the aircraft as everyone wanted to come in to see the action. The party proceeded to spread throughout the rest of the aircraft as dancing and singing made its way down the aisles of the aircraft and would last the better part of 2 hours. The party itself did not climb up the stairs to First Class however several, if not all of the First Class passengers came down to join the rest of us on the main deck. After the festivities, everyone settled back into their seats and the flight once again became ‘normal’ with a fantastic meal service and even a few hours to spare for sleep.
In all, it was a truly fantastic flight and I was impressed to see that Lufthansa did something that is somewhat out of character for them. It’s nice to see the airline evolve into one that can have fun with their passengers and create some fantastic and unique travel experiences for them. I certainly enjoyed myself and had the opportunity to meet a lot of great people as a result of the party.
I even had the honor of sitting next to ‘Klaus Heidi’ for the flight. If you recall, Lufthansa ran a contest last year in Sweden that would award a lucky winner who changed their name to ‘Klaus Heidi’ a year’s worth of lodging in Berlin. I had a chance to get to know Klaus and will share how things have been going for him in a post later this week.
What the heck, here is a video that I have to share from the flight, it really says a lot more than any amount of words I type could ever say:
Recently, a group of FlyerTalk members converged on Hamburg to take in the 825th Hamburg Port Festival as well as to take part in special tours of Airbus and Lufthansa Technik’s Main Base. The weekend allowed for friends to see each other again, and to make new ones as well. As part of this weekend, I was to also take my first ride aboard Lufthansa’s Junkers Ju52 along with the winner of the Jason Dahl Scholarship Fundraiser that was held last year that gave away a ride on the Ju52. Unfortunately, Mother Nature played her trump card and forced the cancellation of the Ju52 flight as thunderstorms rolled through the area exactly at our scheduled time of departure. I guess there’s always next year for the Ju52.
Lufthansa’s Junkers Ju52 would haunt me all weekend as she flew OTHER passengers around Hamburg…..
The group’s tour of Airbus at Finkenwerder Airport was fantastic as tour guides were available for both German and English speaking groups. The tour covered several of the Airbus hangars including the ‘ginormous’ A380 fuselage production facility. We were treated to fantastic insights by our guides and most of us came away impressed with the experience.
The group also had the opportunity to visit Lufthansa’s Technik ‘Basis’ at Hamburg Airport which serves as the main Technik hub for Lufthansa. As part of this tour, we were given rare access to the VIP hangar where we saw first-hand the 747-400 and 747-8i that are being retrofitted and prepared for service for private clients. In this case, the aircraft were destined for private ownership in the Middle East. Must be a nice problem if you can call a 747-8i your private aircraft.
As part of the Technik Tour, we were also treated to a up close view of an A340-300 going through a comprehensive ‘D-Check’ which requires the tear down and refurbishment of all major components. In this case, the A340-300 was also being retrofitted for Lufthansa’s new First and Business Class cabins as well. We were actually permitted to climb the scaffolding and walk around the fuselage, getting a close up look of what the aircraft looks when an interior is completely removed from an aircraft….including the floors.
Unfortunately, we were not allowed any kind of photography inside any of the Airbus or Lufthansa Technik facilities due to security concerns and to maintain the privacy of Airbus and LH clients. It’s too bad, the 747-400 going to the Qatari royal family would have made for a fantastic desktop wallpaper. The Kuwaiti 747-8i wasn’t too shabby either!
Literally the only photo I was allowed to take once we entered the Technik Campus.
In addition to the tours, the group took part in an evening Dinner Cruise on the River Elbe during the Port Festival. The evening dinner cruise was chosen specifically so that group could take in the Fireworks Show that marked the peak of the Festival. The group was able to enjoy great food and camaraderie aboard the Morgenster, a twin masted tall ship as she sailed up and down the river waiting for the sun to set and the fireworks to start.
The Tallship Morgenster would serve as a great host!
Fortunately, photography was finally allowed during this event, but I had to battle constant showers and downpours which made photo opportunities relatively few and far between. I did manage to catch a few images along the way, especially during the fireworks show when the rain finally surrendered for about 30 minutes. Hopefully the few pictures that I was able to take and share with you will give you an idea of what we experienced! A variety of ships from Germany and the rest of Europe made the pilgrimage to Hamburg to celebrate the Festival. The following boats were a tiny sample of the hundreds that attended, but rain prevented photographing more than a handful of them.
No doubt this boat is advertising the permanent theater dedicated to the Lion King as seen in the background….
As the sun finally set, the rain drops ended just long enough for us to take in the Fireworks Show without getting soaked. I was finally able to take my camera out for more than 30 seconds!
The river emptied fairly quickly after the fireworks show, which left some great views of Hamburg from the river.
The festival was not just for small vessels to visit. A significant number of large Cruise Ships made the pilgrimage as well.
From what I gather, the group plans to do it all over again in 2015 and hopefully we’ll be treated to better weather. According to locals that I talked to during the Festival, they claimed that it never rained on the event. Kind of hard to believe that we broke an 824 year streak of perfect weather!
On a recent trip to the UK, I made the executive decision to surprise my wife with something that I KNOW would have been of interest to her. For those of you who don’t know her (thats 99.9% of you), one of her hobbies is the study of historic places that exhibit paranormal behavior. Don’t misinterpret, she is not one of those nut jobs running around on TV screaming their heads off when they hear a door creak. She is every bit the ‘analyst’ and simply enjoys the combination of history, legends and things that have no answer.
So in my infinite wisdom I did a bit of due diligence with the help of Google and Wikipedia and discovered the tiny hamlet of Pluckey located in the district of Kent in England. After further research, I found that the area around Pluckley was considered to be among the most ‘haunted’ regions that anyone could find in the UK. Plus, it was a very reasonable 1.5 hour train ride from London which would make for a perfect day trip. Everything that I read on Pluckley suggested that it would be a unique experience, especially for those with an interest in the paranormal.
So here I thought I was the good and occasionally considerate husband and promised her a great excursion that would focus completely on her interests (plane-spotting was a non-starter in Pluckey unfortunately). She loved the idea and off we went.
Well in short, I completely miscalculated most of the excursion. I failed to appreciate that most of the ‘good stuff’ as far as haunted forests and buildings are concerned were in the VICINITY of Pluckley, and not in Pluckley. The main attractions were anywhere from 2-10 miles from the village and without a car it would be impossible to ever seen them within a few hours. Additionally, I miscalculated the fact that she was not in a mood to walk 1.5 miles from the train station to the village on a 2 lane road that was not sympathetic to pedestrians, especially the American tourist kind……And of course she would not let me forget the fact that we would need to walk back the same 1.5 miles to the train station.
However all WAS NOT lost……
What we did discover was a beautiful old Church whose foundations date back to the 11th century. The St. Nicholas Church of the Canterbury Diocese has its history dating back to Norman times and according to what I’ve learned of the Church, not much has changed other than a few minor improvements to the building and grounds. According to the information I could find, the Church building’s foundation as it stands today dates back to the 13th century, having had replaced previous structures that preceded it. Also of note is the fact that the Church suffered extensive damage after a German V1 Flying Bomb struck nearby during World War II.
Unfortunately the Church was locked and we could not appreciate the interior, but we did spend quite some time walking through the cemetery which ultimately made our visit a memorable one. The cemetery has a certain beauty and mystique to it, as it holds hundreds of years of memorials for locals who are interred there.
No words that I can continue to type could explain what it felt like walking by tombstones dating back hundreds of years. Many of them have weathered so much that there was no way to tell how old they really were. The oldest legible ones dated back to the mid 18th century so I could only imagine how much older some of the other tombstones could have been. Mother nature has also had an influence on the cemetery which will bear out in some of the photos. If your travels take you to the Southwest of London, and you happen to be near the town, it’s certainly worth a visit especially if you have a car which will really allow you to appreciate the area! 😉
A Church with a history dating back to the Norman Conquests.
The ancient cemetery contains centuries of memorials…..
A modern tombstone stands somewhat out of place among its ancient peers.
Most memorials were weathered beyond recognition.
I would wager that some of these tombstones predate the tree in the background….
Another example where the memorials were here before the tree.
However, Mother Nature is beginning to take over. Other than basic mowing, little else has been done to preserve the cemetery.
19 and 18th century memorials were still legible, but anything older was beyond recognition.
